Hegseth Cuts Harvard Kennedy School Ties, Recasting Military Partnerships Around 3 Warfighting Principles
Updated
Updated · The Washington Post · Jul 17
Hegseth Cuts Harvard Kennedy School Ties, Recasting Military Partnerships Around 3 Warfighting Principles
1 articles · Updated · The Washington Post · Jul 17
Summary
Pete Hegseth has moved to cut or condition military-funded ties with programs including Harvard Kennedy School’s national security fellowship, recasting academic partnerships around merit, cohesion and warfighting effectiveness.
The shift targets programs the policy’s defenders say steered officers into critical-theory instruction and identity-based equity mandates, rather than education directly supporting retention and an apolitical force.
Supporters frame the move as a correction—not a rejection of higher education—arguing the military should work only with universities or alternative programs that keep warfighting excellence central.
The debate widened after a July 14 op-ed by active-duty Brig. Gen. Monty Montague urged elite universities and the military to remain “friends, not foes,” highlighting tension over how officers should be educated.