Why Everyone Must Study Military Theory at School

It’s the Most Foundational Skill, More Important Than Maths

Today, I stumbled on a raw and heartbreaking confession post on Facebook.

A 22-year-old woman, married for just 11 months, poured out her story of betrayal and pain. She had married a man she deeply loved, but her dream quickly turned into a nightmare. Her husband demanded her money, beat her when she resisted, and visited a red-light district just months into their marriage. Her in-laws blamed her for his actions.

After months of torment, she left him—only for him to return later, crying, begging for forgiveness. Now she’s caught in a storm of emotions, torn between hope and fear.

The comments beneath her post were brutal. “You should have known better,” one read. “Why did you stay so long?” another asked. “You’re too naive,” a third scolded. Some told her to leave for good. Others pushed for divorce. But most blamed her for not seeing the signs sooner.

Reading this, I didn’t feel frustration at her. I felt it at the double standard. No one teaches us how to spot deception or protect ourselves—and then we get blamed for not knowing how.

This is why I believe military theory should be taught in schools. It’s more useful than math for navigating the real world.

The Hypocrisy of Blaming Naivete

The commenters under her post came down hard, as if her pain was her fault.

“You should’ve seen the red flags.”
“Why didn’t you get out sooner?”

But that’s not just unfair. It’s hypocritical.

We don’t teach people—especially young women—how to analyze character, set boundaries, or spot manipulation. Then we act shocked when they fall into traps they were never taught to see.

People assume emotional intelligence just shows up with age. It doesn’t. Some pick it up early—because of who raised them or what they lived through. Others, like this woman, aren't that lucky.

Her father died when she was 19. She had no mentor, no one to guide her through the mess. How was she supposed to decode her husband’s behavior with no framework to lean on?

Military theory gives you that framework. It’s grounded in strategy, power dynamics, and the truth of human behavior. It’s the kind of education that might’ve helped her spot the signs and walk away sooner.

The issue isn’t that she lacked instinct. It’s that we never gave her the tools.

Military Theory Is A Toolkit for Life

Military theory isn’t about combat. It’s about people—how they act when the stakes are high.

Generals don’t study human nature through rose-colored glasses. They study it in its raw form: calculating, self-interested, strategic.

And those lessons? They apply outside the battlefield.

Here are three principles that map directly to real life:

• Threat Assessment
  In the military, this means knowing who you're up against. In real life, it means reading people. Her husband showed his hand early—demanding money, shifting blame, disappearing into brothels. A trained eye would’ve seen that as a pattern, not a phase.

• Strategic Alliances
  Military coalitions aren’t built on good vibes. They’re built on trust, history, and aligned goals. Relationships should be the same. He showed he wasn’t reliable. She didn’t know how to evaluate him—and paid the price.

• Calculated Retreat
  In war, retreat isn’t weakness. It’s resource management. In life, it’s knowing when a relationship costs more than it gives. She stayed because leaving felt like failing. But retreating from abuse isn’t failure. It’s survival.

These aren’t abstract ideas. They’re tools.

If generals use them to outmaneuver hostile regimes, we can use them to outmaneuver toxic relationships.

Why Military Theory Trumps Math as a Foundational Skill

Math has its place. It’s essential for science, engineering, and anything involving data. And sure, everyone needs some basic arithmetic—for budgeting, tipping, or splitting the bill.

But let’s be honest: most people never touch calculus again after school. And that’s fine. You can live a full life without solving integrals.

What you can’t skip? People.

Every day, you’re navigating conversations, conflicts, and power dynamics. At work. At home. In line at the coffee shop.

Military theory isn’t about war. It’s about strategy. It’s about understanding motivation, reading behavior, and managing tension. That’s why it’s more foundational than math.

At work, you’re figuring out who’s actually in your corner—and who’s pretending.
With friends and family, you’re balancing honesty with harmony.
Even around strangers, you’re scanning: Can I trust this person?

Military theory gives you a framework for all of it.

It teaches you how to read the room.
How to respond without overreacting.
How to lead without being pushy.

Math won’t help you manage a toxic coworker. Or defuse a heated argument. Or tell when someone’s being fake.

But military thinking will.

And that’s the difference. You can coast through life without trigonometry.

But not without people.

Rethinking Education to Prevent Suffering

The woman in the confession didn’t suffer because she was naive.

She suffered because no one gave her the lens to see through the lies.

Her story is one of many. Some people inherit street smarts. Others have to learn the hard way. But we can stop treating it like luck.

Teaching military theory wouldn’t make kids jaded. It would make them prepared.

Imagine if she’d learned to assess threats, choose the right allies, and walk when things turned toxic. That marriage might have never happened.

We need to rewire what we teach. Bad people will always exist. But we can give everyone the tools to handle them.

Not through fear. Through clarity.

Trust should be earned. Not assumed.
Decisions should be strategic. Not impulsive.

This is what military thinking trains you to do.

And in a world where your toughest challenges come from people—not numbers—it’s the kind of thinking we can’t afford to leave out of the classroom.