Op-Ed: Mayor Larry Hushour: Why this veteran supports Pete Hegseth's confirmation

With the confirmation of Pete Hegseth, standing beside President Donald Trump, I believe every troop, sailor, Marine and airman will rejoice in knowing they are being led by one of their own.

I turned sixty in 2024. For many who have served full military careers divided between active duty and the reserves in the Armed Forces, you know the significance of this age. At last, I am receiving some retirement pay and enjoying some benefit from years of family separations, the stresses of intense operations during the tail end of the first Gulf War, deployments in support of other nations, chasing drug runners throughout Central America, the impacts of 9-11, Search and Rescue missions during hurricane Katrina, and battling a period of an undiagnosed medical issue that left me wondering if I would ever see my current age.

My current battle which is slowly reaping some benefit is with the Veterans Administration (VA) as I try to explain physical disabilities stemming from 20 years of working next to loud jet engines, crawling in and out of the E-2C Hawkeye, pounding a 40,000 pound aircraft onto a flight deck, drinking water that smelled like jet fuel, living on Kaopectate in El Salvador for weeks at a time, and that pesky undiagnosed medical condition that caused me to wonder if I’d stepped on a hidden internal time bomb.

But I’ve survived it all! And I have emerged from my military career having seen a little bit of everything, well, at least in the Navy. I have had great Skippers (Commanding Officers) and some who barely made it through their tour. I’ve seen department heads relieved of their duties and others rewarded for incredible efficiency and accomplishing missions with unquestionable professionalism and unwavering integrity. I have become wiser, I would say humbly.

Following my career, I engrossed myself into my new and final home town (I have my children and Scouting to thank for this). Learning the history of the first town I ever lived in long enough to actually know a barber by name was a requirement needed for rank advancement in Boy and Girl Scouts (or at least, that was my interpretation!).

And this led me into a fascination for the history of Mount Airy, Maryland. And the more I discovered, the more I became involved in town politics. In 2017, I was elected to the town council, and in 2021, I was elected as the Mayor. Now, I serve my nearly 10,000 constituents with as much honor and integrity as I can muster based on my Navy career. Believe me, even small town politics can test you at times!

From my small town, nonpartisan position, I watch national politics and have grimaced at much of what I have seen. But Maryland is not a state where Republicans sigh too loudly, lest we receive an abrupt reminder that we are indeed the minority party in a state that exists with a Democrat super majority. Rarely does a Larry Hogan emerge victorious for two terms as a Republican governor in such a liberal enclave.

For this op-ed, I think I’ve established my credentials as an old retired Navy guy and small town politician who stays current on the issues of our great nation. So let me offer what I really want to opine to the readers of this offering. They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again with an expectation of different results. In 2025, as the Trump administration beckons on a journey to “right” our nation’s metaphorical ship, it is imperative that the Senate confirm President Donald Trump’s appointments to all his cabinet positions. On November 5, the nation spoke very loudly and without reserve, and that voice resounded in an affirmation of altering course from four years of incompetence at the highest levels of government including the questionable decisions and performance of numerous cabinet members.

On November 5, Donald J. Trump received more than a presidential position. He received a vote of confidence. When I heard he’d selected Pete Hegseth to serve as Secretary of Defense, I scratched my head momentarily as this pick was definitely “out of the box.” But it didn’t take long to do some research and realize how bold this choice is and the opportunities that could be garnered by having a “boots-on-the-ground,” relatively young, combat war veteran leading our Department of Defense.

Pete is not a perfect man. He has been scarred like so many others through his service to our country. Service that put him at great risk on foreign soil. I can tell you, it is not easy putting your life on the line, especially when you are halfway across the world surrounded by people who want to see you dead and our country in ruin. No doubt Pete Hegseth returned home a changed man after each deployment. The truth is though you may return home to our great country with all your body parts intact, a new battle emerges internally. And soldiers, Marines, sailors and airmen and women deal with it through many means. And some of it is not pure as newly fallen snow. And many veterans need assistance and understanding.

There is a reason 22 veterans per day commit suicide. That number seems to be improving slightly, but it is a glaring number that requires the utmost attention of DOD leadership, starting at the top with the Secretary. Though I don’t know Pete personally, I can read him in the way he carries himself. Any veteran sitting at a VFW or an American Legion may recognize how he served and the “tells” of a man who has seen more than those who have not deployed into dangerous zones.

And with the confirmation of Secretary Hegseth, standing beside President Trump, I believe every troop, sailor, Marine and airman, male or female will rejoice in knowing they are being led by one of their own. And I believe veterans fighting their way through the wickets of the VA will know they have a true advocate ready to assist those who sacrifice their early lives, body and mind, to ensure the United States of America remains the greatest nation in the world.

I am calling on the Senate to confirm Pete Hegseth as Secretary of Defense as part of an election that mandates a new approach to major military decisions both worldwide and for our returning veterans.

Larry Hushour, a Navy veteran, is the Mayor of Mt. Airy, Maryland.