Hegseth Awards Medal to Sentinel Who Reprimanded His Group at Tomb

At a meeting with the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, known as the Old Guard, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth pinned the decoration on Spc. Thomas Iglesias at the Pentagon and later posted photographs of the ceremony.

“We love soldiers. We love standards. Well done, Specialist,” he wrote on X, adding, “Carry on Patriots.”

A Pentagon official said Hegseth “welcomed the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, the Old Guard, to the Pentagon where he proudly awarded Specialist Iglesias the Joint Service Commendation Medal for the execution of his duties at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on November 11, 2026.”

After the Veterans Day Ceremony

The encounter took place on November 11 at Arlington National Cemetery, after the annual wreath-laying at the tomb. President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance attended the ceremony, Stars and Stripes and CBS News reported.

Trump later delivered Veterans Day remarks at the Memorial Amphitheater.

Video recorded after the official event showed Hegseth, his wife, Jennifer, and aides posing for photographs on steps overlooking the memorial. Members of the group could be heard laughing and talking as they walked away, according to Stars and Stripes and CBS News.

Stars and Stripes identified two of the aides as Ricky Buria and Tami Radabaugh. Military.com reported that the footage does not establish who laughed or whether Hegseth himself made any noise.

A Standard Call for Silence

Iglesias, a sentinel in the unit that guards the tomb around the clock, stepped forward and shouted: “All visitors will maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times.”

The warning was a standard command used at the site, directed at all visitors rather than a personal rebuke of Hegseth by name. Clash Report earlier reported the Veterans Day exchange.

One member of the regiment said in a 2022 Army interview that sentinels react to the crowd two or three times per day, CBS News noted. Army sentinels have guarded the tomb around the clock since 1937, according to Arlington National Cemetery.

Pentagon Backs the Sentinel

Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell told CBS News that the soldier “correctly and respectfully reminded everyone to maintain decorum.”

“The Secretary and the entire Department have always honored — and will always honor — the sacrifices our military men and women have made to keep America safe,” Parnell said.

The medal ceremony came two days after the House voted 211-204 to refer an impeachment resolution against Hegseth to committee, ending the bid in this Congress.

Hegseth did not address the Arlington exchange in his X post. The photographs show him pinning the medal on Iglesias and posing with members of the Old Guard.