Some military Chaplain Corps personnel believed that the Biden administration’s mandates on preferred pronouns, restroom access and other gender identity policies raised “significant religious liberty concerns” for American troops, according to an internal Pentagon memo shared exclusively with The Washington Times.
The June 2023 document, which has not been previously reported, spelled out 11 specific reservations said to have been expressed by Unit Ministry Teams, or UMTs, inside Army Special Operations Command. The concerns centered on whether the Biden administration’s gender identity policies — a core component of what critics have long described as the left-wing woke agenda being implemented in the military at that time — ignored objections raised on religious grounds.
“It places a burden on individuals who object to using pronouns that conflict with their faith and conscience,” the memo reads in part.
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“Furthermore, the lack of religious accommodation, diversity of viewpoint, and consideration for safety and modesty concerns call into question the balance between accommodating one group’s needs and respecting the religious freedoms of all service members,” the memo says. “It is crucial to find workable solutions that accommodate the needs of all service members while upholding religious liberty and respecting diverse beliefs.”
The document was obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request by the nonprofit watchdog group Center to Advance Security in America.
The author’s name is redacted, as are the names of the Army and Special Operations Command personnel to whom the memo appears to have been sent.
DOCUMENT: Pentagon memo: "Religious Liberty Concerns Regarding OPM Guidance on Gender Identity"
The 1½-page document appears to have been written by a chaplain, UMT member or individual working closely with those stakeholders. It includes references to “our UMTs,” and the author explicitly said the memo summarized feedback from UMTs.
Those Unit Ministry Teams consist of chaplains, religious affairs specialists and noncommissioned officers, according to a description on the Army’s website.
The memo came on the heels of guidance from the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, which under the Biden administration directed that all federal employees “should be addressed by the names and pronouns they use to describe themselves.”
That guidance also said that all arms of the federal government “should allow access to common and single-user restrooms and other facilities corresponding to an employee’s gender identity.”
James Fitzpatrick, the director of the Center to Advance Security in America, said the memo underscores how highly the Biden administration prioritized its gender identity policies.
“The fact that the Biden administration published this guidance at all is troublesome, but that it was applied to the tip of the spear of the U.S. Army, giving our warriors yet another thing to worry about as they train to fight and kill the enemy, is extremely concerning,” Mr. Fitzpatrick told The Times. “The Biden administration was more concerned with indoctrinating our military with woke gender ideology than it was with recruitment and training, a misplaced priority that led to many failures over the course of its disastrous tenure in office.”
U.S. Army Special Operations Command spokesperson Jacqueline Hill said in a statement to The Times that the command deeply values the religious liberties of all service members.
“Our chaplains play a vital role in advising commanders on the moral, ethical, and spiritual well-being of the force, to include highlighting potential friction points in policy implementation,” Ms. Hill said. “While we do not comment on leaked or pre-decisional staff correspondence, we continuously work to balance the diverse needs of all service members while maintaining robust religious accommodations and unwavering mission readiness.”
Rolling back the Biden administration’s gender identity framework and other related policies became a core piece of President Trump’s 2024 presidential campaign. Since Mr. Trump returned to office, his defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, has zeroed in on that goal.
“This administration has done a great deal from Day 1 to remove the social justice, politically correct and toxic ideological garbage that had infected our department, to rip out the politics,” Mr. Hegseth said during a speech to troops Sept. 30 at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia. “No more identity months, DEI offices, dudes in dresses. No more climate change worship. No more division, distraction or gender delusions. No more debris.”
Mr. Hegseth also announced Sept. 30 the creation of the Office of Religious Affairs, intended to provide chaplains a direct channel to the secretary of defense.
Specific concerns outlined in the 2023 memo included whether some service members could face a moral conflict if they felt compelled or directly ordered to use pronouns that conflict with an individual’s biological sex.
“For religious service members, the requirement to use pronouns that contradict their religious beliefs imposes a burden on their conscience,” the memo reads. “It can lead to mental and spiritual anguish, forcing them to choose between compromising their faith or facing potential exclusion.”
The memo also outlined concerns about restroom access, which was a white-hot social flash point across America at the time.
“Allowing biological males into female restrooms poses potential risks to physical safety and may create discomfort and distress for individuals with modesty concerns,” the memo says. “Child safety may also be compromised in shared bathrooms, raising further concerns.”
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