Pete Hegseth is bringing his fundamentalist interpretation of Christianity into the Pentagon

Interview with Rear Admiral Harold L. Robinson, D.Hum., USN, Chaplain Corps (Ret)

Served as Chaplain with the U.S. Marine Corps

The Atlantic

Oct. 22, 2025

Rabbi Harold Robinson, a retired rear admiral and Jewish chaplain who also served as chairman of the National Conference on Ministry to the Armed Forces, told me that he’s deeply worried that Hegseth is chipping away at the sense of cohesion among service members, which has up until now been one of the U.S. military’s greatest strengths. During his 36 years of service, Robinson said, he never paused to wonder about the political or religious affiliation of the men and women who served with him. “All I had to worry about was, ‘Does he have my back? And do I have his back?’” Robinson told me. “When I can’t do that anymore, then the institution is weaker.”