Editorial Policies

Topics suitable for submission stem from the ramifications of war, and related forms of human conflict; including themes about familial repercussions, historical episodes, peaceful alternatives, conflict resolution modalities, crisis analyses, political influences, international relations, sociocultural norms, psychodynamics, deontological mores, religious insights, ritualistic customs, military lore and heraldry.

Submissions in the form of literary essays (8000-words), creative fiction (8000-words), and stylistic poetry (800-words) on the theme of this periodical will be considered for publication. No squibs, snippets, bites, teasers, or fillers shorter than 100-words will be published. The principal language of this publication is American English; therefore, any foreign words, neologisms, or other non-standard terms, which are not typically included in an unabridged dictionary, must either be defined or translated in the body of the composition. Any tone marks or other non-European diacritics will either be Anglicized or eliminated [cf: Wade-Giles vs pinyin]. Slang will either be contextually perceptible or commonly pervasive. Military jargon, not already cited in the composition, shall either be conveniently defined in the Mil-Terms glossary integral to this publication, or specified in standard references.

A pre-submission query letter is unnecessary. All compositions should be original, complete, unpublished, and formatted for electronic submission by e-media or e-mail. No handwritten, typed, or printed-out manuscripts will be considered without an accompanying electronic version. All illustrations must be captioned, and electronically formatted. A concise cover letter, which briefly identifies the submission, should accompany each manuscript. This cover letter should name the author, specify a notification address, list submission contents, and detail any special instructions (eg: nom de plume, deliberate misspellings, eccentric punctuation, etc). The cover letter and manuscript may be enclosed within or attached to a regular e-mail message. No correspondence or submission will be disclosed to anyone, except other staffers, until the accepted work(s) is/are published.

No submission, resubmission, or commissioned work is assured of acceptance for publication before vetting. Any works deemed potentially suitable will be critiqued, and returned with specific recommendations for revision. The editorial staff does not ghostwrite or coauthor any submissions. Any reader correspondence identifying errata will be gratefully acknowledged in the corrigenda; but no "Letters to the Editor" column or "Op-Ed" section per se will publish obiter dicta. No manuscript will be returned, and no response to inquiries will be sent without a prepaid self-return envelope (SASE). The editorial and publishing staff are not responsible for the loss of any unsolicited or unregistered materials.

In voluntary compliance with the morality rights clause of the Berne International Copyright Convention, every composition is wholly the author's uncensored work. The publisher stipulates the non-disclosure confidentiality of submitted intellectual property. All accepted works are subject to alteration only to bring them into conformity with the stylistic guidelines established for the internal consistency of this publication. Acceptance constitutes an agreement by the author to indemnify the publisher against all errors, defects, libel, or negligence which may be evinced in their work.

The acceptance of any material for publication constitutes an agreement by the author for exclusive initial distribution; and grants complete discretion to the publisher on anthologizing or electronic-database and microform archiving of the magazine. Accepted materials will be scheduled sine die for publication according to editorial needs in this quarterly periodical. All works collected into a periodical publication are serial copyrighted; but the author reserves and retains all other rights. Any reprints or revisions shall acknowledge initial publication, without prior authorization or compensation, before reverting to the public domain. No work product of salaried employees using public or private employer resources may be copyrighted by the author without the express and explicit permission of the employer and publisher.

Compensation for publication and/or awards shall principally be in the form of tax-exempt honoraria. Payment rates and schedule, according to the current fee scale for disbursement, may vary at editorial discretion; and alternative compensation packages in lieu of payment may be negotiated on an individual freelance basis. Any commissioned composition or work-for-hire by non-employees is subject to acceptance; and in consideration of the author's restraint from multiple submission, a kill-fee of one-quarter payment may be tendered for the first right of refusal, but no hold-fee will be tendered for a scheduled publication.

Only sponsored commercials, advertisements, or announcements will be published apart from this periodical's featured contents. This non-profit publication is wholly supported by its sponsors as a public service.

During the three week period prior to the closing of each quarterly issue of COMBAT magazine, writers and artists may encounter an abnormal delay in the routine processing of submissions; which unavoidable interruption is respectfully acknowledged to be the necessarily chaotic interval of formatting from whence an orderly publication emerges ... and on the day after, the staff rests. All submissions will be acknowledged as soon as possible.