Hegseth Orders Overhaul of Military Chaplain Corps
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth this week ordered broad changes to the US military’s chaplain corps, directing the services to refocus chaplains on religious ministry rather than what he described as therapeutic or “self-care” roles.
Hegseth said chaplains should prioritize faith and spiritual guidance and announced a top-down cultural shift to place spiritual well-being alongside mental and physical health.
We are going to make the Chaplain Corps great again. pic.twitter.com/xbKZBdbiSR
— Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) December 17, 2025
Hegseth ordered the Army to immediately stop using its current spiritual fitness guide, criticizing it for promoting secular concepts and minimizing references to God. He also said the Department of Defense will replace its current list of recognized religious affiliation codes, which includes hundreds of belief systems, with a streamlined version intended to better support chaplain ministry.
Further reforms are expected in the coming weeks.
Watchdog Finds Army, Navy Misclassified Low-Scoring Recruits
The US Army and Navy improperly classified recruits with low entrance exam scores, allowing both services to exceed a legal cap on underperforming enlistees, according to a Department of Defense Inspector General report released on Thursday.
The watchdog said the services miscalculated Category IV enlistments, which are limited by law to 4 percent of total accessions unless approved by the defense secretary and reported to Congress.
The report found the Navy used unregulated academic and fitness development programs to raise recruits’ test scores without reporting their original results, resulting in Category IV enlistments reaching 11.3 percent in fiscal 2025.
The Army also exceeded the statutory limit, though details were not specified.
The DoD OIG identified systemic issues with the ways the Army & Navy calculate recruits who participate in prep courses. If the calculations are incorrect, then the Services risk creating a quality gap & degradation of overall readiness & lethality. https://t.co/ne2etcQLtS pic.twitter.com/a3Piz9Tmih
— DoD Office of Inspector General (@DoD_IG) December 16, 2025
The Pentagon disputed the findings, arguing the law allows the use of improved scores, while the inspector general recommended clearer guidance and oversight to ensure compliance with congressional requirements.
Trump Honors Iowa Guardsmen, Interpreter Killed in Syria Attack
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday attended the dignified transfer of two Iowa National Guard soldiers and a US civilian interpreter killed in an attack in eastern Syria, meeting privately with their families at Dover Air Force Base.
The soldiers, Sergeant Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar and Sergeant William Nathaniel Howard, were members of the Iowa National Guard deployed as part of the US-led mission against the Islamic State group. Civilian interpreter Ayad Mansoor Sakat also died in the attack, which wounded three additional Guardsmen.
The remains were returned to the United States in a formal military ceremony attended by senior defense officials and Iowa leaders.
President Donald J. Trump and @SecWar attend the dignified transfer honoring the three American heroes killed in Syria. 🇺🇸🙏
Sgt. Edgar Brian Torres-Tovar, Iowa National Guard
Sgt. William Nathaniel Howard, Iowa National Guard
Ayad Mansoor Sakat, U.S. Civilian Interpreter pic.twitter.com/SDNg1SIrRK
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) December 17, 2025
The Pentagon said the attack is under investigation and that the assailant was killed.
Trump said he would respond to the attack and praised the service of those killed, marking the first US combat deaths since early 2024.
Ex-US Soldier Gets Life for Double Murder Linked to Venezuela Plot
A former US Army soldier was sentenced to life in prison for killing a Florida couple during a robbery intended to fund his plan to fight in Venezuela, federal prosecutors said on Tuesday.
Craig Austin Lang, 35, received two consecutive life sentences after a September conviction on charges including conspiracy to commit robbery, discharging a firearm resulting in death, and conspiracy to kill people in a foreign country.
Prosecutors said Lang killed the couple after luring them with an online gun sale and stealing $3,000 before attempting to travel to Venezuela to join armed conflict.
Lang, who was extradited from Ukraine in 2024, had a history of seeking out foreign wars after leaving the Army in 2014. His accomplice, also a former soldier, was convicted separately and received the same sentence.
