Overview
- At a Pentagon worship service Wednesday, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth recited a prayer that closely matched the movie’s fictionalized Ezekiel 25:17 monologue.
- Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said Thursday the passage was a custom Combat Search and Rescue prayer inspired by the film and reflective of Ezekiel 25:17, and Hegseth has not issued a retraction.
- Hegseth tied the lines to “CSAR 25:17” and the Sandy-1 call sign, describing it as a prayer used before a recent mission to rescue downed U.S. aircrew in Iran.
- The clip drew wide online attention and renewed church–state concerns, as Americans United has sued over Pentagon-hosted worship services that the group says pressure federal workers.
- The film speech diverges from the actual Bible verse and traces to a 1970s Japanese movie, which helps explain why the widely quoted wording differs from scripture.