Posted on 12/17/2025 8:51:09 AM PST by ducttape45
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth has pledged to toss “New Age notions” in America’s Chaplain Corps and make the military body “great again.”
“In recent decades, its role has been degraded in an atmosphere of political correctness and secular humanism,” Hegseth said of the Chaplain Corps in 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.”
Across all branches of the U.S. military, there are estimated to be 3,000 to 4,000 military chaplains.
The Chaplain Corps was established in 1775 at the request of George Washington, who at the time was serving as general of the Continental Army. Washington established the corps to meet the spiritual needs of the men.
“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.
The Secretary of War points to the U.S. Army Spiritual Fitness Guide as a critical example of the ways secularism has influenced the Chaplain Corps.
The 112-page document mentions “God” only once, does not mention “Jesus” or “virtue,” but does mention “feelings” 11 times and “spiritual” over 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 signed a directive to eliminate the use of the Army Spiritual Fitness Guide. The secretary also announced that military is simplifying the U.S. Military’s Faith and Belief Coding System, which is used to track religions and spiritual preferences within the military.
The system currently has over 200 faith and belief codes, according to Hegseth, who added that the majority of the military uses only six of the codes, and 11 are not used at all.
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.”
Tuesday announcement is the first of similar reforms to come, according to the secretary.
“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.”
Fr Luongo, Fr Doyle, Fr Donaldson, Fr Roof, were all great. There was one at Brooks AFB (I can't remember his name now but I can picture his face) that was so caring for his chaplains (he was the OIC) that he spearheaded the effort to clear bad reports from another chaplain's record and got him promoted to Major, then Lt Col, all in short order. That's the kind of chaplain, regardless of rank or denomination, that I could stand behind. They demonstrated by their actions how much they cared for people.
But what happened to me at my last assignment (I won't say where) is what soured me on serving any more. The chaplain that tormented me was eventually kicked off the base (a new wing commander saw to that) and reassigned somewhere else, but the folks at the major command servied under said I would never get a good assignment again because I "didn't support that chaplain in their time of need." So I took a buyout and said adios.
Overall, yes, I know there are good chaplains out there in all branches of service, but the bad ones outnumber them. I can only hope that Hegseth can carry through on his promise, but he's gonna have to start at the top to do so. Trust me.
Yes, I voted for this!
Most people don’t know that there’s Islamic chaplains in all branches, which makes as much sense as having enemy officers at strategy meetings or serial-poisoners in charge of mess halls.
They do exactly what the Seditious Six are attempting: sow doubt and insurrection in the hearts of our military for the sake of a priority they place above the Oath of Service.
We’ve already had enough human time bombs taking good soldiers’ lives while disgracing the uniform.
I would disagree. SECDEF Rumsfeld was highly knowledgeable.
Good post - thanks.
Oh boy, could I tell you about islamic chaplains.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.