The Pentagon has dramatically reduced the number of religious affiliation codes recognized by the military, trimming the list from more than 200 designations to just 31.
The change was formalized in a memo issued Thursday by Undersecretary of Defense Anthony Tata.
The update follows a directive from War Secretary Pete Hegseth earlier this year requiring military chaplains to wear insignia identifying their religious affiliation rather than insignia displaying rank.
Hegseth first previewed the change in March, noting that while the military maintained more than 200 religious affiliation codes, most service members identified with only a small number of them.
According to Hegseth, a substantial majority of military personnel utilized just six of the available codes.
Read Full Article Here