5 Things to Know About Pete Hegseth, Trump’s Choice for Secretary of Defense

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Army combat veteran and longtime Fox News host Pete Hegseth to be the next secretary of defense.
“I am honored to announce that I have nominated Pete Hegseth to serve in my Cabinet as The Secretary of Defense,” Trump said in a Nov. 12 statement. “Pete has spent his entire life as a Warrior for the Troops, and for the Country. Pete is tough, smart and a true believer in America First. With Pete at the helm, America’s enemies are on notice.”
If Hegseth is confirmed by the Senate as the next defense secretary, he will serve as the military’s top civilian leader under the president and will oversee the day-to-day efforts of the military.
His nomination occurs at a time when the U.S. military is transitioning from the counterterrorism and counterinsurgency operations that have come to define the Global War on Terror era to a renewed focus on conflicts with peer and near-peer adversaries such as Russia and China, whose actions in certain regions have complicated U.S. counterterrorism and security interests.
According to a copy of his service record shared with The Epoch Times, Hegseth’s unit did a rotation through Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba, from June 2004 to April 2005. The base has served as a detention facility for foreign terror suspects throughout the Global War on Terror era.
After that Guantanamo Bay deployment, Hegseth’s unit deployed to Iraq from September 2005 to July 2006. His unit deployed to Afghanistan from May 2011 to January 2012.
In the course of his military service, Hegseth twice earned the Bronze Star. His other awards and decorations include the Joint Service Commendation Medal, two Army Commendation Medals, three Army Reserve Components Achievement Medals, the National Defense Service Medal with a Bronze Service Star, an Afghanistan Campaign Medal with two campaign stars, an Iraq Campaign Medal with two campaign stars, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Armed Forces Reserve Medal with “M” Device, the Army Service Ribbon, two Overseas Service Ribbons, the D.C. National Guard Emergency Service Ribbon, a NATO Medal, a Joint Meritorious Unit Award, a Combat Infantryman Badge, and an Expert Infantryman Badge.
Hegseth has authored several books focusing on military and political issues. He also has been a mainstay on Fox News, providing political commentary across the network’s various daytime and primetime programs.
“Everything about men and women serving together makes the situation more complicated, and complication in combat means casualties are worse,” Hegseth said.
Hegseth voiced support for firing military leaders deemed to be too focused on advancing political causes, up to and including the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
Hegseth said the U.S. military’s method for modernizing its arsenal is partly to blame for the declining probability of success in such a conflict.
“The way our bureaucratic system works, the speed of weapons procurement works, we’re always a decade behind in fighting the last war,” he said.
Hegseth said he has been a “recovering neocon” for the past six years, and he lamented “the foolishness with which [the United States] ricocheted around the world intervening” and “created something worse in almost every single scenario.”
Referring to the current conflict between Russia and Ukraine, Hegseth said, “The last thing I want is my son deploying to the Donbas, to defend eastern Ukraine.”
Trump has said he would prefer to quickly bring an end to the current Russia–Ukraine conflict through negotiations.