Pete Hegseth’s repeated, blatant disregard for OPSEC is not just incompetence—it is a direct threat to the lives of our service members and the integrity of national security operations.
Granted, I have never been comfortable with Hegseth’s Christian Nationalist politics, his history of misogyny and alleged sexual assault, his reported alcoholism, or especially his misguided belief that veterans who use the VA lack personal integrity. For any reasonable person, these details alone would provide more than enough reasons to disapprove of his appointment as Trump’s Secretary of Defense. However, what is most damning in this situation isn’t his extreme political stances or even his contempt for veterans who actually use their VA benefits. It is simply that he is a second-rate journalist with limited military experience as a junior officer. This is hardly enough experience to grant him the insight and ability to manage the immense responsibilities of the Secretary of Defense. Now, just three months into Trump’s second term, Hegseth’s lack of experience and judgment is on full display.
Certainly, Hegseth understands the necessity for confidentiality. In 2017, as part of a criminal investigation and civil settlement, Hegseth paid his alleged victim $50,000 and required her to sign a non-disclosure agreement. Let’s take the next logical step and put the situation in terms Hegseth might understand: how would his life be different if this woman chose to speak out despite the NDA?
Revealing the contents of Hegseth’s settlement agreement would likely end his time as a public figure and have cascading effects on both his personal and professional life. However, he is wealthy enough that this would be an inconvenience, and he would likely be able to reestablish himself in the future.
Military confidentiality is a completely different animal altogether. Revealing this kind of information could have cost Hegseth his own life while he was deployed during his military career. As a junior officer and leader, he was responsible for the lives of those serving with him. OPSEC is just one way of protecting these lives, and you have to wonder if Hegseth learned anything at all during his service, given his conduct at the Pentagon today.
Here is a quickly compiled list of Hegseth’s known security breaches since January, 2025:
March 2025 Yemen Strike Leaks: On March 15, 2025, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth disclosed intricate details of upcoming military operations in Yemen—including F/A-18 Hornet flight schedules and attack plans—via a private Signal chat. The group included his wife (a former Fox News producer with no official role), his brother, and his personal attorney, none of whom had a legitimate need-to-know or appropriate security clearance for such information.
Earlier Signal Chat Leak: That same day, Hegseth had already shared similar attack details in another Signal chat that, through gross negligence, included the editor of The Atlantic. This mistake exposed sensitive operational plans to a journalist and the public—a textbook OPSEC failure.
Failure to Enforce Accountability: Despite promising strict accountability at his confirmation hearing, Hegseth allowed unauthorized individuals—including family members and aides accused of leaking information—to remain in sensitive chats until public exposure forced their removal.
Potential Federal Records Act Violations: Watchdog groups have sued Hegseth and other officials for using Signal to discuss military operations, alleging violations of federal records laws and the destruction of government records.
On April 20th, the New York Times reported:
Hegseth disclosed detailed operational plans for U.S. airstrikes in Yemen in a private Signal chat with his wife, brother, and personal attorney. These individuals had no official role or clear need to access such sensitive information. The leak mirrored a previous incident where Hegseth and other top officials shared attack plans in a Signal chat that mistakenly included a journalist. These actions have prompted an ongoing investigation by the Defense Department’s acting inspector general.
Regrettably, Trump’s history suggests that he neither respects the law nor understands the critical importance of accountability in cases like this. Moreover, Hegseth’s appointment becomes even more baffling when viewed in context. There are undoubtedly countless ideological clones within senior military leadership who possess the necessary experience to lead the Pentagon. It is long past time for Trump to make the straightforward decision to replace Hegseth with one of these qualified professionals.
If Hegseth had the integrity he so wrongly accuses others of lacking, he would seize this moment to resign and return to his weekend job at Fox & Friends. We can only wonder how he justifies his lack of accountability to himself—or what it would take for him to finally treat OPSEC with the seriousness it demands.
