Secretary of War Pete Hegseth delivered a bracing address Tuesday to the nation’s generals and admirals on restoring the warrior ethos and “unwoking” the military. His words hit their mark. But if the United States wants real warriors, the work starts with education — and ends with the National Guard.

The collapse of military education

Mr. Secretary, I have taught at the National Defense University and the National Intelligence University since 1992. Over three decades, I have watched the steady decline of military education, especially in American military history.

The rot deepened after 2021, when NIU was shifted from the Defense Department to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. The move made little sense, and the result has been worse: a pipeline of “graduates” sen

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