Did Pete Hegseth earn any campaign or service medals while in the National Guard?

1. What the record of awards says — a consistent basic roster

Several organizational biographies and news outlets present the same set of decorations for Hegseth: two Bronze Star Medals, two Army Commendation Medals (sometimes listed with a Joint Commendation Medal as well), the Combat Infantryman Badge and Expert Infantryman Badge, and service ribbons such as the National Defense Service Medal ^{[1] [3] [2]}. These summaries appear in congressional witness materials and major outlet fact-files that accompanied his 2024–25 nomination and confirmation process ^{[1] [4]}.

2. Bronze Stars: number and repeated attribution

Multiple independent sources explicitly state Hegseth was awarded two Bronze Star Medals, and that detail is the one most frequently reported and highlighted in profiles published during his nomination and early tenure as secretary of defense ^{[1] [4] [5]}. Regional and national outlets reiterated “two Bronze Stars” in their quick-reference timelines and biographies ^{[6] [2]}.

3. Variations and additional decorations: what differs across write‑ups

Beyond the Bronze Stars, the roster of awards sometimes expands or shifts wording: several pieces include a Joint Commendation Medal or single out the National Defense Service Medal with a bronze service star; some biographies list the Joint Commendation Medal alongside two Army Commendation Medals ^{[3] [7] [2]}. These differences reflect reporting variations in how medals and badges are summarized, not outright contradictions about whether Hegseth served in combat or held infantry qualifications ^{[3] [5]}.

4. Context and scrutiny around how decorations are described

Reporting around Hegseth’s nomination included scrutiny of military decorations generally — news coverage and opinion pieces probed the meaning and standards for awards such as the Bronze Star (for valor or meritorious service) even as biographical materials attributed two Bronze Stars to him ^[8]. The Washington Times piece, for example, used the medal discussion to explain the Bronze Star’s possible criteria while defending him against suggestions of “easy” decorations ^[8].

5. What the sources do not settle or explicitly provide

Available sources in this set do not provide the original award citations, dates, or official military personnel records that would specify whether each Bronze Star included a “V” device for valor, the exact actions they recognized, or the precise deployment dates tied to each award (not found in current reporting). The public biographies and news fact sheets compile awards but do not reproduce the underlying citation texts in these excerpts ^{[1] [2] [3]}.

6. Competing readings and possible motives in reporting

Media outlets that favor Hegseth emphasize the awards as evidence of combat leadership and credibility; some critic-friendly outlets used the same awards to question details or to probe whether the decorations had been fully documented for public review ^{[8] [9]}. Organizational bios tied to government or campaign contexts present the awards wholesale without caveats, which is routine but can obscure the granular details reporters and some senators sought during confirmation ^{[1] [7]}.

7. Bottom line for the original question

According to the published biographies and news fact sheets in the available reporting, Pete Hegseth earned campaign/service and valor-related decorations during his Army National Guard career — most consistently cited are two Bronze Star Medals and two Army Commendation Medals, along with infantry badges such as the Combat Infantryman Badge and Expert Infantryman Badge ^{[1] [2] [3]}. The underlying award citations and specific circumstances for those medals are not reproduced in the cited sources here, so those finer details are not settled by the materials provided (not found in current reporting).