In his powerful and influential book “The War on Warriors” (Fox News Books, 2024), former Army National Guard major Pete Hegseth devotes a full chapter claiming he was persecuted for his tattoos while in the Guard, turned down from participating in President Joe Biden’s inauguration in 2020. He believes he was singled out as an “extremist” particularly because of his chest tattoo of the Jerusalem Cross (an image that of the Crusades in the 11th and 12th centuries).
His tattoos include a sword and the words “Deus Vult” (“God wills it” –– believed to be a Crusader battle cry), “Chi-Rho” (Greek letters indicating Jesus), the word “Yeshua” (Hebrew for Jesus), and an AR-15 military assault rifle below a stylized American flag. Another is of a cross with a sword (referencing Gospel of Matthew verse of Jesus: “Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.”)
Experts see his tattoos and other messaging as a call for a return to pre-Enlightenment Christianity based on militancy and religious violence –– a call for “revival,” revolution and retribution. A call for theocracy.
Throughout “War on Warriors” Hegseth proclaims his devotion to Jesus Christ and belief in a Christian God –– not the peace-loving, kind, tolerant, and compassionate version, but rather the vengeful, violent, and patriarchal image reflected in the Old Testament and in some stories in the New Testament.
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“The story of Gideon reminds us that we are not only fighting a battle against foreign enemies. Sometimes the fight must begin with a struggle against domestic enemies. Those who would violate the Covenant that binds us as a community of faith and that grants us blessing,” Hegseth proclaims, “But the story of Gideon is a good reminder that readiness means nothing without God.”
Hegseth’s pastor is Doug Wilson, founder of Communion of Reformed Evangelical Churches and the Calvinist leader of Christ Church in Moscow, Idaho and now in Washington D.C. Hegseth has communicated Wilson’s motto and call for theocracy in some of his social media communication: “All of Christ for All of Life” –– including in government.
Wilson calls for making gay marriage illegal, banning abortion, and practicing a male-dominated form of Christianity. Among his followers are many who advocate for repeal of the 19th Amendment (ensuring women's right to vote) and against women serving in traditionally male roles.
Hegseth argues extensively throughout the book that “men are stronger than women.”
He often communicates with cynicism, condescension, and ridicule: “Maybe the power of positive thinking will increase women’s muscle mass.” “We are led by small generals and feeble officers without the courage…” “Not only is Milley an idiot, he is an arrogant ass.” “If only Eisenhower had an out-of-shape transgender officer,” he says sarcastically, “we would have ended World War II before 1944.”
Regarding military women who receive medically indicated abortions, Hegseth believes, “Our DOD and VA help them be baby life takers.” “Thank you for serving your country –– now we will help you kill your unborn child.”
He proclaims, ironically, “Morally bankrupt minds are just doing what they always do: Preaching, reality be damned.” And, "The Left's audacity and hubris allow them to ignore the laws they don't like and then prosecute the people they don't like."
Chapter 5 of this book is titled “The (Deadly) Obsession with Women Warriors.” Written a year before President Trump named him as Secretary of Defense, Hegseth expresses his belief about a woman’s “place” in the military –– in “support roles”:
“Intelligence gathering, chow lines, equipment maintenance, fuel, and medical support are all an essential part of the war effort. They are the difference between bitter defeat and victory. Women have nobly assisted the war effort in dangerous support roles for generations. We know they can do this, but the issue surrounding women in the infantry –– women in combat on purpose –– is another story.
The gender integration of these traditionally male spheres, coupled with our loss of a Christian ethos for God’s creation, means we’ve started to think of men and women as essentially the same animal with different levels of body strength. That’s particularly dangerous when it comes to combat because the differences aren’t just physical.”
There is no mention of the principle reason women in uniform were granted greater equality: to level the playing field in promotion opportunities for the most capable leaders.
The book’s epilogue is Hegseth’s “letter to my sons” (without including his two daughters).
He writes to his sons, “I hope you joint he ranks of American fighting men … a “brotherhood.”
"You are all individuals,” he writes. “Each a child of God –– and soon, I pray, men of God. You grew up in a covenant Christian home, which Is the most important part of who you –– and we –– are. Our eternal home is in Christ’s Kingdom, and we strive to love Him with all our heart, and soul, and mind. While we have breath, we are also charged with advancing His Kingdom here on earth.”
Throughout “War on Warriors,” Hegseth calls for more “manly men” from “farms” and “small towns” to join the military while he rails against those who champion diversity, equity, and inclusion, efforts to ensure the military reflects America’s demographics.
Since becoming Trump's leader of the military, Hegseth has systematically removed senior military and DOD civilian leaders who he sees as "diversity hires" or who oppose his purge of women and minorities.
Senior leaders removed from service by Secretary of Defense Hegseth.
Hegseth blames previous civilian and military leaders of the military (especially former CJCS Milley and former SECNAV Mabus) as well as current flag officers, calling them “cowardly generals caving to beta-male politicians.” He calls it an “unholy alliance between political ideologies and Pentagon pussies,” who he calls “whores to wokesters.” (His emphasis.)