Former Marine Arrested En Route to New Orleans in Alleged Terror Plot
Federal authorities arrested a former US Marine on Friday as he drove toward New Orleans with firearms, body armor, and a gas canister, alleging he intended to carry out a terrorist attack.
Micah James Legnon, 28, of New Iberia, Louisiana, was charged in federal court with making threats in interstate commerce and remains in custody. Investigators said Legnon was linked to the Turtle Island Liberation Front, a group described by federal officials as far-left, pro-Palestinian, and anti-government.
NEW: The fifth person arrested in connection with the foiled New Year’s Eve bombing plot in Southern California is a tr*nsgender Marine veteran who expressed a desire to “recreate Waco” against ICE agents, according to reporting by The Post Millennial’s Andy Ngo.
Micah James… pic.twitter.com/jaGuzT8VLu
— RedWave Press (@RedWave_Press) December 17, 2025
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) placed Legnon under surveillance after related arrests in California and intercepted him following online threats referencing violence against federal agents. Searches of his vehicle, home, and phone uncovered assault weapons, ammunition, and tactical training materials.
Authorities said Legnon’s military background and online communications heightened concerns about an imminent attack.
Putin Warns Russia Will Expand War if Peace Terms Are Rejected
Russian President Vladimir Putin warned Wednesday that Moscow will seek to expand its territorial gains in Ukraine if Kyiv and its Western allies reject the Kremlin’s demands in ongoing peace talks.
Speaking to senior military leaders, Putin said Russia prefers a diplomatic settlement but will pursue its goals by force if negotiations fail, claiming Russian troops hold the strategic initiative across the front line.
The warning comes as the United States pushes a draft peace plan amid sharply conflicting positions. Moscow demands international recognition of occupied Ukrainian regions, Ukraine’s withdrawal from additional territory, and an end to Kyiv’s NATO ambitions.
Ukraine has rejected territorial concessions while signaling flexibility on NATO in exchange for firm security guarantees.
President Vladimir Putin said that Russia would take more land in Ukraine by force if Kyiv and European politicians – whom he cast as “young pigs”, or “shoats” – refused to engage over U.S. proposals for a peace settlement.
The Russian president added that European leaders had… pic.twitter.com/021jI1Zpqc
— CGTN Europe (@CGTNEurope) December 17, 2025
As diplomacy continues, Russia signaled plans for further offensives and carried out fresh missile and drone strikes, while Ukraine and Russia both reported intercepting aerial attacks.
Israeli Mortar Strike Wounds Civilians, Strains Gaza Ceasefire
Israeli forces fired a mortar shell into a Palestinian residential area in central Gaza City, wounding at least 10 people and prompting an army investigation, Palestinian health officials and the Israeli military said.
The military said the round veered off course during an operation near the ceasefire “Yellow Line,” which separates Israeli-held areas of Gaza from the rest of the territory.
5) “Yellow line” breaches
•Israel allegedly imposed expanded “fire control zones” far beyond agreed limits:
•North Gaza: 700–1,000 m
•Gaza City: ~1,300 m
•Central Gaza: ~1,150 m
•Khan Younis: ~1,100 m
•Rafah: ~1,000 m
•Hamas says civilians were killed inside these zones… pic.twitter.com/44uY806UZ1
— Drop Site (@DropSiteNews) December 17, 2025
The incident adds to growing strain on the Israel-Hamas ceasefire, with Palestinian officials reporting more than 370 deaths from Israeli fire since the truce began in October.
Israel says its forces respond to Hamas violations and that most casualties are militants, though Israeli officials acknowledge some civilian deaths. Negotiations over the next phase of the ceasefire remain stalled amid disputes over hostages, aid access, and ongoing military activity.
Israel Approves Record $35B Gas Export Deal With Egypt
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday he approved a $35 billion natural gas export agreement with Egypt, the largest energy deal in Israel’s history.
