国防部长皮特·赫格塞斯精心打造的个人形象，在阿灵顿国家公墓与一名陆军哨兵的一次遭遇中受到了冲击。
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s highly cultivated brand took a hit during an encounter with an Army sentinel at Arlington Cemetery.
皮特·赫格塞斯可能是国防部历史上最被“舞台管理”得严严实实的部长。
Pete Hegseth is possibly the most stage-managed secretary in the history of the Defense Department.
他所做的几乎每一件事，甚至包括着装选择，似乎都是为了要么团结支持者，要么激怒批评者。有美国国旗图案的袖巾、爱国主题袜子、向后梳的发型、“This is War”（这是战争）字样的T恤，还有经过精心策划剪辑的、他与官兵一起做俯卧撑的视频。做了那么多俯卧撑。
Almost everything he does, even his wardrobe choices, seems designed to either rally his supporters or provoke his critics. There are the American-flag pocket squares, the patriotic socks, the slicked-back hair, the “This is War” T-shirts and the carefully curated videos of him doing push-ups with the troops. So many push-ups.
因此，当一名守卫无名烈士墓的士兵在退伍军人节当天，因赫格塞斯先生及其随行人员在庄严纪念碑附近嬉笑交谈而对他们大声训斥时，这一幕显得格外引人注目。这种干预在阿灵顿国家公墓是每天都会发生的事，那里成群的游客时常触犯严格的军事礼仪规范。
So it stood out when a soldier guarding the Tomb of the Unknowns loudly scolded Mr. Hegseth and his party for laughing and talking near the solemn memorial on Veterans Day. Such interventions are a daily occurrence at Arlington Cemetery, where swarms of tourists brush up against strict military protocol.
“所有访客必须始终保持肃静和敬重的氛围，”这名陆军哨兵朝着正在离开的赫格塞斯先生、他的妻子及其高级顾问们高声喊道。
“All visitors will maintain an atmosphere of silence and respect at all times,” the Army sentinel bellowed in the direction of Mr. Hegseth, his wife and his top advisers as they departed.
周四，赫格塞斯授予该士兵联合服役嘉奖勋章。“我们热爱士兵，我们热爱标准。干得好，专业兵，”赫格塞斯在社交媒体上写道，“继续前进，爱国者们。” 这个罕见的非剧本时刻及其后续发展，指向了一个关于军队及其与所服务国家关系的更大真相。
On Thursday, Mr. Hegseth awarded the soldier a Joint Service Commendation Medal. “We love soldiers. We love standards. Well done, Specialist,” Hegseth said on social media. “Carry on Patriots.”The rare unscripted moment and its aftermath pointed to a larger truth about the military and its relationship to the country it serves.
作为一名伊拉克战争老兵和前福克斯新闻主持人，赫格塞斯先生将自己塑造成终极战士和爱国者，率领一支志同道合的精英队伍。如今，只有约1%的美国人在全志愿役军队中服役，这一事实常被总统、政客和五角大楼首脑在退伍军人节演讲中提及。
An Iraq veteran and former Fox News host, Mr. Hegseth casts himself as the ultimate warrior and patriot, leading an elite force of like-minded souls. Today, only about one percent of Americans serve in the all-volunteer military, a fact often mentioned in Veterans Day speeches by presidents, politicians and Pentagon chiefs.
近几十年来，大多数国防部长都哀叹士兵与其服务的国家之间的距离日益拉大，并将其视为对国家民主和文人控制军队原则的潜在危险。
Most defense secretaries in recent decades have lamented the growing distance between soldiers and the nation they serve, citing it as a potential danger to the country’s democracy and the principle of civilian control of the military.
相比之下，赫格塞斯似乎将这种差距视为他和部下在道德与体能上优越的证明。
Mr. Hegseth, by contrast, appears to see the gap as proof of his and his troops’ moral and physical superiority.
“你们才是真正的百分之一，”他在9月下旬的“部队状态”演讲中对数百名青年军官和军士说，“你们在暴力中感到自在，以便我们的公民能安然度日。”赫格塞斯继续说道，在一面巨大的美国国旗前踱步。背景板呼应了1970年同名电影中对乔治·S·巴顿将军的描绘。
“You are the real one percent,” he told hundreds of young officers and sergeants at his “State of the Force” speech in late September. “You feel comfortable inside the violence so that our citizens can live peacefully.”Mr. Hegseth continued, pacing the stage in front of a giant American flag. The backdrop mirrored the portrayal of Gen. George S. Patton in the 1970 movie bearing his name.
“你们不想看起来像平民，因为你们不一样，”赫格塞斯对部队说，“你们与众不同。你们是战士。”周二，他在新闻发布会上发出了类似的主题，为自己辩护，以应对国会即将进行的弹劾投票。这位国防部长将自己和部队描绘成机会主义政客的攻击目标，称这些政客永远无法理解他们的服役。
“You don’t want to look like civilians, because you are different,” Mr. Hegseth told the troops. “You are set apart. You are warriors.”Mr. Hegseth sounded a similar theme at a news conference on Tuesday in which he defended himself ahead of an impeachment vote in Congress. The defense secretary cast himself and the troops as targets of opportunistic politicians who would never understand their service.
他引用了指控，称他下令对加勒比海和东太平洋上涉嫌贩毒的船只实施非法打击。“别搞错正在发生的事。这与我无关，”赫格塞斯说。真正的目标，他说，是那些扣动扳机的部队。
He cited charges accusing him of carrying out unlawful strikes against suspected drug traffickers on boats in the Caribbean and the eastern Pacific. “Make no mistake about what is happening. This is not about me,” Mr. Hegseth said. The true targets, he said, were the troops who had pulled the triggers.
“如果他们想找战士的麻烦，”赫格塞斯发誓道，“就得先过我这关。”一些资深军官在获准匿名的情况下坦率谈论这位上级时，质疑赫格塞斯的动机。他们说，国防部长似乎躲在部队后面，而不是为自己的命令负责。
“If they want to come for the warriors,” Mr. Hegseth vowed, “they’re going to have to come through me.”Some senior military officers, who were granted anonymity to speak frankly about a superior, questioned Mr. Hegseth’s motives. Instead of taking responsibility for his orders, the defense secretary seemed to be hiding behind the troops, they said.
周二，即退伍军人节前一天，国会以211票对204票投票决定搁置弹劾行动，使赫格塞斯免受一次有损声誉的谴责和可能的罢免。
On Tuesday, the day before Veterans Day, Congress voted 211 to 204 to shelve the impeachment effort, shielding Mr. Hegseth from a damaging rebuke and a potential ouster.
投票后，赫格塞斯及其团队在社交媒体发布信息，宣布“完全胜利！”
In the aftermath of the vote, Mr. Hegseth and his team declared “TOTAL VICTORY!” in a message posted to social media.
“我们将永远挺直腰杆，为捍卫共和国而战！”五角大楼首席发言人肖恩·帕内尔写道。
“We will always stand tall and fight to defend the Republic!” wrote Sean Parnell, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman.
阿灵顿国家公墓发生的这一事件，成为了对本周未成功的弹劾行动的有力回应，也提醒人们：军队不属于任何单一政党、总统或国防部长，而是属于他们所服务的国家。
The incident at Arlington Cemetery stood out as a rebuttal to this week’s unsuccessful impeachment effort and a reminder that the troops don’t belong to any single party, president or defense secretary, but rather to the nation they serve.
“美国人正排队加入特朗普总统的战争部，”赫格塞思周二在新闻发布会上宣称。这一言论引起了退役陆军军官、陆军中将马克·赫特林的注意。
“Americans are lining up to serve in President Trump’s Department of War,” Mr. Hegseth declared on Tuesday at his news conference. The statement caught the attention of Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, a retired Army officer.
“它不是特朗普总统的战争部，”赫特林将军在一期播客节目中说，“它不属于总统。” 格雷格·贾菲为《纽约时报》报道五角大楼和美国军队事务。
“It is not President Trump’s Department of War,” General Hertling said in a podcast episode. “It doesn’t belong to the president.”Greg Jaffe covers the Pentagon and the U.S. military for The Times.