What to know about names such as Operation Charlotte's Web

Recent operations under the Trump administration have raised eyebrows and drawn criticism, not only because of their missions but also because of their names and the intent behind them.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Thursday announced Operation Southern Spear, aimed at what he calls "narco-terrorists" who are allegedly bringing illegal drugs into the country. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Saturday also announced it was launching Operation Charlotte's Web — matching the name of the classic children's book — in Charlotte, N.C., to target undocumented immigrants.

"There is no parent who has read Charlotte's Web to a child who cannot be outraged by this," Dan Shapiro, who served as U.S. Ambassador to Israel from 2011 to 2017, wrote on X.

Asked about the inspiration for the operation name and the message the agency wants to send by using it, DHS responded to NPR with a press release about the operation that included a statement from Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin.

"We are surging DHS law enforcement to Charlotte to ensure Americans are safe and public safety threats are removed," McLaughlin said in the statement. "There have been too many victims of criminal illegal aliens. President Trump and Secretary Noem will step up to protect Americans when sanctuary politicians won't."

NPR also reached out to the Defense Department for comment but has not received a response.

Here is what to know about military operation names.

Naming military operations is not new. Neither is criticism of names

Code names for U.S. military operations date back to the World War II era and began for security reasons, according to Lt. Col. Gregory C. Sieminski in the article "The Art of Naming Operations," in The US Army War College Quarterly: Parameters. The names were based on colors at first, such as Operation Indigo, but as World War II spread, military officials switched to a name-based system that included projects and locations.

After the Vietnam War, military officials started using a computer system to reconcile nicknames and code words, called the Code Word, Nickname, and Exercise Term System, or NICKA.

Routine military exercises use the NICKA system for naming operations, according to Mark Cancian, a retired Marine colonel and a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Highly visible operations generally get two-word names chosen outside the system, such as operations Just Cause in Panama, Iraqi Freedom, and Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan, Cancian told NPR.

"The ones that are chosen are chosen for a reason to project a message," Cancian told NPR. "So, going back to Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom, the message is freedom. With the recent ones, Midnight Hammer and Southern Spear, the message is lethality."

Although DHS is not considered part of the U.S. military, using the name "Charlotte's Web" could also have been chosen because "you've got the spider's web that catches people," but it could also be the administration trying to be "tongue in cheek," he continued.

And other military operations have received backlash and criticism in the past, including what is now known as Operation Enduring Freedom. It was first called Operation Infinite Justice, but was changed after backlash that it was offensive to Muslims.

"The fact that these names get scrutiny is not unusual," Cancian said. "Now, I think in this case, given the administration's aggressive rhetoric, I think that inspires maybe pushback, but it's not unusual that names get a lot of scrutiny."
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