The problem, ISTM, is not the academies or war colleges - the problem is the retention and promotion system. I don't know about the other services, but in the Air Force, selection for in-residence PME and then a war college is one of the primary predictors of who will advance, especially to Col. and beyond. The problem, to me at least, is that other options (like a PhD or whatever) are not valued by the system that creates our senior officers. That system is the real problem, not the service academies and war colleges.