Pete Hegseth Revisited
If you cannot tell, I have Pete Hegseth Derangement Syndrome. He really drives me up the wall.
There are reports Pete Hegseth is reducing the number of recognized faith groups in the military from over 200 to just 31. In addition, he is ordering military chaplains to remove their officer rank from their uniforms
https://www.foxnews.com/media/pete-hegseth-slashes-military-faith-codes-from-over-200-31-pentagon-chaplain-corps-overhaul?msockid=3418129a60836057370805b26
This has prompted me to write a letter to the editor of my local paper with a copy to my bishop and congress people. I would hope other Americans will contact their congress people about this as well as religious leaders and send letters to the editor. My letter is below
The recent announcement that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will reduce the military’s faith group codes from more than 200 to just 31, and require chaplains to remove their visible rank insignia, deserves far more scrutiny than it has received.
Streamlining administrative categories may sound harmless, but collapsing hundreds of distinct religious identities into a few dozen risks erasing the diversity of belief that our service members actually hold. Smaller faith traditions—already under‑represented—stand to lose visibility and access. In a pluralistic military, accuracy is not a luxury; it is a constitutional safeguard.
Even more troubling is the directive that chaplains remove their rank from their uniforms. No other profession in the military—medical officers, JAG officers, cyber officers, logisticians—is being asked to hide its rank. Rank is not a decoration. It communicates authority, responsibility, and accountability. Chaplains are commissioned officers for a reason: they advise commanders, advocate for religious accommodation, and operate within the chain of command. Removing visible rank undermines that role and creates confusion in precisely the environments where clarity saves lives.
Historically, the military tried rank‑less chaplains before 1914. It abandoned the experiment because it diminished chaplains’ effectiveness and created unnecessary ambiguity. We should learn from that history, not repeat it.
Our service members deserve a chaplain corps that is respected, empowered, and able to serve all faiths without political interference. These changes risk weakening an institution that has long protected both religious freedom and military professionalism. They should be reconsidered with full transparency and broad consultation.
(Feel free to add anything RE Pete Hegseth)
There are reports Pete Hegseth is reducing the number of recognized faith groups in the military from over 200 to just 31. In addition, he is ordering military chaplains to remove their officer rank from their uniforms
https://www.foxnews.com/media/pete-hegseth-slashes-military-faith-codes-from-over-200-31-pentagon-chaplain-corps-overhaul?msockid=3418129a60836057370805b26
This has prompted me to write a letter to the editor of my local paper with a copy to my bishop and congress people. I would hope other Americans will contact their congress people about this as well as religious leaders and send letters to the editor. My letter is below
The recent announcement that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth will reduce the military’s faith group codes from more than 200 to just 31, and require chaplains to remove their visible rank insignia, deserves far more scrutiny than it has received.
Streamlining administrative categories may sound harmless, but collapsing hundreds of distinct religious identities into a few dozen risks erasing the diversity of belief that our service members actually hold. Smaller faith traditions—already under‑represented—stand to lose visibility and access. In a pluralistic military, accuracy is not a luxury; it is a constitutional safeguard.
Even more troubling is the directive that chaplains remove their rank from their uniforms. No other profession in the military—medical officers, JAG officers, cyber officers, logisticians—is being asked to hide its rank. Rank is not a decoration. It communicates authority, responsibility, and accountability. Chaplains are commissioned officers for a reason: they advise commanders, advocate for religious accommodation, and operate within the chain of command. Removing visible rank undermines that role and creates confusion in precisely the environments where clarity saves lives.
Historically, the military tried rank‑less chaplains before 1914. It abandoned the experiment because it diminished chaplains’ effectiveness and created unnecessary ambiguity. We should learn from that history, not repeat it.
Our service members deserve a chaplain corps that is respected, empowered, and able to serve all faiths without political interference. These changes risk weakening an institution that has long protected both religious freedom and military professionalism. They should be reconsidered with full transparency and broad consultation.
(Feel free to add anything RE Pete Hegseth)
Comments
The impression we get of him over here in the UK is that he's as batshit crazy as his master.
The latter, as I understand it. Congress would be needed to officially rename the DoD and it's Secretary.
Good point, @BroJames. It is the same in Canada. Probably elsewhere in the commonwealth. But that has a long history. On the other hand, as I point out. The American Chaplains have shown military rank since at least 1914. We do not have the same British tradition. I just know as a Captain Chaplain in the AF, I did not have much pull with Colonels and Above. Majors were okay but any higher up the flagpole, there would not be much traction.
What I am most concerned about is first he whittles the 200 faith groups down to 31, then he whittles it down to 11, then he whittles it down to 6 and eventually to his particular brand. He already says 80% of the chaplains come from 6 groups. My guess is Roman Catholic, Baptist, Methodist, Reformed, Lutheran and Jew. But there are many other faith groups. I was in when the military was discussing adding more than 200. At the time the Supreme Court had a case before them by Wiccans and Atheist Groups to either include them or drop the who Chaplain Corp all together. Fortunately, the court had refused to hear the case. But it did cause the Pentagon to look at the question.
The Dept of War website certainly has an official appearance, though that may not be evidence that the designation has been approved: https://www.war.gov/
Without knowing anything about how the current codes break things down, I’d be very surprised if one of the six most common wasn’t some form of non-denominational Evangelical.
It was my experience when I was a chaplain, these were the groups that were heavily represented in the Chaplain Corp. Often, when the military divvies up the number of chaplains that would be needed in any FY it was based on the number of faith groups that was represented in the military branch. Lutherans, though, did get a slightly higher portion because we had consistently filled our quotas and then some. Jews were represented because of it being a major faith group. Muslims were just being added to the mix when I separated from the service.
