Now that U.S. Pacific Command is officially U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, or USINDOPACOM, what about all those logos and command signs?
There’s the grand foyer at the Nimitz-MacArthur headquarters building at Camp H.M. Smith, for starters. “United States Pacific Command” greets each visitor in all-caps metal lettering.
There’s similar signage at each of the component headquarters buildings, not to mention the patches and logos for U.S. Army Pacific, U.S. Pacific Fleet, Pacific Air Forces, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific and SOPAC: U.S. Special Operations Command Pacific.
There’s cocktail napkins, stationery and flags. And what to do about annual exercises? 2018 INDO-RIMPAC? RIMINDOPAC? What about annual meetings, like the Pacific Amphibious Leaders Symposium, or PALS, that just wrapped up? Will next year become I-PALS 2019?
INDOPALS 2019?
The Pentagon said that re-branding will start at a low-impact level, so that the name change doesn’t come with an immediate sticker shock.
For example, there are digital changes that can be made to web pages, command messages and email addresses, said Lt. Col. Chris Logan.
“The name INDOPACOM ... conveys a more comprehensive, accurate and useful representation of the Command’s focus and responsibilities,” Logan said in a statement.
The re-branding will reflect that, but will be done in a measured approach, he said. There wasn’t an immediate cost estimate available for the re-branding.
“The intent is to make this change efficiently,” Logan said. “There will be an ‘end of life’ approach to replacing physical signs, emblems, logos, etc.”
Tara Copp is a Pentagon correspondent for the Associated Press. She was previously Pentagon bureau chief for Sightline Media Group.
