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Watching the swarm of active and former officers on TV and across social media in the wake of the Iran operation, one thing becomes painfully clear: We are not educating the American officer corps for 21st-century war.

In almost every case, these officers — regardless of service — stay locked in the tactical weeds. They can tell you the circular error probable of a Tomahawk missile, the engagement envelope of a JDAM, and the close-quarters choreography of a SEAL platoon. They can talk gear, ranges, platforms, and “capabilities” until your eyes glaze over.

Too many mid-level officers can operate tactically and, at best, think in an operational frame. Few can function in the strategic register.

What they cannot do — with a few exceptions — is think strategically.

Gen. Jack Keane stands out because he can talk operational and strategic moves as a ground commander sees them. But the larger pattern points to a flaw baked into our professional military education system: It produces tacticians who struggle to connect the fight in front of them to the history behind it and the policy goals above it.

That flaw shows up as a shallow understanding of American history, American military history, and the U.S. role in the world since World War II. Even with Iran — a country that has loomed in U.S. policy for decades — many younger officers appear hazy on basic context.

They don’t know, for example, that Iran aligned with the United States during World War II. They don’t know the long arc of American involvement with the Shah (reinstalled in 1948, uninstalled at the fumbling behest of Jimmy Carter in 1979), or the 1979 revolution, or the Reagan-era gamesmanship, or the diplomatic failures and half-measures that followed. They don’t grasp how those chapters shape the threat environment we are dealing with right now — or why “Iran” is never just Iran.

That ignorance produces a second-order problem: a lack of situational awareness about almost any contemporary politico-military challenge.

Too many mid-level officers can operate tactically and, at best, think in an operational frame. Few can function in the strategic register. Fewer still can explain the principles of grand strategy — or, more accurately, war policy: what the nation wants, what it will pay, and what it must prevent.

Without that understanding, senior officers cannot give clear, disciplined advice to a president or a White House staff that may lack military experience. The armed forces become a machine that can execute missions brilliantly while remaining uncertain about the “why.”

There is another cost to this historical and strategic illiteracy: a warped sense of time.

Military operations do not unfold on cable-news timelines. Understanding the implications of a wartime environment takes time. Reshaping an adversary’s behavior takes time. Consolidating a political outcome takes time. If officers making decisions lack a working understanding of the history of that environment, they will miss opportunities that could save lives and treasure — and they will overestimate the speed at which results can be achieved.

I say this as someone who has lectured for decades at military institutions, including the U.S. Air Force Academy, the National Defense University, and the National Intelligence University.

In recent years, I have watched what can only be described as intellectual sludge: more than 20 years of forced social engineering and liberalization within the military academic ecosystem. Diversity, equity, and inclusion became more important than producing officers who are not risk-averse and who understand the hard realities of war — including destruction and death — and the grim imperative to minimize our casualties while maximizing the enemy’s. Brutal, yes. Also true.

RELATED: Memo to Hegseth: Our military’s problem isn’t only fitness. It’s bad education.

Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images

Gen. Curtis LeMay put it plainly: “I don’t mind being called tough, because in this racket, it’s tough guys who lead the survivors.”

There is hope on the horizon, at least in the Air Force. Through what looks like a deus ex machina, the Air Force Academy has rapidly changed its top leadership — installing a new superintendent, commandant, and dean in a single sweep. The new dean, Col. James Valpiani, has a résumé you could shorthand as “Clark Kent in blue.” USAFA has also begun reversing the overly civilianized faculty model, replacing it with Air Force officers who have the appropriate degrees and the right instincts.

That is a start.

Now comes the core reform: The academy must make U.S. history, U.S. military history, and U.S. Air Force history — from World War II forward — a central, non-negotiable part of the curriculum. Young officers need to understand not only what America can do, but what America is trying to do — and why. They need a strategic rationale, not just a technical one.

That kind of grounding also restores a concept the services once prized: meritocracy. The smartest and most aggressive should lead, and they should lead with a strategic understanding worthy of the responsibility.

Gen. George Patton liked to say, “A good plan, violently executed now, is better than a perfect plan next week.” A good plan depends on something deeper than PowerPoint. It depends on a commander with history embedded in his soul — history understood as lived reality, not as trivia.

I would sure like to help plant it there.

Watch live as U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Air Force Gen. Dan Caine hold a press conference on U.S.–Israel military attack on Iran.

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The list of possible successors to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) was whittled down somewhat in Tuesday's primary elections.

On the Republican side, Rep. Chip Roy (R), an antagonist of Paxton who had Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz's endorsement, faced off with Mayes Middleton, a Texas state senator who characterized himself as a proud supporter of the America First agenda; Aaron Reitz, the Paxton-endorsed former assistant attorney general who promised to "destroy the left" if elected; and Joan Huffman, a Texas state senator supported by various police unions.

