Unveiling the Harding Project: Reviving Elite Military Literature for Modern Times
The US Army's professional journals are in need of renewal, as they publish less content, less frequently, and erratically, according to recent reports. The Army publishes fifteen professional bulletins and many other publications, but many soldiers may not be aware of them.
The Secretary of the Army Awards for Publications Improvement could focus on modernizing these professional bulletins for the next two years. A recent survey suggests there could be more than 360 potential volunteer editors for Army journals.
One of the key issues facing the Army's professional outlets is their outdated formats. These publications primarily exist as downloadable PDFs, which are incompatible with today's web-first and mobile world. Furthermore, the Army currently archives professional journals by complete, scanned issues in single PDF files, making it difficult for action officers or students to access specific topics.
Another challenge is the distance between the field and the press, as well as the lack of uniformed editors and weak connections with authors. This disconnect may be contributing to the decline in content and inaccessibility of the Army's professional publications.
The authors contributing to these publications overwhelmingly fail to reflect the diversity of the Army. This lack of representation is a significant issue, as the Army's professional publications are intended to serve as a platform for the entire force.
The low engagement of the Army's professional publications is also a concern. These outlets have low citation rates, few downloads, and a weak social media presence. Transitioning to article-level indexing with improved metadata would allow for rapid screening of each search result, potentially increasing engagement.
To address these issues, the Harding Project has been launched as a grassroots effort to renew professional publications and solicit ideas for modernization. The Harding Project advocates for four specific actions to renew the US Army's journals: updating policy to encourage modernization, educating the force on the professional publication landscape, improving archive accessibility, and empowering volunteer editors.
The Harding Project is named after Major Edwin "Forrest" Harding, who revitalized the Infantry Journal in 1934 and more than doubled its circulation within four years. Under Harding's editorship, the Infantry Journal served as an important platform for the dissemination of innovative infantry tactics, doctrine, and professional military thought. The journal helped foster critical debates over changing tactics and technology before America joined World War II.
The Five Functions of Professional Writing include informing the force, connecting communities of interest, serving as an outlet for ideas, repurposing earlier thinking for contemporary challenges, and building written communication skills. The renewal of the Army's professional journals is essential to fulfilling these functions and ensuring that the force is well-informed, connected, and equipped with the latest ideas and best practices.
The Army, currently in an interwar period, seeks to modernize before the next war and needs input from the entire Army to succeed. The Harding Project invites those passionate about renewing military writing to follow the project and submit articles or posts for consideration. By working together, we can renew the Army's professional publications and ensure that they serve as a vital resource for the force.
- The Secretary of the Army should focus on modernizing the Army's professional journals by encouraging improvements in their outdated formats, such as transitioning from PDFs to web-friendly formats.
- To address the issue of inaccessibility, the Army could simplify the process of accessing specific topics in their professional journals by moving away from archiving complete, scanned issues in single PDF files.
- Military education and business leadership could collaborate in the renewal process, as a recent survey suggests there could be more than 360 potential volunteer editors from both fields for Army journals.
- The renewed Army journals can serve as a platform for the entire force, with a greater emphasis on diverse authorship to ensure a wide range of perspectives and experiences are represented.
- Policymakers, as part of policy-and-legislation and politics, need to understand the importance of the Army's professional publications, particularly in the area of general news, as their modernization could significantly enhance the military's ability to adapt and respond to future conflicts.
