Ah, Pete Hegseth.

I thought he was an inspired new generation pick to harken back and inspire the old generation of traditional warrior caste families to give our modern military another look...and another chance.

As I've written in the past couple of posts, Hegseth is walking into a snek pit filled with entrenched ideologues who are going to do everything in their power to hang onto their, well, power.

Part of the influence they wield has resulted in the seismic shift of our military's seeming purpose for existence from national defense and victory in wartime to an overarching social justice experiment run at the cost of our national security and, from a military standpoint, good order and discipline in the ranks. 

When there are favored classes within those ranks, then you no longer have the homogenized, single-purpose, unified force that acts as one creature for one purpose - to close with and destroy the enemy.

You have a lot of disparate, entitled little set-aparts who may or may not be bought into fighting that day. They'll all be busy checking on Military.com to see if the latest Trump order qualified as legal. And since they'd rather not be involved in anything remotely dangerous anyway - they only enlisted for the college or transition money - it's just as easy to say it sounds as if it wasn't, so they'll be staying in the barracks.

In order to torpedo Hegseth's nomination and forestall any rotund four-stars flinging themselves from office windows at the thought of having to answer his questions about what hand they had in the DEI virus that has swept the armed forces, the combined might of the media and Pentagon cabal have gone to work on every aspect of the veteran nominee.

Those scary tattoos, which now have Jerusalem crosses flying out of Etsy shops, were the first big salvo and landed with a resounding thud.

I’m a bit nerdy when it comes to ancient symbols (more on that later, I’m sure), so when Pete Hegseth’s chest tattoo was called a swastika or white suprematist symbol, I was appalled.

No. This is a Jerusalem Cross. An ancient and beloved symbol in many Christian circles.… pic.twitter.com/TJm86lDEMG

— Jennifer Greenberg 🕊️ (@JennMGreenberg) November 16, 2024

...An ancient and beloved symbol in many Christian circles. 

Depending on who you ask, the five crosses may symbolize the Five Wounds of Jesus (hands, feet, and side), Jesus and the four evangelists (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John), or Jesus and the four corners of the world (north, south, east, and west). 

It originated during the Crusades, and in modern Christianity usually represents evangelism and mission works, or possibly spiritual warfare. 

Pete also has “Deus Volt" tattooed on his right arm, which translates "God will it.” This also originated during the Crusades as a battle cry, meaning, “No matter what happens, God, I trust / honor / serve you.”  

The sectioned snake tattoo was drawn by Benjamin Franklin as a political cartoon which urged the early American colonies to unite together against tyranny, AKA “big government.” 

Honestly, I think these tats are awesome. The history and heritage represented is incredibly rich and beautiful.

Then came the bombshell about 'sexual assault' and another one of those non-disclosure payments we hear about. Hegseth's biggest mistake was not telling the Trump team about it before they announced him. It would have saved everyone a lot of heartburn.

Members of President-elect Donald Trump’s transition team were blindsided by the latest details to emerge about a 2017 sexual-assault allegation against Pete Hegseth, increasing their frustration with the man nominated to lead the Pentagon, according to people familiar with the matter.

The transition team, which hadn’t been told about the original allegation before announcing Hegseth, was surprised again late Wednesday night when the Monterey, Calif., city police released a report about the 2017 allegations. The heavily redacted report details a boozy night at a hotel in California, a poolside argument and two conflicting versions of what ultimately took place inside Hegseth’s hotel room.

Because frankly? While it's tawdry and sensational, it wouldn't have been much of a thing to make hay over because it wasn't criminal. So said no less than the Monterey Police Department after thoroughly investigating.

What you’re going to hear now and in the coming days from the national media is that there are “graphic” details in a police report related to an alleged sexual assault involving Pete Hegseth, President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming nominee for Defense secretary. It’s certainly graphic, but the media will bet you won’t bother reading the report, which in reality looks really bad for the alleged victim and effectively clears Hegseth of criminality.

Hegseth did himself and the Trump team no favors and brought this aspect of a trial-by-fire on himself.

NEW: Pete Hegseth is on Capitol hill meeting with senators, talking about getting confirmation votes...

But a reporter barges in: "Did you s*xually assault a woman in California?"

Hegseth replies: "That was fully investigated, and I was COMPLETELY CLEARED." pic.twitter.com/xqdLmMhKsB

— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) November 21, 2024

 But they are sticking by him. In what might be called an unexpected bonus round from the self-inflicted controversy, The View's Sunny Hostin was forced to read yet another disclaimer about her on-air comments, this time including nasty insinuations about Pete Hegseth.

Oh, delicious.

Sunny Hostin had to read another correction on air for false claims she's made against Matt Gaetz and Pete Hegseth.

You know what would be easier? Firing her and canceling The View pic.twitter.com/shZic6FEw9

— Tim Young (@TimRunsHisMouth) November 21, 2024

He and JD Vance were doing rounds at Senate offices this morning. Their reception was warm everywhere and all signs were encouraging for confirmation so far.