Under normal procedures, any promotion above the rank of captain is made by congress based on recommendation of the promotion board of the service involved. As I understand it the Secretary of War Defense is not even in the loop.
The article I listed above says Pete Hegseth's chief of staff has reportedly said Trump will not stand next to a Black Officer. (Other reports say that is a false accusation).
The Army commander rightly suspended the crews pending further investigations. There could have been certain disciplinary actions taken all the way from a letter of reprimand to an Article 15 action, even a court martial (not likely.)
Now under the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ), certain steps would have had to been taken for the good of the order.
But, good ol' Pete. He has to step in and countermand the procedure. Legally, the secretary of war should not step in until the end of the process when everything is under review. Countermanding the order so early in the process knocks the authority of the commander out from under him/her. With the crews getting away scot-free, what's to prevent them from doing a similar stunt at another celebrity's house.
In short, it undercuts the chain of command, politicizes military discipline and risks encouraging unsafe behavior.
It can cost $11,000 an hour to fly one of those machines. Your tax dollars at work!
If Hegseth believes in the power of prayer and that God answers prayer, is that not rather a dangerous thing to pray? It presupposes that God's view as to who is godly and who is ungodly and with whom God might be angry is the same as Hegseth' s.
Should a person not be more cautious than to pray in those terms lest it backfire?
The only person who would pray this way IMHO outs either one utterly convinced he is righteous and that God agrees with his attitude (!) or one convinced that there is no God who listens, cares and acts.
I don't think God has ever been more than a theatrical prop for trump and his dependents.
It was quite wonderful to hear Hegseth boasting that they would bomb Iran back to the Stone Age while his boss cuts off a good chunk of his country's oil supplies, and engages in warfare against renewable energy, clean air and water, and anything that might threaten his own country's oil producers.
'Bomb Cambodia Back To The Stone Age'.
Yeah, and create the conditions for Pol Pot to take power.
Both Trump and Hegseth's rhetoric is pretty alarming and calculated of course to appeal to their country's rabid right-wing elements.
I imagine they think it will scare Iran into compliance and convince their allies to kow-tow to their every whim.
We shouldn't be surprised given the tone of this current administrations peace-time pronouncements that their war-time rhetoric is going to go way over the top. As indeed it has in Putin's Russia.
You can't have a sensible conversation with these people.
That is particularly when Hegseth's boss was telling Iranian protesters only a few weeks ago that he was coming to their aid, and has repeated similar sentiments on other occasions recently, including this very week. Does it not occur to these monstrosities that bombing an entire country back to the Stone Age includes plastering with the same destruction those they claim to be benefiting?
There is neither side in this particular war for which I feel any sympathy whatsoever. The people I do feel sympathy for are the unfortunate victims, the downtrodden and oppressed inhabitants of Iran who are suffering both at the hands of their own government in peacetime and now at the US bombing. Bearing in mind what has happened in the recent histories of Iraq and Libya, I see next to no prospect whatever of any outcome from the present war that will be beneficial for its actual victims.
Yes - sorry. It never occurred to me that it might be read otherwise. I seem to have a problem with misplaced humour.
https://www.axios.com/2026/04/03/hegseth-george-hodne-army-fired-iran
What's this I hear, you sponsored a Good Friday service, but did not invite Roman Catholics?
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/pentagon-host-good-friday-just-170234609.html
And now you are allowing open carry of personal guns on bases? What can go wrong?
https://www.military.com/daily-news/headlines/2026/04/02/new-order-lets-troops-carry-personal-guns-base.html
I just cannot keep up with your boneheaded ideas!
With the recent firing of Pam Bondi, could you be next if the war doesn't go well? I would hope so.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/apr/03/us-military-archbishop-iran
Could that have been why Roman Catholics were not invited the Good Friday service?
And suddenly it all makes sense now. Argh. Of course Hegseth would do that…
Trump is pretty famous for his anti-Black racism so I doubt he disapproves.
I sometimes wonder if Hegseth is real. Photos of him, bare-chested and displaying his tattoos, make him look like a sanitised version of the hybrid Orc/Man creations of Saruman in The Lord Of The Rings...
He was shot down on Good Friday.
He spent two, three days in a cave.
He was rescued on Easter.
I am thankful the man was rescued. I just cringed when Hegseth made the comparison. I mean he combined divine meaning with national military action, and he treated a national event as extensions of biblical salvation history.
Is there any solid evidence yet for what actually happened, or is it all still AI slop and tall tales from drunken nazis?
There really are some Class A nutjobs around.
If he did say that then he's simply following the sort of thing his Puritan forebears said.
They used to do this sort of thing all the time.
Cromwell suspends Parliament and the next minute someone's pulled out an obscure Old Testament text that 'foretells' it or anticipates it in some way, however tenuously.
This appeared on ABC News.
Is that not just the aforementioned drunken nazi?
But he’s ignorant and not very bright. A classic example of the first Peter Principle. He’s been promoted beyond his competence.
As well as being thoroughly unpleasant.
Hellish but very true.
The thesis is that a person does a job well. He or she gets promoted. He or she does the next job well and gets promoted again. This continues until they are promoted to a job that is beyond them. Once there, though, there they stick, because the chances are that don't do it sufficiently badly to be sacked, there is nobody who can sack them or there is not a job anybody to sidestep them to.
Oops, getting hellish here too.
Getting promoted to Major after serving long enough happens to the large majority of junior officers. Basically, if you don't screw up too hard and too publicly, you'll be a Major.
Hegseth's highest level of actual command was as a platoon leader, which is a lieutenant or second lieutenant's billet. The rest of his career basically reads like he was parked in staff roles in corners where he couldn't do too much harm.
I knew a number of Majors that ended up in staff roles back in a corner myself.
I'd be laughing my head off if it wasn't for the fact that there are a lot people out there who now think that this is how Christians behave.