Military veteran's book 'The War on Warriors' maintains weeks-long prominence on NY Times bestseller list

Pete Hegseth's new book, "The War on Warriors," will appear for the sixth week in a row on the New York Times bestseller list, Fox News Digital has learned. For the week beginning July 28, 2024, the book — published in early June — will occupy the No. 3 position on the prestigious book list. 

In addition, the book right now is the No. 1 bestseller on Amazon in the military policy category and the No. 2 bestseller in political commentary and opinion. 

Published by Fox News Books, the hit book by Hegseth — a co-host of "Fox & Friends Weekend" — is subtitled "Behind the Betrayal of the Men Who Keep Us Free."

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In a telephone interview on Friday afternoon, Hegseth told Fox News Digital that while the attention the book has been getting is "humbling," it's also "not entirely surprising" to him, given the widespread concern he's heard from within the military community, of which he was once a part, about how things have changed in recent years. 

"While I was writing the book, I spent a lot of time on the phone talking to guys who are currently serving — they talked to me off the record and anonymously. I had dozens and dozens of conversations, back-to-back phone calls" on many, many weekends, he said. 

Pete Hegseth is the author of "The War on Warriors," an instant bestseller since its publication in early June. The book continues to attract new attention and readers as it calls out today's problems in America's military.  (Getty Images; Fox News)

"And I spoke with privates and corporals and sergeants and lieutenants and captains and colonels from all different branches. Every one of them had a unique story. But they all sounded a similar tune," said Hegseth. 

These weren't and aren't partisans, he said. "These are regular guys, and they all said the military today has changed."

"People have said, ‘Thank you for writing what I experienced.'"

"They told me, 'I'm walking on eggshells here,' ‘there’s no accountability,' ‘the standards have been lowered,' I'm concerned about political influence.' It was guy after guy and gal after gal who said that."

Hegseth also noted, "I make a lot of strong arguments in my book. I do not back down. It's very direct — and I knew that if I were over my skis on anything I said that I would get blowback. The veteran and military community would say, ‘That’s not in touch with reality.'"

Yet the response from that community, he said, has been "overwhelming."

Hegseth told Fox News Digital, "This is probably the first book where somebody wrote it down. A guy who has been there wrote it down, understands what people are going through in the military, and can help lay it out" for others. "The War on Warriors" (Fox News Books) has been a bestseller since its publication in early June 2024.  (Fox & Friends/Screengrab)

"People have said, ‘Thank you for writing what I experienced, what my son experienced, what my father experienced, what my whole family has experienced. Yes, the military is different now.'"

Hegseth said the "sad part here is that we really do have a problem with our military. And this is probably the first book where somebody wrote it down. A guy who has been there wrote it down, understands what people are going through in the military, and can help lay it out."

"The big difference doesn't show up all the time. It doesn't show up in the classrooms. It doesn't show up on the spreadsheets. But it shows up in the moment."

Fox News Digital spoke further with Hegseth about exactly what's going on in the military under the current administration as he reports it — plus got his take on a few other related issues.

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Fox News Digital: Do you see any similarities between what's going on in today's military, as you detail it in your book, and today's Secret Service, given the events of July 13 in Butler, Pennsylvania and the lack of transparency so far about what went wrong with security for former President Donald Trump?

Pete Hegseth: It's a perfect analogy and I thought of it right away. It's not apples to apples, but it's pretty darn close. 

You've got a political director not suited for the position, but picked because of political prerogatives. And after the fact, everyone says, "How could this happen?"

Pete Hegseth's book "The War on Warriors" highlights the military's shift toward leftist ideology. (Fox & Friends/Screengrab)

And you start to peel back the onion, and you find out, "Oh, they’re doing the DEI stuff. Oh, her goal is to have 30% women in the Secret Service by 2030. Oh, how is it that a bunch of five-foot-seven females get assigned to a six-foot-three president?" So what else is at play here?

And what you see — and this has been confirmed — is that the Secret Service has different standards for men and women for the same position. This means you're getting less physically qualified people — and this has nothing to do with knocking women. It is just a reality of biology.

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These organizations have tried to ignore this as if it doesn't matter, when in reality anyone who's ever worn a uniform knows that there's a big difference — and the big difference doesn't show up all the time. It doesn't show up in the classrooms. It doesn't show up on the spreadsheets. But it shows up in the moment.

"This means you're getting less physically qualified people … it's just a reality of biology."

And those are the moments that reveal your vulnerabilities, when you have people who are not sufficiently trained. 

So, yes, there is a comparison here — and the scary part is, our military hasn't yet necessarily seen that exact moment since a lot of things have changed. And we better right the course before we do.

"You're seeing this massive dip in recruitment because you've got the traditional military families — those with a generational commitment to service — recommending to their kids, 'Don't do it. It's different.'" (Getty Images/Fox News)

Fox News Digital: In your book, you write, "It's one thing when a corporation or university goes woke. It's an entirely different thing for the United States military to go woke." Can you share more detail about those thoughts?

PH: It's a necessity that this problem is solved. 

My last book was about education ["Battle for the American Mind"] and it got a lot of great feedback. Families could make an immediate choice and change in their lifestyle and say, "I'm going to move somewhere else," or, "I'm going to homeschool my kids," or "I'm going to make a choice that affects the way my kids are educated."

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Well, the choice that families have now is, "Do I serve or not serve in the military?" 

And so you're seeing this massive dip in recruitment because you've got the traditional military families — those with a generational commitment to service — recommending to their kids, "Don't do it. It's different. The brotherhood isn't there today, the ethos isn't there, the training isn't there — but the ideology is there. And I don't want you to be a part of that."

So you get a massive gap in recruitment, which leads to some really bad decisions. There are training shortfalls and a lowering of standards. And they may look outside of [American] citizens to fill the ranks, or they'll look to conscription — that's what governments ultimately do, and they will if they have to.

The other challenge is if you don't feel those ranks with patriots, with people who are capable, there's nowhere else to go. The American military exists to protect our interests and our country and our people first, but it's done a lot of good in the last century protecting freedom around the world, too, which keeps us safe. 

But there is no other sort of "freedom army," so if we lose this one to a generation of social justice, politically correct nonsense — then not only is it difficult to recover, but the biggest fear I have is that it's open to political manipulation. 

And we're on the cusp of that now. And that's why the next commander-in-chief needs to restore it back to the Constitution, to the standard of meritocracy — and because it's the last bastion of what actually keeps us free.

Fox News Digital: Are you surprised by your book's ongoing success?

PH: It's gone from No. 1, to No. 2, and then to No. 8 and No. 6 — and now to No. 3. So it seems to be taking on a life of its own, and people are buying it and then buying it for someone else, or recommending it to others. And I say this humbly. It's becoming the kind of book that military families are buying and recommending to people who are thinking about serving or people who did serve.

And I think there's also a thirst among military and patriotic people to fix the institution — so I'm humbled.

And I would just thank everybody who's taken the time to read it and say that it's not just about my journey and my service — it also draws on the stories of many, many other people. 

Maureen Mackey is managing editor of lifestyle for Fox News Digital.