Recruits Are Lining Up Again: Hegseth's Record for the Troops on Veterans Day
A sentinel's rebuke at the Tomb drew the headlines. Our anchors honor the guard who did his duty and make the case for a Pentagon that has young Americans signing up to serve.
By DAN WHITAKERMilitary & Defense · Nov 11, 4:23 PM
VIRGINIA — Much of Wednesday's Veterans Day coverage centered on video of a Tomb of the Unknown Soldier sentinel ordering a group with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth to keep silence and show respect after laughter rose from the group. Some headlines said the secretary himself was scolded, but Newsweek, which reviewed the footage, reported it was not clear who laughed or whether Hegseth was among them. The sentinel was right to speak, and nobody in that party should have made him. Here is the rest of the story.
Start with the man on the mat. A Tomb sentinel breaks his silence only when he must, and on Wednesday he did exactly what the Old Guard trains him to do. Every visitor, Cabinet officers included, owes that ground silence. Hours earlier, Hegseth had stood with President Trump at the national wreath-laying. The bigger record matters too. The Pentagon reported that all five active-duty services met their recruiting goals in fiscal 2025, the best results in more than 15 years. The Army signed 62,050 recruits against a goal of 61,000, and the Navy brought in 44,096 against 40,600. Then the Army hit its 2026 goal four months early, Hegseth announced at West Point in…
