The Honorable Pete Hegseth is the 29th Secretary of Defense,
sworn in on Jan. 25, 2025.
Hegseth was commissioned as an infantry officer in the U.S. Army
National Guard after graduating from Princeton University in 2003. He
participated in a number of active-duty deployments during his time in service,
including operations in Guantanamo Bay, Iraq and Afghanistan. Hegseth also
served in multiple staff positions in the National Guard.
Hegseth's military awards include two Bronze Star Medals, the Joint Commendation Medal, two Army Commendation Medals, the Combat Infantryman Badge (CIB) and the Expert Infantryman Badge (EIB). He has authored five books, including the New York Times best-seller The War on Warriors (2024).
Secretary Hegseth's Message to the Force
Jan. 25, 2025
It is the privilege of a lifetime to lead
the warriors of the Department of Defense, under the leadership of our
Commander in Chief Donald J. Trump. We will put America First, and we will
never back down.
The President gave us a clear mission: achieve Peace through Strength. We will
do this in three ways — by restoring the warrior ethos, rebuilding our
military, and reestablishing deterrence.
o We will revive the warrior ethos and restore trust in our
military. We are American warriors. We will defend our country. Our
standards will be high, uncompromising, and clear. The strength of our military
is our unity and our shared purpose.
o We will rebuild our military by matching threats to
capabilities. This means reviving our defense industrial base, reforming our
acquisition process, passing a financial audit, and rapidly fielding emerging
technologies. We will remain the strongest and most lethal force in the
world.
o We will reestablish deterrence by defending our homeland —
on the ground and in the sky. We will work with allies and partners to deter
aggression in the Indo-Pacific by Communist China, as well as supporting the
President’s priority to end wars responsibly and reorient to key threats. We
will stand by our allies — and our enemies are on notice.
All of this will be done with a focus on lethality, meritocracy,
accountability, standards, and readiness.
I have committed my life to warfighters and their families. Just as my
fellow soldiers had my back on the battlefield, know that I will always have
your back. We serve together at a dangerous time. Our enemies will
neither rest nor relent. And neither will we. We will stand
shoulder to shoulder to meet the urgency of this moment.
Like each of you, I love my country and swore an oath to defend the
Constitution. We will do that each and every day, as one team. Together
we will accomplish the President’s mission to deter war, and if necessary,
defeat and destroy our enemies. Godspeed!
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