A soldier guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier reprimanded Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and his staff for breaking decorum after a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.

A soldier guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier issued a verbal reprimand to a group of advisers and staffers with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth following a Veterans Day ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery.

Video shows Hegseth taking photos on the empty steps in front of the tomb with his wife, Jennifer, chief of staff Ricky Buria, deputy chief of staff Patrick Weaver and senior adviser Tami Radabaugh.

As the group broke from taking photos, a loud laugh could be heard, and the soldier guarding the tomb shouted that “all visitors will maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times.”

  • doc@fedia.io
    85·
    2 hours ago

    The guards at the tomb of the unknown soldier are well known for this. There’s videos of them yelling at people all over YouTube anyone wanted to see.

    Their entire job is to maintain the peaceful and respectful atmosphere in the cemetery, no matter who it may be disrupting that.

    The real story here is that the Secretary of the god-gamned Military and his entourage don’t know that and had to be reminded to mind their manners at arguably the most important US military memorial in the world. That the headline is putting the focus not on the transgression, but on the soldier who called it out is disingenuous.

    • wjrii@lemmy.world
      7·
      1 hour ago

      The official response is a weak-ass statement praising the sentinel but absolutely avoiding any mention of why the guy had to speak at all.

    • AreaKodeA
      11·
      2 hours ago

      I also sort of expect this. But that would be a PR nightmare. Which is why it will likely happen…

  • raman_klogius@ani.socialEnglish
    14·
    2 hours ago

    What happens next would be a test of the armed forces leadership. If the guard stays, it means at least one person in the chain of command have a spine. Otherwise the entire US armed forces leadership have become spineless.