Pete Hegseth announces Office of Religious Affairs

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced the creation of an Office of Religious Affairs during a speech on Sept. 30 at U.S. Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia. Hegseth stated the office will provide chaplains with a direct line to the secretary to ensure policy and resources support the military mission rather than hindering it. He noted the office will not be a bureaucratic entity but will instead protect budgets and demand infrastructure to strengthen religious support.

The Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, expressed hope that the new office will improve support for service members, their families, and the chaplain corps across all branches. Archbishop Broglio said in a statement that placing spiritual readiness alongside other departmental priorities could help resolve historical constraints that limited chaplaincy support by shortening the time between identifying field needs and making senior decisions.

During the same speech, Hegseth announced the establishment of an Autonomous Warfare Command to develop autonomous military capabilities. This development follows warnings from Pope Leo XIV regarding autonomous weapons. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops previously described the rise of such systems as a grave development in military technology in a backgrounder on the Pope's encyclical, Magnifica Humanitas.