West Point Trades Real Reform For Illusory Paper Compliance
By: Will Thibeau
May 21, 2025
If the academy cannot produce officers loyal to the Constitution, its leadership is not just failing, it is compromising national security.
In a recent New York Times op-ed, soon-to-be former West Point professor Graham Parsons blames the Trump administration for West Point’s failure to maintain their status as an apolitical, elite institution of the military profession. The claim is not just disingenuous — it is a deflection.
The op-ed accuses West Point of failing to resist the president’s agenda to rid the military of ideological perversion, as if insubordination is a virtue. This framing exposes the heart of the problem: West Point’s leadership opposes the president’s vision, either out of ideology or incompetence.
It is first important to understand some of the changes President Trump and Secretary Hegseth made to West Point. First, admissions officers are no longer allowed to maintain racial profiles or goals for admissions classes. Long a policy since the 1960s, West Point sought to categorize applicants and cadets based on the color of their skin. Under the Trump administration, that is no longer possible.
https://thefederalist.com/2025/05/21/west-point-trades-real-reform-for-illusory-paper-compliance/?twclid=22y85hl1fgoihavsq5fbm755ap
