Harvard grad and Army general regrets restrictions on sending service members to top universities

 General Monty Montague (Harvard '95) writes eloquently about the mutual benefits of allowing service members to study at top universities, in the face of new government bans.  He thinks both that the current administration's war on universities is misguided, and that universities haven't properly appreciated the benefits that soldier/scholars bring.

I’m an Army general. My education shouldn’t be unexpected.
Elite universities and the military should be friends, not foes. By Monty Montague

"Americans — both soldiers and civilians — simply do not connect elite education with military service. It is equally concerning that the two domains are connecting less and less with each other.

"Academia and national security represent two fundamental pillars of American life. The first represents hope; the second, safety. You cannot have hope without safety, and safety without hope is not worth much. 

...

"The [mutual] benefits are easy to see, for both sides. For instance, some late-career officers forgo service war colleges to attend prestigious national security and international relations graduate programs, such as at Princeton University or the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The officers, who may not have had their opinions challenged in a dozen years, can learn to better articulate their positions to classmates who might not understand or agree with them, while civilian students can grow to respect officers’ intellect, not just their service. Many of these officers will reach the highest ranks of the service, while their civilian counterparts may find themselves in boardrooms, courtrooms or legislative bodies. All leave campus with a diverse and talented set of contacts — a two-way street indeed.

"But the pavement is crumbling. Beginning in the fall, the services are pulling their students from these graduate programs out of fear of indoctrination and the undermining of American values — as if those bright, brave patriots need protection. The move is touted as a transition to more “rigorous and relevant” schools, but it only drives the wedge deeper. "