Pete Hegseth’s Metamorphosis: From Critic of War Crimes to Defender of the Accused

President-elect Donald J. Trump’s pick to lead the Defense Department was described by peers as a skillful soldier who became embittered by military dysfunction.Pete Hegseth, then a U.S. Army captain, speaking in Washington in 2009. Mr. Hegseth served in a string of military deployments — once to Guantánamo Bay, once to Iraq and once to Afghanistan.