How does Pete Hegseth's experience compare to previous defense secretaries?

The nomination of Pete Hegseth, a Fox News host, former captain in the Army National Guard and President-elect Donald Trump’s stunning choice for defense secretary, has sparked concerns about whether he has the practical experience to manage a large department with an enormous budget.

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Hegseth’s nomination has also left many wondering how his experience compares to people who have previously served. 

RELATED: Trump nominates FOX News host, Army veteran Pete Hegseth for defense secretary

The Defense Department has a budget exceeding $800 billion, with about 1.3 million active-duty troops and another 1.4 million in the National Guard, Reserves and civilian employees based worldwide.

Eric Edelman, who served as the Pentagon’s top policy official during the Bush administration, told Politico that Trump’s decision likely weighed more on loyalty than experience. 

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"[Trump] puts the highest value on loyalty," Edelman said. "It appears that one of the main criteria that’s being used is, how well do people defend Donald Trump on television?"

Who is Pete Hegseth? 

Co-host of Fox News Channel’s "Fox & Friends Weekend," Hegseth, 44, has been a contributor to the network for a decade. He’s a staunch conservative and a close friend of Trump, and he’s also written a number of books, including "The War on Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free." 

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Pete Hegseth’s military experience

Hegseth has served in the military, although he lacks senior military or national security experience.

After graduating from Princeton University in 2003, Hegseth was commissioned as an infantry captain in the Army National Guard, serving overseas in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as at Guantanamo Bay. He was awarded two Bronze Stars and a Combat Infantryman Badge.

Hegseth was formerly head of the Concerned Veterans for America, a group backed by conservative billionaires Charles and David Koch, and also unsuccessfully ran for the Senate in Minnesota in 2012. According to his Fox News bio, he has a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.

How does Pete Hegseth’s military experience compare? 

If confirmed by the Senate, Hegseth would have the least amount of military experience of any defense secretary in recent history, but there are several previous U.S. defense secretaries who never served in the armed forces, according to Smart Politics. Here's how his experience compares to those who have recently served in the role. 

Lloyd Austin

Current Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin served in the military for 41 years, including command at the corps, division, battalion, and brigade levels, according to the Defense Department. Austin was awarded the Silver Star for leading the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division during the invasion of Iraq in 2003.  Seven years later, he was named Commanding General of United States Forces – Iraq, overseeing all combat operations in the country. 

Austin did a tour as the Army’s Vice Chief of Staff before concluding his uniformed service as the Commander of U.S. Central Command, responsible for all military operations in the Middle East and Afghanistan. After retiring from the military, Austin served on the Boards of Directors for Raytheon Technologies, Nucor and Tenet Healthcare.

Mark Esper

Before Austin was sworn in, Mark Esper served as defense secretary from July 2019 through Nov. 9, 2020. Trump fired Esper after he contradicted Trump on several issues. At the time, Esper was considered the least experienced defense secretary in recent memory. 

Esper graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1986, according to the Defense Department. He served in the 101st Airborne Division and the 1990-91 Gulf War, and later commanded a Rifle Company in Vicenza, Italy. 

He retired from the U.S. Army in 2007 after spending 10 years on active duty and 11 years in the National Guard and Army Reserve. While in the military, Esper was awarded the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service, among many other awards and recognitions. 

He also worked for former U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel, and was a senior professional staff member on the Senate Foreign Relations and Senate Government Affairs committees, policy director for the House Armed Services Committee, and national security advisor for former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. He served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Negotiations Policy at the Pentagon under former President George W. Bush. 

Esper was Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of Defense and International Affairs at Aerospace Industries Association from 2006-2007. He was the national policy director to Senator Fred Thompson for his 2008 presidential campaign, and was a Senate-appointed commissioner on the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. Before being nominated as the Secretary of the Army in 2017, Esper was the Vice President for Government Relations at the Raytheon Company.

James Mattis

Former Defense Secretary James Mattis led the Pentagon under Trump before Esper. He resigned in 2019 after Trump announced he would pull U.S. forces out of Syria.  Like Austin, he served in the military for more than 40 years. Mattis commanded Marines at all levels, from an infantry rifle platoon to a Marine Expeditionary Force, according to the Pentagon.  

He led an infantry battalion in Iraq, an expeditionary brigade in Afghanistan, stability operations in Iraq, and was a commander of all U.S. Marine forces in the Middle East. He also served as Senior Military Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense; Director of the Marine Corps Manpower Plans & Policy; Commanding General of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command, and as Executive Secretary to the Secretary of Defense. 

Mattis also led the U.S. Joint Forces Command, NATO’s Supreme Allied Command for Transformation, and U.S. Central Command. 

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