"THE 'MOST USEFUL' KENNEDY CABINET OFFICER"

MCNAMARA GETS HIGH PRAISE & SOME CRITICISM

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On August 6, 1961, Mary McGrory of the Sunday Star reports that President John F. Kennedy's Secretary of Defense Robert S. McNamara* "is so far the success story of the Kennedy cabinet."

The characterization was actually made by the President himself who, according to McGrory, "is impressed by Mr. McNamara's spectacular intelligence (and) his grasp of the details of his job."

JFK+50 NOTE

JFK did not know Bob McNamara personally before the interview process for Secretary of State.  Defense Secretary is ranked as the second highest administrative post of the government behind Secretary of State.

While many were impressed with RSM, some critics said "he runs (DOD) through a computer."

*Robert Strange McNamara (1916-2009) was born in San Francisco, CA & graduated from the University of California, Berkley & Harvard University Business School.  

RSM served in the US Army Air Forces in WWII & was president of Ford Motor Company in 1960.  He served as Secretary of Defense 1961-1968.

SOURCE

"McNamara Captures 'Most Useful' Title," by Mary McGrory, The Sunday Star, Washington, D.C., August 6, 1961, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/

 

 

Robert S. McNamara

Secretary of Defense 

Official Portrait

by Oscar Porter. U.S. Army

1961

"TO FIGHT & WIN WARS...NOT JUST DEFEND!"

D.O.D. BECOMES 'DEPARTMENT OF WAR' BY TRUMP'S EXECUTIVE ORDER

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On September 5, 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order changing the name of the Department of Defense to the Department of War.

The United States Department of War, created by Congress on August 7, 1789, was to be headed by the cabinet level Secretary of War.

In 1947, in the post-World War II era, the National Security Administration (NSA) split the U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force and along with the U.S. Navy formed the National Military Establishment (NME).

Two years later, the NME was re-named the Department of Defense (DOD).  It has remained so designated until President Trump's recent executive order.

In the order, President Trump states...

"The Founders chose this name to signal our strength and resolve to the world.  The name Department of War...ensures peace through strength...to fight and win wars...not just defend."

According to Politico, however, many Pentagon officials are "frustrated, angry and downright confused" at the effort and costs that will be required to remold the Department of Defense into the Department of War.

JFK+50 NOTE

President Kennedy once referred to the Presidential Seal saying that in one talon the eagle holds a bundle of arrows and in the other an olive branch.  JFK said, "We intend to give equal attention to both."

It seems that President Trump, by this executive order, wants to give much more attention to the bundle of arrows.  If he has looked closely at the Presidential Seal, he should be aware that the eagle is facing the olive branch.  If so, he may be contemplating changing it back the way it was originally, facing the bundle of arrows.

SOURCES

"Pentagon officials fume over Trump's Department of War rebrand," by Jack Detsch, Paul McLeary & Joe Gould, September 5, 2025, Politico, www.politico.com/

"Restoring the U.S. Department of War," September 5, 2025, The White House, www.whitehouse.gov/

Seal of the U.S. Department of War

U.S. Dept of War

1880

"HARDINGS TASK WAS RECONSTRUCTION & READJUSTMENT"

HARDING READY TO SUBMIT RECOMMENDATIONS FOR REORGANIZATION OF EXECUTIVE BRANCH

Washington, D.C. (JFK+50) On November 12, 1922, the White House announced that President Warren G. Harding "is ready to submit his recommendations for reorganization of the administrative branch of the federal government."

The reorganization program, headed by Walter F. Brown*, will be recommending moving the bureau of the markets from Agriculture to Commerce and the forest service and public roads from Agriculture to Interior.

Other recommendations will include the unification of the War and Navy Departments into a national Department of Defense**.

JFK+50 NOTE

Sherman Blanchard writes eight years after Harding's death...

"The task of his administration was one of reconstruction and readjustment after the World War.  A return to 'normalcy,' he phrased it."

*Walter Folger Brown (1869-1961) graduated from Harvard University 1892 & served as Assistant Secretary of Commerce under President Coolidge & Postmaster General under President Hoover.

**The Department of Defense was not created until 1947 by an act of Congress.  The modern DOD was established by an amendment passed in 1949.

SOURCES

"President Harding:  A Reappraisal," by Sherman Blanchard, Current History, October 1931, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/

"President Is Ready With Administration Reorganization Plan," by Will P. Kennedy, The Evening Star, Washington, D.C., November 12, 1922, Chronicling America, Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/

 

 

Flag of the Executive Office of the POTUS

www.wikimedia.org/