Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth clashes with religious-rights group over base greetings
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth denounced the Military Religious Freedom Foundation after it complained that guards at Kirtland Air Force Base repeatedly offered "God bless you" greetings, and he vowed the Air Force would not bow to the group.
The nonprofit Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which counts over 100,000 active-duty and veteran members, lodged a complaint that guards at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque repeatedly greeted personnel with "God bless you," a practice it said violated the constitutional ban on government-endorsed religion. The group said 24 of the 34 complaints came from Christians. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth responded on X, labeling the MRFF a "radical anti-Christian, pro-atheist" organization and asserting the Department of War would not yield to its demands, while tagging the Air Force for a confrontation.
The Air Force chief of staff later clarified that the service was not restricting customary greetings. In a separate development, the Pentagon’s online tally of U.S. troops wounded in the ongoing Iran conflict increased to 794, following Iranian attacks on U.S. assets in Jordan, Kuwait and Bahrain.
Why it matters
The dispute highlights tensions over religious expression in the military and reflects rising U.S. casualties in the Iran conflict.
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