Dr. Adam Kalkstein, who served as the only climate scientist at West Point, has been fired from his position at the United States military academy, The Guardian reported. This termination occurred after he reportedly resisted an order to remove content regarding the human causes of climate change from his curriculum.
The legal filing detailing these events suggests that his departure followed the spring semester this year, roughly six months after a tense interaction with the academic leadership at the institution. Kalkstein spent 17 years teaching army cadets at the New York institution.
According to the lawsuit, he met with Brigadier General Shane Reeves, who was the dean of the academic board at the time, in November 2025. During this meeting, Kalkstein expressed his belief that the directive to stop teaching the human causes of the climate emergency was both immoral and potentially illegal. He reportedly told the dean that the order “would be like trying to teach the law without being able to even mention the constitution.”
Kalstein’s attorney emphasized that his client is a conservative Republican
The lawsuit alleges that Reeves responded to this statement by “storming out” of the room. Before leaving, Reeves told Kalkstein that President Donald Trump was the commander in chief and set the agenda for West Point. Reeves retired from his military career in April after 30 years of service and currently serves as the president of the board of trustees at the University of Wyoming.
This legal action is the second instance of a West Point educator filing a suit regarding the restriction of academic freedoms. Tim Bakken, who is the academy’s longest-serving law professor, previously experienced a confrontation with Colonel John Gregory. This incident involved a policy requiring civilian faculty to seek approval before publishing papers or giving speeches.
According to that lawsuit, Gregory allegedly ordered Bakken to “stop talking and sit down” during a faculty meeting, stating, “We’re a military institution. We follow orders.” The academy recently dropped its challenge to a preliminary injunction against that policy, and both sides are working toward a permanent solution.
Kalkstein’s attorney, Michael Sussman, has emphasized that his client is a conservative Republican who views the education of military students on climate science as a matter of national security. Sussman stated that his client “is loyal to the cadets and the academy” and that the professor felt that being told he could not express what is true in a classroom was counterproductive. Sussman also noted that Kalkstein is not the type of person who complains about everything President Trump does, as his position was not driven by ideology.
The lawsuit, which was filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, claims that West Point breached Kalkstein’s First Amendment rights to free speech. The trouble for his position allegedly began in May 2025, when leadership announced plans to reduce civilian staff while simultaneously opening a new humanities center that required new geography instructors. Although he was offered a role as a term employee, he accepted a loss of tenure to stay, as he was concerned about the impact on his colleagues if he left.
President Trump has frequently characterized the climate emergency as a hoax or a scam, while at other times suggesting that climate scientists are politically motivated. Since beginning his second term in office last year, he has sought to implement various cultural changes within military institutions. This includes an order from Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in April last year that temporarily resulted in the removal of nearly 400 books from the United States Naval Academy that were deemed to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion.
The United States Military Academy has stated it is aware of the allegations and takes such matters seriously, though it declined to provide further comment due to the ongoing litigation.
Published: Aug 31, 2026 03:15 pm