Which conflicts or deployments did Pete Hegseth participate in during his military service?

1. Military résumé in three theaters — the basic record

Contemporary biographies and press reporting consistently state that Hegseth deployed three times: first to Guantánamo Bay (2004–05), then to Iraq with the 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division (2005–06) where he served as an infantry platoon leader in Baghdad and later as a civil‑military operations officer in Samarra, and most recently to Afghanistan (2011–12) as a senior counterinsurgency instructor at the Counterinsurgency Training Center in Kabul ^{[2] [3] [1]}.

2. Guantánamo Bay: early active duty assignment, not a combat deployment in the conventional sense

Multiple profiles list Guantánamo Bay as Hegseth’s first active‑duty assignment after commissioning, noting service there in 2004–05 while assigned to the New Jersey Army National Guard ^{[2] [4]}. Sources describe this as part of the post‑9/11 operational tempo for Guard units; they do not detail specific missions or incidents at that facility in Hegseth’s record ^[2]. Available sources do not mention combat actions tied to his Guantánamo service ^{[2] [1]}.

3. Iraq, 2005–06: infantry platoon leader in Baghdad, civil‑military duties in Samarra

Ballotpedia and other profiles specify that Hegseth deployed with the 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne Division to Baghdad in 2005, serving as an infantry platoon leader, and toward the end of that tour worked as a civil‑military operations officer in Samarra in 2006 ^{[2] [3]}. Britannica likewise summarizes his Iraq service as a platoon leadership role ^[1]. Reporting cites awards such as Bronze Stars in summarizing his record, but exact citations for decorations in these sources vary ^{[1] [4]}.

4. Afghanistan, 2011–12: instructor role focused on counterinsurgency

Hegseth’s last documented deployment was to Afghanistan in 2011–12, where he is described as the senior counterinsurgency instructor at the Counterinsurgency Training Center in Kabul ^{[3] [1]}. Sources frame this as a training and advisory assignment rather than front‑line platoon leadership; that distinction is consistent across profiles ^{[3] [1]}.

5. Agreement and small discrepancies across sources

The convergence across Britannica, Ballotpedia, UANI and DVIDS is strong: three deployments — Guantánamo Bay, Iraq, Afghanistan — with Iraq service tied to the 3rd Brigade, 101st Airborne, Baghdad and Samarra, and Afghanistan linked to counterinsurgency instruction in Kabul ^{[1] [2] [3] [5]}. Differences appear only in wording and emphasis (e.g., describing Guantánamo as a deployment versus an assignment) and in the level of detail provided about awards and exact dates ^{[1] [2]}.

6. What the available sources do not (or do only partially) say

Sources do not provide granular operational details such as specific engagements, battle citations, after‑action accounts or unit‑level mission reports tied to Hegseth’s time in theater ^{[2] [3] [1]}. They also do not document any allegations or official investigations connected to his deployments in the materials provided here; available sources do not mention such matters ^{[1] [2]}.

7. Why this matters for readers evaluating Hegseth’s record

The uniform listing of three deployments across government, encyclopedic and advocacy profiles demonstrates a clear pattern of service in detention operations (Guantánamo), counterinsurgency combat and civil‑military work in Iraq, and training/advisory duties in Afghanistan ^{[1] [2] [3]}. Where sources emphasize leadership and instruction, others foreground platoon‑level combat roles; readers should note those different framings when assessing experience versus operational exposure ^{[2] [3]}.

If you want, I can produce a consolidated timeline listing approximate dates, units and roles drawn only from the cited profiles above.