I was lucky to serve under professional soldiers including 2 regimental commanders who graduated West Point very high in their class. Strict, sometimes, but also fair, and not in it for themselves.
The short version of the dichotomy between soldiers and warriors is that Soldiers support their nation and their command structure, with the goal of completing defined missions through discipline, ability, and loyalty to the unit. Soldiers fight because they must to achieve peace and to stop the killing. Warriors fight for other reasons... they fight because fighting feeds their psychological needs. That can be interpreted as meaning warriors fight private battles for their interests, and purposes which unfortunately sometimes become a need to feed an internal appetite, maybe for personal glory, maybe for the obvious, but false,sense of power that killing and destroying things gives the warrior's narcissistic appetite.
IMO great soldiers who are historically famous for the killing and destruction they led, like say say, Sherman in the civil war and Bradley in WWII almost always expressed great sadness, and aching disappointment in what they were required to do, which was raise the costs of war and the costs that came with their decisions. They were not George Custers out to score promotion points or fame that could carry them into High Office.
The unwritten role of every military leader, from squad level to Armies and Task Forces, is to pursue the mission and bring back alive as many of the force as possible. As my NCO school lead cadre said. There is always another mission on the horizon, and you can't do the mission, whatever it is, without the people in your unit.
General Harvey Moore was a great example of a soldier's soldier. He regretted living after his unit was cut apart by North Vietnamese in a very very painful early 'draw" for Americans in Vietnam. He spent his life searching out his fallen soldiers family members to communicate his sadness and to honor what Donald Trump would call losers.
On Edit: I forgot to bring this back to Hegseth.
Hegseths war on the Pentagon, is indeed a personal mission. He doesn't think women (and many people of color) should be allowed in his creation the "Warrior Community" of the US military
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