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A group of 10 American Olympians serving in the U.S. military were honored at the Pentagon on April 17.
Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, who was leading efforts in the war against Iran, found time to meet with the athletes for a ceremony to honor their achievements at the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics. All 10 were members of the U.S. Army-sponsored High Performance World Class Athlete Program (WCAP).
“It’s not every day you get invited into Sec. War’s office,” American bobsledder Frankie Del Duca told PK Press Club Digital. “We had a good conversation about the military.”
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War Sec. Pete Hegseth speaks to WCAP Olympians at the Pentagon. (Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Eric Brann)
Del Duca was Team USA’s Olympic flag bearer in Cortina in February. As an American of Italian descent, the fact that he had the honor of being in Italy held special cultural significance for him and his family.
Del Duca is also an infantryman in the United States Army.
“I’m infantry,” he said. “I may take on different assignments as I gain experience. I am grateful for the opportunity to serve. I am very proud to serve our country and I love our country and America.”
Hegseth himself was an Army infantry officer who served in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay.
But so far, Del Duca has only done athletic work for the military, enlisting in 2019 and training as a bobsledder in Lake Placid, New York. But as a WCAP athlete, he will also serve in a military role.
“We have WCAP members who have been in the military first…and then there are some who will maybe do it afterward,” Del Duca said, adding that he was part of the “next group.”
“Wherever I might be stationed next, and wherever I might, different missions, where I might end up, I’m going to take the same lessons that I learned and apply them to the next unit. So that’s something that I’m very grateful for and proud of. And I hope it spreads throughout our country. I hope it shows that we’re in this together and we’re resilient and we’re fit and we’re ready.”
Del Duca is a young father of two sons, each under the age of four.
“It made me a better father,” Del Duca said of his experience in the Army. “I have two sons, [ages] one and three, they keep me on my toes.”
Other branches of the military are well represented in WCAP, including the Air Force.
Team USA skeleton athlete Kelly Curtis, who was also honored at the ceremony, is preparing to return to Italy after competing in the Milan Cortina games.
War Sec. Pete Hegseth takes a photo with 10 WCAP Olympians at the Pentagon (Navy Petty Officer 1st Class Eric Brann)
“I’m going back to the 31st Communications Squadron at Aviano Air Base,” Curtis told PK Press Club Digital. “I’m a knowledge operations technician…it’s basically like an information flow officer.”
Curtis says she has a lineage in her family, on her mother’s side, that includes service members in every American war since the Revolutionary War.
She believed her brother would take up the call of duty for his generation. And he did, but she soon learned that she would be joining him.
“I didn’t think I could serve in the military,” Curtis said. “When this opportunity presented itself, I was pretty good at my sport. I was considering the Army program, but after talking with my brother who had also served in the Air Force, I decided to give the Air Force a try.”
Today, as she continues her family tradition of serving in the wartime U.S. Army, she takes a great sense of honor at this significance.
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“I don’t think any particular moment is more honorable than another,” she said. “When I took the Oath of Commitment, you’re signing up to defend your country, and that’s something I take seriously. The work I do with the World Class Athlete Program is different, it’s a softer diplomacy, so I don’t see much of what my colleagues might see…
“There is honor everywhere when you commit to defending your country.”
The WCAP program delivered a medalist for Team USA in 2026, including Air Force women’s bobsledder Jasmine Jones.
Jones became a viral social media sensation during an interview with PK Press Club Digital when she expressed great pride in representing the United States on the world stage, at a time when many Americans were craving patriotism among their Olympians.
And then Jones won bronze in women’s bobsleigh, alongside teammate Olympic legend Kaillie Humphries, helping Humphries become the most decorated bobsleigh athlete in history.
Jones was honored for her medal at the Pentagon ceremony.
“I was honored to be recognized by Secretary Hegseth after winning a medal in Cortina and to share this moment representing my country,” Jones told PK Press Club Digital.
“Being an Airman allows me to serve in many ways, and I am grateful for this opportunity. The unity within our WCAP team is strong. We lead by example, support each other, and continue to push each other to reach our full potential.”
Meanwhile, the military as a whole continues its historic operations in the Middle East under the leadership of Hegseth and President Donald Trump.
Hegseth warned Friday that the U.S. military would “shoot to destroy” any Iranian ship that lays mines in the Strait of Hormuz.
“President Trump has authorized the U.S. Navy to destroy any Iranian fast boats that attempt to lay mines or disrupt passage through the Strait of Hormuz, to shoot and kill,” Hegseth said. “Our commanders have clear rules of engagement. If Iran puts mines in the water or otherwise threatens American commercial shipping or American forces, we will shoot to destroy. No hesitation. Just like the drug boats in the Caribbean.”
Hegseth also said that the “beaten” Iranian military, particularly the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, has been “reduced to a gang of pirates with a flag.”
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“They disguise their aggression with slogans, but the world now sees them for what they are: criminals on the high seas. They control nothing. They behave like pirates, like terrorists. They are the ones laying mines indiscriminately, shooting at random ships, killing 45,000 of their own innocent protesters, in a matter of weeks, of their own people. They are bad actors,” Hegseth said.
“The ships that the Iranians have seized over the last few days, a few of them, are not American ships, they are not Israeli ships. They are just random ships that they drove their little speedboats on and shot at those ships with AK-47s. Anyone with a speedboat, a gun and bad intentions can do it. They know that we, the United States of America, control the flow of global shipping, and we “We know they know it. Their real navy is deep in the Arabian Gulf,” Hegseth added.
Trump and his administration have repeatedly made clear that they are seeking a peace deal with Iran and have expressed optimism that one can be achieved soon.
Hegseth also said Friday that “Iran has a historic chance to reach a serious deal, and the ball is in its court.”
“No matter what, the War Department is ready for what’s next. Locked and loaded,” Hegseth added.
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The remarks come after the failure of the second round of US-Iran talks planned in Islamabad this week. Vice President JD Vance and the rest of the American delegation never left. Reports indicate that the Iranians have said they will no longer negotiate in person until the United States ends its blockade.
Vance, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, visited Pakistan for the first round of negotiations with the Iranians earlier this month, but no deal was reached.
