West Point's Only Climate Scientist Says He Was Fired for Teaching Human Causes of Climate Change

West Point's only climate scientist says he was fired after challenging an order barring faculty from teaching cadets about the human causes of climate change.

Dr Adam Kalkstein, a civilian professor of geography at the US Military Academy in New York, has filed a federal lawsuit accusing West Point of violating his First Amendment rights. Kalkstein taught at the academy for 17 years before being told at the end of the spring semester that his term appointment would not be renewed, according to the lawsuit.

He claims the decision came after he challenged an order requiring faculty to remove material about human contributions to climate change from their courses. The lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York.

'We're Lying to Them'

According to the filing, Kalkstein clashed with Brig Gen Shane Reeves, then dean of West Point's academic board, during a meeting in November 2025. Kalkstein said he told Reeves that cutting the human causes of climate change from the curriculum would be immoral and possibly illegal.

'We're only telling cadets part of the story. We're lying to them, deceiving them,' Kalkstein reportedly said. 'It would be like trying to teach the law without being able to even mention the Constitution.'

The lawsuit alleges Reeves responded by saying Donald Trump was commander in chief and set the agenda for West Point. When Reeves suggested Kalkstein resign, the professor refused. Reeves then 'stormed out' of the meeting, according to the complaint.

National Security Argument

Kalkstein's lawyer, Michael Sussman, said his client is not a liberal activist but a conservative Republican who believes cadets need accurate climate science for military planning.

'He is loyal to the cadets and the academy,' Sussman told The New York Times.

Sussman said Kalkstein viewed the order as impossible to accept because it would force him to withhold facts in the classroom. Kalkstein also wrote a letter intended for Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth, arguing that climate knowledge matters for national security, including competition over Arctic resources and understanding melting sea ice. His lawyer said the letter was sent through his chain of command but never left West Point.

Wider Academic Freedom Fight

The lawsuit is the second recent legal challenge involving academic freedom at West Point. Law professor Tim Bakken previously sued over a Trump administration policy requiring civilian faculty to seek approval before publishing papers or giving speeches.

A federal judge granted Bakken a preliminary injunction against the policy in May and denied the government's attempt to dismiss his case.

West Point said in a statement that it was aware of the allegations and took such matters seriously, but declined further comment because of pending litigation. The controversy comes as the Trump administration has sought to reshape military institutions and remove policies it describes as 'woke'.

Hegseth previously wrote on X that the Department of Defense 'does not do climate change crap. We do training and warfighting'.

Kalkstein's lawsuit argues that future Army officers cannot understand modern security threats if they are taught climate change without the human actions driving it.