Pete Hegseth

Pete Hegseth
Personal details
Born Peter Brian Hegseth
(1980-06-06) June 6, 1980
Minneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Political party Republican
Alma mater Princeton University (BA)
Awards Bronze Star (2)
Army Commendation Medal (2)
Expert Infantryman Badge
Combat Infantryman Badge
Military service
Allegiance  United States
Service/branch  United States Army
Years of service 2003–2014
Rank Major
Unit United States Army National Guard
Individual Ready Reserve
Battles/wars Iraq War
War in Afghanistan

Peter Brian Hegseth (born June 6, 1980) is a former executive director of Vets For Freedom and was a senior counterinsurgency instructor at the Counterinsurgency Training Center in Kabul with the Minnesota National Guard in 2011–2012.[1] Hegseth is a FOX News Channel contributor[2] and lost the Republican party endorsement for the United States Senate election in Minnesota, 2012, to Kurt Bills. He was formerly the CEO of Concerned Veterans for America but separated with the organization. As of December 4, 2016, it is reported that Hegseth is being considered for the head of the United States Department of Veteran Affairs in the incoming administration of Donald Trump.

Life and work

Hegseth attended Forest Lake Area High School in Forest Lake, Minnesota, and received his Bachelor of Arts at Princeton University in 2003.[3] At Princeton, Hegseth was the editor of the Princeton Tory, a conservative student-run publication.

Following graduation, Hegseth was commissioned as an infantry officer into the U.S. Army National Guard in 2003. In 2004 his unit was called to Guantánamo Bay, where he served as an infantry platoon leader. He was awarded the Army Commendation Medal. Shortly after returning from Cuba, Hegseth volunteered to serve in Baghdad and Samarra, where he held the position of infantry platoon leader and, later in Samarra, of civil–military operations officer. During his time in Iraq, he was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, and a second Army Commendation Medal.

Hegseth's civilian employment during his nondeployment National Guard service before 2007 was with Bear Stearns.

Upon return from Iraq, Hegseth worked briefly at the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research. In 2007, he left the conservative think tank to work at Vets For Freedom as executive director. At that time, the organization had no staff, limited membership, and no budget. By 2008, after 18 months the group had grown to 95,000 members with a $9 million budget and a dozen staff members. While leading Vets For Freedom from 2007 to 2010, he was also a Fox News Channel military analyst and made multiple television appearances on the Fox News Channel, CNN, and MSNBC.[4][5][6] Hegseth is also a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a contributor to the National Review Online, as well as the author of many editorials in The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, New York Post, and The Washington Times.

Personal life

Hegseth was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and raised in Forest Lake, Minnesota. He married his second wife, Samantha, in the spring of 2010. The couple had a son, Gunner, in June 2010 and a second son, Boone, in August 2012.

Education

Awards, decorations, and badges

Bronze Star
Army Commendation Medal
   Expert Infantryman Badge
  Combat Infantryman Badge

References

  1. ↑ Vets for Freedom Retrieved February 23, 2012.
  2. ↑ http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/personalities/pete-hegseth/bio/#s=h-l
  3. ↑ Riese, Clint. "Hegseth weighing U.S. Senate bid". The Forest Lake Times. Retrieved 2014-07-14.
  4. ↑ "Vets for Freedom". Vets for Freedom. Retrieved 2014-07-14.
  5. ↑ http://query.nictusa.com/dcdev/fectxt/364506.txt
  6. ↑ http://query.nictusa.com/dcdev/fectxt/441451.txt

External links

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