Obama appointed him Sec of Defense.
Panetta served 2 years as a First Lieutenant. Never commanded anyone.
en.wikipedia.org
Hegseth, served 13 years, rank of Major. Commanded a platoon in combat. Twice the number of Army Commendation Medals as Panetta, as well as the Bronze Star Medal and Combat Infantryman Badge.
en.wikipedia.org
For Context and history.It was not Obama who masterminded
the Finding and hidden place where Osama Bin Laden
was hiding.It was Panetta.Turned out the concrete place
was just down the street in Pakistan from a Jail of sorts.
Obama almost instantly was awarded credit for his
handling of the Bin Laden Capture and Killing.It was a ruse
all along.To Boost Obama's image and leadership abilities.
Small mistakes were used to explain the unexplainable.
Like taking the dead body of Bin Laden onto a ship and
secretly buring at sea.Muslim's never bury at sea.
Plus never showing pics of a dead Bin Laden.A grotesque
photo made it on the Internet but it was fake.
Supposedly just a few high-up senators were allowed to
view photos of the Dead Bin Laden.
They were very closed mouthed.