'I'd like to come home to Texas.'

Roy, who led the pack in a Texas Politics Project Poll taken last month, said in a video statement on Tuesday afternoon, "There's a lot of important issues, and as a former federal prosecutor and the former first assistant attorney general — someone who's been in the battle fighting for you — I'd like to come home to Texas and be your attorney general."

The congressman came home for a relatively disappointing performance, trailing Middleton throughout the night.

With over 91% of the expected votes in, Middleton had secured 39.2% of the vote, while Roy had 31.6% as of Wednesday morning, reported NBC News. Huffman and Reitz secured 15% and 14.2% of the vote, respectively.

RELATED: Trump-endorsed candidate wins Senate primary in key battleground state

Mayes Middleton. Photo by Montinique Monroe/Getty Images

As neither of the top two Republican candidates obtained more than 50% of the vote, they must go head-to-head on May 26 in a primary runoff election.

Just before midnight, Middleton — a seventh-generation Texan and father of four who was endorsed by numerous conservative groups including the Texas Family Project, Moms for America Action, and the True Texas Project — wrote on X, "1st Place! Thank you to conservatives across Texas for your trust, your vote, and for giving us incredible momentum going into the runoff."

Middleton pledged in his campaign to "lead the charge to secure our border, protect Texas kids, ensure fairness in girls’ and women’s sports, protect Texas taxpayers and consumers, ensure strict election integrity, and root out waste, fraud, and abuse from our government."

Reitz congratulated Roy and Middleton, noting, "They ran strong campaigns, I respect them both, and they earned their place in the next round. I wish them both well."

On the Democrat side, Nathan Johnson, a litigator and composer who contributed scores to the anime series "Dragon Ball Z," competed for his party's nomination against former Galveston Mayor Joe Jaworski and Anthony Box, an Army veteran, former FBI agent, and attorney.

With 92% of the votes counted, the Associated Press reported that Johnson led Jaworski and Box by over 20 percentage points with 47.9% of the vote, just shy of the 50% necessary to avoid a runoff on May 26. Jaworski reportedly had 26.7% of the vote as of early Wednesday, while Box had 25.4%.

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Rep. Dan Crenshaw, the only Texas Republican incumbent not to receive President Donald Trump’s endorsement in this election cycle, lost his re-election campaign on Tuesday, according to unofficial results.

Crenshaw, who was hoping to secure a fifth term in Texas’ 2nd Congressional District, was defeated in the primary race by state Rep. Steve Toth (R).

Toth ‘has stepped up to the plate to challenge one of Congress’s biggest RINOs, Dan Crenshaw.’

Toth received just under 57% of the vote, securing a majority and avoiding a runoff election.

Hours after polls closed on Tuesday, Toth declared victory, posting a video on X and stating: "Big thanks to the voters of Congressional District 2. I will work hard for all of you."

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) endorsed Toth ahead of the race, writing in a post on social media, “Steve faithfully served the people of Texas in the Texas House of Representatives, championing our Texas values of liberty, limited government, and constitutional governance.”

“Steve is an unwavering fighter for school choice, fiscal responsibility, and the next generation of Americans. Washington needs bold leadership and representatives who will stand up for Texans at every turn,” Cruz continued. “Steve has the experience, the courage, and the conviction to do just that. I’m honored to support his campaign and urge voters in Texas’s 2nd Congressional District to join me in electing Steve Toth to Congress.”

RELATED: Tuesday’s must-watch primaries: The races that will determine if America First takes over in 2026

Dan Crenshaw. Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call Inc. via Getty Images

Some of Toth’s supporters have accused Crenshaw of opposing President Donald Trump’s Make America Great Again agenda.

Mark Ivanyo, the executive director of Republicans for National Renewal, stated, “@SteveTothTX has stepped up to the plate to challenge one of Congress’s biggest RINOs, Dan Crenshaw. Crenshaw has stood against MAGA consistently and held out as a stalwart of the Liz Cheney wing of the GOP that has done so much damage to our country.”

RELATED: Dan Crenshaw brushes off apparent death threat as 'hyperbole' as ethics complaint looms

Photographer: Sharon Steinmann/Bloomberg via Getty Images

U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.) endorsed Crenshaw last week, crediting him for doing “a lot behind the scenes” "to help weed out the public corruption in Washington."

An internal poll from Crenshaw’s campaign released in November showed the incumbent with a 28-point lead over Toth, according to a press release.

At the time the polls closed in Texas, 7:00 p.m. local time, bettors on Kalshi Markets gave Crenshaw a 68% chance of winning the election. Less than two hours after polls closed, those predictions swung in Toth’s favor with nearly 99% odds.

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Mark Teixeira secured the GOP nomination in Texas’ 21st District after winning more than 50% of the vote, avoiding a runoff in the crowded Republican primary field.

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