Military Academy at West Point claims he was fired after pushing back on a presidential directive to “defy science” and stop teaching cadets that climate change had “primarily human causes, something contrary to the ideology of the Commander in Chief and forbidden at West Point.” Last September, Dr. Adam Kalkstein, a professor of geography and the only climate scientist at the United States Military Academy, says higher-ups “expressly forbade” him from talking about anthropogenic climate change, according to a federal lawsuit reviewed by The Independent. Its intent was to “chill and suppress speech and censor viewpoints contrary” to those promulgated by the Trump administration, the complaint goes on.
However, Kalkstein – a conservative Republican, according to his lawyer – spoke out against the decree, telling West Point brass that misrepresenting reality “violated the mission of the academy as it required professors to hide scientific truth,” according to the complaint. It would be like trying to teach the law without being able to even mention the Constitution. The guiding principle of any school should be to the truth… I’m supposed to be an educator and a scientist upholding Army values, but… right now, I’m a liar and a fraud.” In response, Kalkstein was stripped of his tenure and put on a contract – which has since been canceled.
It is set to expire in December, the complaint states. Attorney Michael Sussman, who is representing Kalkstein, told The Independent that he is presently battling two types of cancer but felt this case was too important to pass up. But they told him, ‘If you teach that, you’re out of here.’” Sussman said Kalkstein even wrote a letter to Trump-appointed Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth, pointing out that climate change is a recognized threat to the military itself, but that the missive never reached its intended destination.
Ignoring the human factors that are accelerating climate change is “counterproductive from the perspective of people who are deeply concerned about the military and its challenges,” Sussman argued. It’s being defended on the basis of power, that, ‘I have power over you.’ When my client made clear his consternation, that was it.” The only other civilian faculty member laid off was a professor who researched bias, Sussman said, citing Kalkstein’s complaint. A West Point spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment.
In January 2025, exactly one week after Donald Trump returned to the Oval Office, he issued an Executive Order requiring the military to “carefully review the leadership, curriculum and instructors of the United States Service Academies and other defense academic institutions.” Trump famously never served, being granted at least five draft deferrals during Vietnam for “bone spurs.” West Point touts its academic program as one that aims “to establish the intellectual foundation for service as a highly educated commissioned officer,” with the ability to “collect, analyze and interpret data to inform evidence-based conclusions and evaluate outcomes,” according to Kalkstein’s complaint, which was filed August 24 in White Plains federal court. Kalkstein, one of about 100 civilian professors at West Point, joined the faculty roughly 17 years ago, his complaint states. His annual reviews were “outstanding,” with top ratings in each category, according to the complaint.
It says Kalkstein was also one of West Point’s biggest recipients of external research grant funding. Then, in May 2025, Kalkstein was suddenly informed by Geography and Earth Sciences department head Col. Mark Read that he was one of two professors being let go as part of a “reduction in force,” the complaint states.
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