Pete Hegseth said during his confirmation hearing before a U.S. Senate committee that his profile did not match any of those who preceded him as Secretary of Defense in the past 30 years. That he is a rank outsider is a claim that his supporters and his detractors exaggerate to underscore his qualification and disqualification, as the case may be. Generals, academicians and former executives of defence companies usually made the cut, but he was unique for he has had his boots dirty in the war fields of Iraq and Afghanistan, he told the committee.
A grenade that landed in his vehicle in Iraq did not explode, giving him a second chance at life in which the Princeton graduate has risen to lead the U.S. Defence Department. He now leads three million personnel and oversees a budget of $849 billion. Mr. Hegseth promises to restore warrior ethos in the U.S. military. Mr. Hegseth thinks “a more empathetic and effeminate military” could also be “a more inefficient one”. Reclamation of the warrior culture is at the core of his strategy to rebuilding the U.S. military and re-establishing deterrence.
Mr. Hegesth is also equally a culture warrior who wears his Christian identity, literally, on his sleeve. He sports tattoos of Jerusalem cross and Deus Vult, which means “God wills it” in Latin. Soon after he was nominated by President Donald Trump, Mr. Hegseth had critics questioning his eligibility — his tattoos were cited as a sign of his Christian extremism, while his rather footloose sexual adventurism did not count as mitigating unChristian credentials. Democratic Senators questioned him on his tattoos.
The U.S. military, incidentally, allows its personnel to wear religious symbols — crosses, turbans, beard and hijab. Mr. Hegseth was removed from the contingent to provide protection of the presidential inauguration of Joe Biden in 2021, allegedly for his extremism.
Thrice married, Mr. Hegseth reportedly fathered a child with his third wife while still being married to the second. He also has a strong entanglement with spirits, not exactly the warrior variety, but has reportedly promised Senators to stay off the bottle in the new job. A woman accused him of rape, which Mr. Hegseth says was a consensual encounter.
A police investigation seemed to agree with Mr. Hegseth who agreed to paying the woman to not tell the tale. “.. All glory belongs to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. May His will be done,” he said. As for all his transgressions, “I have failed in things in my life, and thankfully I’m redeemed by my lord and saviour Jesus.”
Association with Trump
Half of the Senate — all Democrats and three Republicans — were not as forgiving as the Lord, and Mr. Hegseth’s nomination ended up in a tie in the confirmation vote on January 24. Mitch McConnel, the ageing and retiring Senator, was among the three Republicans who were clear that Mr. Hegseth is not the chosen one for the job. It took Vice President J.D. Vance’s tie-breaking vote for Mr. Hegseth to win confirmation. But it is President Trump who is the lord and master for Mr. Hegseth.
Their association goes far back as Mr. Trump’s first presidential campaign in 2016. Both believe that threats to American security from the inside are serious. Mr. Hegseth has in the past referred to trans-friendly U.S. policies as “trans-lunacy” and argued for masculine characteristics for the military. He thinks a demographic takeover of the U.S. by Muslims is a risk that needs to be averted by war preparedness, and cultural awakening that reiterates the “Christian fabric” of the country. Diversity drives underscore differences, but what is required for the military is unity of purpose, Mr. Hegseth believes.
The new Secretary of Defense intents to focus on rapidly fielding new technologies for the military and making it easier for new entrants to enter the military industrial complex. He thinks “communist China” and the Indo-Pacific should be the focus of U.S. military strategy. He is entering the Pentagon with all guns blazing, and this could be the toughest battle yet for the veteran.
Published – February 02, 2025 02:47 am IST
