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U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced the creation of an Office of Religious Affairs at the Department of Defense on September 30, 2026.
multiple outlets, traced to a single source · Reported fact · first recorded Oct 2, 9:30 PM
Although several outlets carry this claim, their reporting traces back to a single shared source — so it counts as one confirmation, not several.
How each outlet reported it
SnopesFact-checker · Oct 2, 9:01 PM
U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced the creation of an Office of Religious Affairs at the Department of Defense on Sept. 30, 2026
Cites: Pete Hegseth, Sean Parnell · Details: September 30, 2026; Office of Religious Affairs; State of the Force address
SnopesFact-checker · Oct 2, 9:01 PM
A memo issued on the same day as the announcement confirmed the creation of the Office of Religious Affairs
Cites: Hegseth memo · Details: September 30, 2026; Office of Religious Affairs
SnopesFact-checker · Oct 8, 11:01 AM
Hegseth announced he was creating an Office of Religious Affairs at the Pentagon and initiating 'Project Meridian' in a Sept. 30 address
Details: 'State of the Force' address; Project Meridian described as effort to study future of warfare