Eligibility

Cadre and students attending classes at Army Sustainment University may submit essay entries. Essays must be original, not previously published, and completed while attending the university during the submission period. Entries cannot be submitted for publication to any other journal or academic press concurrent with this competition. Two or more students or cadre may coauthor an entry, and international students enrolled in ASU courses may compete. There are separate categories for cadre and students. Individuals only may submit one entry to the competition, and only one entry will be considered if an individual submits multiple essays.

Topics and Deadlines

TOPICS: Each quarter, topics will be chosen based on the Army Chief of Staff’s priorities. For each topic, participants should write about the priority related to military academic institutions, and steps to take to meet the priority goal.

1. 1st quarter, fiscal 2025 – Building Cohesive Teams.
2. 2nd quarter, fiscal 2025 – Delivering Ready Combat Formations.
3. 3rd quarter, fiscal 2025 – Continuous Transformation.
4. 4th quarter, fiscal 2025 – Strengthening the Army Profession.

DEADLINES: The competition is quarterly, and the deadlines for each are as follows

1. 1st quarter, fiscal 2024 – All entries are due October 1, 2024.
2. 2nd quarter, fiscal 2024 – All entries are due January 1, 2025.
3. 3rd quarter, fiscal 2024 – All entries are due April 1, 2025.
4. 4th quarter, fiscal 2024 – All entries are due July 1, 2025.

JUDGING PROCESS

Students will submit their entries to armysustainment@army.mil with the subject header “ASU Writing Competition.”

1. The staff of the Army Sustainment Professional Bulletin will conduct an initial review of all entries, choosing the top submissions for each category for the ASU leadership team to review.
2. A final review board of the ASU commandant, deputy commandant, assistant commandant, and senior enlisted advisor will grade and choose the top submissions for each category.

FORMAT

An entry will consist of the essay and biography.

1. Word count of the essays should not exceed 1,750 words.
2. The biography follows the essay. It should be no more than 1 page and include the participant’s name, rank, Service/department, current college/school, and recent assignments, academic credentials, and contact information.
3. Bibliographies, endnotes and footnotes, and appendices are discouraged. Essential supplementary material can be quoted and cited in the text and bibliographies will be stripped from the paper.
4. The text should follow the format of a scholarly research paper (not a bullet paper, talking paper, PowerPoint briefing, etc.) and be submitted in Word format. Files should not contain desktop-publishing embellishments or macros. Please limit formatting to italics, bold, underline, bullet, or numbered lists.

JUDGING CRITERIA

Judges will evaluate essays using the standards of quality that they apply to traditional academic writing, with emphasis on the following:

1. Innovation: Does the essay inject new thinking into the collective governance of military academic institutions? Does the essay demonstrate a unique approach and/or improve current initiatives? Does the essay take new lessons from history?
2. Feasibility: Is the concept practical and plausible? Does the essay propose a project or concept that could realistically be applied to the government?
3. Clarity of Thought and Purpose: Does the essay clearly define a problem and present a solution? Does it show thoughtful analysis?
4. Persuasiveness: Is the essay logically organized, well written, and persuasive?

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION

Only unclassified essays are eligible. Submitters are responsible for ensuring that manuscripts do not contain classified information. Essays may require a security review before publication and release if chosen for publication.

PUBLICATION RIGHTS

Army Sustainment Professional Bulletin reserves first publication rights for all essays submitted to the competition. Winners and other selected essays may appear in both print and electronic editions of ASPB.

1. Submission of an essay to this contest will be considered acceptance by the author of this publication policy.
2. Essays may not be entered in the competitions if they have previously been submitted for publication, accepted for publication, or published in another printed or electronic journal, book, or other publication.

INTELLECTUAL INTEGRITY

To ensure a fair and rigorous competition, colleges/schools are expected to be self-policing in the following areas:

1. Students must submit essays, and faculty or staff cannot submit a student paper without the student’s knowledge.
2. No editing is allowed once the competition begins.
3. Under no circumstances will a faculty member edit, correct, or change a paper once submitted by students or cadre.