EXCLUSIVE - President-elect Trump's nominee for defense secretary, Pete Hegseth, was described as an "incredibly talented, battle-proven leader," according to a copy of military evaluations obtained by Fox News Digital.
Hegseth is set to face a Senate confirmation hearing Tuesday, where lawmakers are expected to grill the 44-year-old Army National Guard veteran and former Fox News host on his ability to lead the Department of Defense. A leading critic of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the military, Hegseth has been under scrutiny in recent weeks over his qualifications.
Fox News obtained copies of past performance evaluations describing Hegseth's "outstanding" leadership skills over the years of his military service, including deployments to Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, Iraq and Afghanistan.
Hegseth deployed with the New Jersey National Guard to Guantánamo Bay, where he was leader of a 39-man Air Assault Infantry Rifle platoon capable of deploying anywhere within the world within 36 hours.
In an officer evaluation report covering April 2005 to January 2006, Hegseth received "outstanding performance" and was described as "an incredibly talented, battle-proven leader."
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"Having taken charge of his platoon mere days before deployment to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, he effectively led his platoon through five months of combat," the report read. "He planned and executed platoon operations ranging from air assault raids to the defense of a forward operating base (FOB)."
During his tour as platoon leader, his evaluators said Hegseth ensured "that his platoon remained physically fit and mentally ready to meet the challenges of protracted missions in demanding conditions."
While serving at FOB Falcon, Iraq, Hegseth's platoon "developed and fortified a platoon sector of the company defense and executed their portion of a continuous defense for three months while planning and executing additional offensive operations."
Under his leadership, the report detailed, Hegseth's platoon "cleared areas around FOB Falcon suspected of insurgent activity and denied their use to the Anti-Iraqi Forces" and "also conducted an air assault, high-value target raid in which they captured an Al Qaeda in Iraq cell leader." Hegseth and his troops moved north to Samarra, Iraq, where "he effectively transitioned his platoon to continuous offensive operations and conducted nine days of continuous combat outposts, nine days of patrolling and a deliberate cordon and search plus numerous time-sensitive missions," the report read.
"His performance as platoon leader has been solid. He is more than capable to operate independently, controlling not only his squads but also air support, indirect fire support and other external combat support assets," his evaluators wrote.
Expecting a fight during Tuesday's confirmation process, several Republican lawmakers held a news conference on Capitol Hill Monday backing Hegseth.
Criticism against Hegseth included alleged mismanagement of veteran nonprofit funds and lack of recent military experience. He was accused of sexually assaulting a woman at a GOP conference in 2017. He was never criminally charged but reportedly recognized paying his accuser an undisclosed sum over the allegations.
"I'm 110% behind Pete Hegseth," Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, said. "He will be ripped. He will be demeaned. He will be talked about. But we're going to get him across the finish line."
"The last four years has been an absolute disaster for our military. Again, we have a lot of good people, a lot of good men and women that believe in the United States of America. But we got to go forward and we have to have a leader. It all starts with one person," Tuberville added. "We don't need a general from the Pentagon. We've tried that. We need a drill sergeant, somebody that's been in two wars, somebody that understands camaraderie and team and work ethic and time, restraint and respect."
"I am strongly supporting Pete Hegseth for a couple of reasons. We have the most highly educated and powerful military in the history of the planet. And we haven't won a war in 80 years," Rep. Derrick Van Orden, R-Wis., said.
In Iraq, Hegseth also served as an assistant civil military operations officer for a 660-man Air Assault Infantry Battalion. According to another report obtained by Fox News Digital, evaluators described him as "an absolutely outstanding officer," who was "intelligent, mature and extremely gifted" and had become "a tremendous asset to his battillion and had contributed immensely to the BN's performance during the past six months."
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The officer evaluation report went on to describe how Hegseth "led numerous patrols and civil affairs missions and provided exceptional support to the battalion, proving himself as a strong combat leader during Operation Iraqi Freedom." His evaluators said he "developed relationships and trust with many of the local leaders of Samarra, Iraq," allowing him "to help collect intelligence which led to the capture/killing of countless Al Qaeda and insurgent leaders."
"His performance as the battalion assistant civil-military operations officer has been superb," the company executive officer wrote of Hegseth. "He is a proven combat leader who is calm under fire and leads from the front."
"Peter is physically and mentally tough, and demonstrates a level of maturity, poise, and confidence usually found in more senior officers," the report went on.
"Peter always accomplishes every mission to high standards with minimal guidance or supervision. He has unlimited potential," the evaluator added.
Hegseth similarly received glowing feedback when he later deployed to Afghanistan with the Minnesota Army National Guard, another officer evaluation report from 2012 showed.
"Outstanding performance. CPT Pete Hegseth is the best CPT in this command (#1 of 12)," the report says. "Pete clearly rose to the top of his peer group through his exceptional leadership abilities, initiative, and dedication to mission accomplishment. Pete worked extremely hard to learn as much as he could about counterinsurgency operations, easily developing into one of my best COIN instructors. He always received high marks on the end-of-course critiques."
The report referenceed Hegseth's "personal courage and selfless service" during an October 2011 attack.
"Pete [led] a quick reaction force to assist with the recovery of casualties, ensuring the site was secure and the remains were all accounted for," the report went on.
The evaluator said Hegseth "should be given command as soon as possible and closely monitored to maximize his potential to career progression."
Hegseth received two Bronze Star Medals and two Army Commendation Medals, among other honors. He was praised for his work building out lesson courses and re-wiring the guidebook for the Counterinsurgency Training Center-Afghanistan, taking hours to do research, sometimes during off-hours, and training NATO students from multiple countries.
