Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth awards medal to sentinel who rebuked his delegation

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth awarded a medal on Thursday to Army Specialist Thomas Iglesias, the sentinel who publicly reprimanded him and his delegation at Arlington National Cemetery. The incident occurred on Wednesday following a Veterans Day event, when a video showed Iglesias shouting at Hegseth, his wife, and senior aides after they were seen speaking and taking pictures on the steps of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier.

According to the Jerusalem Post, Iglesias exclaimed that all visitors must maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times.

The Daily Times reported that Hegseth shared a photograph of himself pinning the award onto Iglesias alongside members of The Old Guard. In a post shared by Hegseth, the defense chief praised the soldier’s commitment, stating, "We love soldiers. We love standards. Well done, Specialist. Carry on, Patriots." CBS News noted that the soldier was summoned to the Pentagon on Thursday following the public reprimand.

Brief written by urgent.news from Daily Times, CBS News, Jerusalem Post, Hindustan Times - World News — 4 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.