Dec. 17 (UPI) -- Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said Tuesday he would restore the role of the Chaplain Corps, saying political correctness had reduced military clergy to "emotional support officers."

Hegseth announced in a roughly four-minute video posted to X what he called a "top down cultural shift" that he said would put "spiritual well being on the same footing as mental and physical health." The announcement by Hegseth reflects his focus on culture war issues at the Pentagon and follows other initiatives by the Trump administration to give religion a greater role in public life.

Hegseth said that recent cultural shifts had changed the role of the Chaplain Corps, which he said was "part of the ongoing war on warriors."

"In recent decades, its role has been degraded in an atmosphere of political correctness and secular humanism, chaplains have been minimized, viewed by many as therapists, instead of ministers," he said. "Faith and virtue were traded for self-help and self-care."

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