I just met with Vice President-Elect Vance and Secretary of Defense Nominee Pete Hegseth.

Pete is a warrior, an advocate for veterans, and a well qualified nominee. He will put our enemies on notice and make our military great again. pic.twitter.com/T0SOe7AKzi

— Sen. Marsha Blackburn (@MarshaBlackburn) November 21, 2024

Everyone remembers the Kavanaugh debacle and it would be hard to believe that Democrats would go down that road again, but they're just crazy enough.

They've also got another woman angle to come at Hegseth with which doesn't have a report vindicating him in their eyes.

Hegseth is firmly anti-women in combat. He is quite clear about "in COMBAT roles." There's no intimation he is anti-women in the military in the least.

Pete Hegseth 5 days ago: "I'm straight up just saying we should not have women in combat roles." pic.twitter.com/0W3LDSakud

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 13, 2024

However, to the armchair warriors of the Democratic Party, who have never lifted anything more than a cellphone to call security in alarm, that cannot stand.

Tough guy Gen Mark 'Thoroughly Modern' Milley ignores the obvious to bluster like the bad boy he is.

Retired Joint Chiefs Chair Gen. Mark Milley was asked today about the role of women in combat after Trump’s DOD nominee Pete Hegseth said that women should not be in the line of fire.

Here’s what Milley had to say.

h/t @connorobrienNH who attended. pic.twitter.com/oAgc3Fbbhm

— Jack Detsch (@JackDetsch) November 21, 2024

This is going to be a huge fight, and expect  Democrats to twist it that the misogynist Hegseth demeans every woman in the military.

Which is not at all the case.

I see no place for women in combat UNITS, ever. 

It's not that women can't fight - hell, yeah, we can. Proven time and time again in firefights that sprung up out of nowhere.

It's not that there aren't incredible studly girls who can hump those packs and lug ammo cans around. The fact is, there are. But they are few and far between.

And you cannot plop two females into a brigade of guys just to satisfy Congressional wokeness and #feelz.

Not to mention, no one has ever really asked women, "Do you want to do this?" Our answer is overwhelmingly "No."

 Women might be able to handle the humps, but their bodies cannot sustain the impact for months on Afghan hills like men. We were built for carrying kids, not 70 lb packs or wounded comrades. That's physiology, not fantasy.

The women who have done it have paid dearly for it physically, God bless them.

...I was a motivated, resilient second lieutenant when I deployed to Iraq for 10 months, traveling across the Marine area of operations (AO) and participating in numerous combat operations. Yet, due to the excessive amount of time I spent in full combat load, I was diagnosed with a severe case of restless leg syndrome. My spine had compressed on nerves in my lower back causing neuropathy which compounded the symptoms of restless leg syndrome. While this injury has certainly not been enjoyable, Iraq was a pleasant experience compared to the experiences I endured during my deployment to Afghanistan. At the beginning of my tour in Helmand Province, I was physically capable of conducting combat operations for weeks at a time, remaining in my gear for days if necessary and averaging 16-hour days of engineering operations in the heart of Sangin, one of the most kinetic and challenging AOs in the country. There were numerous occasions where I was sent to a grid coordinate and told to build a PB from the ground up, serving not only as the mission commander but also the base commander until the occupants (infantry units) arrived 5 days later. In most of these situations, I had a sergeant as my assistant commander, and the remainder of my platoon consisted of young, motivated NCOs. I was the senior Marine making the final decisions on construction concerns, along with 24-hour base defense and leading 30 Marines at any given time. The physical strain of enduring combat operations and the stress of being responsible for the lives and well-being of such a young group in an extremely kinetic environment were compounded by lack of sleep, which ultimately took a physical toll on my body that I couldn’t have foreseen.
By the fifth month into the deployment, I had muscle atrophy in my thighs that was causing me to constantly trip and my legs to buckle with the slightest grade change. My agility during firefights and mobility on and off vehicles and perimeter walls was seriously hindering my response time and overall capability. It was evident that stress and muscular deterioration was affecting everyone regardless of gender; however, the rate of my deterioration was noticeably faster than that of male Marines and further compounded by gender-specific medical conditions. At the end of the 7-month deployment, and the construction of 18 PBs later, I had lost 17 pounds and was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (which personally resulted in infertility, but is not a genetic trend in my family), which was brought on by the chemical and physical changes endured during deployment. Regardless of my deteriorating physical stature, I was extremely successful during both of my combat tours, serving beside my infantry brethren and gaining the respect of every unit I supported. Regardless, I can say with 100 percent assurance that despite my accomplishments, there is no way I could endure the physical demands of the infantrymen whom I worked beside as their combat load and constant deployment cycle would leave me facing medical separation long before the option of retirement. I understand that everyone is affected differently; however, I am confident that should the Marine Corps attempt to fully integrate women into the infantry, we as an institution are going to experience a colossal increase in crippling and career-ending medical conditions for females.

I think THIS fight might be the biggest one Hegseth has on his hands.