Were Pete Hegseth's Bronze Star medals awarded for combat valor or meritorious service?
Executive summary
Available reporting indicates Pete Hegseth was awarded two Bronze Star medals during deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, and multiple sources describe those awards as for meritorious service rather than for valor; contemporary news reporting and later documents characterize Bronze Stars as awarded either for valor (with a “V” device) or for meritorious service [1] [2] [3]. Public materials including Hegseth’s bios list two Bronze Stars and deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan but do not, in the provided reporting, show official citation text that unambiguously labels either medal with a “V” for valor [4] [5] [6].
1. What the record reports: two Bronze Stars tied to Iraq/Afghanistan deployments
Multiple contemporary profiles and biographical pages say Hegseth holds two Bronze Star medals earned during his service in Iraq and Afghanistan; his Wikipedia entry and campaign/biographical write‑ups list deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and note two Bronze Stars [5] [4] [6]. News outlets repeating his résumé also cite those two Bronze Stars as part of his military credentials when reporting on his nomination for Pentagon office [1].
2. How the Bronze Star is awarded — two distinct meanings
News reporting summarized the formal distinction: a Bronze Star can be awarded for a specific incident of heroism in combat when accompanied by a “V” device denoting valor, or it can be awarded for meritorious service over a period while serving in a combat zone [2]. The Washington Times piece explains that the medal can mark either valor (with a “V”) or meritorious service and notes critics who describe some Bronze Stars as routine awards for service rather than acts of battlefield heroism [2].
3. What sources explicitly say about Hegseth’s medals
The materials in the search set that address the question directly characterize Hegseth’s Bronze Stars as meritorious service awards: for example, reporting tied to a later controversy about a White House video described the deleted clip’s claim that he received the Bronze Star “for valor” as false and stated Hegseth’s two Bronze Stars were for meritorious service [3]. The Associated Press reporter cited in that reporting is named as the source for the meritorious‑service characterization [3].
4. Absence of primary citation text in available sources
The provided sources do not include the actual award citation texts or Department of Defense personnel records that would definitively show whether a “V” device was authorized for either Bronze Star Hegseth received; public bios and news summaries repeat the medal count without reproducing citation language [5] [4] [1]. A DocumentCloud entry referencing “Pete Hegseth Bronze Star for Valor” appears in the search index but the provided snippet and metadata do not include the underlying scanned citation or an authoritative caption in this search set [7]. Therefore, official award documents are not present among the supplied items.
5. Two viewpoints in public debate — resume boosters vs. critics
Supportive profiles and his own biographical materials present Hegseth as a deployed Army National Guardsman with two Bronze Stars and a Combat Infantryman’s Badge, emphasizing service in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Guantanamo Bay [4] [6]. Critics and some media items question whether Bronze Stars awarded for meritorious service should be equated with combat valor and highlighted that Bronze Stars “for valor” are marked with a “V” device, arguing that the distinction matters for credibility and for honoring those whose awards were for discrete acts of heroism [2] [3].
6. What can and cannot be concluded from the available reporting
Based on the available reporting in this set, the responsible conclusion is that Hegseth received two Bronze Stars and that at least some reputable reporting describes them as meritorious‑service awards rather than Bronze Stars “for valor” [3] [1] [2]. The supplied materials do not include the original award citations or defense personnel records that would unambiguously show whether either medal was authorized with a “V” device; therefore a definitive, primary‑document confirmation is not present in the provided reporting [7] [5].
7. Why the distinction matters in public debate
News outlets and commentators emphasize the difference because Bronze Stars with a “V” denote a specific, documented act of heroism under fire, whereas Bronze Stars for meritorious service recognize sustained performance in a combat zone; conflating the two can inflame claims of “stolen valor” or exaggeration and undercuts public trust when political actors tout military honors for branding [2] [3]. The sources indicate both sides — validators of Hegseth’s service record and critics who question the presentation of the awards — are active in the coverage [6] [2].
Limitations: available sources do not include Hegseth’s actual Bronze Star award citations or DoD personnel files that would provide an incontrovertible label of “valor” vs. “meritorious service” for each medal; the conclusion above is drawn from the secondary reporting provided [7] [5].