(Pentagon) The Department of War continues to reform our educational institutions to ensure they remain laser-focused on lethality and readiness.
To that end, the Secretary of War directed the Military Departments to immediately terminate the practice of appointing civilian faculty to tenured positions at the U.S. Military Service Academies.
This directly addresses the critical issues of academic stagnation and complacency that are often associated with tenure, and which threaten to dilute the academies’ primary focus on warfighting and tactical dominance.
In place of tenure, the Military Departments will implement new hiring plans to prioritize flexibility and faculty contribution to the warfighting mission, ensuring future officers are unequivocally prepared to lead our Service members and win on the modern battlefield.
Click here to read the memo.
Click to enlarge:
MEMORANDUM FOR SENIOR PENTAGON LEADERSHIP, DEFENSE AGENCY AND DOW FIELD ACTIVITY DIRECTORS
SUBJECT: Refocusing the Military Service Academies on Warfighter Education
The primary purpose of our Military Service Academies (MSA) is to prepare the next generation of officers to lead the men and women of the greatest military on Earth.
To ensure our educational institutions remain firmly focused on this warfighting mission, we must address the structural mechanisms that have allowed civilian academic norms to dilute our focus on lethality.
Among these mechanisms is the practice of granting tenure to civilian faculty.
Tenure often leads to academic stagnation, faculty complacency, and institutional inability to adapt to emerging needs.
Additionally, it contributes to curriculum that drifts from the mission of educating our warfighters to the research priorities of the tenured academics.
To restore accountability, I direct the Secretaries of the Military Departments to immediately cease appointing civilian employees to tenured positions and to develop hiring plans that prioritize institutional flexibility and faculty contribution to the warfighting mission.
REFOCUSING-THE-MILITARY-SERVICE-ACADEMIES-ON-WARFIGHTER-EDUCATION (pdf)
The Mistake of Introducing Tenure at the United States Air Force Academy
Attending USAFA at the peak of the Vietnam War, 1967-1971, all my academic instructors were officers, most of whom were also SEA combat veterans. Our commandant of cadets for almost four years was BG Robin Olds. At that time, USAFA was producing warriors as future “combat leaders.” Those were Olds’ words. The active-duty instructors and professors served us well. Thankfully, SECWAR and his staff did some research and are prepping the road to victory with new combat leaders. We’ll always need them – ready, willing and able. Common sense again prevails!