America’s military is the greatest fighting force in history because it has always been anchored in merit, mission, and warfighting lethality. For too long, that foundation has been eroded by ideological capture in our institutions of higher learning—especially the Ivy League—and by civilian academics who have never worn the uniform yet feel entitled to reshape the minds of our future warriors.

That’s why I strongly commend Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth for his decisive action to terminate all Department of Defense education programs and relationships with Harvard University. This is not petty politics; it is a necessary corrective to decades of institutional drift. Harvard has become ground zero for anti-American, anti-military, and anti-merit ideologies. Its campus has tolerated open hostility toward our troops, celebrated divisive DEI orthodoxy, and in recent years provided a safe harbor for antisemitism and radical activism that undermines national security. No serious national defense apparatus should be sending its officers—or its dollars—to an institution that actively works against the values those officers swear to defend.

Cutting ties with Harvard is a good first step, but it must be the beginning, not the end, of a broader housecleaning. We need a top-to-bottom curriculum review at our war colleges, staff colleges, and service academies. For years, these institutions have quietly allowed purely civilian faculty—many with no military experience and some openly contemptuous of military culture—to dominate course design and instruction. The result has been an influx of critical theory, gender studies, climate activism, and other academic fads that have no place in institutions whose sole purpose is to produce leaders who can win wars.

I’ve seen it up close. Officers who should be studying Clausewitz, logistics, combined arms maneuver, and great-power competition are instead forced to sit through seminars on “white rage,” “systemic oppression,” and “decolonizing” the military. This is not education; it is indoctrination. And it is dangerous. When our future generals and admirals are taught to view the American military through the lens of grievance rather than greatness, we are setting them—and our nation—up to fail on the battlefield.

Secretary Hegseth should immediately direct a comprehensive audit of every course, syllabus, and faculty position at the Naval War College, Air War College, Army War College, Command and General Staff College, and all other DoD senior service schools. Any curriculum that prioritizes social engineering over warfighting should be eliminated. Any faculty member—especially tenured civilians—who cannot demonstrate a primary commitment to producing lethal, mission-focused leaders should be replaced.

Replacement does not mean politicizing the faculty in the opposite direction. It means restoring balance by prioritizing instructors who have real operational experience, who understand the profession of arms, and who are committed to teaching officers how to deter—and if necessary, destroy—our adversaries. Veterans, retired senior officers, and proven warfighters should be aggressively recruited to fill these roles. Civilian scholars can still contribute, but only if their expertise directly serves the mission and they respect the unique culture of the military they serve.

The American people entrust the Department of Defense with their sons and daughters and with the sacred responsibility of keeping this nation safe. We cannot afford to outsource the intellectual formation of our officer corps to institutions and individuals who view America as the problem rather than the solution.

Secretary Hegseth has shown the courage to start this fight. Now he must finish it. Cut the cord with Harvard. Review every syllabus. Replace faculty who put ideology over readiness. Our enemies are not studying diversity seminars—they are studying how to defeat us. It’s time our military education system got back to the serious business of winning wars. America deserves nothing less.

Col. (Ret.) Rob Maness is a 32-year Air Force veteran, combat aviator, former U.S. Senate candidate, a graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School, and host of The Rob Maness Show.