Strong and Free Christians Make for a Strong and Motivated Military

by Paul Batura | December 18, 2025 | Culture

Christmastime at the Pentagon looks a bit different this year.

On Wednesday, Admiral Carey Cash, Chaplain of the Marine Corps and Deputy Chief of Chaplains of the Navy, opened an event at the headquarters of the United States Department of War, by describing the birth of Jesus in theologically rich terms.

Admiral Cash called Christmas, “the coming of Jesus into this world,” the “greatest rescue operation of all time.” He then quoted from the Gospel of John: “In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind” (1:4).

Wednesday’s celebration coincides with Secretary of War Pete Hegseth’s call to overhaul the Chaplain Corps – a branch of the Army that dates to 1775. Secretary Hegseth announced plans to reprioritize the spiritual health of the country’s soldiers. He said there needs to be a “top-down cultural shift, putting spiritual well-being on the same footing as physical and mental health.”

Associate Attorney General Stanley Woodward acknowledged that George Washington launched the program because he understood the link between a soldier’s faith and their ability to perform in dangerous and high-pressure situations. In reimagining the military’s commitment to providing a link to the eternal, Woodward suggested the change was long overdue.

“Past administrations degrade this vital ministry into a vague program of ‘feelings management,’ rather than a rigorous grounding in authentic, selfless, and courageous faith,” he shared. “I am grateful for Secretary Hegseth’s clear-sighted leadership and decisive action to ensure the Chaplain Corps and the Army Spiritual Fitness program are restored to their full strength.”

At Wednesday’s event, Franklin Graham held nothing back.

“Jesus took our shame, and He died in our place, and He rose again, And this is why we celebrate,” Franklin Graham declared. “Christmas was not a ‘Jesus Christ is a babe in a manger.’ He’s living, He’s alive, He’s in heaven, and He’s coming back, and He’s coming back someday soon.”

Hundreds of guests attended the service, which was held in the Pentagon Couryard in the glow of a brightly lit evergreen tree. Matthew West and Anne Wilson provided the Christmas music.

“I want to thank you all for sharing in this first Christmas Worship Service here at the Pentagon,” Secretary Hegseth told those gathered. “It’s the least we could do in this season. We do it monthly as well — a prayer service — which we will continue to do, because, as George Washington did that first year, he went on bended knee for providence in impossible tasks.”

He continued:

You each day are asked to do impossible things, work impossible hours, at impossible odds, which mere men and women could not do,” he told those gathered. “And that’s why we bend the knee, because we know where our strength comes from, and we need that wisdom and that guidance, that providential guide in our own lives as we try to act on behalf of our nation.

By strengthening the Chaplain Corps, Secretary Hegseth is simultaneously strengthening every man and woman in every branch of the military. That’s because strong Christians make for strong and courageous members of the armed forces.