The argument that Hegseth would be the first door-kicker or service member to serve on the front lines in combat to become defense secretary has continued to evolve and become far more specific.
An array of previous secretaries have had combat service, dodging bombs and leading troops into the fight, including current Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin who led the invasion into Iraq.
On Tuesday, the assertion was whittled down to Hegseth being the first “to have served as a junior officer on the front lines, not in the headquarters, on the front lines in the War on Terror.”
It’s not clear how “junior” an officer they had to be.
Lt. Col. Jim Mattis
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