West Point Climate Scientist Fired After Challenging Climate Change Curriculum Order

The U.S. Military Academy at West Point, the renowned New York-based training ground for Army officers, is facing renewed scrutiny over academic freedom after Dr. Adam Kalkstein, its only civilian climate scientist, was fired for refusing to stop teaching about the human causes of climate change. According to a federal lawsuit filed Wednesday, Kalkstein’s dismissal followed a contentious November 2025 meeting with Brig. Gen. Shane Reeves, then the academy’s academic dean, during which he was allegedly ordered to alter his curriculum to exclude such content. The lawsuit claims Kalkstein was terminated this spring after resisting the directive, arguing that suppressing scientific facts about climate change would be unethical and potentially illegal.

Kalkstein, who taught geography at West Point for 17 years, contends in the suit that Reeves abruptly ended the meeting by storming out after asserting that former President Donald Trump, then serving a second term as commander-in-chief, dictated West Point’s agenda. The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York, accuses the academy of violating Kalkstein’s First Amendment rights. His attorney, Michael Sussman, described Kalkstein as a conservative Republican who prioritized teaching cadets factual information about climate change for national security reasons. “He is loyal to the cadets and the academy,” Sussman stated. “Edicts that he can’t say what’s true in a classroom are beyond his tolerance and counterproductive.”

The firing of Kalkstein is the latest in a series of conflicts at West Point over academic freedom under the Trump administration’s military policies. Last year, Tim Bakken, the academy’s longest-serving law professor, filed a similar lawsuit after resisting a policy requiring civilian faculty to seek approval before publishing research or giving speeches. Bakken’s lawsuit alleged that a colonel ordered him to “stop talking and sit down” during a faculty meeting, stating, “We’re a military institution. We follow orders.” The academy later dropped its challenge to a preliminary injunction against the policy, and both sides have since agreed to work toward a permanent resolution.

Kalkstein’s lawsuit reveals that he was first notified of potential staffing changes in May 2025, when West Point announced plans to reduce civilian positions even as it planned to open a new humanities center requiring geography instructors. He was offered a “term employee” role without tenure or a full severance package, which he accepted to avoid burdening colleagues with additional teaching duties. The directive to exclude human contributions to climate change from his curriculum came in September 2025, followed by the contentious meeting with Reeves in October. Reeves retired from the military in April after 30 years of service and now serves as president of the University of Wyoming’s board of trustees.

West Point has declined to comment beyond acknowledging the lawsuit, stating it takes such matters seriously but will not comment further due to pending litigation. The White House has not responded to requests for comment. Former President Trump has repeatedly downplayed the climate crisis, fluctuating between calling it a “hoax” or “scam” and acknowledging its existence while asserting that climate scientists are politically motivated. His administration has also pursued cultural changes in military institutions, including a brief attempt to remove hundreds of diversity-related books from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland, before reversing course.

The developments at West Point add to broader concerns about academic freedom within the U.S. military’s educational institutions amid shifting political priorities.

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