re: Is a&m actually a military academy?

The Texas A&M Corps of Cadets is still the number one producer of military officers for our country outside of the three service academies. While not a military school anymore they hold their own. Participation in the Corps of Cadets was also made voluntary. In 1963, the Texas state legislature officially renamed the school to Texas A&M University, with the "A" and "M" being a symbolic link to the school's past but no longer officially standing for "Agricultural and Mechanical."