Pete Hegseth’s nominationThe Fox News host is a former Army National Guard captain and his surprising choice as President-elect Donald Trump’s secretary of defense has raised concerns about whether he has the practical experience to run a large department with a massive budget.

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Hegseth’s nomination also left many wondering how his experience compared to people who have served before.

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The budget of the Ministry of Defense exceeded 800 billion dollarsThere are approximately 1.3 million active-duty troops and 1.4 million National Guard, Reserves and civilian employees worldwide.

Fox presents Pete Hegseth on “FOX & Friends” at Fox News Channel Studios in New York City on August 09, 2019. (Photo: John Lamparski/Getty Images)

Eric Edelman, who served as the Pentagon’s top policy official during the Bush administration, said: Policy Trump’s decision is likely He emphasized loyalty rather than experience.

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“(Trump) places the highest value on loyalty,” Edelman said. “It seems like one of the main criteria used is how well people defend Donald Trump on TV?”

Who is Pete Hegseth?

Hegseth, 44, a co-host of Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends Weekend,” has been a contributor to the network for a decade. He is a staunch conservative and close friend of Trump and has also written several books, including “The War Against the Warriors: Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Kept Us Free.”

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Pete Hegseth’s military experience

Hegseth served in the military despite having no high-level military or national security experience.

After graduating from Princeton University in 2003, Hegseth was commissioned as an infantry captain in the Army National Guard and served overseas in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as at Guantanamo Bay. He was awarded two Bronze Stars and a Combat Infantryman Badge.

Hegseth was formerly president of Concerned Veterans for America, a group backed by conservative billionaires Charles and David Koch, and also ran unsuccessfully for Senate in Minnesota in 2012. He has a master’s degree in public policy, according to his Fox News bio. Harvard University John F. Kennedy School of Government.

How does Pete Hegseth’s military experience compare?

If confirmed by the Senate, Hegseth would have by far the least military experience of any defense secretary in recent history. Here’s how his experience compares to those who have previously served in this role.

Lloyd Austin

Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III official portrait session, July 6, 2023. (DoD photo by Chad J. McNeeley)

Current Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin served in the military for 41 years, including commands at the corps, division, battalion and brigade echelons, according to the Department of Defense. Austin was awarded the Silver Star for leading the Army’s 3rd Infantry Division during the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Seven years later, he was named Commander of U.S. Forces – Iraq, overseeing all combat operations in the country.

Austin served a tour as the Army’s Deputy Chief of Staff before completing his uniformed service as U.S. Central Command, responsible for all military operations in the Middle East and Afghanistan. After retiring from the military, Austin served on the Boards of Directors of Raytheon Technologies, Nucor, and Tenet Healthcare.

Mark Esper

Deputy Minister of Defense Dr. Mark Esper poses for his official portrait at the Army portrait studio at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, June 20, 2019. (U.S. Army photo by Monica King)

Before Austin was sworn in, Mark Esper served as secretary of defense from July 2019 to November 9, 2020. Trump fired Esper, who contradicted Trump on various issues. At the time, Esper was considered the least experienced defense secretary in recent memory.

Esper graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1986, according to the Department of Defense. He served in the 101st Airborne Division and the 1990-91 Gulf War and later commanded a Rifle Company in Vicenza, Italy.

He retired from the U.S. Army in 2007 after serving 10 years on active duty and 11 years in the National Guard and Army Reserve. While in the military, Esper was awarded the Department of Defense Distinguished Public Service Medal, among many other awards and recognitions.

He also worked for former U.S. Senator Chuck Hagel and served as a senior professional staffer on the Senate Foreign Relations and Senate Governmental Affairs committees, policy director for the House Armed Services Committee, and national security adviser to former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. He served as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Negotiations Policy at the Pentagon under former President George W. Bush.

Esper served as Operations Director and Deputy General Manager for Defense and International Relations at the Aerospace Industries Association between 2006 and 2007. He was national policy director for Senator Fred Thompson during the 2008 presidential campaign and a Senate-appointed commissioner on the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission. Prior to his nomination as Secretary of the Army in 2017, Esper was Vice President of Government Relations at Raytheon Corporation.

James Mattis

26th Secretary of Defense James N. Mattis poses for his official portrait at the Army portrait studio at the Pentagon on January 25, 2017 in Arlington, Virginia. (U.S. Army photo by Monica King/Released)

Former Defense Secretary James Mattis led the Pentagon under Trump before Esper. He resigned in 2019 after Trump announced that he would withdraw US forces from Syria. Like Austin, he served in the military for more than 40 years. According to the Pentagon, Mattis commanded Marines at all levels, from the infantry rifle platoon to the Marine Expeditionary Force.

He led an infantry battalion in Iraq, a reconnaissance brigade in Afghanistan, stability operations in Iraq, and was commander of all U.S. Marine forces in the Middle East. He also served as Senior Military Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense; Director of Marine Corps Manpower Plans and Policy; As Commander, Marine Corps Combat Development Command, and Executive Secretary to the Secretary of Defense.

Mattis also led U.S. Joint Forces Command, NATO’s Supreme Allied Command Transformation, and U.S. Central Command.