美国战争部长

 

 

The Life of Pete Hegseth

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Here is the English translation of the video's narration:

Pete Hegseth was born on June 6, 1980, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. His father Brian was a high school basketball coach, and his mother Penelope worked as a career counselor. He grew up in nearby Forest Lake. His Norwegian-American background gave him a certain northern resilience. In high school, he was top of his class and excelled at both football and basketball; his three-point record still hangs on the school wall today. The parade before Memorial Day became a childhood scene he often mentioned later—military flags, boots, silent salutes. He later said that back then, he felt he would one day have to wear military uniforms to repay those freedoms.

In 1999, he declined an invitation from West Point Military Academy and chose Princeton University for both basketball and political science. At Princeton, he joined the Army Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) and served as a class senator. More importantly, he became the publisher of the conservative student publication "Princeton Tory." That publication wasn't popular on campus—he wrote and edited many pieces directly challenging mainstream views. Graduating in 2003 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Politics, he was subsequently commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Minnesota Army National Guard. After briefly working as an analyst at Bear Stearns on Wall Street, he was soon drafted.

From 2004 to 2005, he deployed with the New Jersey Army National Guard to Guantanamo Bay, serving as a rifle platoon leader responsible for security and guarding duties. Afterwards, he volunteered to go to Iraq. From 2005 to 2006, as a platoon leader of the 187th Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne Division, he fought and carried out civil-military missions in Baghdad and Samarra. A rocket-propelled grenade once flew past his vehicle without exploding—a specific detail he later recounted when discussing war and trauma. During this deployment, he earned the Bronze Star Medal and Combat Infantryman Badge.

From 2011 to 2012, he again voluntarily went to Afghanistan, serving as a senior instructor at the Kabul Anti-Terrorism Training Center training Afghan security forces. Throughout his military career, he accumulated two Bronze Star Medals and ultimately rose to the rank of Major. He left the National Guard in 2021.

Returning home from the battlefield, he did not choose a quiet retirement life. Starting in 2007, he served as Executive Director of the Freedom Veterans Organization, later leading the Concerned Veterans for America organization for years, pushing for veterans' affairs reform and criticizing Washington bureaucracy. In 2012, he attempted to run for U.S. Senator from Minnesota but withdrew due to internal party primary dynamics. In 2014, he entered Fox News, progressing from commentator to co-host of "Fox & Friends Weekend," holding the position for nearly ten years. On camera, he spoke bluntly, repeatedly emphasizing soldiers' honor, standards, and warrior spirit, openly supporting Donald Trump. He has written several books—"On the Battlefield," "American十字军" ("American Crusaders"), "Modern Warrior," "Winning the American Mind," and "The War Against Warriors." These books repeatedly return to the same theme: the military should not be diluted by political correctness, standards must be unified and rigorous, and a soldier is first and foremost a soldier.

His personal life also experienced ups and downs. He has been married three times. His first wife was high school sweetheart Meredith Schwartz, they married in 2004 and divorced in 2009. His second wife, Samantha Dillin, they married in 2010 and had three children together. Around 2017, their marriage ended due to his relationship with Fox producer Jennifer劳谢 (Jennifer Lausch). They had a daughter in 2017, married in 2019, and he became the stepfather to her previous three children. Now, this blended family consists of seven children. Regarding his drinking, infidelity during marriage, and being accused of sexual assault after an event in Monterey, California in 2017, he insisted it was consensual. Police did not file charges, and they reached a settlement afterward. Towards the end of 2024, after being nominated as Secretary of Defense, he denied the accusations, calling them character assassination. His mother had sent a harsh email in 2018 criticizing how he treated women, but later publicly expressed regret, saying her son had changed.

His intersection with Trump began on the Fox News screen. Early in the 2016 presidential campaign, Hegseth publicly criticized Trump's shallow foreign policy, believing his stance wavered. But after the election results came out, he quickly shifted to support and became a staunch media ally for Trump during his first term. Trump was a loyal viewer of "Fox & Friends Weekend," especially fitting his viewing habits. Hegseth interviewed Trump multiple times on the show, and there were frequent private exchanges during commercial breaks. Late in 2016, Trump's transition team considered appointing him as Secretary of Veterans Affairs, though it ultimately fell through, deepening their relationship. Hegseth privately and publicly lobbied Trump to secure pardons for several U.S. service members accused of war crimes. In 2019, Trump eventually granted pardons to some of them and referred to him as a "warrior" over the phone. This shared stance towards soldiers and mutual disgust toward Pentagon "woke culture" brought them closer. Trump admired his appearance, speech, and loyalty, believing he had dirt on his boots who could pull the military away from what he saw as political correctness, restoring lethality and warrior spirit.

On November 12, 2024, President-elect Trump announced his nomination of him as Secretary of Defense. This choice surprised many people—he lacked experience managing large institutions and held a low military rank. The confirmation process was filled with controversy. The Senate finally passed it 51 to 50, with Vice President JD Vance casting the deciding vote. Three Republican senators voted against it. On January 25, 2025, he was sworn into office, becoming the 29th U.S. Secretary of Defense. Since taking office, he has repeatedly emphasized restoring warrior spirit, raising standards, focusing on lethality and combat readiness rather than what he sees as the "woke agenda."

Looking back on this journey—from the basketball courts of Minnesota to the guard towers of Guantanamo, from street battles in Iraq to television screens, and now the corridors of the Pentagon—Hegseth's life has always been pulled by the same tension: on one side, his defined notions of honor, discipline, and absolute standards; on the other, his own desires, traumas, and imperfections. War gave him medals but also left shadows. Screens gave him voice but amplified cracks. Power gave him positions but couldn't erase the personal costs already incurred. People often expose themselves most thoroughly where they want to prove themselves the most. He believes warriors must be clean-cut yet finds the stains on himself equally clear. Where power and ideals intersect is never a pure peak but muddy ground full of footprints. Those vows trampled repeatedly in the dust are still held tightly in his hands. Those traces of falling down have ultimately become part of his standing. Perhaps true humanity is never a perfect flag but a tattered cloth still bravely unfurling in the wind. He knows his weight and his tears but chooses to unfold in the wind nonetheless.

美国国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯从军旅生涯到政坛之路的跌宕起伏，主要分为以下几个阶段：

早年经历与求学：1980年出生于明尼苏达州，高中时期成绩优异且热爱体育。他拒绝了西点军校的邀请，进入普林斯顿大学攻读政治学，并担任保守派学生刊物《普林斯顿托利》的出版人。

军旅生涯：毕业后被任命为少尉，先后部署至关塔那摩湾、伊拉克（巴格达和萨马拉）以及阿富汗，参与实战并获得铜星勋章等荣誉，最终以少校军衔退役。

媒体与公共事务：退役后，他曾领导老兵组织推动退伍军人事务改革，并尝试竞选联邦参议员未果。随后加入福克斯新闻，成为知名评论员，公开支持特朗普。

个人生活波折：一生结过三次婚，育有多个子女。其个人生活中曾卷入婚姻不忠及性侵指控风波，但他均予以否认。

出任国防部长：凭借与特朗普的深厚交情，在2024年底被提名为国防部长，经过充满争议的参议院投票后宣誓就职，致力于恢复军队的“战士精神”与战备标准。