NCO Creative Domain Submission Guidelines
Welcome to the NCO Creative Domain! We invite submissions expressing creativity, insight, diversity, and unconventionality. Whether you're inclined toward poetry, short fiction, or reviews of various media, this space is yours to explore and share your inspirations.
NCOJ Publication Agreement PDF
Feel free to use current military doctrine as a framework for crafting a fictional or non-fictional future warfighting scenario. Let your imagination roam as you envision potential challenges, technological advancements, and tactical or strategic maneuvers. You get a chance to hone your creativity and enhance your written communication skills.
We encourage creative works that shed light on NCO challenges, explore futuristic warfare and technology, and delve into professional development and problem-solving. Your submissions should provoke discussion, stimulate innovative thinking, and contribute to NCO professional growth at every level.
While we welcome a variety of themes, subjects and types, we encourage poems that resonate with NCO experiences, challenges, and aspirations. Themes may include leadership, teamwork, personal growth, Army life, comradeship, duty and sacrifice, resilience and adaptability, leadership and mentorship, reflection and remembrance, identity and self-discovery, the human experience of war, legacy and heritage, and hope and renewal.
Originality:
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All submissions must be original works created by the author. You are responsible for your submission's accuracy and source citation. Do not plagiarize another's work.
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Relevance:
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Ensure your submission aligns with the NCO Creative Domain’s themes, focusing on NCO challenges, future warfare, technology, and professional development.
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Formatting:
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* All submissions must be original works created by the author. You are responsible for your submission's accuracy and source citations. Do not plagiarize another's work.
* Use Arial, 12-point font.
* Double space your document.
* A single space after every sentence.
* Indent paragraphs 0.5"
* If you use section subheads, make sure they are bold and flushed left.
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Length:
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While there's no strict word limit, we recommend submissions to be concise and engaging, ranging from 500 to 5,000 words. Our advice is to make it as long as it needs to be, but keep in mind that NCOs are out there training their Soldiers and getting the job done, so they may not have a lot of time to read. If you find yourself writing a long story, look for places where you can break it into parts or chapters.
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Citations:
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If referencing external sources, or you borrow ideas and quotations from other sources, cite your work and include "References" at the end of your article. Using another writer’s ideas and words without citing the original source is considered plagiarism and your submission will not be considered for publication. The NCO Journal follows the writing and citation guidance outlined in the American Psychological Association (APA). - 7th ed.
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Multimedia Content:
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If available, include any multimedia content (such as photographs, videos, audio, and AI-generated art) that enhances your submission, along with a detailed description in a separate Word document.
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Exclusive Submission:
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Authors should wait until the NCO Journal has completed its review process before considering other avenues for publication.
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Contact Information:
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Please complete the NCO Journal Publication Agreement and attach it to your submission. For correspondence purposes, please include your contact information, job title, and unit.
We look forward to reading your diverse ideas and perspectives. Welcome to the NCO Creative Domain!
Experiencing Difficulties
Note: We have received some reports of users experiencing technical difficulties when attempting to submit articles. If you are on a Windows 10 computer you may need to ensure that Microsoft Outlook is set as your default email application so the link opens in Outlook. (You can find instructions on how to set Outlook as your default email application here.)
Alternatively, if you are still experiencing problems please copy and paste this email address usarmy.leavenworth.tradoc.mbx.armyu-aup-nco-journal@army.mil into the To: line of your email.
Terms of Participation
This is an official Department of Defense website, and you represent yourself when commenting. We hope to receive submissions from all viewpoints, but we ask that all participants agree to the following Terms of Participation:
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- Submissions containing the following will not be considered:
- - Obscene or threatening language or discrimination (hate speech) based on race, sex, gender, religion, national origin, age, or disability.
- Promotes services or products (not including non-commercial links that are relevant to the topic).
- Includes any personal or sensitive information (phone numbers, email or postal addresses).
- Language containing obscenity, abusive, defamatory, sexually explicit material or anything that violates the law.
- Operational Security (OPSEC). All personnel (including service member families and friends) are responsible for ensuring information that might put our military members in jeopardy or would be of use to our adversaries is not posted to websites readily accessible to the public. Information includes, among other things, technical information, operation plans, troop movement schedules, current and future military unit and ship locations, overseas base descriptions, weapon system details, or discussions of areas frequented by service members overseas. Other information that’s not as obvious but should also not be discussed in open forums includes daily military activities and operations, equipment status, unit morale, and operations results. Any of these topics, if released in an open medium, have the potential to provide our adversaries opportunities to harm our military members.
- The NCO Journal reserves the right to edit all submissions.