Still serving · 2025–
Pete Hegseth
Secretary of War
Princeton infantry officer. Two Bronze Stars. Combat Infantryman Badge. The Pentagon, then the Department of War, under a man who actually deployed.
- On the file
- 4
- Of 13
- 4
- The building
- In
Career
Awards, firsts, the work
Commissioned out of Princeton
Princeton 2003, Army ROTC, infantry. Minnesota Army National Guard, then later the D.C. Guard. He did not stay a weekend warrior. The deployments came.
SourceDepartment of WarGuantánamo, Iraq, Afghanistan
A tour at Guantánamo. A platoon in Iraq with the Rakkasans. Counterinsurgency instruction in Kabul. Three theaters, infantry, not a desk. He left the Guard a major.
SourceEncyclopaedia BritannicaTwo Bronze Stars, CIB, EIB
The official bio lists two Bronze Star Medals, a Joint Service Commendation Medal, two Army Commendation Medals, the Combat Infantryman Badge, and the Expert Infantryman Badge. That is the rack. It is why veterans in the building do not have to ask whether he has been shot at.
SourceDepartment of War29th Secretary of Defense, then of War
Sworn January 25, 2025. The department’s name changed September 5, 2025. A Fox & Friends host with a combat badge running the largest agency in the government is the point of the appointment.
SourceDepartment of War