2 of 2 ~
Continued - Pete Hegseth - Secretary of War
We are going to make the Chaplain Corps great again.
________________

But sadly, as part of an ongoing war on warriors in recent decades, its role has been degraded in an atmosphere of political correctness and secular humanism.

Chaplains have been minimized—viewed by many as therapists instead of ministers. Faith and virtue were traded for self-help and self-care.

If you need proof, just look at the current Army spiritual fitness guide. In well over 100 pages, it mentions God one time. That's it. It mentions feelings 11 times. It even mentions playfulness—whatever that is—9 times. There's zero mention of virtue.

The guide relies on New Age notions, saying the soldier's spirit consists of consciousness, creativity, and connection.

The guide itself reports that around 82% of the military are religious—yet ironically, it alienates our warfighters by pushing secular humanism.

In short, it's unacceptable and unserious. So we're tossing it.

I have a directive right here that I will sign today to eliminate the use of the Army spiritual fitness guide, effective immediately. These types of training materials have no place in the War Department.

Our chaplains are chaplains—not emotional support officers—and we're going to treat them as such.

That's why today, at my direction, we are also simplifying the faith and belief coding system. In recent years, it ballooned to over 200 overly complex faith and belief codes. An overwhelming majority of the military population only uses 6 codes. 11 are not used by anyone.

So we're going to streamline it and move to a new list of religious affiliation codes so that our chaplains can actually use them to minister better to the flock.

More reforms will be coming in the days and weeks ahead. There will be a top-down cultural shift—putting spiritual well-being on the same footing as mental and physical health—as our first step toward creating a supportive environment for our warriors and their souls.

We're going to restore the esteemed position of chaplains as moral anchors for our fighting force.

The 1956 Army Chaplain's Manual states, quote: 'The chaplain is pastor and shepherd of the souls entrusted to his care,' end quote.

This 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.

Stay tuned for more.

We are going to make the Chaplain Corps great again.

Merry Christmas."