Secretary of War Pete Hegseth signaled Friday that he would challenge a nonprofit’s attempt to halt religious greetings by military personnel at the front gates of Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico.

The Military Religious Freedom Foundation said in a press release Thursday that it received 34 complaints, 24 of which came from practicing Christians, regarding guards saying phrases such as “Have a blessed day” or “God bless you” to people arriving at the base’s gates. The foundation described the practice as a “weeks-long blitz” and said the greetings stopped shortly after it contacted base leadership.

Hegseth called the Military Religious Freedom Foundation a “radical anti-Christian, pro-atheist group that attacks any/all faith” inside the Defense Department in a Friday post on X. “We will never cave to them. The Air Force will confront this,” he wrote.

The complaints involved uniformed security forces at entry gates offering the religious-oriented greetings. The foundation said it acted on behalf of service members who found the practice unacceptable and cited Air Force instructions on balancing religious expression with the Establishment Clause.

Kirtland Air Force Base did not immediately respond to requests for comment on whether the greetings would resume. The base is located in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Hegseth has previously emphasized religious liberty in the military and hosted Christian worship services at the Pentagon since taking office. The department was rebranded as the Department of War in 2025.

The foundation’s founder, Mikey Weinstein, said the intervention resulted in the greetings ending within hours of his contact with base officials on Wednesday.