Pete Hegseth is possibly the most stage-managed secretary in the history of the Defense Department.
Almost everything he does, even his wardrobe choices, seems designed to either rally his supporters or provoke his critics. There are the American-flag pocket squares, the patriotic socks, the slicked-back hair, the “This is War” T-shirts and the carefully curated videos of him doing push-ups with the troops.
So many push-ups.
So it stood out when a soldier guarding the Tomb of the Unknowns loudly scolded Mr. Hegseth and his party for laughing and talking near the solemn memorial on Veterans Day. Such interventions are a daily occurrence at Arlington Cemetery, where swarms of tourists brush up against strict military protocol.
“All visitors will maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times,” the Army sentinel bellowed in the direction of Mr. Hegseth, his wife and his top advisers as they departed.
On Thursday, Mr. Hegseth awarded the soldier a Joint Service Commendation Medal. “We love soldiers. We love standards. Well done, Specialist,” Hegseth said on social media. “Carry on Patriots.”
The rare unscripted moment and its aftermath pointed to a larger truth about the military and its relationship to the country it serves.
An Iraq veteran and former Fox News host, Mr. Hegseth casts himself as the ultimate warrior and patriot, leading an elite force of like-minded souls. Today, only about one percent of Americans serve in the all-volunteer military, a fact often mentioned in Veterans Day speeches by presidents, politicians and Pentagon chiefs.
Most defense secretaries in recent decades have lamented the growing distance between soldiers and the nation they serve, citing it as a potential danger to the country’s democracy and the principle of civilian control of the military.
Mr. Hegseth, by contrast, appears to see the gap as proof of his and his troops’ moral and physical superiority.
“You are the real one percent,” he told hundreds of young officers and sergeants at his “State of the Force” speech in late September. “You feel comfortable inside the violence so that our citizens can live peacefully.”
Mr. Hegseth continued, pacing the stage in front of a giant American flag. The backdrop mirrored the portrayal of Gen. George S. Patton in the 1970 movie bearing his name.
“You don’t want to look like civilians, because you are different,” Mr. Hegseth told the troops. “You are set apart. You are warriors.”
Mr. Hegseth sounded a similar theme at a news conference on Tuesday in which he defended himself ahead of an impeachment vote in Congress. The defense secretary cast himself and the troops as targets of opportunistic politicians who would never understand their service.
He cited charges accusing him of carrying out unlawful strikes against suspected drug traffickers on boats in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific.
“Make no mistake about what is happening. This is not about me,” Mr. Hegseth said.
The true targets, he said, were the troops who had pulled the triggers.
“If they want to come for the warriors,” Mr. Hegseth vowed, “they’re going to have to come through me.”
Some senior military officers, who were granted anonymity to speak frankly about a superior, questioned Mr. Hegseth’s motives. Instead of taking responsibility for his orders, the defense secretary seemed to be hiding behind the troops, they said.
On Tuesday, the day before Veterans Day, Congress voted 211 to 204 to shelve the impeachment effort, shielding Mr. Hegseth from a damaging rebuke and a potential ouster.
In the aftermath of the vote, Mr. Hegseth and his team declared “TOTAL VICTORY!” in a message posted to social media.
“We will always stand tall and fight to defend the Republic!” wrote Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman.
The incident at Arlington Cemetery stood out as a rebuttal to this week’s unsuccessful impeachment effort and a reminder that the troops don’t belong to any single party, president or defense secretary, but rather to the nation they serve.
“Americans are lining up to serve in President Trump’s Department of War,” Mr. Hegseth declared on Tuesday at his news conference.
The statement caught the attention of Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, a retired Army officer.
“It is not President Trump’s Department of War,” General Hertling said in a podcast episode. “It doesn’t belong to the president.”
