Updated Nov. 12, 2026, 12:45 p.m. ET
WASHINGTON – Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth bestowed a prestigious medal on the U.S. Army sentinel who scolded Hegseth and a group of his senior advisers for laughing at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier after a Veterans Day ceremony.
Hegseth invited a group of tomb’s guards, known as Army sentinels, to the Pentagon on Nov. 12, and awarded the prestigious Joint Service Commendation Medal to Specialist Thomas Iglesias, the sentinel who yelled at him a day earlier.
“We love standards,” Hegseth wrote in a post on social media. “Well done, Specialist.”
Iglesias admonished Hegseth, his wife and a group of his senior advisers for laughing after they posed for photos in front of the tomb at Arlington National Cemetery, one of the most sacred war memorials in the country.
“All visitors will maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times,” Iglesias yelled, prompting Hegseth and other members of the group to turn around in surprise as they were walking away from the memorial. The incident was captured by television cameras and quickly went viral on social media.
The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is the burial site of an unidentifiable soldier who was killed in World War I. It is guarded 24 hours a day by Army sentinels, who are members of the 3rd U.S. Infantry Regiment, an elite military unit also known as the Old Guard. Serving as a sentinel is considered to be one of the highest honors in the U.S. military.
The group that posed for the photo with Hegseth included his chief of staff Ricky Buria, deputy chief of staff Patrick Weaver, senior adviser Tami Radabaugh and Hegseth’s wife, Jennifer Hegseth. It was not clear which members of the group were laughing.
The Pentagon swiftly backed the sentinel’s decision to scold Hegseth and his team, writing in a statement on Nov. 11 that the “soldier correctly and respectfully reminded everyone to maintain decorum.”
The incident comes after House Republicans thwarted a potential impeachment vote against Hegseth on Nov. 10. His job security appeared to be in question following the Republican Party’s historic losses in the midterm elections, but the impeachment effort saw him shore up support from President Donald Trump and other senior White House officials.
Trump had praised Hegseth for doing a “fantastic job” at the Pentagon in his remarks at the Veterans Day ceremony in Arlington National Cemetery. The incident at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier occurred just moments later as Hegseth and his team were leaving the event.
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