What happened
The United States has ended the practice of appointing civilian employees to tenured positions at its military academies. This change is intended to refocus the academies on warfighter education, according to Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.
Hegseth believes that granting tenure to civilian faculty can lead to academic stagnation and a drift in curriculum away from the mission of educating warfighters. He has directed the secretaries of the military departments to develop hiring plans that prioritize institutional flexibility and contributions to the warfighting mission.
There are currently 217 tenured civilian professors at the United States Naval Academy and 67 civilian professors on tenure track. The Air Force Academy does not offer conventional academic tenure to civilian professors, instead using renewable contracts.
In addition to the changes at the military academies, the War Department plans to reduce the number of positions for generals and admirals by 20%. Hegseth will outline his priorities for the United States military in his State of the Force address, including new battlefield-style assessments for senior officers.
