Contribute – Article, Resource, Idea
The Center for Junior Officers (CJO) is an official Army resource dedicated to developing, challenging, and supporting junior officers through practical, experience-driven content. We publish articles, resources, and leader professional development (LPD) products that help junior officers think better, lead better, and navigate the realities of the profession of arms.
Our primary audience is junior officers and cadets. Contributions from field grade officers, senior leaders, NCOs, and junior Soldiers are welcome when the insights are clearly applicable to junior officers.
We are especially interested in content that is:
Practical and usable
Grounded in experience
Thoughtful rather than doctrinally repetitive
Focused on real problems junior officers face
Potential Topics Areas
The CJO publishes across the full spectrum of military expertise. Examples include (but are not limited to):
Leadership
- Developing character, humility, and authenticity
- Building trust and relationships with Soldiers and NCOs
- Ethical decision-making and moral leadership
- Communicating effectively (writing, speaking, presence)
- Leading across cultural, social, or organizational differences
Team & Organizational Leadership
- Building and sustaining healthy unit culture
- Managing conflict, discipline, and difficult relationships
- Ethical challenges at the team or unit level
- Developing people and maintaining standards
Physical Fitness & Health
- Designing and implementing effective fitness programs
- Balancing readiness, injury prevention, and long-term health
- Leading unit fitness beyond “just passing the test”
Lessons Learned
- Reflections from deployments, rotations, and major training events
- NTC/JRTC, overseas rotations, or high-stress assignments
- Practical insights from success, failure, or hard-earned experience
Transitions
- Arriving at a new unit or position
- PCSing, deployments, schools, and career transitions
- Working with a new NCO counterpart or leadership team
- Preparing for ETS or major career pivots
Key Roles
- Platoon Leader: Building trust, managing responsibility, developing others
- Executive Officer: Shared leadership, systems, relationships, and second-in-command realities
- Company Command: Preparing for command, first 90 days, culture, mentorship, UCMJ basics, FRGs, and running effective organizations
Career & Professional Development
- BOLC, CCC, schools, and broadening opportunities
- Graduate education and functional areas
- Special units, special operations, and unique assignments
Writing Guidelines
Please consider the following guidelines when preparing your piece.
- Length:
- Ideal: 800–1,200 words
- Maximum: 2,000 words
- Title:
Clear, professional, and engaging. It should signal relevance and draw the reader in. May be changed in editing process. - Audience Focus:
Keep the junior officer front and center. Broad professional insights are welcome, but they must clearly translate to junior-officer relevance. - Tone & Style:
- Conversational and professional
- First person is acceptable
- Clear, concise, and purposeful
- Avoid jargon where possible
- Sources & Research:
Your experience is primary. Use external sources or research when they strengthen your argument or provide useful context. Use in-text hyperlink references and citations - Images:
Include at least one image related to the article theme. Highly likely image will come from editor selection for uniformity and copyright avoidance.- Minimum 200 × 200 pixels
- Properly attributed (include source URL)
- Author Biography:
Include a short bio at the end of the article.- 3–6 sentences (approximately 50–75 words)