"Every time Hegseth does one of these things, I'm getting messages from active duty troops, [View all]

[Quiet Em]

reaching out to me more and more, saying ‘How do I get involved?’,” said Goldsmith, referring to the work his organization has done to out neo-Nazis and far-right links in the military community. “We’ve got active-duty troops who recognize that the military they’re serving in, has become a threat to democracy.”

Outside of the “anti-war protesters during the Bush era”, Goldsmith says he has not seen this level of resistance to Pentagon policies amongst the military and veteran community, “in the last 20 years”. Another veteran who spoke with the Guardian also similarly quipped that Hegseth’s antics were seen as “cringe” among soldiers still in uniform.

“We’re gonna see a lot of christian nationalists join the military,” he said. “They’re not gonna perform very well, and our national security will suffer for a generation for it, because those that don’t wash out will be toxic leaders.”

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/aug/14/pete-hegseth-pentagon-christian-nationalism