Hegseth, a staunch opponent of DEI initiatives and former guard at Guantanamo Bay, has less leadership experience than Secretary Austin, and critics have called him “unqualified.”
America’s next secretary of defense could be starkly different from what the country has ever seen before.
On Tuesday, just a day after Veterans Say, Preisdent-elect Donald Trump selected Pete Hegseth, 44, a former FOX News commentator and former Army National guardsman, to lead one of the world’s most powerful militaries.
Hegseth will succeed Secretary-General Lloyd Austin III, the nation’s first Black Secretary of Defense, a historic choice made by President Joe Biden in 2021.
Austin, 71, is a four-star general with 41 years of service in the Army. He earned a Silver Star for his leadership in the Iraq War and later oversaw all combat operations in Iraq as commanding general of United States Forces, as well as military operations in Afghanistan in the 2010s.
Hegseth, a Trump loyalist who previously influenced the former president to pardon a group of military members accused of war crimes, has been outspoken against women serving in combat and is critical of what he calls a “woke” military.
“Any general, any admiral, whatever, with a connection to DEI or ‘woke sh-t’ has got to go,” Hegseth was quoted saying on a recent podcast.
Hegseth is also a graduate of Princeton and Harvard — universities often critiqued by conservatives as bastions of the “liberal elite.” He first served in the Minnesota National Guard while working in finance. A year later, he was deployed to Guantanamo Bay as an infantry platoon leader.
After he completed tours in Baghdad, Hegseth transitioned into political work, forming a conservative group called Vets For Freedom and moving into TV commentary.
Richard Brookshire, an Army and National Guard veteran and CEO of the Black Veterans Project, respectfully acknowledged Hegseth’s service, which includes earning a Bronze Star Medal. However, Brookshire questions the balance between Hegseth’s experience and the seniority required for the role.
“I think it is concerning that they’re choosing someone with no real experience at the helm of the top parts of the military — it’s an industrial complex you have to manage like anything else,” Brookshire told theGrio.
Brookshire also noted that the DEI efforts frequently slandered by conservatives like Hegseth have been essential to ensuring that qualified candidates like Secretary Austin aren’t overlooked.
“The other day, I attended the veterans’ breakfast at the White House, and seeing Secretary Austin and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs in person made me reflect on how they achieved their positions — not because they didn’t do great work because they absolutely did — but due to concerted recruitment efforts in the Black community dating back to the ’70s,” said Brookshire. “There was a commitment to provide pathways that hadn’t existed, and now there’s an attempt to dismantle those affirmative action efforts.”
Bakari Sellers, CNN political analyst, echoed the concerns of many Americans regarding Trump’s recent cabinet picks, but particularly Hegseth.
“People argue about DEI and lack of qualifications, then rave about Pete Hegseth being placed over the most powerful military in the world,” Sellers tweeted. “Watching mediocrity being rewarded is the hallmark of the Trump Administration.”
The Department of Defense oversees a budget of approximately $842 billion, according to the department’s website.
Brookshire expressed concern that with President-elect Donald Trump and a potential secretary of defense who are so hostile to diversity efforts, legitimate issues like racial disparities in disability compensation for veterans will continue to be overlooked.
For Black veterans, this could be life-changing.
“My biggest concern sometimes is that the civil rights ecosystem doesn’t pay attention to the military-industrial complex. And as far as I can see, the veterans ecosystem doesn’t give a damn about Black vets. So there’s no one really filling this gap of advocacy,” said Brookshire.
Hegseth will need to be confirmed by the Senate before officially succeeding Austin as Secretary of Defense.
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