The abridged version of a famous Machiavelli quote, “Nothing is more difficult or dangerous than to attempt to change the order of things,” is in full view as we watch the process of confirming President Trump’s Secretary of Defense. When Pete Hegseth is confirmed as Secretary of Defense, he will be a forceful agent of change for the betterment of the United States of America.
President-elect Trump’s nominee, retired Army National Guard Major and Fox News host Peter Hegseth, is receiving considerable fire amid allegations of misconduct while CEO of Concerned Veterans for America (CVA).
I am writing this article because I was one of the founding members of CVA. I am an Air Force veteran and retired senior operations officer and chief of station in the Central Intelligence Agency. While at the CIA, I held major field command positions and was a senior manager in the CIA’s Counter-Terrorism Center (CTC). I led the CIA’s largest paramilitary element on the ground during the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, seizing Kabul, initiating the battle of Tora Bora, and leading teams around the globe in several dangerous crises. I worked hand in glove with the most important elements of the National Security Council, the Department of Defense, the Department of Justice, and the FBI to secure and safeguard American interests. Based on 30 years of this experience and my personal knowledge of Pete Hegseth, I have no doubt that he will excel as Secretary of Defense.
CVA Backstory
Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) was created by a small group of veterans and one non-veteran who had all worked together in the failed 2008 presidential campaign of Senator John McCain. In 2011, a member of that team contacted me and told me he had funding to create a nationwide veterans organization focused on addressing veteran needs, educating the public, and building support for those ideas.
CVA was created as a 501(c)(3), and I was asked to be its first CEO. I did not accept the position, as it would have required me to relocate to the Washington, D.C., area and I had just bought a home in Florida. I was also busy managing a security company in Afghanistan. I was then asked whether I would agree to become the Southeast Coordinator for CVA and work under Pete Hegseth. He was twenty years my junior but had served in Iraq, Afghanistan, and GITMO.
I read some articles by Hegseth, had seen him interviewed on television, and went to Washington, D.C., to meet him and the team. He was humble, direct, and smart. It was clear to me that he was policy-driven and capable, though only in his mid-30s. He was familiar with my published work and that of many others involved in counterterrorism and the war against Islamic radicalism. And critically, in our earliest discussions, he made it clear that he understood that taking care of our veterans’ medical needs was paramount.
He made healthcare the immediate focus of CVA. His vision matched the core values of the organization. While I was focusing on building out a solid ground game, Pete was challenging VA shortcomings, holding their feet to the fire on behalf of American veterans. As a concerned veteran, I was impressed.
Pete recruited other veterans like me who had significant national security backgrounds to build out the national organization. This was the very thing required of his position. He met with policymakers and funding sources who could move our organization forward.
We held dozens of events together over several years. We drank coffee by the gallon, but I never witnessed any performance impaired by alcohol. In fact, he handled a situation well that involved an employee who did have an alcohol-related incident. That man had a drinking problem and had made a pass at a female coordinator under his supervision. As I addressed the situation, I called Pete. After I described what happened, Pete was decisive. He asked me to place the employee in rehab, reassign him, and counsel him against ever doing that sort of thing again. We placed a letter in the employee’s personnel file and protected the female employee’s privacy and interests. This demonstrates Pete’s decisiveness, concern, and responsibility for CVA and its personnel. These decisions were made in a single day.
Senators interested in the moral compass of CVA should consult other senior managers from the organization. I will provide any interested senator with the names and contact information of people who conducted dozens of events and worked closely with Pete Hegseth for several years.
One policy issue addressed by Hegseth garnering much attention is his stated opposition to women in combat. Looking to the Afghan conflict ‘Operation Enduring Freedom’ as a recent example, women made up approximately 10 percent of the force on the ground. They are in theatre and add great value as pilots, medical personnel, and intelligence personnel. Their work is high quality, but using them in combat arms needs to be addressed honestly.
The reality is very few men are capable of serving in a line infantry and combat arms-oriented unit. The demands on soldiers and Marines in terms of strength and physical endurance are beyond what civilians can comprehend. In college football or NFL practice, participants arrive fresh, work out for three to five hours, then take a shower and go home and sleep. In a line infantry element, significant and exhausting physical efforts go on day after day, hour after hour, with almost no sleep. Soldiers and Marines may be in battle for extended periods of time fighting for their very lives. There surely are a minuscule number of women in the country with the ability and desire to serve in the arduous conditions of battle; however, this number is so small that it makes writing policy on the matter difficult. Pete Hegseth’s view on the matter is formed by recent deployments. It better represents reality than the current Secretary of Defense, Lloyd Austin, the SecDef who helped surrender Afghanistan disgracefully and needlessly to an untrained and unorganized gang. Pete Hegseth would never have allowed such a surrender.
In 2016, I endorsed candidate Donald J. Trump. I was the fourth and final speaker before Sarasota County GOP Chairman Joseph Grutters would present candidate Trump at his first Florida rally at the Sun Dome in Tampa. Endorsing Trump created a conflict with the 501(c)(3) status of CVA, so I resigned in order to campaign freely for Trump.
I have held senior positions in the national security apparatus during times of combat and crisis. I have seen what is required of an effective leader, and I know Pete Hegseth will be an effective leader. Though not seeking employment, I would have no hesitation serving under Pete Hegseth if he were the Secretary of Defense. He has sound judgment on policy, management, and national security priorities. When making policy, he will remember the lessons of Armed Forces veterans who recently served in combat zones. Members of the U.S. Senate, I recommend you vote to confirm him.
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Gary Berntsen is a retired CIA officer and best-selling author. He is the recipient of the CIA’s Distinguished Intelligence Medal and Intelligence Star. He is a veteran of the United States Air Force. After retirement from the CIA, he worked in Afghanistan for the Joint IED Defeat Organization (JIEDDO) in support of the 173d Airborne Brigade Combat Team in Regional Command East combating the networks that employed IEDs (roadside bombs) that caused 80 percent of U.S. combat casualties. He also worked for Concerned Veterans for America (CVA).
The more I dig into the whisper campaign against Hegseth, the less concerned I am that it has any foundation in truth. He appears to have been something of a womanizer in his private life but the 2017 incident that resulted in accusations of sexual assault, which do not seem credible when you go through the police reports filed at the time, appear to have cured him of that. The allegations of alcohol abuse made anonymously are countered by over 20 colleagues from Fox who are willing to step forward & state their name while vouching for his behavior in the work place. Add this author’s comments and it becomes pretty clear that Hegseth is being borked.
It sounds to me like Mr. Hegseth has a number of people who are willing to go on the record on his behalf. I suggest that Senators supporting him schedule these supporters for a Senate Committee appearance and–under oath–have them state their support for Hegseth and why.
I also suggest that those opposed to Hegseth likewise appear before the Senate committee and, again under oath, recount their objections. And for all witnesses, they should be reminded that if they perjure themselves, they will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law by the incoming administration.