In his inaugural State of the Force speech, Pete Hegseth, Secretary of War, reminded service members, whom he calls warriors, of the mission he charged them with one year prior: “War fighting. Preparing to fight and preparing to win. Unrelenting, unapologetic, and uncompromising in that single pursuit.” Under his guidance, he claimed, the military has been rebuilt, “the warrior ethos has been revived.” Thanks to President Trump, Hegseth continued, “The state of our Force today is stronger than it has been in our nation’s history. I’m looking at the most capable, the most focused, and the most lethal in American history.”
In an effort to continue his reforms, Hegseth announced “six strategic initiatives that will govern the Department’s direction for years to come.” One such initiative is the establishment of the Office of Religious Affairs, to address what Hegseth believes is a devaluing of faith across the military. “For decades we let people with no expertise in faith or religion dictate the spiritual life of our warriors,” he said. But the buck stops here. Chaplains “finally have an advocate in the highest places.” They’ll have full budgets and they won’t be restricted by bureaucracy, secular humanism, or political correctness.
Perhaps to kick off the spiritual revival, Hegseth delivered a sermon.
