How Hegseth Is Reshaping Military Education

Civilian professors at the nation's elite military academies will no longer be granted a long-held protection: tenure. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Tuesday ordered West Point, the Naval Academy, and other service academies to stop granting tenure to civilian faculty, arguing it encourages "stagnation," lets coursework drift from warfighting needs toward professors' research interests, and more generally helps "to dilute our focus on lethality," per CBS News. His comments diverge from past leaders, who called tenure key to recruiting top academic talent. Advocates say it's necessary for academic freedom.

The move follows reports of a Pentagon review of "ideologically driven" classes and comes amid broader efforts by Hegseth to reshape military education, including ending DEI training, cutting ties with some elite universities while forging new links to Christian schools, and reviewing library materials on race and gender. Civilian professors make up about a quarter of West Point's faculty and roughly half at the Naval Academy. They tend to have more teaching experience and credentials than military professors, helping deliver an "elite education," an expert tells the AP. It's believed those already granted tenure will keep the designation, according to the outlet.