Hegseth scolded by guard at Tomb of Unknown Soldier

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his entourage were scolded by a military sentinel at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery on Veterans Day, The Washington Post reported.

The sentinel reprimanded Hegseth and his aides for laughing and talking during their visit to the tomb, which honors unidentified U.S. service members and has been guarded continuously since 1937. CNN confirmed the incident, reporting that Hegseth and his advisers were reprimanded by the guard. CBS News reported that Hegseth’s group was asked by a soldier to maintain respect at Arlington National Cemetery. Politico described the sentinel as scolding Hegseth and aides to show respect at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. AP News confirmed the reprimand, and ABC News reported that the group was admonished at the Tomb of the Unknowns during a Veterans Day visit.

The incident is extraordinary. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is one of the most sacred sites in American military culture, and the guards who watch over it are trained to maintain the dignity of the site at all times. The guards are authorized to reprimand visitors who do not show proper respect, and the reprimand of the Defense Secretary is a sign that the guard took his duty seriously regardless of the rank of the visitor. The Pentagon said the soldier “correctly” warned Hegseth’s group, according to Newsweek, which is an acknowledgment that the guard acted appropriately.

The incident and the response

The incident happened on Veterans Day, which is the day the nation sets aside to honor military veterans. The choice of day makes the incident more significant, because the Defense Secretary was visiting the tomb to pay respects to veterans, and his behavior during that visit was disrespectful enough to prompt a reprimand from the guard. The Guardian reported that Hegseth and aides were scolded for laughing at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and Reuters confirmed that the group was admonished by a soldier at Arlington National Cemetery. Fox News reported that the Army sentinel sharply reprimanded Hegseth’s group, and Military.com published a detailed account of what happened.

The Daily Beast described the reprimand as humiliating, and USA Today published an opinion piece arguing that Hegseth treating the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier as a prop says it all. The coverage has been critical of Hegseth, and the criticism is bipartisan. The incident is not a partisan story, because the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a site that commands respect from all Americans, and the behavior of the Defense Secretary at that site is a matter of character, not politics. The reprimand from the guard is a public correction, and the Pentagon’s acknowledgment that the guard acted correctly is an acceptance of that correction.

LiveNOW from FOX published video of the incident, and the video shows the guard admonishing the group for laughing. The video is evidence, and it removes any doubt about what happened. The guard’s reprimand was direct and professional, and the behavior that prompted it was inappropriate for the setting. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is not a place for laughter or casual conversation, and the guard’s job is to ensure that visitors understand that. The guard did his job, and the Defense Secretary did not meet the standard that the guard is there to enforce.

The meaning

The incident is about more than a single visit to Arlington. The Defense Secretary is the civilian leader of the military, and his behavior at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a reflection of his respect for the military and for the sacrifices of the service members the tomb honors. The reprimand from the guard is a sign that Hegseth’s behavior did not meet the standard of respect that the military expects at that site. The Pentagon’s acknowledgment that the guard acted correctly is an acceptance of that judgment, and it is a rebuke of the Defense Secretary’s behavior.

The incident is also about the culture of the Pentagon under Hegseth. The Defense Secretary brought an entourage to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, and the entourage was laughing and talking. The behavior of the entourage reflects the culture that Hegseth has created, and the reprimand from the guard is a correction of that culture. The military has standards of conduct, and those standards apply at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and everywhere else. The Defense Secretary is responsible for maintaining those standards, and his behavior at the tomb suggests that he does not take them seriously.

What I think

The incident is a disgrace. The Defense Secretary of the United States was laughing and talking at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Veterans Day, and he had to be told by a guard to show respect. That is a failure of character, and it is a failure of leadership. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is a sacred site, and the men who guard it are trained to maintain its dignity. The guard who reprimanded Hegseth did his job, and the Pentagon’s acknowledgment that the guard acted correctly is an admission that the Defense Secretary did not.

The incident is not about politics. It is about respect. The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier honors Americans who died in combat and could not be identified. They gave their lives for their country, and their names are not known. The tomb is a monument to their sacrifice, and the guard is there to ensure that visitors treat the site with the respect it deserves. The Defense Secretary was laughing at that site, and that is not a partisan issue. It is a matter of decency, and the decency was lacking.

The guard who reprimanded Hegseth should be commended. The guard did his job in the face of the most powerful person in the military, and he did not hesitate. The guard’s duty is to the tomb and to the unknown soldiers it honors, and that duty is above rank and above politics. The guard upheld the standard, and the Defense Secretary did not. That is the story, and it is a story that reflects on the character of the man leading the Pentagon. The guard was right, and Hegseth was wrong.