No More Playfulness? Pentagon to Revamp Chaplain Corps Under Hegseth

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced Tuesday that the military’s chaplain corps will undergo a major overhaul aimed at refocusing on traditional religious and moral guidance.

Hegseth criticized modern military spiritual training, saying chaplains have been reduced to “therapists instead of ministers.” In a post on X, he added: “Faith and virtue were traded for self-help and self-care.”

The secretary pointed specifically to the Army Spiritual Fitness Guide, which he said mentions God just once in over 100 pages, while “feelings” appears 11 times and “playfulness” nine times. 

“There’s zero mention of virtue. The guide relies on new age notions,” Hegseth said. He also revealed plans to sign a directive to immediately eliminate the guide, stressing that “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.”

Hegseth has a history of pushing for cultural and disciplinary changes within the Pentagon. 

Earlier this year, he criticized what he called the prevalence of overweight personnel, saying: “Frankly, it’s tiring to look out at combat formations, or really any formation, and see fat troops. Likewise, it’s completely unacceptable to see fat generals and admirals in the halls of the Pentagon leading commands around the country and the world.”