Hegseth’s lack of experience at a time when our military is already responding to two wars is seriously alarming. UPDATED.

In March, 2018, when Hegseth was reportedly under consideration to be Veterans Affairs Secretary, I wrote, based on reporting from APM Reports that Hegseth has no experience running a large organization. Furthermore, the management experience he does have indicates a history of putting unqualified personnel in high positions and a questionable use of funds. As a Fox News host, Hegseth has not gotten any more management experience, much less of a large military force like the U.S.’

Here's how Fox News describes his time at the network:

"Pete Hegseth has been an exceptional host on FOX & Friends and FOX Nation and a best-selling author for FOX News Books for nearly a decade. His insights and analysis especially about the military resonated deeply with our viewers and made the program the major success that it is today. We are extremely proud of his work at FOX News and wish him the best of luck in Washington."

Politico did not directly mention Hegseth’s lack of management experience but it suggested that Hegseth was picked for ideological reasons and hinted that he’ll likely be over his head:

Trump said that Hegseth’s recent book “The War on Our Warriors” played a role in his pick. “The book reveals the leftwing betrayal of our Warriors, and how we must return our Military to meritocracy, lethality, accountability, and excellence,” Trump added.

…

Hegseth is a decorated Army combat veteran who has been a Fox News host for the past eight years and was a top contender to be Trump’s secretary of Veterans Affairs in his first administration before Trump tapped David Shulkin for the role in 2017.

If confirmed, Hegseth would helm a defense establishment overstretched by its response to wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. At the same time, many GOP lawmakers and former Trump officials are urging the United States to expand its military footprint in the Indo-Pacific to confront China — what will likely be a top priority for the second Trump administration.

Then there’s the morality or lack of it – and I’m not talking about Hegseth’s “family values” hypocrisy.

My December 23, 2020 post notes that Hegseth successfully lobbied Trump to pardon military contractors who were convicted of slaughtering 14 unarmed Iraq citizens:

The Washington Post explains what happened in 2007, as part of the U.S. Operation Iraqi Freedom:

Investigators for the military and the FBI later described the shootings, in which the contractors unleashed a blaze of gunfire and grenade explosions in a busy Baghdad square, as unprovoked and unjustified. Federal prosecutors said that many of the victims, including women and children, some with their hands in the air, “were shot inside of civilian vehicles while attempting to flee.”

But Hegseth, who has claimed that the U.S. “liberated” Iraq, thinks the murderers were the real victims. After successfully lobbying Trump for pardons for a previous batch of war criminals, Hegseth was named by the White House as a supporter of this one.

Hegseth's appointment was just announced about two hours ago. So we can hope that the media will catch up on what a poor choice Hegseth is. But so far, there’s not much. The New York Times described him as “a dedicated supporter of Mr. Trump during his first term, defending his interactions with the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, embracing his ‘America First’ agenda of trying to withdraw U.S. troops from abroad and energetically taking up the cause of combat veterans accused of war crimes.” (my emphases)

I am speechless.

11/13/24 update: Priscilla reminded me that Fox fans wanted to bomb the Michigan city of Hamtramck after Pete Hegseth deliberately stoked Islamaphobic smears there.

Pete Hegseth's smear of a Michigan city 

(H/T to NewsHound Brian for reminding me about my 2018 post)

(Hegseth photo by Gage Skidmore from Surprise, AZ, United States of America, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)