Milestones

February 2025:
Coordinators provide names of judges to NDU Press.

April 2025:
Deadline for schools to submit nominated papers to NDU Press (POC: Jeff Smotherman, JFQ1@ndu.edu).

May 2025:
Judges report first-round scores to NDU Press.

May 2025:
Judges attend final-round conference at NDU.


Contact

For further information, please contact:

Jeff Smotherman
Managing Editor
703-965-6949
JFQ1@ndu.edu

Update

The Secretary of Defense Essay Competition and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Essay Competitions are postponed for academic year 2025.

Any student who has an essay that he or she believes is highly competitive should be encouraged to submit it to Joint Force Quarterly for consideration for publication. 

We apologize for any inconvenience this circumstance causes.​

Secretary of Defense and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Strategic Essay Competitions

Are you a Professional Military Education (PME) student? Imagine your winning essay appearing in a future issue of Joint Force Quarterly and a chance to catch the ear of the Secretary of Defense (SECDEF) or the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) on an important national security issue. Recognition by peers await the winners.

Who's Eligible: Students at the PME colleges, schools, and other educational programs, including Service research fellows and international students.

What: Research and write an original, unclassified essay in one (or more) various categories.

When: Essays may be written during the 2024–2025 academic year. Colleges are responsible for running their own internal competitions to select nominees, and must meet these deadlines:

  • April 2025: Colleges submit nominated essays to NDU Press for first-round judging
  • May 2025: Final-round judging and selection of winners

For complete information and competition rules, see your college’s essay coordinator or go to: