The U.S. military command responsible for operations across the Indo-Pacific region will officially revert to its former name, U.S. Pacific Command (USPACOM), from U.S. Indo-Pacific Command (USINDOPACOM), according to an announcement on Wednesday.
The command, headquartered at Camp H.M. Smith in Hawaii, said the change was approved by the Department of War and is intended to restore the designation under which the command operated for more than seven decades.
Established on Jan. 1, 1947, by then-President Harry Truman, USPACOM is the oldest and largest of the United States’ unified combatant commands. Military officials said the move recognizes the command’s historical role in shaping the post-World War Two security architecture in the Pacific and its involvement in conflicts including the Korean and Vietnam wars, as well as humanitarian assistance missions.
The command said its area of responsibility, stretching from the U.S. West Coast to the western border of India, will remain unchanged. Its mission and commitments to regional allies and partners will also continue without alteration.
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The U.S. military renamed the command as U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in 2018 to reflect the growing strategic importance of the Indian Ocean alongside the Pacific region.
No operational changes were announced alongside the name restoration.
