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Secretary of War Pete Hegseth and his wife, Jennifer, hosted the Rev. Franklin Graham, president and CEO of Samaritan's Purse, a humanitarian aid charity, along with prominent Christian musical artists Matthew West and Anne Wilson, for an afternoon Christmas Worship Service.
Hundreds of War Department employees, both military and civilian, gathered in the Pentagon courtyard to attend the event. West and Wilson provided entertainment during the service, while Graham led the congregation in prayer.
The secretary's arrival at the event was delayed until the very end, because he had been at Dover Air Force Base, Delaware, alongside President Donald J. Trump, to participate in the dignified transfer of the remains of two service members and one American civilian who were killed earlier this week in Syria.
Those fallen Americans are Army Sgts. William Howard and Edgar Torres Tovar, both part of the Iowa Army National Guard, and Ayad Mansoor Sakat, who was working as an interpreter.
"They served our nation, they put on the cloth of our uniform — served all of us," Hegseth said. "We're honored to gather on their behalf to remember them and their families and all those around the world this Christmas season."
The importance of the prayer service, Hegseth said, mirrors that of early Americans, in particular George Washington, who, like the secretary, was religious.
"I want to thank you all for sharing in this first Christmas Worship Service here at the Pentagon," Hegseth said. "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."
Looking out across the audience at hundreds of men and women, service members, civilians and contractors who make the War Department run, Hegseth acknowledged the incredible things they are asked to do and the sources of strength they summon to complete their work.
"You each day are asked to do impossible things, work impossible hours, at impossible odds, which mere men and women could not do," he said. "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."
The secretary, like his wife had done earlier, thanked the audience for attending, thanked those who serve the nation, and also thanked Graham for leading the service, and West and Wilson for providing music.
Earlier in the day, following an event where service members were able to meet with the three Pentagon visitors, Graham said it was an honor to be invited to participate in the prayer service, and said he's been impressed by the welcome embrace of faith by the administration.
"It's not just the Department's top leader, but it's our president — his support of faith and supporting Christmas and supporting our military the way he does," Graham said. "It's an honor to be here and to be at the Pentagon with these men and women who defend our nation and who put their life on the line."
Since taking the helm at the Pentagon in January, Hegseth has led the department with his faith on display. It's something Graham said he is impressed by and thinks is important.
"It's extremely beneficial and important, because the faith runs through every community of our country," he said. " every community, faith is there. And to have a man of faith in this position represents our nation. I'm just so proud of him and the stand he takes ... he's representing millions and millions of people of faith across this country."
Religious belief is nothing new in America's military — it's been there since the beginning. Since the military first stood up 250 years ago, there have been chaplains to tend to the needs of service members and Graham said what chaplains do for them is as important today as it was then.
"It's extremely important, and I appreciate the stand that the secretary of war has taken in supporting the chaplains," he said. "I don't know if any administration has been as outspoken and as strong supporting our chaplains. ... The Chaplain Corps is extremely important, and it's really the bedrock of our armed forces."
As a reverend, Graham has his own flock to tend to — and has been doing so for decades now. But for the American military's chaplains — in particular the Christian chaplaincy — Graham said there is one thing that remains most important.
"It's staying focused on the word of God," he said. "That's what chaplains — and of course I'm speaking from a Christian view — need to be focused on: the word of God. People want to know what God has to say, not what man has to say, not what philosophy is. They want to know what God has to say."
Earlier in the week, Hegseth's own words seemed to mirror those of Graham, when he said there are plans within the department to strengthen the role of the military chaplain.
As part of an initial effort in that regard, the secretary directed the Army to discontinue use of an existing "spiritual fitness guide," and also said the department would simplify its "faith and belief coding system."
"More reforms will be coming in the days and weeks ahead," Hegseth said in a video posted to social media. "There will be a top-down cultural shift putting spiritual well-being on the same footing as mental and physical health, as a first step toward creating a supportive environment for our warriors and their souls. We're going to restore the esteemed position of chaplains as moral anchors for our fighting force."