“For the past three years, the Pentagon –– across all branches –– has embraced the social justice messages of gender equity, racial diversity, climate stupidity, vaccine worship, and the LGBTQA+ alphabet soup in their recruiting pushes. Only one problem: there aren’t enough trannies from Brooklyn or lesbians from San Francisco who want to join the 82nd Airborne. Not only do the trannies and lesbians not join, but those very same ads turn off the young patriotic Christian men who have traditionally filled our ranks.”
Some experts see Hegseth’s attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion –– especially his removal of leaders such as CNO Admiral Lisa Franchetti, Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Linda Fagan, CJCS Gen. C.Q. Brown, NATO representative Vice Adm. Shoshana Chatfield, and others –– as signs of patriarchy and white Christian supremacy.
His recently announced restriction on beards can be seen as a way to keep black men out of the military due to a painful skin condition many black men suffer called pseudofolliculitis barbae (PFB), which requires a medical exemption that Hegseth wants to discontinue. He says the military is no place for “beardos.”
Hegseth recounts some of his time as an the Army National Guard officer, serving on multiple deployments in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay. His writing is raw, emotive, and paints a realistic and believable portrayal of life in a combat zone. He describes the sights, sounds, and smells as well as the emotions in the field.
“I was walking on air. Exhilaration that we would be doing something meaningful and kinetic,” he writes.
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His view of the future of humanity seems hopeless and nihilistic. No chance for a peaceful world. “We are flawed. We are sinful. Men will always fight other men.” Therefore, he concludes, we are justified to fight without consideration of rules of engagement, norms, or other constraints, including international laws and even the U.S. Constitution.
“Aren’t we just better off winning our wars according to our own rules?”
“Should we follow the Geneva Conventions? What if we treated the enemy the way they treated us? Would that not be an incentive for the other side to reconsider their barbarism? Hey, Al Qaeda: If you surrender, we might spare your life. If you do not, we will rip your arms off and feed them to hogs.”
It’s notable that in less than a year Hegseth has fired numerous JAG officers, IGs (Inspectors General), and advisors who don’t have his beliefs or who don’t give him the advice he wants. Ultimately, without controls on the executive branch by the legislature, the nation relies on the judiciary to enforce treaties and laws, such as the Posse Comitatus Act prohibiting the use of federal military forces for domestic law enforcement.
Smaller than his Crusades-related tattoos are Hegseth’s inks of nationalist symbols and words include the U.S. Constitution’s famous opening phrase “We the People,” “1775” in Roman numerals (for the American War of Independence), and a “Join, or Die” snake from the American Revolution. He also displays tattoos of a pair of crossed muskets, a circle of stars and a patch of his regiment, the 187th Infantry.
The cover of his book features an image of an upside down American flag patch.
Hegseth expresses his feelings of persecution and grievance after concluding his Christian cross tattoos kept him from being selected for inauguration duty: “Maybe it was too many crosses? Would just one cross be okay? Or does the Army think that all white Christians are white nationalists? Is it all Christians? All whites? All Trump supporters?”
Just as not all republicans are white nationalists or MAGA followers, not all Christians or other god-fearing Americans are in favor of a theocratic government.
In his landmark book “The Individual and the Cosmos in Renaissance Philosophy,” Ernst Cassirer observed this about mainstream believers of the New Testament: “True Christianity does not require that the opponents of the faith be destroyed but that they be convinced through reason, converted through instruction, or be peacefully tolerated.”
Writing about his Jerusalem Cross tattoo, Hegseth asks, “But was this really about a cross? Was this really about one Christian man?”
He concludes with a veiled threat, “What can one Christian man do to dismantle their agenda? Maybe a lot... I guess we'll find out after this book.”
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The Trump administration, with help from Hegseth, is:
- purging ethical leaders and advisors;
- embracing the Confederacy;
- deploying troops to U.S. cities;
- rejecting women in uniform;
- promoting anti-vaccination conspiracies;
- failing to protect the environment;
- attacking the First, Fourth and Tenth Amendments;
- declaring nonexistent emergencies and insurgencies;
- politicizing the military;
- threatening to exert plenary (unrestricted) powers; and
- renaming DOD to Department of War.
All of these tectonic changes seem especially poignant as the Navy, Marine Corps, and Army commemorate 250 year anniversaries in 2025.
Are Trump and Hegseth preparing to combine military branches as other autocrats do?
Will they continue to promote anti-democracy movements in Europe while half-heartedly supporting Ukraine and kowtowing to Putin?
Will they order the military to invade Greenland and/or Canada?
Will they start a war in Central America or the Caribbean and continue blowing up speed boats from Venezuela and Colombia?
Will they shut down freedom of the press, public education, and voting rights?
Bottom line: Will they continue to try to lead the United States toward an authoritarian theocracy?
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