Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced Friday that the Department of Defense will cancel all military attendance at a group of elite universities beginning with the 2026\u201327 academic year, as part of a broader reshaping of military education policy, Defense Department officials said.<\/p>\n
In a video posted on social media, Hegseth said the policy would apply to institutions that have traditionally hosted U.S. military officers for graduate and professional education, including Princeton University, Columbia University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Brown University and Yale University.<\/p>\n
\u201cToday, just like we did with Harvard, I am ordering the complete and immediate cancellation of all Department of War attendance at institutions like Princeton, Columbia, MIT, Brown, Yale and many others, starting next academic year, 2026-2027,\u201d Hegseth said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe cannot and will not continue to send our most capable officers, senior officers, into graduate programs that undermine the very values they have sworn to uphold,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Hegseth also called for a comprehensive review of military academic programs, saying service colleges should focus more directly on national security issues and \u201creal-world war-fighting\u201d rather than what he described as social or ideological concerns.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe demand that senior service colleges work to sharpen our war fighters on genuine national security issues, not social justice activism,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe demand curriculums grounded in the founding principles of this republic, principles that champion the enduring ideals of peace through strength and putting American interests first.\u201d<\/p>\n
He then extended his criticism to the broader academic community. \u201cWe demand universities that invest back into our nation\u2019s prosperity rather than our greatest adversaries,\u201d the Pentagon chief said. \u201cIt\u2019s common sense.\u201d<\/p>\n
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\nThe shift marks a significant change in how the Pentagon engages with civilian higher education institutions for officer training and professional development, a relationship that has long been part of the U.S. military\u2019s career education pipeline.<\/p>\n
Hegseth also said he would direct a formal \u201ctop to bottom\u201d review of U.S. colleges to ensure they are \u201conce again bastions of strategic thought, wholly dedicated to the singular mission of developing the most lethal and effective leaders and war fighters the world has ever known.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to hold ourselves accountable as well,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Hegseth ended with a clear message to service members, highlighting their mission in contrast to the skepticism expressed by academic elites.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a final message to our warriors, the Ivy League faculty lounges may loathe you, the so-called elite of academia may mock your patriotism and disdain your sacrifice, but never forget that we the War Department have your back,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Hegseth\u2019s announcement comes as President Donald Trump ordered the U.S. military to strike targets in Iran after weeks of talks failed to produce an agreement regarding Tehran\u2019s nuclear weapons development.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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