Yes, it's a civilian position, you keep stating this blatantly obvious fact as if it has bearing.

Who were Trump's appointees? Your entire argument is centered around you trying to justify the pick rather than accept reality. Stating that military experience is irrelevant is absolutely false. You clearly haven't compared the resumes of the the most recent appointees to this position. Even if we set aside that experience, there is nothing in Hegseth's background that would suggest he is as qualified for this position.

Edit: William Cohen's qualifications, since you asked: He served on both the Senate Armed Services and Governmental Affairs Committees from 1979 to 1997 and was a member of the Senate Committee on Intelligence, 1983-91 and 1995-97. He participated in the drafting of several important laws related to defense matters, including the Competition in Contracting Act (1984), the GI Bill (1984), the Goldwater-Nichols Defense Reorganization Act (1986), the Intelligence Oversight Reform Act (1991), and the Federal Acquisition Reform Act (1996).