Guidelines for the submission of manuscripts
Canadian Military Journal welcomes the submission of manuscripts on topics of broad significance to the defence community in Canada, including, but not limited to, security and defence policy, strategic issues, doctrine, operations, force structures, the application of technology, equipment procurement, military history, leadership, training and military ethics. Forward-looking pieces which present original concepts or ideas, new approaches to old problems and fresh interpretation are especially welcome.
Authors are asked to note the following general guidelines:
- Manuscripts may be submitted in either official language.
- As a general rule, manuscripts of major articles should be between 3500 to 6000 words in length, including endnotes. However, shorter pieces are also welcomed, especially views and opinions that engage in the debate of relevant issues, as are letters to the editor.
- Manuscripts must be submitted in electronic format, on disc or by e-mail, in MS Word or WordPerfect. E-mail address: cmj.rmc@forces.gc.ca. The preferred program is MS Word.
- Manuscripts should be accompanied by appropriate graphs, charts, photographs, maps or other illustrations which illuminate the context of the article. All images sent electronically, including photos, charts, figures, and graphs, should be no smaller than 5”x7” and saved at 300 dpi as a JPEG or TIF file in Photoshop or other well-known formats. Expressed another way, an individual image of 1MB will usually suffice for publication purposes. If in doubt about image suitability, contact either the Editor or the Publication Manager for guidance. Illustrations from a Powerpoint program cannot be used because the resolution is too low (72 dpi).
- Manuscripts should conform to standard academic style, using Oxford English or Petit Robert spelling, with endnotes rather than footnotes.
- Acronyms and military abbreviations should be used sparingly, but, if unavoidable, they may be used in the body of the text provided that the term is written out in full the first time it is used, followed by the abbreviated form in brackets. On the other hand, military jargon and slang terms should, as a rule, be avoided.
- All submissions must be accompanied by a brief (one paragraph) biographical sketch of the author which includes current appointment, telephone number, e-mail address and mailing address.
All manuscripts normally will be reviewed anonymously by at least two external readers from the Editorial Board, who will make recommendations to the Editor as to suitability for publication. Manuscripts will be judged on the originality and quality of the argument or discussion, the relevance and timeliness of the topic, and on quality of the writing style.
The Deputy Minister and Chief of the Defence Staff have delegated authority to approve manuscripts for publication in Canadian Military Journal to the Editor acting on recommendations of the Editorial Board, so serving members of the Canadian Forces and civilian employees of the Department of National Defence are not required to obtain prior clearance from their superior when submitting a manuscript.
The Editor reserves the right to edit manuscripts for style, grammar and length, but will not make editorial changes which affect the integrity of the argument or discussion without reference to the author. Manuscripts that are not accepted for publication will be returned to the author. No copy of unpublished manuscripts will be retained by Canadian Military Journal, the Editorial Board or Department of National Defence.
