Peter Hegseth is an American Army National Guard veteran, author, and former television host who entered Donald Trump’s cabinet in January 2025 as secretary of defense. After the department’s name was changed in September 2025, he became secretary of war. His military service included deployments to Guantánamo Bay, Iraq, and Afghanistan before a long career in veterans’ advocacy and conservative media.

Hegseth’s career moved from Princeton and Army National Guard service to veterans’ advocacy, conservative politics, and television. Deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan became central to his public identity, while years at Fox News made him a practiced communicator inside Donald Trump’s political movement. Taking charge of the department placed a former broadcaster over a vast military bureaucracy. UAP became one inherited responsibility among war planning, readiness, personnel, acquisition, and intelligence rather than the issue that brought him to office.

As head of the department, Hegseth oversees the military services, intelligence components, AARO, and many of the classification authorities relevant to UAP. Public and congressional pressure has therefore focused on whether his leadership will release historical records, improve access for lawmakers, and enforce presidential declassification directives. Comments attributed to subordinates or social-media expectations should not be treated as departmental findings unless supported by an official release.

Hegseth is an executive custodian of the UAP record rather than a known firsthand witness. His importance is practical: the department can locate files, approve review, protect genuine capabilities, and decide how openly unresolved cases are presented. What the institution releases under his authority matters more than speculation about his personal beliefs.