Fourteen people have been selected for the inaugural class of the LTG (Ret) James M. Dubik Writing Fellows Program, a nonresident writing fellowship that aims to encourage professional writing across the Army.

Named for retired Lt. Gen. James Dubik, an Association of the U.S. Army senior fellow who has authored several books and countless articles, including in AUSA’s ARMY magazine, the program supports the Harding Project, an effort by the Army chief of staff to encourage professional writing and strengthen the Army profession.

The fellowship was developed and is being administered by Army University Press, and it’s designed to mirror similar opportunities at the military service academics, think tanks and institutes.

“Military leaders must be able to write effectively to communicate, particularly at the strategic level,” said Col. Todd Schmidt, director of Army University Press, in announcing the first cohort of Dubik fellows. “As an Army, we have a long way to go to improve our professional writing ability. To win war in the future, we must be able to outthink the enemy. To outthink an adversary requires training our intellectual selves. It requires developing our cognitive complexity and intellectual curiosity and our ability to receive, synthesize, and incorporate vast amounts of information.”

The goal is to build annual cohorts of Dubik fellows over time who are empowered and encouraged to participate and engage in professional military discourse, Schmidt said.

Dubik fellows will have the opportunity to participate in projects ranging from film production in support of professional military education, to book editing and production, to publishing professional articles Military Review and other platforms.

“Over time, the desired steady state is a growing community and network of dedicated professionals committed to championing writing, sharing, and improving our collective ability to absorb information, think critically, analyze thoughtfully, and communicate effectively,” Schmidt said.

The fellowship is named for Dubik, a leading Army voice on leadership and other critical Army topics. Dubik served in the Army for 37 years, culminating as commanding general of Multinational Security Transition Command-Iraq and the NATO Training Mission-Iraq from 2007 to 2008.

He teaches at Georgetown University and, in addition to serving as an AUSA senior fellow, has served as a senior fellow and member of the Institute for the Study of War and the Council on Foreign Relations.

A graduate of the U.S. Army School of Advanced Military Studies, Dubik has a doctorate in philosophy from Johns Hopkins University.

The 2024-2025 class of Dubik fellows includes senior NCOs and officers, active-duty and Army Reserve personnel, a Navy captain and a DoD civilian.

“Over the course of the next year, this cohort of fellows will contribute to our professional military discourse and shape the future of the Dubik Fellowship, professional military writing and, hopefully, the Army,” Schmidt said.

For more information on the fellows and fellowship, visit the Army University Press website here.