The military branches will pay for as many as 75 service members to pursue theological degrees under a new Pentagon effort designed to expand the chaplain corps. The initiative lets selected troops remain in uniform while preparing to return to service as chaplains.

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth announced the Chaplain In-Service Procurement Program in a video released late last week. He credited Congress with signing the program into law.

“You’re on active duty, and you’ve got your Bachelor’s. You get to stay in uniform and earn your graduate theological degree. You keep your pay, your allowances, your benefits. Your service branch covers the tuition, and then we get you back as a chaplain,” Hegseth said in the video.

Congress granted the military services authority last year to send service members to school on official military orders so they can earn theological degrees. The fiscal year 2026 defense bill provision allows the services to cover education costs for a limited group of troops pursuing chaplaincy training.

The law also permits another group of service members to receive orders to attend school without having their educational expenses funded. That option expands the potential training pool, although it does not provide the same tuition support.

“Not more than 25 officers and enlisted members from each military department may commence such training in any single fiscal year,” according to the law passed by Congress. With three military departments, the program could fund up to 75 service members.

The Army, Air Force and Navy each operate their own Chaplain Corps. The Air Force supplies chaplains to the Space Force, while the Navy provides chaplains to the Marine Corps and Coast Guard.

An Air Force official said the service will have 25 total positions available to fund chaplaincy education for airmen and guardians. Those positions will be shared between members of the Air Force and Space Force.

A Navy official similarly said the department has a total of 25 applicants covering both sailors and Marines. The Coast Guard directed Task & Purpose to the Navy, which confirmed that Coast Guard members are not eligible for the program.

The program arrives amid several religious policy reforms across the Department of War, including the creation of the new Office of Religious Affairs. Other changes have focused directly on the military’s chaplains and how they perform their roles.

Those changes include orders to remove ranks from chaplains’ uniforms. The Army’s spiritual fitness guide was also discarded after Hegseth described it as giving chaplains too much of a “therapist” role.

Eligibility for the new training pipeline depends on rank and time in service. Officers must be O-3 or below and have served on active duty for between two and eight years.

Enlisted service members must be E-5 or above and have between four and 10 years of active duty service. Enlisted applicants must also be eligible to receive a commission.

According to Navy instructions for the program, selected sailors and Marines must apply to their “desired educational institution.” They must then gain acceptance and submit the graduate program course for final approval.

Chaplains trained through the program will incur additional service obligations established by Congress. Participants serving on active duty must complete two years of service for every year of chaplaincy training, with the obligation capped at six years.

Participants may instead choose Reserve service. Under that option, they must serve three years in the Reserve for every year of training, up to a total obligation of nine years.

The Pentagon must report the program’s progress to Congress beginning in March 2027. That report will include the number of participating service members across the branches, their religious faith, and the total cost of their education, pay and benefits.

The initiative gives qualified troops a military funded route into chaplaincy while keeping their existing pay, allowances and benefits. In return, the services gain chaplains who already have active duty experience and who will owe additional years in uniform or the Reserve.