Enter the U.S. Army’s premier writing competition!
2026 General William E. DePuy
Special Topics Writing Competition
This year’s theme: “As the Transformation and Training Command, the Combined Arms Command, and Army University look to modernize professional military education (PME), what should their leaders consider?”
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Learning from the current Ukraine conflict is certainly a worthwhile effort to prepare for large-scale combat operations (LSCO). However, for the U.S. Army, the more consequential endeavor is to adapt how it learns in light of such lessons learned from Ukraine and other ongoing conflicts. Contestants might reflect on the following questions when developing article submissions:
- How must the U.S. Army change the way it gathers and shares lessons? In what ways should it modernize and operationalize real-time learning at scale?
- How should the U.S. Army modernize its doctrine development process to address the pace of adaptation in future conflict?
- In what ways can the U.S. Army improve the current PME system to prepare leaders for future LSCO conflict? And how should the U.S. Army modify PME to address the changing character of war?
- How might the U.S. Army improve the NCO Education System, balancing technological innovations with the strengths of traditional NCO leadership?
- On the battlefield and in the classroom, how should the U.S. Army use AI to augment the military decision-making process? What changes to operational planning are needed?
- What risks come with integrating AI into planning, targeting, and decision-making? How might leaders prudently approach AI integration?
- How might leaders retain the human element of military leadership considering the increasing focus on technology, data, and AI?
- In what ways can the U.S. Army leverage civilian academic institutions to modernize PME?
- What other lessons must the U.S. Army learn from the Ukraine conflict (and conflicts like it) that should inform the service in preparing its leaders for LSCO?
Competition opens 5 January 2026 and closes 30 May 2026
1st Place: $1,000 and publication in Military Review
2nd Place: $750 and consideration for publication in Military Review
3rd Place: $500 and consideration for publication in Military Review
Prize money contributed by the Association of the United States Army
For information on how to submit an entry, please visit https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/ Military-Review/MR-Article-Submission-Guide/.
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