US military academies are banning books and eliminating majors to align with Hegseth 'warrior' ideology [View all]

Source: The Independent

Thursday 28 August 2025 21:22 BST


Former faculty at the U.S. military’s prestigious service academies say they faced de facto book bans, shuttered courses and majors, and academic censorship in the face of political pressure from the Trump administration.

In the early days of the administration, the president signed an executive order that the academies, such as West Point and the U.S. Naval Academy, were barred from “promoting, advancing or otherwise inculcating” ideas deemed “un-American” including “gender ideology” and the idea that “America’s founding documents are racist or sexist.”

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth soon joined in, ordering that ideas including critical race theory, diversity and inclusion, could not even be taught at the military schools, which educate the armed forces’ elite officer class.

The push to strip such topics, especially gender, from military circles aligned with Hegseth’s longstanding argument, even before he was confirmed, that the military’s masculine “warrior ethos” was being hemmed in by unnecessary civilian oversight and left-leaning academic ideas, as well as his past comments that women should not be in combat roles. The impact of these orders was soon felt on campus.

Read more: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-hegseth-military-book-ban-dei-b2816028.html