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By Anna Rahmanan
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In Shakespeare's King Lear, the fool can tell the king what others at court dare not say. He has no power of his own, but he understands something Lear has forgotten—authority does not make a man wise, and loyalty sometimes requires telling him he is wrong.
At the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, Army specialist Thomas Iglesias found himself in a similar position when he reprimanded a group that included Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.
Iglesias was guarding the tomb on Veterans Day when laughter broke out among Hegseth's party. The soldier stopped his patrol and called for silence and respect. The following day, Hegseth awarded him the Joint Service Commendation Medal.
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Although Hegseth's decision to honor Iglesias was commendable, the soldier had already given the defense secretary a lesson in what it means to do one's duty.
The exchange offers a lesson in military leadership that Shakespeare would have recognized—a subordinate's obligation to uphold standards can sometimes place him in the uncomfortable position of correcting the very people who outrank him.
In King Lear, the king banishes his daughter Cordelia because she refuses to flatter him with extravagant declarations of love. The fool then repeatedly reminds Lear of his mistake, criticizing him for rejecting the daughter who had been honest with him. Where others at court hesitate to challenge the king, the fool tells him plainly that he has acted foolishly.
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Iglesias faced a far less complicated situation. His responsibility was to enforce the rules at the tomb, regardless of who was visiting. Hegseth's position as defense secretary gave him no exemption from those rules.
The sentinels of the Old Guard have guarded the tomb continuously since 1948. Visitors are expected to remain respectful and the soldiers on duty are responsible for maintaining that standard. Iglesias was carrying out an established responsibility when he called the group to order.
Onto Hegseth's response. The United States Secretary of Defense could have dismissed the reprimand or treated it as disrespectful. Instead, he invited Iglesias to the Pentagon and presented him with a medal.
Recognizing a soldier for enforcing standards, even when senior officials are involved, sends a useful message through the ranks. Military discipline depends on service members carrying out their responsibilities without having to calculate whether the person involved is too powerful to correct.
The episode obviously invited attention, with videos of the encounter spreading online and prompting criticism of the conduct of Hegseth's group. The Pentagon defended the soldier, saying he had acted appropriately. Hegseth then went further by recognizing him personally.
The episode also produced an unusual reversal of military protocol. Normally, a specialist stands at attention while a senior official speaks. At Arlington, the specialist did the talking and the secretary had to listen. A day later, they were together at the Pentagon for an award ceremony.
Here's what that distinction leads to: Iglesias was enforcing a rule that applies to every visitor while Hegseth was exercising his discretion as a leader. The first action was required by duty and the second was a choice.
Hegseth also had an opportunity to make the point publicly. Posting photographs of the ceremony, he praised the soldier and the standards he had enforced. The message was clear enough: doing your job properly should be recognized, even when it causes an awkward moment for the boss.
Shakespeare gave Lear a much less accommodating response to unwelcome advice. His king repeatedly punishes people who tell him what he needs to hear. Hegseth, faced with a modest modern version of that predicament, chose a different course.
There is a certain humor in a defense secretary presenting a medal to a soldier who had effectively told his group to quiet down. It is also a useful reminder of what military discipline demands from those at the top.
Lear would probably have banished the soldier but Hegseth opted to give him a medal and, somewhere in that difference, is the actual point of the story: even the man in charge sometimes needs reminding of the rules.
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