Episode 9: Warfighters, Not Bureaucrats: Reforming Military Education
October 6th, 2026
18 mins 16 secs
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About this Episode
Every service academy graduate costs taxpayers roughly half a million dollars. So what is that investment supposed to buy, and why did the answer stop being warfighters?
In this episode, Doug Truax and Will Thibeau lay out a blueprint to refocus the academies on merit and warfighting. They also take on the draft Pentagon memo that would abolish civilian tenure and review every course against combat readiness, along with the serious objections coming from the war college community.
Then they turn to the question nobody asks: where were the Boards of Visitors? These boards were supposed to catch the drift and did nothing. Doug and Will also break down the new scorecard that will grade every one of them.