The Army of God

The Pentagon long ago said goodbye to what used to be called secularism. Pete Hegseth, war minister under Trump, has now ended the spectacle. Not secularism itself, of course - that had long been dismantled. But the illusion that it still existed. Since Saturday, soldiers have been reporting commanders explaining to them that the war against Iran is God’s plan. Trump, they were told in briefings, was anointed by Jesus to set the sign for Armageddon. The return of Christ. The army as the instrument of Revelation. den Iran sei Gottes Plan. Trump, so hieß es da in Briefings, wurde von Jesus gesalbt, um das Zeichen für Armageddon zu setzen. Die Rückkehr Christi. Die Armee als Werkzeug der Offenbarung.

“There are simply no words left”

More than 110 complaints have been filed. Not by women’s groups or activists. By soldiers. By noncommissioned officers who had to report that a commander sat before them, grinning and talking about the end of the world. Hegseth sponsors monthly prayer meetings in the Pentagon. The man leads them himself, preaching for Jesus Christ as if it were troop morale. He organizes weekly Bible studies in the White House, led by Ralph Drollinger, a preacher who teaches that God blesses Israel and curses its enemies - and who adds that Israel killed Jesus, as if that were a current event and not the foundational lie of antisemitism. This is the stage on which Hegseth performs. The army as a church.

The complaint that the Military Religious Freedom Foundation made public came from a noncommissioned officer speaking for 15 soldiers. A commander had told them not to fear this war. It was all part of God’s plan. Then he quoted from Revelation. Armageddon. The second coming. He said it with a broad grin. The grin matters. It does not show conviction - it shows triumph. The conviction that one can now finally say openly what used to be spoken only behind closed doors. This commander was not alone. The foundation received reports from more than 40 units, spread across at least 30 military bases. All branches of the armed forces affected. All carrying the same message: This is biblically legitimized and politically explosive, not because it is religious. But because it shows the end of control.

“The intertwined relationship between evangelical Christian Zionism and white Christian nationalism is taking on more than troubling forms”

After 9/11, Bush had to drop the word “crusade” when he spoke about the war on terror. French Foreign Minister Hubert Védrine warned that al-Qaida had set a trap: If America presents itself as a Christian army against Islam, then terrorism gains the narrative it needs. Bush understood. Bush stopped using it. Trump and Hegseth understand that as well. They simply do not care.

That is the point. Not that there are evangelicals in the army - they are everywhere. Not that religious officers show their faith - that is a private matter. The point is this: Here a military order is being presented as God’s order. Here soldiers are being pushed toward religious submission while they swear an oath to the Constitution that forbids exactly that. The noncommissioned officer wrote to the foundation: This destroys morale. It destroys the cohesion of the unit. It violates the oath we swore to the Constitution. Mikey Weinstein, founder of the foundation, Air Force officer and a Reagan man, said something important: The commanders are not simply devout. They are animated. They are pleased by how bloody this will be, because blood is necessary for the fulfillment of the prophecy. That is not faith. That is madness that has declared itself a duty. belebt. Sie freuen sich, wie blutig das wird, weil Blut nötig ist für die Erfüllung der Prophezeiung. Das ist nicht Glaube. Das ist Wahnsinn, der sich zur Pflicht erklärt hat.

Pete Hegseth - war minister, former Fox host, Christian hardline nationalist and advocate of theopolitical extremism

Hegseth did not create this movement. But he legalized it. The man sits there every morning, looks at his Pentagon budget and knows: I can now say what my predecessor only thought in private. I can invite preachers. I can pray. I can call it affairs of state. That is politically dangerous precisely because it is not reversible. Once a system allows religious indoctrination to become a military command, that is not merely a quirk of the Trump administration. That is systemic change. It raises the question: For whom does America fight? For the Constitution or for God’s kingdom?

The soldiers who filed complaints are not atheists. Some of them are Christian believers. But they understood what Hegseth and Trump do not want to understand: that the state must remain neutral because the army itself cannot be neutral. It cannot believe - it can only command. And if the command comes in the name of Christ, then the hierarchy is no longer military. It is theological. That is intolerable for anyone who has understood the American military as a secular institution. And it is deadly for any soldier who does not believe in Hegseth’s God. The question that arises is not: Will there be resistance? The question is: Will there be consequences? The Trump administration is openly contemptuous of military norms. Weinstein himself points out that Hegseth is currently trying to prosecute Senator Mark Kelly for advising against illegal orders - while religious commanders are allowed to preach Armageddon without consequences. That is not a mistake. That is intentional.