Hegseth is a retired Army National Guard major and combat veteran turned author and political commentator.
President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Army combat veteran and longtime Fox News host Pete Hegseth as his pick 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. 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,” Trump said in a Nov. 12 press statement.
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 counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency 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. counter-terrorism and security interests.
Hegseth would have to come up to speed on multiple fronts, at a time when the U.S. military is coordinating with allies and partners to bolster Ukraine in an active war with Russia, dealing with a series of overlapping conflicts throughout the Middle East, and as China is rapidly expanding its military presence in the Indo-Pacific region.
A Combat Veteran
Hegseth, 44, brings experience as a combat veteran to the equation.
While studying at Princeton, Hegseth was commissioned as an officer in the Minnesota Army National Guard. He joined the service in October 2002 and served as an infantry officer.
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 of 2004 to April of 2005. The base has served as a detention facility for foreign terror suspects throughout the Global War on Terror era.
By Ryan Morgan
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