Pete Hegseth here for a live Q&A on 4/28. What questions do you have for me?

MAJ (Join to see) Thanks for taking the time to be here with us. You touch on some very unique and impactful discussions in your new book.
I wish every American held the same core values as our military does. What would be your advice to service members or veterans who see their communities failing to meet the American ideals they fought so hard build?

Major Hegseth,
I don't believe we have crossed that threshold, however we are very close, our population has been made ignorant of what citizenship in a Republic truly is, do I believe it's by design? Of course I do. What can we do to change this tide and return power to citizens? We have to motivate them properly to become involved, get educated and act like they ARE in charge of government once again....I believe we can accomplish that by acting like the capitalists that we are born to be in this nation. We have to help them believe and understand that they will become prosperous again if they are willing to put in the work. That starts with a military and veteran population that don't bow to the pc crowd and social experiments being visited upon us today by the socialist in the White House. Why do I love military men? Because they are an elite group who learn as young men that there is something bigger than themselves out there.....therefore this mission begins on our knees in prayer to our God....who by the way is no longer allowed mention in our military.......the ranks should be rising in total rebellion over this......

I know this is a little far fetched, but have you seen the movie Starship Troopers. They had to serve to earn their citizenship. Now there is a noble idea.

When growing up, I earned my Citizen Merit badge in Scouts. At our meetings we pledged allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. I recited this in school, scouts and many other places. Many just recite the pledge, but have they listened and understood the words and what it means. Many places won't allow you to recite the pledge, because it might offend someone. It offends me when people do not recite the pledge, it's part of our culture as American Citizens, it's who we are, which I am proud of. The same goes for our National Anthem. Many people sing the lyrics at an events, but have they listened to the words and understand what Francis Scott Key was wrote about? When oversees, every time I looked at the American Flag, I thought of Francis Scott Key and how proud he must have felt to see the flag standing after continuous bombardment from the night before.
Being an American citizen means pride, strength, loyalty and being the best at everything we do. My hats off to the men and women of the greatest Military in the world who volunteer and will sacrifice
their lives just because they American citizens.

If the highest level of citizenship, and the right to vote were a franchise, limited to those willing to lay their lives on the line, be it military service, law enforcement, fire and rescue, or whatever, we, as a nation, would be better off. ADD to that, that honorable service in our military once was, and should be a guaranteed path to full citizenship. As it is, the sheep are voting to be fat lazy sheep, and let the government take care of them. Since the sheep far outnumber veterans, they get the benefits and help they want, while we suffer.

Even now, within the VA and government benefits systems, the system is rigged in many ways. I served during the Cold War, and sit at 60% Service Connected disability, with 100% Individual Unemployability. My younger brother was wounded in combat and gets 100% SC plus civillian medical coverage, plus Social Security, yet, at 100% Disability for unemployability, guaranteed I will never legally work again, I 'make too much' to qualify for any Social Security benefits. Veterans with personality disorders are often turned away from earned services, as well.

Many books have been written on how to be a good citizen, and how to return civilizations to greatness.

1) If you plan to run for office, why would I have any belief that you were doing anything to make things better for those that actually have served, rather than becoming another self-serving politician?
2) Since it's a matter of timing and/or location/MOS, rather than anything else, how would you ensure that our peace-time and non-combat veterans and service members are still equal in the system, to those with combat service?
3) Illegal aliens and welfare-'queens' can ride the system and afford fancy cars, fine clothes and be fat and properous, while we have brothers and sisters in arms dying on the streets. How are you and your book going to make a difference?

