Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth removed the head of the Army’s chaplain corps and two other generals during Holy Week as he navigates the ongoing conflict with Iran and continues reforms of the chaplaincy.
Maj. Gen. William Green Jr., who belongs to the National Baptist Convention, began serving as chief of chaplains for the Army on June 20, 2023, and was formally appointed to the position on Dec. 5, 2023. He was the third Black American to hold the position.
Green was formally removed on April 2, 2026, three days before Easter. A Defense Department official confirmed his removal with EWTN News but did not offer a reason for his removal. No reason has been publicly stated, and Green has not publicly commented on his removal.
The Rev. Razz Waff, executive director of the Military Chaplains Association, told EWTN News that Green’s removal is “unprecedented,” noting that chiefs are appointed to “four-year statutory, written-in-law terms.”
“Really, there should be a for-cause reason, and in this case there is no for-cause reason,” Waff said, adding that he believes Green “was doing an absolutely great job.”
With the conflict in Iran ongoing, Waff said “changing senior leaders is always a little risky.” He said the stable leadership provided by Green “will be missed” but that “Army senior chaplains will meet the challenge — I’m sure of that.”
The removal of Green — and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George and Army Transformation and Training Command Commanding Gen. David M. Hodne — comes more than a month after President Donald Trump began military attacks on Iran. Over the past 14 months, Hegseth has removed more than a dozen senior military officials.
It’s unclear whether Green’s removal is related to Iran policy, whether it is related to Hegseth’s broader efforts to reform the chaplaincy, or whether the reason is entirely different.
In mid-2025, under former president Joe Biden, Green introduced “The Army Spiritual Fitness Guide,” which Hegseth scrapped in December. At the time, Hegseth said the guide promoted “secular humanism,” only referenced God once, and never referenced virtue.
When Hegseth halted use of the guide, he said: “Our chaplains are chaplains, not emotional support officers, and we’re going to treat them as such.”
In January, Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, spoke in favor of Hegseth removing the guide, similarly condemning efforts to “reduce the chaplaincy to either … social work or cheerleading, none of which is really the chaplain’s job.”
“[Hegseth] definitely wants to return the chaplaincy to responsibility for religious services, religious instruction, and advising the commanders,” Broglio said at the time.
The archdiocese did not respond to a request for comment about Green’s removal.
Sen. Chris Coons, D-Delaware, criticized Hegseth’s removal of Green in a post on X, noting it was done “without explanation” and called Green “a decorated leader who tended to our military’s spiritual health with honor and distinction.”
“This purge of senior military leaders should alarm every American,” Coons said. “With no clear path to ending the war in Iran, experience and trusted leadership matter more than ever. Instead, Trump and Hegseth are pushing out senior officers for seemingly no valid reason.”
Pentagon omits Catholic Good Friday service
The Pentagon, which headquarters the Department of Defense (DOD), which Hegseth has called the Department of War, held Protestant services on Good Friday but did not hold a Catholic Good Friday service.
A Pentagon official told EWTN News that the Pentagon chaplain office’s priest was not in town on Good Friday, so no service was scheduled. However, Catholic Masses are routinely offered to employees.
“Catholic Masses are held on a daily basis in the Pentagon,” the official said. “Additionally, the Pentagon Chaplain Office holds weekly services for several major religions. … Every service is open to all department employees.”
The board of the Catholic Military Apostolate of the United States (CMA-US) said in a statement to EWTN News: “We understand that the regular Catholic chaplain assigned to the Pentagon was not present that day. If a Catholic liturgical service is normally offered there and could not be held because other arrangements were not made, that is disappointing.”
“At the same time, moments like this demonstrate precisely why the work of lay apostolates such as CMA-US is so essential,” the statement read. “When chaplains are unavailable to lead formal services, actively involved Catholic lay people living in community within the military can — and must — come together to pray, learn, and sustain the faith life of their brothers and sisters in uniform.”
In January, Broglio said the Archdiocese for the Military Services, USA, has been facing a priest shortage. At the time, he said the archdiocese has about 190 priests, but “we should probably have about 500 to actually meet the needs.”
