Was hegseth kicked out of army

1. The official record and timeline: service, reserve status, and separation

Public biographies and contemporaneous reporting show Hegseth was commissioned in 2003, served multiple deployments with the Minnesota Army National Guard and later served in the District of Columbia Army National Guard as a drilling reservist through March 2021; none of the provided sources state he was dishonorably discharged or involuntarily separated from the Guard ^{[1] [2]}. Reuters summarizes Hegseth’s own account that he felt rejected by the military and described leaving, but frames that as his perception rather than proof of a formal punitive removal ^[2]. Wikipedia and AP-style summaries in the dataset likewise describe service history and controversies without citing a forcible ouster ^{[1] [4]}.

2. What “kicked out” would legally imply — and why that matters here

To be “kicked out” of the U.S. military ordinarily means an administrative or punitive discharge (other than honorable) or a court-martial resulting in dismissal; reporting about Hegseth catalogs allegations that could, if proven and prosecuted while in uniform, trigger such outcomes (extramarital affairs, disobeying commanders), but no source provided documents such punitive proceedings or a resulting discharge in his case ^{[3] [4]}. Several outlets explicitly note that the actions Hegseth has acknowledged—affairs and advocating that troops ignore certain orders—would violate the Uniform Code of Military Justice and “could” lead to court-martial or dishonorable discharge if he were still in uniform and the allegations were adjudicated ^{[3] [4]}.

3. The incidents that feed the narrative of a forced removal

The most-cited episodes that fuel claims he was removed are internal Guard actions that limited his duties — notably being barred from inauguration duty after a guardsman flagged him as an “insider threat” in part over a tattoo — and internal reviews about tattoos and behavior; Reuters reports contemporaneous email exchanges and a second guard member confirming tattoos were a trigger for review ^[2]. Reporting also documents personal misconduct allegations (extramarital affairs) and statements about disregarding commanders’ firing directives; outlets including Military.com and AP tie those behaviors to potential UCMJ violations, but do not report they resulted in formal disciplinary separation ^{[3] [4]}.

4. How politics and media roles have shaped coverage and interpretation

Hegseth’s profile as a media personality and later as a political appointee colors reporting and public claims: sources note he worked for Fox, ran opinionated shows, and later became a polarizing nominee and appointee, which opponents have used to frame his military relationship as fractured while allies portray any limits on his duties as politicized censorship ^{[2] [3] [5]}. Opinion pieces and partisan outlets advance competing narratives—some arguing his actions warranted removal, others framing disciplinary steps as motivated by his politics or media role—so readers should weigh differing agendas in the sources ^{[2] [5] [6]}.

5. Verdict and reporting limits

Based on the provided reporting, the direct answer: no, there is no evidence in these sources that Pete Hegseth was formally “kicked out” of the Army via court-martial or dishonorable discharge; he served as a National Guard member until 2021 and was subject to administrative restrictions and internal review at times ^{[1] [2] [4]}. Caveat: the available sources document controversies and note behaviors that could have led to punitive action if adjudicated while he remained in uniform, but they do not document such adjudication or an involuntary separation; reporting beyond these sources would be required to assert any contrary fact ^{[3] [4]}.