Dave Lapan to discuss the rising threat of extremist Christian nationalism within the Pentagon’s senior leadership. They explored how far-right ideologies may be influencing current U.S. strategy, operations, and military culture.
Lapan brings a unique, non-partisan perspective to the table, with decades of experience as a Marine Corps officer, and deputy secretary for the departments of defense and homeland security:
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Department of Defense (Obama)
Deputy Assistant Secretary, Department of Homeland Security (Trump)
Senior Advisor, Department of Veterans Affairs (Biden)
Against the backdrop of the conflict with Iran—and troubling reports of some U.S. commanders framing the mission as a “religious war” to usher in the end of times—Dave explains why injecting theology into military conflict is a dangerous mistake.
His insights are detailed below.
Guest article by David Lapan, former deputy assistant secretary at the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security.
Pete Hegseth’s first year tenure at the Pentagon has been marked by controversies, missteps, and overt politicization of the military, outcomes not unexpected for a former TV host and the least qualified person to ever serve as Secretary of Defense.
He has fired, without cause, several generals, admirals, and senior officers. His personal staff has been included in the purges. He wasted taxpayer dollars to change the name of the Department (still officially the Department of Defense, not War) and the names of military installations that were recently changed through a bipartisan commission process to honor distinguished service members, not failed Confederate generals. Hegseth also ordered the country’s most senior officers and enlisted leaders, on short notice, to travel from their posts across the globe to Quantico, VA, for a cringe-worthy lecture by him and the president – another waste of time and money. The so-called guidance he presented could have been done by written memo or via video-teleconference.
Hegseth was involved in the infamous Signal chat that included a journalist. He posted detailed, classified information on an on-going military operation and shared that information with his wife and brother (neither of whom held appropriate security clearances or a “need to know”). He hired his personal lawyer to serve as a senior advisor, commissioning him in the U.S. Navy Reserves with the rank of Commander in the Judge Advocate General Corps.
Hegseth has directed, and defended, lethal military attacks on alleged drug boats in the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean, resulting in nearly 200 civilian deaths, to-date. Most legal experts consider these operations to be illegal, extrajudicial killings.
He has disparaged women in the military, questioned their fitness for combat roles, fired or forced out several senior women officers, and disbanded the longstanding advisory committee known as DACOWITS (Defense Advisory Committee on Women in the Services), first established in 1951.
He has threatened demotion and military retirement pay cuts for Sen. Mark Kelly, a retired Navy Captain and astronaut, for participating in a video reminding service members of their obligation to refuse illegal orders.
Hegseth has also turned the Pentagon into his personal house of worship for Christian Nationalism. He has invited controversial evangelical pastors to preach in the Pentagon auditorium during normal work hours. In addition to the loss of productive work time during those services, he has used government resources in the form of the Defense Visual Information Distribution System (DVIDS) to broadcast those services to military and civilian employees serving outside the Pentagon. These services dangerously cross the line of separation of church and state, as they are specifically Christian services. There are no like services for other faiths.
Adding to the long list of objectionable actions is the recent forced retirement of Army Colonel Dave Butler, selected for promotion to brigadier general, who once served as Public Affairs advisor to former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley. Butler honorably decided to retire rather than hold up the promotion of all the other Army colonels selected for promotion.
Milley famously ran afoul of Trump for his actions as chairman. In one of President Trump’s early acts of pettiness and retribution, within hours of his inauguration, he had the official portrait of Milley removed from its place among all former Chairmen. Hegseth then continued the retribution. Ten days later, and only five days after he was sworn in as Secretary of Defense, Hegseth revoked retired Gen. Milley’s security detail and security clearance. In addition, Hegseth extended Trump’s animus towards former Defense Secretary Mark Esper by removing his official portrait as well.
This is just a partial list of the objectionable and dangerous actions Hegseth has taken just in his first year. They have created a divisive “command climate” for the entire force. They favor some individuals and groups and disfavor others. They demonstrate pettiness and retribution rather than dignity and respect for all. They serve partisan political and religious purposes, undermining and damaging the longstanding principles that have served our military, the Constitution, and our country. The damage is being done daily, and it will take years to repair and recover. Americans need to stand against this betrayal of our military’s principles, values, and traditions.
David Lapan is a communication strategist and former deputy assistant Secretary of Defense (2010-11) and former deputy assistant Secretary of Homeland Security (2017).
