what did hegseth do in the military

Pete Hegseth served as an infantry officer in the United States Army National Guard after graduating from Princeton University in 2003 via ROTC. He completed basic training at Fort Benning and was stationed at Guantanamo Bay for 11 months as a platoon leader guarding detainees. Hegseth volunteered and served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. In Iraq, he served as an infantry officer with the 101st Airborne Division, leading a platoon and later serving as a civil affairs officer working with local councils. He was awarded two Bronze Star Medals and other military honors during his deployments. Later, he taught counterinsurgency tactics at the Counterinsurgency Training Center in Kabul, Afghanistan. He served in the Minnesota and District of Columbia Army National Guards and left active reserve service in 2024. Throughout his military career, Hegseth rose to the rank of major.