Pete Hegseth Defense Secretary Nomination: Right for the Job

I must confess that I did not have Pete Hegseth as Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary on my bingo card. I was aware that he was a regular on Fox News, but I was not really familiar with him. Of course, Hegseth is being criticized for his lack of qualifications. He is also being subjected to the obligatory charge of sexual misconduct, à la Brett Kavanaugh. Whether this will derail his nomination remains to be seen. But there is a strong case to be made for him or someone like him.

It is undeniable that Hegseth lacks the sort of background one might expect of the person who’s meant to run the largest bureaucracy in the world, with a budget of $841 billion. In addition, he is not a member of the “national security clerisy” from which so many of past SecDefs have been drawn. But he is not without accomplishments: He has served extended periods on active duty as a commissioned officer in the National Guard. He has multiple deployments under his belt and holds the Combat Infantryman Badge, which recognizes the unique contribution of the infantry soldier, whose mission is “to close with and destroy” the enemy. He was twice awarded the Bronze Star Medal. And for those who are impressed with academic credentials, he holds two degrees from Ivy League schools.

About the Author

Mackubin Thomas Owens

Mackubin Thomas Owens is a senior national security fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute , editing its journal Orbis from 2008 to 2020. A Marine Corps infantry veteran of the Vietnam War, he was a professor of national security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College from 1987 to 2015. He is the author of US Civil–Military Relations after 9/11: Renegotiating the Civil-Military Bargain.

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Pete Hegseth

I must confess that I did not have Pete Hegseth as Donald Trump’s pick for defense secretary on my bingo card. I was aware that he was a regular on Fox News, but I was not really familiar with him. Of course, Hegseth is being criticized for his lack of qualifications. He is also being subjected to the obligatory charge of sexual misconduct, à la Brett Kavanaugh. Whether this will derail his nomination remains to be seen. But there is a strong case to be made for him or someone like him.

It is undeniable that Hegseth lacks the sort of background one might expect of the person who’s meant to run the largest bureaucracy in the world, with a budget of $841 billion. In addition, he is not a member of the “national security clerisy” from which so many of past SecDefs have been drawn. But he is not without accomplishments: He has served extended periods on active duty as a commissioned officer in the National Guard. He has multiple deployments under his belt and holds the Combat Infantryman Badge, which recognizes the unique contribution of the infantry soldier, whose mission is “to close with and destroy” the enemy. He was twice awarded the Bronze Star Medal. And for those who are impressed with academic credentials, he holds two degrees from Ivy League schools.

About the Author

Mackubin Thomas Owens

Mackubin Thomas Owens is a senior national security fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute , editing its journal Orbis from 2008 to 2020. A Marine Corps infantry veteran of the Vietnam War, he was a professor of national security affairs at the U.S. Naval War College from 1987 to 2015. He is the author of US Civil–Military Relations after 9/11: Renegotiating the Civil-Military Bargain.