EDITORS' CORNER
Schools will establish ‘America’s Corps of Cadets’
The Pentagon has chosen five new colleges to train military officers as it overhauls its partnerships with elite universities, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced this month.
“We need more officers from academic institutions like our military academies and senior military academies, and today we’re going to make that happen,” Hegseth said during a State of the Force Address in Virginia Wednesday.
“We’re partnering with a new crop of premier higher ed institutions, including Louisiana State University [LSU], Liberty University, Tuskegee University, Mississippi State University and Hillsdale College,” he said.
Hegseth said the schools “have stepped forward to answer the call to duty and establish new corps of cadets in partnership with the Department of War.”
The new initiative, called “America’s Corps of Cadets,” is designed to help colleges and universities supply more “patriotic leaders of character” to the military’s joint force.
The schools “will maintain exceptionally high standards of cadet discipline, tactical instruction and military organization,” Hegseth said.
He also announced that the chosen schools will earn a “prestigious honor school status which grants priority in officer commissioning.”
“The demand for grounded, strong and honorable leaders has never been more urgent,” Hegseth said.
“Tomorrow’s leaders can’t simply manage crisis, they have to thrive within it while maintaining their true north compass heading. Only leaders of character, who cherish our Constitution and love our country, should lead our great military,” he said.
In a memo announcing the move, the defense secretary wrote that the decision honors the schools’ history and “recognizes their path by providing a steppingstone towards becoming an SMC if they choose.”
Earlier this year, the Department of War chose the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and Virginia Tech to host a military education program called the Senior Service College Fellowship, The College Fix previously reported.
The fellowship is 10-month military education programs preparing senior military officers for strategic leadership roles.
This is all part of the Pentagon’s efforts to overhaul its partnerships with elite universities.
In a February 2026 memo, Hegseth cancelled all graduate-level fellowships and programs between his alma mater, Harvard University, and the Department of War.
He called the school “a prime example of what was once a world-leading university becoming an institution that fails to encourage open inquiry and debate.”
Also this year, the Pentagon mandated campus leaders to conduct foreign research security audits or risk losing federal funding, The Fix reported.
Universities responded that there are no concerning ties or that currently established foreign academic collaborations are above board.
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