The United States Army defends the presence of a color guard at a national religious conference for Christianity that included Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth as the keynote speaker, calling its presence “patriotic” and “neutral” from endorsing particular beliefs. The National Religious Broadcasters (NRB), the self-described largest association of Christian communicators, welcomed Hegseth to orate to during its NRB Freedom 250 Celebration on Feb. 19, as part of its broader 2026 International