Hegseth’s performance evaluations of Trump’s pick praise a ‘battle-proven leader’

EXCLUSIVE: President-elect Trump’s running mate secretary of defensePete Hegseth, was described as an “incredibly talented and battle-proven leader,” according to a copy of the military evaluations obtained by Fox News Digital.

Hegseth faces a Senate confirmation hearing on Tuesday, where lawmakers are expected to debate the 44-year-old Army National Guard veteran and former Fox News host about his ability to lead the Defense Department . A leading critic of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the military, Hegseth has come under scrutiny in recent weeks for his qualifications.

Fox News obtained copies of previous performance evaluations that describe Hegseth’s “exceptional” leadership skills during his years of military service, including deployments to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, Iraq and Afghanistan.

Hegseth deployed with the New Jersey National Guard to Guantanamo Bay, where he was the leader of a 39-man Air Assault Infantry Rifle Platoon capable of deploying anywhere in the world within 36 hours .

In an officer evaluation report from April 2005 to January 2006, Hegseth received “outstanding performance” and was described as “an incredibly talented and battle-proven leader”.

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“After taking charge of his platoon just days before deploying to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom, he effectively led his platoon through five months of combat,” the report said. “He planned and executed platoon operations ranging from air strikes to the defense of a forward operating base (FOB).”

During his tour as a platoon leader, his evaluators said Hegseth ensured “that his group remained physically and mentally prepared to meet the challenges of extended missions in demanding conditions.”

While serving at FOB Falcon, Iraq, Hegseth’s squadron “developed and fortified a sector of the company defense and executed its portion of a continuous defense for three months while planning and executing additional offensive operations” .

Under his leadership, the report detailed, Hegseth’s squadron “cleared areas around FOB Falcon suspected of insurgent activity and denied its use to anti-Iraqi forces” and “also conducted an air assault , a raid on high-value targets in which they captured an Al Qaeda cell leader in Iraq.” 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 patrol and a deliberate cordon and quest in addition to numerous time-sensitive missions.” report read

“His performance as a squadron leader has been solid. He is more than capable of operating independently, controlling not only his squadrons but also air support, indirect fire support and other combat support resources external,” wrote its reviewers.

Anticipating a fight during Tuesday’s confirmation process, several Republican lawmakers held a news conference on Capitol Hill on Monday endorsing Hegseth.

Criticism of Hegseth included alleged mismanagement of nonprofit veterans funds and a 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 acknowledged paying his accuser an undisclosed sum for the allegations.

“I’m 110 percent behind Pete Hegseth,” said Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., a member of the Senate Armed Services Committeehe said “He’s going to be torn up. He’s going to be degraded. He’s going to be talked about. But we’re going to get him to the finish line.”

“The last four years have been an absolute disaster for our military. Again, we have a lot of good people, a lot of good men and women who believe in the United States of America. But we have to move forward and we have to have a leader. It all starts with one person,” Tuberville added. “We don’t need a Pentagon general. We’ve tried. We need a drill sergeant, someone who’s been in two wars, someone who understands camaraderie and team and work ethic and timing and restraint and respect”.

“I’m supporting Pete Hegseth for a couple of reasons. We have the most 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-Sabia, said .

In Iraq, Hegseth also served as the Assistant Civilian Military Operations Officer for a 660-man Air Assault Infantry Battalion. According to another report obtained by Fox News Digital, the evaluators described him as “an absolutely outstanding officer” who was “intelligent, mature and extremely gifted” and had become “a great asset to his battalion and had contributed enormously to BN’s performance over the past six months.”

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The officers’ evaluation report went on to describe how Hegseth “led numerous patrols and civil affairs missions and provided exceptional support to the battalion, proving to be a strong combat leader during Operation Freedom Iraq”. His evaluators said he “developed relationships and trust with many of the local leaders in Samarra, Iraq,” which allowed him to “help gather intelligence that led to the capture/killing of countless al Qaeda leaders and insurgents “.

“His performance as the battalion’s assistant civil-military operations officer has been outstanding,” the company’s 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 continued.

“Peter always completes every assignment to a high standard with minimal guidance or supervision. He has unlimited potential,” added the reviewer.

Hegseth also received rave reviews when he later deployed to Afghanistan with the Minnesota Army National Guardshowed another 2012 officer evaluation report.

“Outstanding performance. CPT Pete Hegseth is the best CPT in this command (#1 of 12),” the report said. “Pete clearly rose to the top of his peer group through his exceptional leadership skills, initiative and dedication to mission accomplishment. Pete worked very hard to learn as much as he could about counterinsurgency operations, easily becoming one of my best COIN instructors. He always received high marks in end-of-course reviews.”

The report referred to Hegseth’s “personal courage and selfless service” during an attack in October 2011.

“Pete (led) a rapid reaction force to assist in the recovery of victims, ensuring the site was secure and all remains accounted for,” the report continued.

The assessor said Hegseth “should be given command as soon as possible and closely supervised to maximize his potential for career progression”.

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Hegseth received two Bronze Star Medals and two Army Commendation Medals, among other honors. He was praised for his work creating lesson courses and retooling the guide for the Counterinsurgency Training Center in Afghanistan, spending hours researching, sometimes overtime, and training NATO students from various countries