The 15-year deal calls for US energy company Chevron to deliver gas from Israeli offshore fields to Egypt, with roughly half of the proceeds expected to flow to Israel’s state treasury.
Netanyahu said the agreement strengthens Israel’s role as a regional energy power and could help ease strained ties with Egypt after the Gaza war, though Cairo has not yet confirmed the deal.
Bibi announces BIGGEST gas deal in Israel’s history
Almost $35BN deal with Egypt, through ‘American company Chevron’
Netanyahu says only got deal done ‘after I secured security interests in our other vital matters’ pic.twitter.com/UETAepFakd
— RT (@RT_com) December 17, 2025
The announcement came alongside news that Germany approved an expansion of its purchase of Israel’s Arrow 3 missile defense system, raising that defense deal’s value to $6.5 billion and marking Israel’s largest-ever arms export.
Israel Approves 764 New Settlement Homes in West Bank
Israel has approved plans to build 764 additional housing units in three Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, a move likely to heighten tensions with Palestinians and draw further international criticism.
Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Wednesday the approvals cover projects in Hashmonaim, Beitar Illit, and Givat Ze’ev and are part of a broader effort to expand and entrench Israeli settlements.
Palestinian officials condemned the decision as a provocation that undermines prospects for stability and a future Palestinian state, while the watchdog group Peace Now said the government is moving toward de facto annexation of the territory.
@PeaceNowIL Israel’s security cabinet decided (per media reports) to establish 19 new West Bank settlements, including Kadim and Ganim — settlements evacuated under the 2005 disengagement plan. More: https://t.co/ujJlLBtHGL pic.twitter.com/IxGjMtjSOr
— Peace Now (@peacenowisrael) December 15, 2025
The approvals add to more than 51,000 settlement units authorized since Smotrich took office, as settlement expansion and settler violence continue to rise across the West Bank.
New Zealand Airman Honored for Saving US Troops After Jungle Crash
New Zealand Air Force Corporal Abraham Corban-Banks has been formally recognized for rescuing two critically injured US service members after a vehicle rollover during a multinational exercise on Tinian Island in February 2023.
Corban-Banks, a security forces specialist, rushed into the jungle with a US Air Force colleague and provided lifesaving first aid before medical teams arrived. He stabilized one injured American with multiple fractures and signs of internal bleeding and helped prepare her for rapid evacuation aboard a US Air Force’s C-130, while the second casualty was later airlifted by a Japanese helicopter.
New Zealand defense officials credited the quick response by Corban-Banks and allied personnel with saving both lives during the Cope North exercise, which involved forces from five nations.
Myanmar Junta Charges Hundreds as Disputed Election Nears
Myanmar’s military government has charged more than 200 people with violating voting laws ahead of a general election set to begin December 28, intensifying pressure on opponents of the polls.
Authorities said 229 people were targeted in 140 cases for allegedly attempting to disrupt the election process, under a law enacted this year that carries penalties ranging from prison terms to the death penalty.
Critics say the vote will not be free or fair and is designed to legitimize military rule imposed after the 2021 coup that ousted Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government.
AFP | Myanmar’s junta said Wednesday it was seeking to prosecute more than 200 people for “disruption” of its upcoming election, wielding new legislation rights monitors say aims to crush dissent.#WhatsHappeningInMyanmar
Read full story here: https://t.co/RBQJtLF2LD
— Frontier Myanmar (@FrontierMM) December 17, 2025
The election will be held in phases amid ongoing civil conflict, with Suu Kyi’s National League for Democracy barred from participating and many activists, artists, and pro-democracy figures facing arrest or lengthy prison sentences for opposing the process.
Sources: News Agencies
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Evening Brief: Senate Passes $901B Defense Bill, Hegseth Orders Overhaul of Military Chaplain Corps, Russia Warns of Expanded War
Senate advances $901B defense bill as Hegseth reforms chaplains and Putin issues new threats. Here’s what’s making headlines this Wednesday evening.
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