Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel enters his personal political lions' den Wednesday morning: the Senate Armed Services Committee. (Smithsonian National Zoological Park photo)

“Once more unto the breach, dear friends, once more.” That famous quote dates to 1598 and the “Cry God for Harry, England, and Saint George!” speech in William Shakespeare’s play “Henry V.” But it will apply this morning when Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel faces the Senate Armed Services Committee, the panel that so roughed up Hagel during his Jan. 31 confirmation hearing.

Okay, perhaps today’s dual hearing on the Pentagon’s 2014 budget request and the situation in Syria won’t quite be Shakespearean. But make no mistake, for Hagel, if the House Armed Services Committee is something of a Capitol Hill safe haven, the Senate Armed Services Committee is his political lions’ den. More