Canadian Military Journal

Guidelines for Submission of Manuscripts

The 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 of Canada’s official languages.

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 Word format (.docx or .doc) by email at cmj.rmc@forces.gc.ca.

Since the Journal is a bilingual publication, manuscripts accompanied by graphics, tables, figures, charts or maps which support the context of the article must be sent to us separately in a modifiable format in order to translate them in either official language. Acceptable formats include Word (.docs or .doc), PowerPoint (.pptx or .ppt), Excel (.slx or .xlsx), Vector file (.ai, .eps, .pdf) and any other format that allows the text to be modified. Any supporting photos must be provided in high resolution (minimum 300dpi) in .jpg or .tiff format for print quality and be followed with their appropriate caption and source. The Journal does have an FTP site which allows the transfer of large files by email. If in doubt or require the use of the FTP site, please contact the Publication Manager.

Manuscripts should conform to standard academic style, using Oxford English or Petit Robert spelling, with endnotes rather than footnotes. Endnotes should be embedded and not attached. Multiple endnotes per reference are confusing to the reader and therefore totally unacceptable as formatting for the Journal. Abstracts and bibliographies are undesired. All bibliographic material is to be contained in the endnotes. Consult recent editions for examples of appropriate formatting. The most important rule to abide when submitting your manuscript is to ensure that the endnotes are embedded (not attached) without any in text citations and that all bibliographic material (if any) is contained in the endnote.

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 short paragraph maximum) biographical sketch of the author which includes current appointment, telephone number, email address and mailing address.

 

All manuscripts normally (unless commissioned) 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. Unless otherwise agreed upon, the Canadian Military Journal insists upon right of first publication of any given submission.

The Deputy Minister and Chief of the Defence Staff have delegated authority to approve manuscripts for publication in the Canadian Military Journal to the Editor acting on recommendations of the Editorial Board, so serving members of the Canadian Armed Forces and civilian employees of the Department of National Defence are not required to obtain prior clearance from their superior when submitting a manuscript.