You are comparing different departments, so apples and oranges. I can tell you of the rank of Major, in the National Guard. Majors fill Battalion level staff positions, under a LT Colonel Battalion Commander. They generally do not even run Battalions (about 47 Officers and maybe 500 Soldiers) certainly not a Brigade (2-3 Battalions/ 3,000 to 5,000 Soldiers), definitely not a Division (3-5 Brigades/10,000-15,000 soldiers) or a Corps (2-5 Divisions/20,000 to 45,000 soldier). We have maybe 967,000 soldiers in the Army, Army National Guard, and Army Reserves alone, not counting Navy, Air force and their reserves, all with different specialties, missions, equipment, procurement, training requirements, weaponry, equipment, etc. All assignments required specific skill sets, experience, training, based on mission, situation, organizational level, country operating in, countries operating with, whether I was commanding a unit or simply a staff Officer.
Major Hegseth may have been an excellent Platoon leader in Iraq, as a Lieutenant. He is probably a fine staff officer, in his National Guard assignment. No way in hell, I would turn the position of Secretary of Defense over the Maj Hegseth.
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