Trump rebrands Department of Defense as Department of War

The US president has sought to refocus the department on "warfighting" and a "warrior ethos".

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The move restores a name the agency last held in the 1940s and, according to the text of the order seen by the BBC, the aim is to "project strength and resolve".

The department will initially use the new name as a "secondary title" while the administration seeks congressional approval to make the change permanent.

The White House is yet to say how much a rebrand would cost, but US media expect a billion-dollar price tag for the overhaul of hundreds of agencies, emblems, email addresses and uniforms.

The Department of Defense (DoD) - which oversees the US armed services - is the successor to the War Department, which was first established as a cabinet-level agency in 1789 and existed until 1947.