Contribute – Article, Resource, LPD product
What We’re Looking For
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:
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Practical and usable
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Grounded in experience
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Thoughtful rather than doctrinally repetitive
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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
If you have an idea for a topic, please send a message to CJO@westpoint.edu with some basic details of your idea. You should review some of the articles and products on the CJO site before submitting something – not only to determine what topics are already covered/where you can add value, but also to help you determine the style, tone, format, etc. of successful articles.
After you correspond with a representative from CJO about your intended topic, 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. - 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.- 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)
Submit Here
Submit products using the form below or if you prefer to use email and send them to CJO@westpoint.edu. The subject line of the email should start with “ARTICLE SUBMISSION” in all CAPS. Note- please include this even if you’re just pitching an idea or asking for feedback on an idea. When submitting a product, please submit it as a single Word document or another editable type form with the photo and your bio included.
After submission, you will be notified if your article is accepted for review. Timelines may vary based on submission volume and editorial capacity, but you can expect several weeks for some pieces.
If we publish your article or resource, the CJO has full rights to the content, including but not limited to edit, mix, duplicate, use, or re-use it in whole or in part as it so chooses.