By the Editorial Staff of CIMSEC and U.S. Naval Institute Proceedings

The Challenge

Fiction is a powerful tool for testing hypotheticals and imagining other worlds as a means of examining our own. Once again, CIMSEC and the U.S. Naval Institute have partnered to invite authors to ask “What if?” as a means of exploring different visions of the future of maritime security.

Authors might consider how conflicts might play out in the near or distant future. Or they might use historical fiction or alternate history as a means of illuminating something important about today’s international environment. All that is required is a compelling tale, a convincing narrative, and a chance to learn something about today through the author’s exploration of yesterday, today, or tomorrow.

Read last year’s top 10 contest stories on CIMSEC here.

Submission Guidelines

• Word Count: 3,000 words maximum (excludes endnotes/sources).
• Include word count on title page but do not include author name(s) on title page or within the text.
• Stories must be original and not previously published (online or in print) or being considered for publication elsewhere.
• The contest is open to all contributors.
• One submission per contributor.
• Submit story as a Word document at www.usni.org/fictionessay.

Deadline: September 15, 2022

Selection Process

The Naval Institute and CIMSEC staffs will evaluate all entries and provide the top essays to a select panel of military novelists for judging. All essays will be judged in the blind—i.e., the staffs and judging panel will not know the authors of the essays. 

Prizes

• First Prize: $500 and a 1-year membership
in the Naval Institute and CIMSEC.
• Second Prize: $300 and a 1-year membership in the Naval Institute and CIMSEC.
• Third Prize: $200 and a 1-year membership
in the Naval Institute and CIMSEC.

Publication

The winning essays will be published in Proceedings or on the Naval Institute and CIMSEC websites. Non-winning essays also may be selected for publication. 

We look forward to receiving your submissions and partnering with the U.S. Naval Institute to enhance the conversation around maritime security.

Featured Image: Art station/Aleksandre-Lortki Panidze

Submissions Due: May 13, 2022
Topic Week Dates: May 23-27, 2022
Article Length: 1,000-3,000 words
Submit to: [email protected]

By Dmitry Filipoff

The ongoing transformation of the Marine Corps has become more controversial. A new working group of senior retired Marine Corps generals is reportedly engaged in opposing initiatives of the incumbent Commandant, General David Berger. These initiatives are aimed at modernizing the Marine Corps for modern great power competition, as expressed in key documents such as the Commandant’s Planning Guidance, Force Design 2030, and the tentative manual for Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations (EABO). These initiatives have been implemented through the divestment of legacy force structure, among other lines of effort, and are characterized as a return to the maritime identity of the USMC. 

What are the merits of these operating concepts and their associated force structure, including EABO, stand-in forces, and Marine units equipped with more missiles and sensors instead of heavier armor and cannon artillery? Are these concepts fit to meet modern threats, and if so, how best to proceed with implementation?

If these concepts are not fit to meet modern threats, especially China, then what should the Marine Corps do instead? Do the Marine operating concepts and force structure of preceding decades effectively meet the challenges of today and tomorrow? Or should the Marines move in a different direction, and if so, what should that look like? What scope and pace of change is necessary?

Authors are invited to answer these questions and more as we debate the merits and implementation of the ongoing transformation of the Marine Corps. Send all submissions to [email protected].

Dmitry Filipoff is CIMSEC’s Director of Online Content. Contact him at [email protected].

Featured Image: A Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System launcher deploys into position aboard Pacific Missile Range Facility Barking Sands, Hawaii, Aug. 16, 2021. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Maj. Nick Mannweiler, released)

Submissions Due: April 4, 2022
Topic Week Dates: April 11-15, 2022
Article Length: 1,000-3,000 words
Submit to: [email protected]

By Dmitry Filipoff

A month ago CIMSEC launched a call for articles on Russian naval power and maritime strategy as interest surged in tandem with the worsening Russia-Ukraine crisis. We are updating the call for articles with a new deadline and broader scope now that the crisis has broken out into full-scale war.

In addition to the naval and maritime themes of the earlier call for articles, authors are invited to look at the broader dimensions of this raging conflict. How may NATO react and adapt to this Russian aggression? How may the security architecture of Europe and the world be affected by this conflict? How are Russian and Ukrainian forces performing in combat, and what warfighting lessons deserve broader appreciation? Authors are invited to consider these questions and more as we make sense of this major conflict.

Clearly the situation remains fluid and reliable information can be difficult to find. Nonetheless, we will organize submissions into a thematic topic week to provide context and analysis, whatever the state of the conflict at the time. CIMSEC always welcomes submissions on topics of defense and foreign policy, naval affairs, and maritime security regardless of fluid developments or any deadline. Please feel free to send your ideas, articles, and thoughts to [email protected] at any time. 

Dmitry Filipoff is CIMSEC’s Director of Online Content. Contact him at [email protected].

Featured Image: Russian Tunguska air-defense platform. (Photo via Twitter)

The terms of this call for articles have been updated. Read the new call for articles here.

Submissions Due: March 4, 2022
Topic Week Dates: March 14-18, 2022
Article Length: 1,000-3,000 words
Submit to: [email protected]

By Dmitry Filipoff

The current Russia-Ukraine crisis has cast a shadow over Europe as more than 100,000 Russian troops border Ukraine and 140 Russian Navy vessels exercise at sea. Russian naval power, especially forces in the Black Sea, could feature significantly in a major contingency involving Ukraine.

The preservation of Russian naval power featured prominently in the modern origins of the Russia-Ukraine crisis. As the homeport of Russia’s Black Sea Fleet in Sevastopol came at risk of being under the control of a western-aligned Ukraine, Russia seized control of the Crimean peninsula in part to preserve its naval power. Now these same forces may be brought to bear against Ukraine in a new European conflict.

What is the state of Russia’s naval power today, and how could its naval forces be brought to bear against Ukraine? Or in an even more dire scenario, against NATO? How are Russian naval capabilities evolving, such as in the undersea domain and with respect to hypersonics? What is Russia’s maritime strategy and how are its maritime interests evolving?

Authors are invited to answer these questions and more as we consider the roles and evolution of Russian naval power and maritime strategy. Send all submissions to [email protected]. 

Dmitry Filipoff is CIMSEC’s Director of Online Content. Contact him at [email protected].

Featured Image: Russian Navy ships of the Black Sea Fleet. (Photo via Sputnik/Vasily Batanov)