Defense AT & L writer's guidelines in brief.

Purpose

The purpose of Defense AT & L magazine is to instruct members of the DoD Acquisition, Technology & Logistics (AT & L) Workforce and Defense Industry on policies, trends, legislation, senior leadership changes, events, and current thinking affecting program management and defense systems acquisition, and to disseminate other information pertinent to the professional development and education of the DoD Acquisition Workforce.

Subject Matter

Subjects may include, but are not restricted to, all aspects of program management; professional and educational development of DoD's AT & L Workforce; acquisition and logistics excellence; Defense industrial base; research and development; test and evaluation; modeling and simulation; commercial best business practices; and interviews with Government-Industry Defense executives.

Defense AT & L is not a forum for academic papers, fact sheets, technical papers, or white papers (these are typically recognized by their structured packaging, e.g., Introduction, Background, Discussion, Methodology, Recommendations, Conclusions). Those papers are more suited for DAU's journal, Acquisition Review Quarterly. Defense AT & L magazine publishes, for the most part, feature stories that include real people and events. Stories that appeal to our readers--who are senior military personnel, civilians, and defense industry professionals in the program management/acquisition business--are those taken from real-world experiences vs. pages of researched information.

Good writing sounds like comfortable conversation. Write naturally and avoid stiltedness. Except for a rare change of pace, most sentences should be 25 words or less, and paragraphs should be six sentences. Vary your syntax. Avoid falling into the trap of writing one declarative sentence after another. Package your article with liberal use of subheads.

Length of Articles

Defense AT & L is flexible regarding length, but articles most likely to be published are generally 2,000-3,000 words or about 10 double-spaced pages, each page having a 1-inch border on all sides. However, do not be constrained by length requirements; tell your story in the most direct way, regardless of length. Do not submit articles in a layout format, nor should articles include any footnotes, endnotes, or references. Be sure to define all acronyms.

Photos and Illustrations

Articles may include figures, charts, and photographs. They must, however, be in a separate file from the article. Photos must be black and white or color. Defense AT & L does not guarantee the return of photographs. Include brief, numbered captions keyed to the photographs. Place a corresponding number on the lower left corner, reverse side of the photographs. Also, be sure to include the source of the photograph. Defense AT & L publishes no photos from outside the Department of Defense without express permission. Photocopies of photographs are not acceptable.

With the increase in digital media capabilities, authors can now provide digital files of photos/illustrations. (Our author guidelines at http://www.dau.mil/pubs/pm/articles.asp contain complete instructions on transmitting these files.) Note that they must meet the following publication standards set for Defense AT & L: color and greyscale (if possible); EPS files generated from Illustrator (preferred) or Corel Draw (if in another format, provide program format as well as EPS file); TIFF files with a resolution of 300 pixels per inch measuring 5 inches by 7 inches; or other files in original program format (i.e., Powerpoint).

Biographical Sketch

Include a short biographical sketch of the author(s)--about 25 words--including current position and educational background.

Clearance

All articles written by authors employed by or on contract with the U.S. Government must be cleared by the author's public affairs or security office prior to submission. In addition, each author must certify that the article is a "Work of the U.S. Government." This form is found at the end of the Defense AT & L Author Guidance. Click on "Copyright Forms" and print the last page only, sign, and submit with the article. Since all articles appearing in Defense AT & L are in the public domain and posted to the DAU Web site, no copyrighted articles will be accepted. This is in keeping with DAU's policy of widest dissemination of its published products.

Submission Procedures

Articles (in MS Word) may be submitted via e-mail to [e-mail] or via U.S. mail to: DAU PRESS, ATTN: JUDITH GREIG, 9820 BELVOIR RD, SUITE 3, FORT BELVOIR VA 22060-5565. For photos/illustrations accompanying your article, send us the original photos or follow the guidance under "Photos and Illustrations"--opposite column. All submissions must include the author's name, mailing address, office phone number (DSN and commercial), and fax number.

Don't wait. Send us your article now.

          Submission Dates

Issue                       Author's Deadline

January-February            1 November
March-April                 1 January
May-June                    1 March
July-August                 1 May
September-October           1 July
November-December           1 September

http://www.dau.mil/pubs/pm/articles.asp