In an address posted to X, Secretary Hegseth bluntly blamed “secular humanism” and “political correctness” for “weakening” the military Chaplain Corps that can trace its history to George Washington and the Continental Army.
Hegseth, a self-professed Christian, has called himself a "changed man" because of Jesus after a past that includes heavy drinking, and accusations of infidelity and sexual harassment.
Moving forward from its beginning in 1775, Hegseth said the Chaplain Corps has carried on its faith-focused mission through 200 years until recent decades. In more recent years, he said, chaplains have been treated as therapists instead of ministers, and their message of faith has been replaced with “self-help” and “self-care” for military service members.
“We're going to restore the esteemed position of chaplains as moral anchors for our fighting force," Hegseth vowed. "This is a high and sacred calling. We are going to make the Chaplain Corps great again."
To drive home that dramatic change, Hegseth said the current U.S. Army Spiritual Fitness Guide mentions “feelings” 11 times and “playfulness” nine times. The word “God” appears only once, he complained, in a guide that is 100-plus pages in length.
A related story at the Military Times said the Army Spiritual Fitness Guide was published this summer after an eight-month study. The guide, which is 112 pages in all, helps soldiers with four “spiritual readiness stages,” according to the story.
Asked for his reaction to Hegseth's announcement, former U.S. Army soldier Sam Shoemate said the Secretary of War should "take a sledgehammer" to the chaplaincy to reform what has become a bureaucracy after Biden's term.
"Remove every political element of its shadow bureaucracy," Shoemate urged, "and instate leaders who understand their sole purpose is to minister to troops, in their respective faith, and nothing else."
Shoemate, who fought the Pentagon's Covid-19 mandate, said he witnessed the Chaplain Corps refuse to defend service members who pleaded for a religious exemption to the experimental shot.
Reacting to Hegseth’s comments, First Liberty Institute senior counsel Chris Motz told AFN the Secretary of War deserves to be praised and commended.
“It's the right move and it’s being applauded by chaplains and those they serve,” Motz said. “Bravo to Secretary Hegseth for correcting course."
A second First Liberty attorney, Mike Berry, testified about religious hostility in the armed forces in a Dec. 12 appearance before the Religious Liberty Commission. A former Marine, Berry called religious liberty “an issue of great personal importance” for him because he witnessed how spiritual fitness strengthens the military.
Secretary Hegseth’s vow to improve the spiritual environment in the armed forces comes after he made similar blunt comments in September. That is when an unusual gathering of top military brass learned they were being ordered to get in better physical shape to stay in uniform.
“Frankly, it’s tiring to look out at combat formations, or really any formation, and see fat troops,” Hegseth told the room filled with generals and admirals.
Going back farther, to February of this year, Hegseth said the Pentagon was ending DEI-related military promotions that consider race, such as black and Hispanic, and women.
"I think the single dumbest phrase in military history is our diversity is our strength," he bluntly told an audience at the Pentagon.
"Our strength is our shared purpose, regardless of our background, regardless of how we grew up, regardless of our gender, regardless of our race," he continued.
The mission of the Department of Defense, a related memo stated, is to win wars with a "lethal fighting force that rewards individual initiative, excellence and hard work based on merit.”
