Pete Hegseth

Yes. This was 2005. Things were going just swimmingly in Iraq then. Afghanistan was kind of on a simmer, but it was still bad before getting much, much worse. So my first two years, in boot camp, I was selected for a program called Yankee White. And this is the presidential support program. So if you've ever seen the Marines saluting in front of the White House...

Yes. This was 2005. Things were going just swimmingly in Iraq then. Afghanistan was kind of on a simmer, but it was still bad before getting much, much worse. So my first two years, in boot camp, I was selected for a program called Yankee White. And this is the presidential support program. So if you've ever seen the Marines saluting in front of the White House...

They're part of the presidential support program. And as part of that, I went to be part of the Marine Security Force at Camp David. So I spent, I think, almost two years up there about that while President Bush was president. And that was a great duty station. I loved it. Some of my closest friends still to this day I serve with up there. And it was a great command.

They're part of the presidential support program. And as part of that, I went to be part of the Marine Security Force at Camp David. So I spent, I think, almost two years up there about that while President Bush was president. And that was a great duty station. I loved it. Some of my closest friends still to this day I serve with up there. And it was a great command.

They're part of the presidential support program. And as part of that, I went to be part of the Marine Security Force at Camp David. So I spent, I think, almost two years up there about that while President Bush was president. And that was a great duty station. I loved it. Some of my closest friends still to this day I serve with up there. And it was a great command.

I had a great first sergeant, great commanding officer, great platoon sergeant. So I spent two years there. And then once my time was up there, I went to 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, which is very lucky. I got put in another great company, Fox Company 2-1. And we did a workup and we needed a deployment to Iraq. And this was end of 08, 2009.

I had a great first sergeant, great commanding officer, great platoon sergeant. So I spent two years there. And then once my time was up there, I went to 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, which is very lucky. I got put in another great company, Fox Company 2-1. And we did a workup and we needed a deployment to Iraq. And this was end of 08, 2009.

I had a great first sergeant, great commanding officer, great platoon sergeant. So I spent two years there. And then once my time was up there, I went to 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, which is very lucky. I got put in another great company, Fox Company 2-1. And we did a workup and we needed a deployment to Iraq. And this was end of 08, 2009.

I'll be honest, it was not as bad as it was in Ramadi and Fallujah a few years before that. And it was mostly an uneventful deployment with some exceptions. There was, you know, some incidents and things like that. But you kind of left Iraq at that time thinking, okay, this isn't going to be like the new, you know, this isn't going to be Scottsdale, Arizona anytime soon.

I'll be honest, it was not as bad as it was in Ramadi and Fallujah a few years before that. And it was mostly an uneventful deployment with some exceptions. There was, you know, some incidents and things like that. But you kind of left Iraq at that time thinking, okay, this isn't going to be like the new, you know, this isn't going to be Scottsdale, Arizona anytime soon.

I'll be honest, it was not as bad as it was in Ramadi and Fallujah a few years before that. And it was mostly an uneventful deployment with some exceptions. There was, you know, some incidents and things like that. But you kind of left Iraq at that time thinking, okay, this isn't going to be like the new, you know, this isn't going to be Scottsdale, Arizona anytime soon.

But this could kind of work. You know, this could kind of be like Tijuana, Mexico, right? um but um strip clubs yeah but five years later with the exception of al-assad every every place that i was at in iraq was under the control of isis

But this could kind of work. You know, this could kind of be like Tijuana, Mexico, right? um but um strip clubs yeah but five years later with the exception of al-assad every every place that i was at in iraq was under the control of isis

But this could kind of work. You know, this could kind of be like Tijuana, Mexico, right? um but um strip clubs yeah but five years later with the exception of al-assad every every place that i was at in iraq was under the control of isis

That you had been? From the city of Hit to South Sinjar, the mountain where the Uzettis were trapped, where there was those massacres and they enslaved... All the women? Yeah. I was... We were all around Mount Sinjar. We spent a lot of time in the Uzettis. Just...

That you had been? From the city of Hit to South Sinjar, the mountain where the Uzettis were trapped, where there was those massacres and they enslaved... All the women? Yeah. I was... We were all around Mount Sinjar. We spent a lot of time in the Uzettis. Just...

That you had been? From the city of Hit to South Sinjar, the mountain where the Uzettis were trapped, where there was those massacres and they enslaved... All the women? Yeah. I was... We were all around Mount Sinjar. We spent a lot of time in the Uzettis. Just...

very interesting people their religion is very interesting uh they worship what the west a lot of westerners would call the devil i don't think that's very accurate but they were very pro-american they were they were always dressed in colorful outfits and they come and wave at us and um whereas when you were in the sunni parts they just kind of ignore you and they're like when are you guys going to leave you know uh and so five years after that all had fallen apart and that was and a lot of those people who waved at you were dead or sex slaves

very interesting people their religion is very interesting uh they worship what the west a lot of westerners would call the devil i don't think that's very accurate but they were very pro-american they were they were always dressed in colorful outfits and they come and wave at us and um whereas when you were in the sunni parts they just kind of ignore you and they're like when are you guys going to leave you know uh and so five years after that all had fallen apart and that was and a lot of those people who waved at you were dead or sex slaves

very interesting people their religion is very interesting uh they worship what the west a lot of westerners would call the devil i don't think that's very accurate but they were very pro-american they were they were always dressed in colorful outfits and they come and wave at us and um whereas when you were in the sunni parts they just kind of ignore you and they're like when are you guys going to leave you know uh and so five years after that all had fallen apart and that was and a lot of those people who waved at you were dead or sex slaves