US defense secretary orders overhaul of military education system

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth on Monday ordered a sweeping overhaul of the Department of Defense's Professional Military Education (PME) system, directing reforms aimed at prioritizing combat readiness, military leadership and warfighting skills.

The directive follows a review by the Senior Service College Task Force and calls for immediate changes across senior military colleges and intermediate level education institutions.

The Pentagon said the reforms are intended to reverse decades of "academic drift" by eliminating ideological distractions and placing greater emphasis on joint warfighting, strategic decision-making and competitive military exercises.

Under the new guidelines, military education programs will be evaluated based on whether they prepare officers to lead and win future conflicts.

"The reforms that I'm directing today are designed to reinforce military education, focused on winning our nation's wars and reinforcing each person's oath to our Constitution," Hegseth said during remarks at the US Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island.

"The far greater challenge is erecting educational architecture that is capable of building architects of victory, which is what we need all of you to be," he added.