Letter from the Editor
By Elvia Kelly
Article published on: April 1st 2024 in the Spring 2024 Special Warfare
Read Time: < 3 mins
Elvia Kelly, Special Warfare Magazine editor and SWCS Public Affairs officer, taking care of
business on and off the field during tactical laser tag in Fayetteville, N.C., earlier this year
Impactful moves are happening with the Special Warfare Magazine.
After shifting the magazine from a hardcopy publication to a web-first, mobile-friendly platform last August, we
partnered with the Harding Project, an initiative driven by the Army Chief of Staff Gen. Randy George to renew
professional publications and reinvest in military writing.
The Harding Project teamed with the Modern War Institute at West Point to launch its initiative in 2023. The
project was named “Harding” after a talented officer in the 1930s. I couldn’t have said it better; the Modern
War Institute website shares the following history:
“In 1934, the U.S. Army was racing to transform quickly enough to win the next war. Knowing successful
modernization would require the full ingenuity of the service, Maj. Gen. Edward Croft, the chief of infantry,
sought to revive the flagging Infantry Journal. He hoped doing so might solicit from the Army’s wide base of
talent—with all of the experiences, interests, and professional education within it—the ideas needed to
modernize well. To pull off the revival, he named Maj. Edwin ‘Forrest’ Harding as editor.
Croft picked his man well. Harding had a literary mind. When they served together in China a decade before, a
young George Marshall had nicknamed Harding the ‘poet laureate’ of the 15th Infantry Regiment. Harding’s
literary talents paid off as Infantry Journal editor. In four short years, he more than doubled the journal’s
circulation and kicked off a revolution in Army writing.”
The effort is led by Zachary Griffiths and Leyton Summerlin as they pave the way in revitalizing professional
military journals across the Department of Army.
We sat down with Zach and Leyton in late March for a Pineland Underground Podcast episode for a deep-dive
conversation on the initiative, its importance to military writing, and how it can impact the Special Warfare
Magazine.
Here are a few bullet points from the conversation:
- Harding Project overarching goals: Updating policy to encourage modernization,educating the force on the
professional publication landscape, improving archiveaccessibility, and empowering volunteer editors.
- It solicits ideas and encourages discourse. The Special Warfare Magazine combinedwith the Harding Project
offers a platform that engages thoughtful dialogue and alook at topics from dynamic perspectives.
- Professional military journals. Like the Special Warfare Magazine, the Harding Projectteamed with
professional military journals across the branch, such as Military Reviewand the Infantry Journal. If an
article submission doesn’t fall within a theme for SpecialWarfare, the Harding Project can offer an
alternate platform better suited for theauthor, resulting in continuing the dialogue across other platforms.
We’re thrilled to be working with the Harding Project and seeing the direction Special Warfare is headed. We’re
currently accepting submissions for the fall and winter editions of Special Warfare, focusing on the themes “SOF
Medicine (Medical, Veterinary, and Dental)” and “Innovation, Modernization, and Partnerships.” For article
submissions, send them to specialwarfare@socom.mil. Articles should be approximately 1,500 words in length. The
earlier the submission the better.
We hope you enjoy this edition on How ARSOF Fights: An Irregular Approach to the Competition Continuum.
ELVIA KELLYEDITOR, SPECIAL WARFARE MAGAZINE U.S. ARMY JOHN F. KENNEDY SPECIAL WARFARE
CENTER AND SCHOOL