Episode 4: How America’s Military Academies Lost Their Way

West Point was built to produce warriors. So was Annapolis. So was the Air Force Academy. At some point, the mission changed — and nobody voted for it.

In this episode, Doug Truax (West Point graduate) and Will Thibeau break down exactly what has happened to the officer formation pipeline: critical race theory in academy curricula, ROTC programs held hostage by campus DEI mandates, and a military commissioning officers through institutions that openly hold it in contempt.

Then they lay out the fix — including a proposed 12-week tactical commissioning pilot designed to compete the academies into reform without waiting for Congress to force it.

The colonels and generals of 2045 are the second lieutenants of 2025. The pipeline either produces people who can win wars — or people who can't. This episode is about making sure it produces the former.

Topics covered:
• What West Point, Annapolis, and the Air Force Academy actually look like today
• Why ROTC at civilian universities is an even bigger problem
• The tactical commissioning pilot program explained
• Legislative history: FY2024–FY2027 NDAA reforms
• The institutional resistance playbook — and how to recognize it