Pete Hegseth

Military Career

Pete Hegseth was born on June 6, 1980, in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He graduated from Princeton University in 2003, where he was commissioned as an infantry officer. Between 2002 and 2021, Hegseth served as a Major in the U.S. Army National Guard, accumulating over 18 years of service. He deployed to Guantanamo Bay, Iraq (twice), and Afghanistan, earning two Bronze Stars for his service. His military background positioned him as an authority on defense policy and national security matters.

Hegseth voluntarily departed active service in 2021 following controversy over tattoo iconography. Shortly thereafter, he was removed from the security detail for President Biden's inauguration, a decision that amplified his profile among conservative circles and marked a turning point in his public visibility.

Media and Political Emergence

From 2017 to 2024, Hegseth served as co-host of Fox & Friends Weekend, one of the network's flagship morning programs. During his tenure in media, he became known for articulating conservative positions on military affairs, national security, and defense spending. He authored two books—American Crusade (2020) and The War on Warriors (2024)—both of which addressed his views on military morale, accountability, and America's role in global affairs.

His media presence and alignment with former President Trump's policy positions made him a recognizable figure in Republican circles. When Trump won the 2024 presidential election, Hegseth was nominated as Secretary of Defense and confirmed by the Senate on January 13, 2025, taking the oath of office on January 25, 2025, as the 29th Secretary of Defense (a department redesignated as the Department of War under Trump's second administration).

UAP Disclosure Leadership: The PURSUE Program

Hegseth's appointment as Secretary of War marked a significant turning point for government transparency on UAP matters. In February 2026, President Trump issued a directive ordering the identification and declassification of records related to aliens, extraterrestrial life, UFOs, UAPs, and related phenomena held across the federal government. Under Hegseth's oversight, the Department of War spearheaded the implementation of this directive through the Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (PURSUE).

On May 8, 2026, the PURSUE platform went live, delivering the first comprehensive batch of declassified UAP materials to the public. The initial release included reports, photographs, videos, witness accounts, military records, astronaut transcripts, and historical documents spanning from 1944–1945 to recent years. The government website reportedly received over 1.7 billion hits worldwide within the first days of launch, indicating unprecedented public interest in UAP information.

Hegseth publicly committed to the transparency agenda, stating: "The Department of War is in lockstep with President Trump to bring unprecedented transparency regarding our government's understanding of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP)." He framed the ongoing releases as a "rolling disclosure process," with additional materials to be posted as they were reviewed, declassified, and cleared for public release.

Congressional Engagement and Ongoing Caseload

By March 2026, congressional oversight bodies had become engaged in monitoring the declassification effort. The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform's Task Force on the Declassification of Federal Secrets continued its investigation into UAP matters, with whistleblowers informing the Task Force that the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) possessed additional video records of potential UAP sightings. Hegseth's office fielded congressional inquiries regarding the scale of the UAP caseload, which by February 2026 was reported to exceed 2,000 documented cases.

Hegseth's tenure as Secretary of War has positioned him as the principal architect and defender of the most systematic government UAP disclosure initiative since the Kennedy Records Act. His military background, media credibility, and alignment with the Trump administration's transparency mandate have made him a central figure in the ongoing shift toward official acknowledgment of the UAP phenomenon and the government's investigative efforts surrounding unidentified aerial phenomena.