To print a PDF copy of these guidelines, click here.
Purpose
Defense Acquisition is a bimonthly magazine published by DAU Press, Defense Acquisition University, for senior military personnel, civilians, defense contractors and defense industry professionals in program management and the acquisition, technology and logistics workforce.
Submission Procedures
Submit articles by e-mail to defacq@dau.mil. Submissions must include each author’s name, mailing address, office phone number, e-mail address, and brief biographical statement. Each must also be accompanied by a copyright release. For each article submitted, please include three to four keywords that can be used to facilitate Web and data base searches.
Receipt of your submission will be acknowledged in 5 working days. You will be notified of our publication decision in 2 to 3 weeks. All decisions are final.
Deadlines
Note: If the magazine fills up before the author deadline, submissions are considered for the following issue.
| Issue |
Author Deadline |
| January-February |
1 October |
| March-April |
1 December |
| May-June |
1 February |
| July-August |
1 April |
| September-October |
1 June |
| November-December |
1 August |
Audience
Defense Acquisition readers are mainly acquisition professionals serving in career positions covered by the Defense Acquisition Workforce Improvement Act (DAWIA) or industry equivalent.
Style
Defense Acquisition prints feature stories focusing on real people and events. The magazine seeks articles that reflect author experiences in and thoughts about acquisition rather than pages of researched information. Articles should discuss the individual’s experience with problems and solutions in acquisition, contracting, logistics, or program management, or with emerging trends. The magazine does not print academic papers; fact sheets; technical papers; white papers; or articles with footnotes, endnotes, or references. Manuscripts meeting any of those criteria are more suitable for DAU’s journal,
Defense Acquisition Research Journal (ARJ).
Defense Acquisition does not reprint from other publications. Please do not submit manuscripts that have appeared elsewhere. Defense Acquisition does not publish endorsements of products for sale.
Length
Articles should be 1,500–2,500 words.
Format
Send submissions via e-mail as Microsoft Word attachments.
Graphics
Do not embed photographs or charts in the manuscript. Digital files of photos or graphics should be sent as e-mail attachments.
Each figure or chart must be saved as a separate file in the original software format in which it was created. TIF or JPEG files must have a resolution of 300 pixels per inch; enhanced resolutions are not acceptable; and images downloaded from the Web are not of adequate quality for reproduction. Detailed tables and charts are not accepted for publication because they will be illegible when reduced to fit at most one-third of a magazine page.
Right to Use Illustrations
Non-DoD photos and graphics are printed only with written permission from the source. It is the author’s responsibility to obtain and submit permission with the article.
Do not include any classified information.
Author Information
Contact and biographical information will be included with each article selected for publication. Please include the following information with your submission: name, position title, department, institution, address, phone number and e-mail address. Also, please supply a short biographical statement, not to exceed 25 words. We do not print author bio photographs.
Copyright
All articles require a signed Work of the U.S. Government/Copyright Release form located
here. Fill out, sign, scan and e-mail it to
defacq@dau. mil or fax it to 703-805-2917,
Attn: Defense Acquisition. Alternatively, you may submit a written release from the major command (normally the public affairs office) indicating the author is releasing the article to Defense Acquisition for publication without restriction. The Defense Acquisition University does not accept copyrighted material for publication in
Defense Acquisition. Articles will be considered only if they are unrestricted. This is in keeping with the University’s policy that our publications be fully accessible to the public without restriction. All articles are in the public domain and posted to the
University’s website.