Honor guard sentinel rebukes Hegseth's group for laughing at Arlington tomb

A soldier standing guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington, Virginia, rebuked a group accompanying US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth after laughter was heard among them, according to The Jerusalem Post. Israeli news site Ynet reported that Hegseth and members of his staff were having their photographs taken at the memorial on Veterans Day, and that the sentinel was recorded telling them that silence and respect must be maintained.

Ynet placed the episode alongside a second story it described as an embarrassment for the administration of President Donald Trump: a Washington Post investigation, as relayed by Ynet, finding that Secretary of State Marco Rubio repeatedly flew on military aircraft to watch his son play football in Florida, at a cost to taxpayers of more than a million dollars. Ynet quoted Rubio as saying he would keep attending events that matter to his family.

What happened at the tomb

The accounts of the Arlington incident are brief. Both outlets describe the same core facts: Hegseth's group was at the tomb, some of its members laughed, and an Army sentinel publicly called them to order. Ynet said the moment was captured on video, and gave the guard's words as an instruction to keep quiet and show respect. The Jerusalem Post headline framed it as the sentinel rebuking Hegseth's group for laughing, rather than Hegseth personally; Ynet's headline said Hegseth himself was rebuked. Neither report, in the material available, identifies who laughed.

The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and its guards

The tomb stands in Arlington National Cemetery in Virginia, the main burial ground for American service members, just outside Washington. It honors fallen soldiers whose remains could not be identified and is one of the most solemn sites in American public life. Visitors are expected to stay quiet in its vicinity.

The guards who keep watch there are drawn from the US Army's 3rd Infantry Regiment, known as "The Old Guard", according to a photo caption published by The Jerusalem Post. These soldiers, called Tomb Guards or sentinels, march a fixed route in front of the monument. A sentinel stepping out of the ritual to address visitors directly is a public reprimand, which is why a rebuke aimed at the civilian head of the military drew attention.

Veterans Day is the American national holiday honoring people who have served in the armed forces, and senior officials commonly visit Arlington on the day.

Hegseth's position

Pete Hegseth heads the Pentagon, overseeing the American armed forces, in Trump's cabinet. The Jerusalem Post identified him as defense secretary, and Ynet called him the American defense minister. The cemetery and the tomb guard both fall under the military he leads, which gives the scene its particular awkwardness.

The Rubio flights

The second item in Ynet's report rests on reporting by The Washington Post, which Ynet said had revealed that Rubio used military planes more than once to reach his son's football games in Florida. Ynet put the total cost to taxpayers above a million dollars. Rubio, who serves as secretary of state, the top US diplomat, responded that he would continue to show up at events important to his family, according to Ynet. The material does not say how many flights were involved, over what period, or whether the trips were combined with official business.

Senior US officials often travel on government aircraft for security reasons, and the rules governing personal use are a recurring subject of scrutiny in Washington. The Ynet report does not say whether any rule was broken.

What the reports do not say

Neither report includes a response from Hegseth or the Pentagon to the incident at the tomb, and neither names the sentinel or the members of the group who laughed. It is not stated who recorded or first published the video. On Rubio, the cost figure and the account of the flights come from The Washington Post as summarized by Ynet; the underlying report was not part of the material, and there is no word on whether any review of the trips is under way.