Our fighting force should be an efficient machine. But bureaucrats have made it anything but that.
And now Pete Hegseth announced a huge purge within the US military.
Hegseth’s Bold Pledge to Revitalize Military Chaplains
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has committed to eliminating “New Age notions” from the U.S. military’s Chaplain Corps and restoring its former strength.
“In recent decades, its role has been degraded in an atmosphere of political correctness and secular humanism,” Hegseth said of the Chaplain Corps in a video message released Tuesday night.
“Chaplains have been minimized, viewed by many as therapists instead of ministers,” Hegseth said, adding, “Faith and virtue were traded for self-help and self-care.”
The U.S. armed forces employ an estimated 3,000 to 4,000 chaplains across all branches.
Founded in 1775 under General George Washington’s direction for the Continental Army, the Chaplain Corps was created to address troops’ spiritual requirements.
“For about 200 years, the chaplain corps continued its role as the spiritual leader of our service members, serving our men and women in times of hardship and ministering to their souls, but sadly, as part of the ongoing war on warriors, in recent decades, its role has been degraded,” Hegseth said.
Scrapping the Army’s Controversial Spiritual Fitness Guide
Hegseth highlighted the U.S. Army Spiritual Fitness Guide as a prime illustration of secular influences infiltrating the Chaplain Corps.
This 112-page resource references “God” just once, omits any mention of “Jesus” or “virtue,” yet uses “feelings” 11 times and “spiritual” more than 350 times.
“The guide relies on New Age notions, saying that the soldier’s spirit consists of consciousness, creativity, and connection,” Hegseth said.
“The guide itself reports that around 82% of the military are religious, yet ironically, it alienates our war fighters of faith by pushing secular humanism. In short, it’s unacceptable and unserious, so we’re tossing it,” he continued.
Hegseth has issued a directive immediately discontinuing the Army Spiritual Fitness Guide. He also revealed plans to simplify the military’s Faith and Belief Coding System, which catalogs religious and spiritual affiliations.
Currently featuring over 200 codes, the system sees most personnel selecting just six, with 11 going entirely unused, per Hegseth.
A new system will be streamlined, Hegseth said, and moved “to a new list of religious affiliation codes so that our chaplains can actually use it to minister better to the flock.”
Broader Reforms Ahead for Spiritual Support in the Military
The Tuesday announcement marks the initial step in a series of upcoming changes, the secretary noted.
“There will be a top-down cultural shift putting spiritual well-being on the same footing as mental and physical health,” Hegseth said.
Being a chaplain in the U.S. military is a “high and sacred calling, but this only works if our shepherds are actually given the freedom to boldly guide and care for their flock,” he said.
“We are going to make the Chaplain Corps great again,” Hegseth pledged, adding, “Merry Christmas.”
