Prior to his appointment as Undersecretary of War, Amaro had laid plans for a Grand Military Academy of the Army. He made arrangements for the government to purchase to tracts of land, but the school never materialized. Rather, he focused his efforts on the Heroic Military Academy. Despite its excellent reputation, by the end of the Revolution, the College was in a state of disrepair. On September 30, 1925, Amaro shut it down for a major overhaul that took ten months. In addition to new facilities, it also boasted a new curriculum that emphasized civic and moral virtues. Admission requirements were put into place, and included letters of recommendation that could vouch for an applicant's moral character.