SAIPAN — The U.S. military command responsible for the Pacific, including the Northern Marianas, is taking back a name it carried for more than 70 years.
The Department of War announced Monday that U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, known as USINDOPACOM, will officially restore its former name, U.S. Pacific Command, or USPACOM, according to a release.
The command was established January 1, 1947, under President Harry S. Truman and operated as USPACOM for more than seven decades, the release said. It is the oldest and largest of the United States’ unified combatant commands.
The release said restoring the USPACOM name honors the command’s historical roots and fosters pride among those who serve in the Pacific. It cited the command’s role in building the post-World War II regional security architecture and its coordination of joint forces during the Korean War, the Vietnam War and numerous humanitarian operations.
The command’s area of responsibility, which stretches from the waters off the West Coast of the United States to the western border of India, remains the same, the release said. Its mission and its commitment to a free and open theater alongside regional allies and partners are unchanged.