DOD Considers Course Reviews, Axing Tenure at Military Academies

The Defense Department is doubling down on its attempts to overhaul military education.

According to an unreleased draft memorandum obtained by CBS News last week, the department plans to abolish civilian tenure and undertake a “line by line” review of all curriculum at military service academies and senior war colleges that educate prospective officers.

“Tenure is a construct designed to protect academic freedom within universities. In practice, it more often leads to stagnation, complacency, and inflexibility,” the memorandum said, CBS reported. “It contributes to curriculum that drifts from the mission of educating our warfighters to the research priorities of the tenured academics.”

Courses will be measured on how well they advance “tactical, operational, and strategic combat leadership,” and “warfighting readiness.” Courses that don’t meet that standard or contain “ideologically driven” material will be slated for elimination.

The Pentagon has not yet approved the plan and a timeline for its possible finalization and implementation is unknown. If enacted, it would be the latest move by the Defense Department to reshape military education.

Since 2025, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has ordered service academies to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives and instruction, rescinded numerous faculty appointments and scrubbed race- and gender-related materials from institutional library collections. In March, Hegseth canceled a fellowship program for service members at 13 selective institutions—including Brown, Columbia and Princeton Universities—lambasting them as “factories of anti-American resentment and military disdain.”

DOD recently partnered with the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Virginia Tech for a fellowship for senior military officers.