Proceedings manuscripts should be submitted via our online portal as a Microsoft Word document: https://www.usni.org/webform/article-submission-form. Illustrations and graphics should be embedded in the document or sent as separate attachments to [email protected]. If submitting by U.S. mail, send manuscripts to:

     Editor-in-Chief, Proceedings
     U.S. Naval Institute
     291 Wood Road
     Annapolis, MD 21402-5034

Submission Guidelines and Categories

Feature articles

(2,500-word maximum, not including endnotes)

These pieces deal with major issues facing the Sea Services, are instructive, accessible, offer fresh ways of looking at military matters, or describe situations and circumstances of which military professionals should be aware.

Now Hear This/Nobody Asked Me, But . . . 

(650-word maximum)

Both these columns are commentaries that express a reader's view on an issue of consequence to the national security community, and often challenge conventional thinking.

Comment and Discussion

(500-word maximum)

The equivalent of letters to the editor, "Comment and Discussion" items are commentaries on articles that have run in Proceedings previously. This department is where our independent forum gets a workout and, fittingly, it has its own email address, [email protected].

Professional Notes

(1,000-word maximum, not including endnotes)

This department—the oldest and among the most popular in the magazine—is the place for tips, advice, and instruction on shiphandling, small unit tactics, organization, training, or other more technical matters. Prof Notes attempt to identify and explain specific problems and, if possible, promote a solution.

Book Reviews

(650-word maximum)

All book reviews are commissioned by the editorial staff. If you would like to review books for Proceedings, send a brief email to Book Review Editor, Jennifer Pompi, ([email protected]) describing your writing experience and the subjects you feel qualified to review.

Leadership Forum

(1200-word maximum)

This is a monthly departmental column devoted to lessons in leadership.

From the Deckplates

(1000 words maximum)

This is a column for enlisted professionals to highlight issues and problems affecting the Navy today, and offering solutions for implementation.

Additional Information

Submissions are reviewed by the editorial staff of Proceedings and by the Editorial Board, which meets once a month. This peer review process can take up to ten weeks, depending on when in the monthly review cycle an article is received. You can expect further communication from us in that time frame accepting or regretfully rejecting the submission.

Of note, the editorial staff uses both a plagiarism and artificial intelligence checker in the initial review process. If it is determined a tool such as ChatGPT was used to write the essay, it will be rejected without further review. It is fine to use such a tool to format endnotes (Chicago Manual of Style please).

The U.S. Naval Institute pays upon publication. Nonmembers published in Proceedings receive a complimentary one-year membership in the Naval Institute.


The U.S. Naval Institute is a private, self-supporting, not-for-profit professional society that publishes Proceedings as part of the open forum it maintains for the Sea Services. The Naval Institute is not an agency of the U.S. government; the opinions expressed in these pages are the personal views of the authors.