Hegseth said to have pressured downed F-15 crewmen to sit for interview

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and political appointees at the Pentagon pushed for the two crew members of an F-15E Strike Eagle shot down over Iran in April to participate in a highly publicized “60 Minutes” report on their rescue, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter cited by CNN.

The segment is set to air Sunday as part of the season premiere of the CBS program.

The F-15E, call sign Dude 44, was downed by Iranian forces on April 3 earlier this year, during the ongoing war that began in late February.

Both crew members ejected safely.

The pilot, referred to as “Alpha,” was rescued within hours amid heavy enemy fire.

The weapons systems officer, a colonel known as “Bravo,” spent roughly two days alone and injured in the Iranian mountains, evading capture with little more than a pistol, a communication device and a tracking beacon before special operations forces extracted him.

Sources told CNN that political appointees in Hegseth’s office were adamant both airmen sit for interviews.

The survivors initially expressed reservations, with one raising concerns about potentially being ordered to participate.

Military officials also worried about revealing classified details of the rescue while combat operations continued.

Hegseth then met privately with the pair and asked whether they wanted to take part rather than forcing cooperation. “Bravo” agreed to an on-camera interview; “Alpha” declined.

Neither has been publicly identified by the Pentagon.

Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell strongly rejected the account.

“This entire story is a complete lie,” he told CNN.

“The decision to participate in the interview was each pilot’s alone — because it is their story. As CNN notes, one pilot decided to participate and one did not. Additionally, the Department took great care to ensure operational security, sources, and methods were protected. To suggest otherwise is to denigrate every member of our military who participated in and supported the interview.”

Uniformed service members have voiced concern that the broadcast seeks to leverage the troops’ heroism for political purposes amid an increasingly unpopular conflict, two sources said.
Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, shared some worries about inadvertently disclosing tactics but still participated in the segment, according to one source.

A spokesman for Caine declined to comment on anonymous characterizations beyond reiterating that the Joint Force will do everything possible to ensure no one is left behind.

CBS News Editor-in-Chief Bari Weiss treated securing the exclusive as a top priority and personally lobbied Hegseth, sources at the network said.

Correspondent Norah O’Donnell conducted the interview with “Bravo,” who provides his first public account of the ejection, injuries, evasion and rescue.

Hegseth himself also granted a rare interview for the episode.

A preview showed O’Donnell asking “Bravo”: “Did you ever have any doubt that the US military was coming for you?”