Photos: Chuck Hagel's military, government career

Updated 1:34 PM ET, Mon January 7, 2013

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President Barack Obama is nominating Chuck Hagel, a former U.S. senator from Nebraska, to succeed Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. Hagel served in the <a href="http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2013/01/06/chuck-hagels-views-on-war-forged-by-vietnam-experience/">military during the Vietnam War</a>, leading him later to tell a biographer, "I will do all I can to prevent war." After coming home from Vietnam, Hagel worked briefly as a newscaster, then had a career in business, before entering public service as a Republican senator for 12 years. Here's a look at his military and government career:

Photos: Photos: Chuck Hagel's military, government career

Chuck Hagel's military, government career – President Barack Obama is nominating Chuck Hagel, a former U.S. senator from Nebraska, to succeed Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. Hagel served in the military during the Vietnam War, leading him later to tell a biographer, "I will do all I can to prevent war." After coming home from Vietnam, Hagel worked briefly as a newscaster, then had a career in business, before entering public service as a Republican senator for 12 years. Here's a look at his military and government career:

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Photos: Photos: Chuck Hagel's military, government career

Chuck Hagel's military, government career – Hagel, pictured in uniform in 1968, volunteered for the U.S. Army, serving a yearlong tour.

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Photos: Photos: Chuck Hagel's military, government career

Chuck Hagel's military, government career – Hagel, right, perched on top of a M113 armored personnel carrier in 1968.

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Hagel was a Republican senator from Nebraska from 1997 to 2009. Here, he testifies before the Senate Commerce Committee during a September 2000 hearing on the marketing of violence to children.

Photos: Photos: Chuck Hagel's military, government career

Chuck Hagel's military, government career – Hagel was a Republican senator from Nebraska from 1997 to 2009. Here, he testifies before the Senate Commerce Committee during a September 2000 hearing on the marketing of violence to children.

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Hagel discusses the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill with then-Sen. Russ Feingold on NBC's ''Meet the Press'' in March 2001.

Photos: Photos: Chuck Hagel's military, government career

Chuck Hagel's military and government career – Hagel discusses the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform bill with then-Sen. Russ Feingold on NBC's ''Meet the Press'' in March 2001.

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Joe Biden, left, then a U.S. senator from Delaware, walks with Sen. Richard Lugar, second from right, and Hagel, center, at a hotel in Baghdad in June 2003. The congressional delegation was on a tour of the Iraqi capital the year the Iraq War began.

Photos: Photos: Chuck Hagel's military, government career

Chuck Hagel's military, government career – Joe Biden, left, then a U.S. senator from Delaware, walks with Sen. Richard Lugar, second from right, and Hagel, center, at a hotel in Baghdad in June 2003. The congressional delegation was on a tour of the Iraqi capital the year the Iraq War began.

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Hagel chats with Alan Greenspan, then-Federal Reserve chairman, before the start of a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing in April 2005.

Photos: Photos: Chuck Hagel's military, government career

Chuck Hagel's military and government career – Hagel chats with Alan Greenspan, then-Federal Reserve chairman, before the start of a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee hearing in April 2005.

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Hagel questions then-U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during her February 2006 testimony on Iran before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Photos: Photos: Chuck Hagel's military, government career

Chuck Hagel's military, government career – Hagel questions then-U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during her February 2006 testimony on Iran before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

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Hagel comments on a New York Times article during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee's consideration of a resolution on the Iraq War in January 2007. The GOP senator opposed the troop surge in Iraq.

Photos: Photos: Chuck Hagel's military, government career

Chuck Hagel's military, government career – Hagel comments on a New York Times article during a Senate Foreign Relations Committee's consideration of a resolution on the Iraq War in January 2007. The GOP senator opposed the troop surge in Iraq.

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