Inside the elite world of America’s most respected soldiers, military skill is not established through television appearances, political slogans or carefully staged workout videos. It is earned through punishing courses, dangerous deployments and years of demonstrated leadership.

That distinction is reportedly behind the humiliating nickname now following Pete Hegseth through the Pentagon: “No Tab Pete.”

According to an exclusive Daily Beast report, the label refers to Hegseth’s lack of coveted military qualification patches such as the Ranger and Sapper tabs—symbols worn by soldiers who have completed some of the Army’s most demanding training.

Hegseth served in the National Guard and deployed overseas, but the nickname draws an unflattering contrast between his public image as a hardened warrior and the elite qualifications held by senior officers who have departed during his tenure.

The ridicule reportedly surfaced around the retirement of Gen. Christopher Donahue, one of the Army’s most celebrated modern commanders.

Donahue, 57, could have remained in uniform for years. Instead, he retired after a career that included service in Delta Force, command of the secretive unit from 2013 to 2015 and leadership of the 82nd Airborne Division.

He also became the face of America’s final withdrawal from Afghanistan. A night-vision photograph captured Donahue carrying his rifle toward the last U.S. military aircraft departing Kabul on August 30, 2021, making him the final American service member to leave Afghan soil.

More recently, he commanded Army operations across Europe and Africa and helped prepare U.S. forces for a battlefield transformed by Ukraine’s extensive use of drones.

That transformation became painfully visible during 2026 war games in Germany.

American troops equipped with Abrams tanks, Bradley fighting vehicles and Paladin artillery systems faced Ukrainian operators from the 412th Nemesis Regiment. Using drones, the Ukrainians reportedly eliminated simulated American forces so rapidly that troops had to be “respawned” to prevent the exercise from ending prematurely.

The lesson was impossible to ignore: conventional military power could be devastated by inexpensive unmanned aircraft, and the Army needed to adapt immediately.

Donahue and Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George were central to that modernization effort. George promoted experimental drone programs and pushed the Army Transformation Initiative.

But George reportedly fell out of favor after disciplining the crews of two Apache helicopters involved in an apparent aerial tribute outside musician and Trump ally Kid Rock’s home.

Hegseth publicly rejected punishment for the pilots. George subsequently received a brief phone call informing him that he had been fired.

Army Secretary Dan Driscoll, an Iraq veteran and friend of Vice President JD Vance, later testified that he drove directly to George’s home and embraced the dismissed general. He praised George’s 42 years of service, Purple Heart and transformational leadership.

Driscoll and George were among those who later gathered at the Delta Force compound at Fort Bragg to honor Donahue.

An Army official who attended told the Daily Beast that the ceremony focused on celebrating a commander regarded as a once-in-a-generation talent. But during the dinner that followed, as bourbon began flowing, frustration with Hegseth allegedly erupted more openly.

The nickname “No Tab Pete” reportedly circulated among men whose uniforms and careers represented precisely the elite experience his own lacked.

The official left believing Driscoll had reached his breaking point.

That same day, according to reporting cited from The Washington Post, Driscoll submitted his resignation to Trump. He reportedly warned the president about the damage Hegseth was inflicting on the Army and the country.

His departure added to an exodus of more than 20 senior military leaders during Hegseth’s first 20 months running the Pentagon.

The turmoil has created an extraordinary contradiction around Hegseth’s 2024 book, The War on Warriors, whose subtitle condemned the betrayal of the people who defend America.

Critics now accuse its author of conducting that very war—removing experienced commanders while demanding personal and political loyalty from those who remain.

Hegseth has cultivated a forceful public persona. He summoned hundreds of senior officers to hear him denounce overweight generals and facial hair. New regulations require soldiers’ waist-to-height ratios to be measured twice annually.

The Defense Department also promoted footage of him bench-pressing at Guantánamo Bay, claiming he completed 44 repetitions, although critics questioned his range of motion.

Such displays may appeal to political supporters, but they are unlikely to impress Delta Force veterans accustomed to judging ability by harder standards.

Hegseth occupies one of the most powerful positions in the world. He can dismiss generals, redefine military policy and command the public stage.

But according to the leaked account from inside the Army’s most elite circles, he cannot command their respect.

Behind closed doors, America’s decorated warriors have reportedly reduced his carefully constructed tough-guy image to three devastating words: “No Tab Pete.”