By
WGCDR Alistair Dally
One of the functions of the Aerospace Centre is to provide a publishing
facility for selected works on aerospace power and national security-related
issues, including, occasionally, some historical works.
This article will highlight the opportunities that exist for experienced
and budding authors alike to have their work published, and provide
a brief outline of the Aerospace Centre publishing function.
So you want to change the Air Force, do you? In that case, a CAF
Fellowship might be the way to go.
A fellowship, which also qualifies you for a Graduate Diploma
in Defence Studies, offers you a year of full-time study, both
within the Aerospace Centre and at the University of NSW/ADFA.
But the heart of the fellowship is the opportunity to carry out
a major research project and have your findings published in book
form.
The books are distributed to a select list of decision-makers
in Defence, as well as to libraries and training institutions
in Australia and overseas.
Some of the fellowship books, for example Sal Sidoti’s Airbase
Operability: A Study in Airbase Survivability and Post-Attack
Recovery and Royal New Zealand Air Force Wing Commander Shaun
Clarke’s Strategy, Air Strike and Small Nations, are
in strong demand as textbooks and essential references.
Books are usually also made available for sale to the public,
including from the Aerospace Centre.
If a CAF Fellowship is not an option, you can still contribute
in a significant way through the Aerospace Centre’s papers.
We’re flexible about what constitutes a paper, with past
contributions ranging from 5000 to 15,000 words; documented, naturally.
Published papers are also distributed to selected appointments,
so your work has a good chance of reaching the right eyes.
An additional benefit of having a paper published is that you
could generate discussion and feedback that might encourage you
to develop the paper for eventual publication in a scholarly journal.
The Aerospace Centre would be happy to offer the opportunity to
present your paper at one of the Aerospace seminars, or possibly
at the history or aerospace conferences held in alternating years.
If you would like to share some thoughts or generate some discussion
on a timely topic, an aerogram might be your preferred means.
Normally short articles of 1000 words or so, aerograms are distributed
electronically.
Aerograms can deal with a topic in their own right, or might be
an abstract for that big paper you’ve just submitted.
Our other regular publishing activities in book form include the
winning literary entry in the annual RAAF Heritage Awards, and
the proceedings of our aerospace and history conferences. From
time to time, the Aerospace Centre might also consider other works
for publication as a book, but our capacity to do so is limited.
The publishing process at the Aerospace Centre is straightforward.
Papers can be submitted directly to the centre, preferably in
electronic form as well as in hard copy, and will generally be
reviewed by the director and at least one of the deputy directors.
If resources are available and the paper is considered worthy
of publication, the paper is passed to the centre’s publications
staff, who are expert in editing, formatting and proofreading,
and will handle the printing and distribution of your individual
contribution to aerospace power. Published papers will also be
loaded on to the Aerospace Centre’s web page.
The centre’s publishing function is a substantial part of
its ongoing activities and is an essential element of its role
of fostering the study of aerospace-related matters and disseminating
the outcome to appropriate audiences.
But the vital link will always be authors who are prepared to
share their thoughts. Our experience is that authors are pleasantly
surprised by the interest shown in their work, and often underestimate
the potential value of what they have to say, so we encourage
you to take advantage of any of the opportunities outlined in
this article, and be a part of the continuing debate on aerospace
power and its contribution to our security.
