What missions and responsibilities did Hegseth undertake while deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan?

1. Infantry platoon leader and patrol commander in Baghdad — leading patrols and kinetic operations

Multiple profiles and an officer evaluation describe Hegseth serving as an infantry platoon leader with the 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne in Baghdad in 2005, where he “led numerous patrols” and was commended as a “proven combat leader” who operated “calm under fire” and “led from the front,” language that frames responsibilities for tactical leadership, patrol planning, and direct engagement with insurgent threats ^{[2] [1] [5]}.

2. Civil‑military operations officer in Samarra — building local relationships and gathering intelligence

Toward the end of his Iraq tour Hegseth served as an assistant civil‑military operations officer in Samarra, a role that reporting defines as encompassing humanitarian assistance, district assessments, and liaison with local leaders; his evaluators credited him with developing trust with Samarra leaders that helped “collect intelligence” tied to the capture or killing of insurgent figures, indicating responsibilities that blended governance, influence operations, and intelligence facilitation ^{[2] [1] [5]}.

3. Counterinsurgency instructor in Kabul — training Afghan forces and advising during withdrawal

After returning to active duty, Hegseth volunteered to deploy to Afghanistan and served as a senior counterinsurgency instructor at the Counterinsurgency Training Center in Kabul for roughly eight months during the U.S. drawdown, teaching tactics and doctrine to Afghan security forces and delivering some of the program’s final classes as coalition forces reduced footprint—tasks that positioned him as a teacher, advisor, and institutional conduit for U.S. counterinsurgency practices ^{[4] [2] [3]}.

4. Recognition, combat experience, and how sources characterize his impact

Biographical sources and organizational profiles list two Bronze Stars and a Combat Infantryman’s Badge among Hegseth’s awards for overseas service, and military evaluation excerpts obtained by media stress “outstanding” leadership and exceptional support to battalions in both theaters, framing his record as a mix of tactical combat service and advisory/training impact rather than staff‑level strategic command ^{[2] [1] [3]}.

5. Caveats, differing emphases, and unresolved details in public reporting

Public reporting converges on the broad categories—infantry leadership and civil‑military work in Iraq, and counterinsurgency instruction in Afghanistan—but sources vary in detail and emphasis: media and evaluation excerpts highlight patrols and intelligence collection ^[1], biographies emphasize training roles and volunteerism in Kabul ^{[4] [3]}, and third‑party summaries add awards without granular operational timelines ^[2]. Open reporting does not provide a complete day‑by‑day catalogue of missions, nor independent documentation of every specific patrol or engagement mentioned in evaluators’ summaries, so assessment relies on the combination of official biographies, media‑obtained evaluations, and veterans’ profiles ^{[1] [2] [3]}.

6. Bottom line — what responsibilities defined his deployments

Hegseth’s deployments were defined by two complementary mission sets: direct combat leadership and civil‑military engagement in Iraq—leading patrols, conducting civil affairs tasks, and facilitating local intelligence—and instructor/advisor duties in Afghanistan—teaching counterinsurgency tactics to Afghan forces during the coalition drawdown—roles consistently cited across the available reporting ^{[1] [2] [4]}. Alternative perspectives in the coverage stem mainly from differing institutional lenses—military evaluations emphasize battlefield leadership while biographies and public profiles stress training and advisory contributions—yet all present a service record combining tactical command and partnership‑building responsibilities ^{[1] [2] [3]}.