Hegseth Overhauls Military Education To Forge Warriors, Not Bureaucrats

Authored by Catherine Salgado via PJ Media,

Secretary of War Pete Hegseth is not going to bend to the Democrats or weak-kneed appeasers. He is still aggressively implementing his America First agenda.

On November 9, the Department of War issued a press release on how to “restore a culture of accountability and warfighting excellence” in education and training. This reform targets the Professional Military Education (PME) system. The Senior Service College Task Force reviewed PME and Hegseth then ordered the “immediate, systemic reforms” for all the Intermediate Level Education (ILE) institutions and Senior Service Colleges.

We must forge leaders of unmatched competence, sound moral judgment, and an unwavering warrior ethos. Our Senior Service Colleges must raise their standards to meet the expectations of the American people and deliver the leaders our warfighters deserve. https://t.co/oQtmNOkGSi

— Department of War (@DeptofWar) November 9, 2026

For too many years, America’s military apparatus has prioritized woke ideology and bureaucratic compliance over battlefield readiness and leader integrity. No republic can win wars if its top officers are more concerned with skin color, political propaganda, and unnecessary paperwork than with efficiency, lethality, and character.

Thus, as the DOW press release explains:

The directive reverses decades of academic drift, eliminating ideological distractions in favor of joint warfighting mastery, decision-forcing rigor, and competitive wargaming. Under these new guidelines, the Department will evaluate military schools by a singular, uncompromising standard: “Does this program forge leaders who will win America’s wars?”

To accomplish this mission, the DOW has a four-pronged approach, based on the press release. First, there will be “Warfighter Chair” positions at all the senior service colleges, which O-5 and O-6 ranking commanders who have recently returned from successful operational deployments will fill. This should provide “real-time combat lessons.”

Next, there will be mandatory wargaming and end-of-course exams that comprehensively test strategy and tactics, rather than “subjective” seminar grades. The last two reforms are as follows:

Faculty Accountability: Eliminates lifetime tenure and emeritus status for newly hired civilian faculty, shifting instead to three-year, performance-based contracts evaluated on teaching effectiveness and national security research.

Rigorous Governance Oversight: Mandates the Under Secretary of War for Personnel and Readiness to directly track all tasked requirements to guarantee rapid execution.

This week we will mark the anniversary of the end of World War I, which we now observe as Veterans Day. The day before, November 10, is the 251st anniversary of the U.S. Marine Corps. Thus it is particularly appropriate that Hegseth is announcing new reforms to ensure that the next generation of American sailors, soldiers, airmen, Marines, guardsmen, and Guardians will carry on the proud and courageous legacy of America’s military.