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Forewords
Professional Military Writing
Write for Military Review: Suggested Writing Themes and Topics—2024
2025 General William E. DePuy Special Topics Writing Competition
This year’s theme is “the challenges of planning for security in a world that is increasingly borderless, multicultural, and economically interdependent.”
Renewing Professional Writing
Lt. Col. Zachary Griffiths, U.S. Army
To prepare for the next war, the Army needs professional discourse. The Army is renewing its military journals to be ready for the challenges ahead.
John Wayne at His Writing Desk: The Origins of Professional Journals, 1878–1910
Dr. J. P. Clark
Writing is a great way for individuals to make sense of the problems they face while also contributing to potential solutions. While Army leadership strives to revitalize professional journals, their predecessors had the additional burden of creating these initial venues for professional discourse.
Muddy Boots and Powerful Pages: Why We Write
Sgt. 1st Class Leyton Summerlin, U.S. Army
Why would a muddy-boot-wearing warfighter be inclined to write? Writing is a powerful self-development tool, unparalleled in its ability to clear one’s thoughts and hone ideas. The more one undergoes the writing and refining process, the more one develops the skill of concise communication.
For Individuals
How to Write an Article
Capt. Theo Lipsky, U.S. Army
One way to give life to an idea is to write about it. The author provides a how-to guide for writing a commentary article for publication.
How to Write a Book Review
Lt. Col. Zachary Griffiths, U.S. Army
Book reviews benefit the Army profession and the Army professional. Given that more books are published than can possibly be read, reviews provide concise, critical summaries of important books for the busy professional.
From PME to Publication
Maj. Brennan Deveraux, U.S. Army
Maj. Gordan Richmond, U.S. Army
Important ideas can spring from professional military education (PME) writing assignments that deserve a wider audience. With some forethought and a few alterations, any PME student can and should publish one of their assigned writing projects as a professional article.
Rewriting: The Secret to Writing Well
Trent J. Lythgoe, PhD
To transform an article from a rough draft to a polished manuscript— something that editors will want to publish, and people will want to read—authors must adopt a rewriting process: revising, editing, and proofreading to strengthen and clarify writing.
With All Due Respect: How to Foster Dissent in the U.S. Army
Lt. Col. Matthew Jamison, U.S. Army
The presence of healthy dialogue and debate about military matters is key to critical thinking, shows that all perspectives have value, and supports the effectiveness of military units. Dissent must be presented effectively based on context.
For Units
Building and Running an Online Forum
Lt. Col. Erik Davis, U.S. Army
Lt. Col. Nick Frazier, U.S. Army
Online forums promote collaboration across both time and space, making it easier for everyone to engage. They expose a diverse audience to varying opinions, create a safe environment for controversial ideas, and provide a place to debate the arguments posed by others in articles.
Catalyst Papers: A Practical Writing Style for Army Leaders to Share Ideas
Lt. Col. D. Max Ferguson, U.S. Army
Catalyst papers are a distinct approach to writing Army white papers that encourages all ranks to share observations from the field, introduce suggestions, and examine lessons learned in a relaxed writing style.
How to Develop and Run a Unit Writing Program
Lt. Col. Jay Ireland, U.S. Army
Maj. Ryan Van Wie, U.S. Army
A unit’s leadership can develop and incentivize professional writing in their organization to cultivate subordinate communication skills, set reasonable writing goals, mentor authors through the submission process, and incentivize writing across the formation.
Speech: It’s a Technique
Maj. George J. Fust, U.S. Army
Like writing, speech can be a deliberate professional development tool in a unit program to provide an option for renewing and encouraging professional discourse. It is a universal mechanism for transmitting ideas: it can inspire, spark creativity, and appeal to those of the next generation turned off by traditional mediums.
When Publishing
Writing Is a Team Sport: How to Find and Write with a Coauthor
Maj. Brennan Deveraux, U.S. Army
Capt. Leah Foodman, U.S. Army
Coauthoring is a great way to reduce unease about writing and distribute the workload, but it has its fair share of challenges that authors must account for to succeed.
A Writer’s Guide to Giving and Receiving Feedback
Capt. Rebecca Segal, U.S. Army
The feedback process is critical to achieving quality writing. Feedback can come at any step along the writing process, from brainstorming to writing to editing, but there is an art to giving and receiving feedback.
Your Draft Is Done, Now What? Working with an Editor
John Amble
A professional editor describes the editorial process and how an author can get the most out of that process, make it smooth and efficient, and be confident that when the article is published, it will be at its best.
Building a Community: How to Create a Professional Writing Network
Lt. Col. Nathan K. Finney, PhD, U.S. Army
Professional writing, no matter the profession, is a group project. From idea generation to a first draft, through revisions and into the publishing process, every step of the way includes the men and women around you. An article will always be improved by engaging a community in its crafting.
Punctuation Mark: Article Selection by Professional Publications
Col. Todd Schmidt, PhD, U.S. Army
Col. William Darley, U.S. Army, Retired
The editor in chief and the managing editor of Military Review offer advice on what professional military journals look for during the process of article selection for publication.
LTG (Ret) James M. Dubik Writing Fellows Program
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