Overview: The Air Force Judge Advocate General’s School (AFJAGS), established in 1950 by Major General Reginald C. Harmon (the first Judge Advocate General of the Air Force), has a proud tradition of providing the highest quality education and training to legal professionals from all military services and government agencies. Through its various publications, AFJAGS serves as a clearinghouse for cutting-edge ideas on topics of interest to military law students, practitioners, academics, and the general public. In furtherance of its mission to provide the highest-quality education to meet Air Force and Department of Defense requirements, AFJAGS, in partnership with the Air Force JAG School Foundation, Inc., is pleased to announce its inaugural writing competition for practitioners, academics and policy-makers to provide unique perspectives and insights on matters of national security law.
Topic: Public-Private Partnerships & Technology in the Air Force: This year’s writing competition topic encourages scholarship on issues surrounding the implications of public-private partnerships and technology in the Air Force. Since its inception, the Air Force has been on the forefront in developing and incorporating cutting-edge technologies to enhance its mission effectiveness, from aircraft to spacecraft to capabilities in cyberspace. However, in an era of constrained resources, the Air Force has had to explore other avenues by which it can retain its technological superiority while also managing costs. One attractive methodology for accomplishing these goals is the public-private partnership, which brings public agencies and private entities together to combine resources to achieve common goals and objectives. In fact, the Air Force Future Operating Concept released in September 2015 contemplates that such partnerships with academic and commercial entities will be essential for the Air Force to operate effectively in the future. For purposes of this competition, authors should prepare works contemplating the domestic and international legalities of such partnerships in the acquisition and implementation of new technology within the Air Force, and the resulting implications for national security. Essentially, we encourage papers on any topic directly aimed at the intersection between such public-private partnerships and national security law.
Eligibility: The competition is open to all in possession of a law degree (JD, LLM, SJD, or equivalent) from an ABA accredited U.S. law school. Only original and previously unpublished papers are eligible. Papers prepared for law school credit are eligible provided they are original work. Jointly authored papers are not eligible. Entrants can have others review and critique their work, but the submission must be the entrant’s own product. The name of the reviewing professor or lawyer must be noted on the entry. Members of the faculty of AFJAGS shall not participate in the contest or review any entry on behalf of an entrant. Only one paper may be submitted per entrant.
Format: Entries may not exceed 25 pages, including title page, citations, and footnotes. Entries over 25 pages will be rejected. The text of the entry must be double-spaced, with twelve-point Times New Roman font for body text, ten-point Times New Roman font for citation text, and one-inch margins. Sources must be cited in footnotes according to The Bluebook: A Uniform System of Citation, conforming to the style found within the pages of The Air Force Law Review. Entrants are encouraged to review past issues of The Air Force Law Review.
Entry Procedure: Each submission must include a separate cover page with the entrant’s name, mailing and e-mail addresses, and phone number. The entrant’s name and other identifying markings must not appear on any other page of the submitted entry. Submissions must be sent via email as a Microsoft Word attachment.
Deadline: Entries must be submitted by 1630 Central Time on 15 April 2016. Winners will be selected and notified by 30 June 2016.
Judging: A distinguished panel of experts will select the winning entries from among those submitted. Judges will evaluate works submitted using standards of quality applicable to traditional academic writing, with emphasis on the following:
- Originality – Does the work break new ground and advance the body of thought on law and policy in the national security arena?
- Organization – Does the work clearly define a problem and present a solution within a logical contextual framework?
- Persuasiveness – Does the work put forth a cohesive argument that is well-supported by reference to authoritative sources?
- Mechanics – Does the work meet high standards of quality in spelling, grammar, and citation format?
Prize: The author of the first-place winning entry will receive a cash prize of $2,000 provided by the Air Force JAG School Foundation Inc. In addition, the winning entry will be published in The Air Force Law Review. The author of the second-place winning entry will receive a cash prize of $1,000 provided by the Air Force JAG School Foundation Inc. The second-place entry will also be published in The Air Force Law Review. Other authors will receive no prize money, but will have their works considered for publication. Although AFJAGS reserves first publication rights for all works submitted in the competition, authors of works not selected for first or second-place prizes will receive notice no later than 31 July 2016 of AFJAGS’ intent with respect to publication of their work. Authors whose works are not selected for publication at that time will be permitted to seek publication elsewhere. AFJAGS reserves the right to make no award in the event that the submitted articles do not meet minimum requirements and standards as determined by AFJAGS.
Republishing Rights: Authors of works selected for publication grant AFJAGS the right to re-publish their articles for two years following the date that AFJAGS provides notice of its intent to publish the author’s work. AFJAGS reserves the right to publish articles in an electronic or hard-copy format and to disseminate them as judged appropriate. Upon the expiration of this right, AFJAGS will seek permission from the author to re-publish the article.
