WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is considering a draft memorandum titled Refocusing the Military Service Academies and Senior Service College on Warfighter Education that would abolish civilian faculty tenure and overhaul course offerings. The draft memorandum proposes eliminating the granting of tenure to civilian faculty at military service academies and senior war colleges.

The draft memorandum directs a comprehensive review of the curriculum at all service academies and war colleges. The memorandum has not yet been approved by top Pentagon officials.

The memorandum would apply to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado, the Naval War College in Rhode Island, and the Army War College in Pennsylvania. More than 10,000 people are enrolled in the institutions affected by the draft memorandum.

The draft proposal directs Defense Department officials to conduct a review of every course taught at the military academies and senior service colleges. The review would measure each course against whether it directly advances "tactical operational or strategic warfighting." Courses determined to be non-essential would be slated for elimination under the draft proposal.

The policy proposal is being driven by Tim Dill, the assistant defense secretary for manpower and reserve affairs. Tim Dill is a former Army Green Beret officer who previously served as national security adviser to Senator Ted Cruz.

The memorandum would need approval from Anthony Tata, the under secretary of defense for personnel and readiness. The memorandum would need sign-off from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. The memo declares that the practice of granting tenure would be abolished "effective immediately." The memo gives Anthony Tata 60 days to issue implementation guidance for ending civilian tenure and initiate the curriculum review.

This proposal follows a series of actions since Defense Secretary Hegseth took office. Since taking office, the Pentagon has directed service academies to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion instruction. The Pentagon has rescinded faculty appointments at service academies. The Pentagon has scrutinized library collections at service academies for books addressing race and gender.

The Pentagon has cut ties with graduate education opportunities at Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, and Yale. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, and Yale as "factories of anti-American resentment." Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth convened generals and admirals in Quantico, Virginia, last year. At the Quantico meeting, Pete Hegseth stated the Pentagon would be reviewing standards in "every service, every unit, every schoolhouse and every form of professional military education." One of the memos issued after the Quantico speech directed a 60-day review of military education and training standards. The Pentagon has not released any results publicly from the 60-day review of military education and training standards.

The majority of faculty at West Point are active-duty officers, with civilians representing a minority. In 1992, Congress enacted a federal law directing service academies and senior war colleges to boost their civilian academic ranks. During a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing last year, West Point Superintendent Lt. Gen. Steven Gilland stated that tenure provided civilian professors opportunities to develop within their academic disciplines while helping West Point recruit and retain talented faculty.

Gilland stated that West Point has the authority to remove tenured faculty members. A West Point faculty manual from 2005 states that civilian faculty can be terminated for misconduct, financial exigency, or substantial modification of a program.

West Point declined to appeal a federal judge's order temporarily suspending enforcement of a policy that required civilian faculty to seek advance approval before engaging in many forms of public speech. Tim Bakken, a law professor at West Point, filed a lawsuit against the academy in Manhattan federal court last September. U.S. District Judge Cathy Seibel issued a preliminary injunction preventing West Point from enforcing the speech approval policy against civilian professors while the lawsuit proceeds. The injunction prohibits West Point from restricting Tim Bakken from sharing his personal viewpoints with students.

The draft memorandum would alter the structure of faculty governance at institutions that educate more than 10,000 future military leaders. Eliminating tenure and conducting a curriculum review represents a shift in how the Pentagon manages academic standards at its service academies and senior war colleges. The proposal aligns with previous directives to remove diversity, equity and inclusion instruction and scrutinize library materials.

The requirement for approval from Under Secretary Anthony Tata and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth leaves the final status of the policy uncertain. The 60-day timeline for implementation guidance indicates a rapid timeline for changes if the memorandum is signed. Previous legal challenges at West Point regarding faculty speech restrictions remain active in federal court.