In response to the question of citizenship the first thing we need to do is to secure our borders and deport every illegal and their U.S. born children as they are not citizens due to the fact that their parents are not citizens and have no rights here in the United States. This democratic administration has done everything to undermine the constitution and subvert the laws by executive orders that are unconstitutional to the point of even making treaties with countries that are openly anti U. S. and giving foreign aide to countries that openly support terrorism even hiring people that are on the no fly list as personnel advisers. Then lying to the people and not reacting to the invasion of U. S. territories ie the U S Embassy in BenGhasi and allowing the people responsible get away with it and ordering the military to stand down allowing American citizens to be brutally killed by terrorist in a planned and organized strike. The then secretory of state also being allowed to use a private server to pass classified documents in an open format for any of these actions we the people would have been immediately thrown into prison and charged with treason and espionage. We the people need to take our country back from big government place term limits on all elected officials of not more than 2 terms in any office not allowing them to exempt themselves from laws of the land, or voting themselves pay raises, no lifetime pay for members of congress. The members of congress to be paid only while in session and their pay to be equal to that of the typical soldier that they are holding down. The cease of all foreign aide payments to any country that is in any way connected with terrorism, that is openly anti U. S. the removal of the United Nations from U. S. soil and stop all payments to that organization which is trying to subvert our way of life and laws. The cuts that I have stated would allow for the deposit to be paid off and for our military to be funded properly for the indefinite future allowing all of our equipment to be brought up to combat readiness and for much needed restructure of the Veterans Administration allowing our veterans to have the care that they deserve. We the citizens of this Great Nation need to stand together and tell this administration that it is We the People that run this country not some group of overpaid bureaucrats who think that they are above the law and think that they know what is best for this country and each and everyone of our true citizens. This country was founded on Christian values which are under attack from this administration allowing the few to control the many each and every state has the right to enforce the laws that were voted on by the citizens of the state and signed into law by the governor of said state Ie... marriage is between 1 man and 1 woman not whoever or what ever thinks that they have rights above the laws prescribed by the state. The allowing of openly LGBT personnel to serve in the military which has undermined the UCMJ and the allowance of women into elite military Units such as the Rangers where each member relies on the strength of the man next to him where women do not have the strength to carry a 200 lb man plus all the gear that they are required to carry in the case of emergency the administration has made the military a jjoke among the other nations of the world. Not to mention that this administration is subverting the laws by bringing in and forcing states to accept so called refugees that are no more than Muslim extremist into this country and leaving the christian population trying to become refugees to be slaughtered by terrorist. I and others that have served in the military have made it clear that this country in great danger not from the outside but from the inside( the liberal left, and the liberal media). We the people need to stand up and say enough is enough and take back our country my oath states that I will defend this nation from all enemies both foreign and domestic and the liberal left is the enemies of this great nation

I am fortunate to be born, by the grace of God, in the best place, in the history of this planet. I am one of many in my family tree that have the priviledge to call themselves a citizen of the United States of America. With that priviledge comes responsibilities to ensure future generations have the honor of citizenship in this great nation. But, we have been hijacked by forces that would deny the priviledge to those who will follow us. Many of the rights, we members of this forum, have fought for and our ancestors have died defending are being eroded, one by one. We sit on the precipious of losing our rights and the rights of our children and grandchildren if we do not act to change the current climate. How we do that, only time will tell. I have my own ideas, but they may be too radical for many to understand, but the Founders saw similar ideas as the only solution to free themselves from the yolk of tyranny.

My question for Pete: How do we get more citizens to yearn for service of our great country? Historically- it seemed obvious to be Patriotic and want to serve your country, but we seem to have veered of course. And I'm not limiting this to Service in the Armed Forces, just Service Above Self (Rotary Motto).

That is a loaded question. Takes in so much.

First off, you must be citizen in the legal sense to be able to "qualify" from the get-go. No matter how loyal you are, unless you are natural born or naturalized, you are not a citizen. Oddly, according to our laws, we even have categories of citizens. A natural born citizen being the highest of these. Each category comes with its own privileges.

Within each of the categories, you have those that are good citizens and those that are not. We even have those that might have been a natural born citizen but loose rights and privileges. Committing a crime may change your citizenship status. I remember stories of major criminals in WWII who were patriots and wanted to help in the war effort with their family and business contacts in Italy. We sometimes get being a good citizen and being a patriot mixed up since many of the same components are contained in each.

A good citizen starts as a person who has a love of country just as we have love for one another. As a republic, our country belongs to "We the People" and not to a single dictator, royalty, or group of leaders. It is this love of country that has often led to revolts against the leadership.

A good citizen is a person who lives within the laws established while at the same time challenges laws that not in the best interest of all. People who do not obey the laws are subject to being punished, and can even loose many Constitutional Rights as their category of citizenship lowered. Others find that civil disobedience is a path that becomes necessary and can actually improve the quality of life for many, as in the Civil Rights Movement.

A good citizen is a person who participates and votes in every election. Failure to do so shows a lack of concern.

A good citizen shows respect for the American Flag and stands tall when the Anthem is played. Something that is lacking at ballgames all over the country.

A good citizen is a person who will step up and do what they can when the country is in threatened. This does not mean joining the military to fight the enemy alone. Many can do other things which supports the countries efforts.

Being a good citizen has many, many points. From I read in the introduction and in some of the points, citizenship is one thing. Patriotism is another but the two can cross over and touch one another.

Good luck outlining your paper. There are many, many individual points that need to be included. Many of those points are going to cause a great number of people to get angry such as my point about ballgames.

I think I will ask the question on my FB page and see what my community has to say. I may post some of those answers to you later.

In regard to changes in the future battlefields, what areas in the armed forces need to be prioritized