Election Results
Welcome to the new MWG President, Vice President, and two new board members!
Fellow MWG Members,
I am happy to inform you that the community successfully elected a new President, Vice President, and two board members:
President: Dr. Ajit Maan
Vice President: Dr. Pauline Shanks Kaurin
Board Member: Dr. Jesse Goolsby
Board Member: LtCol Brian Kerg
The current board will work to transition to them over the coming month, formally handing over on 1 December.
Please let me know if you have any questions!
Best,
Nate
—
Nathan K. Finney, PhD
President (president@militarywritersguild.org)
Military Writers Guild
Greetings fellow Writers,
Congratulations to all!
As a veteran and former senior enlisted leader, I wanted to share something important that I recently learned that impacts my writing, and will most assuredly impact every writer within your guild.
My coauthor and I have been working on our apocalyptic science fiction thriller series for several years now and we're currently revising and editing the first book. As a writer, I've become quite an avid reader, and I recently read a new release from my friend, Joseph Malik, who retired from the US Army special forces community. Joseph's book involves a joint special operations task force team and was required to be reviewed by the Defense Office of Prepublication Security Review. Although, his work was eventually cleared for publication, his manuscript had been heavily redacted. I found this to be extremely odd since I've read work from many veterans that did not have the clearance stamp from the Office of Prepublication and Security Review, so I looked up the website for the organization. What I found was shocking and made me glad that I haven't released mine and my coauthor's book yet.
According to the website ( https://www.esd.whs.mil/DOPSR/ ):
"All current, former, and retired DoD employees, contractors, and military service members (whether active or reserve) who have had access to DoD information, facilities, or who signed a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) must submit DoD information intended for public release to the appropriate office for review and clearance. “DoD information” includes any work that relates to military matters, national security issues, or subjects of significant concern to the Department of Defense in general, to include fictional novels, stories and biographical accounts of operational deployments and wartime experiences. Publications about gardening, cooking, sports, crafts, and the like do not need to undergo prepublication review if there is no association with the author’s current or former affiliation with the Department of Defense.
Reminder: Protection of DoD information is a lifelong responsibility. The responsibility does not end with an individual’s association with the Department of Defense. Unauthorized disclosure of classified information (whether in a printed article, manuscript or book, on a blog, on a public website or provided to the media), even when it appears in the public domain, does not automatically result in the declassification of the information. The information remains classified and must be protected until the U.S. government official with original classification authority declassifies the information.
What materials must be reviewed as part of the prepublication security and policy review process?
Any DoD-related material that is intended for public release or dissemination must undergo a prepublication security and policy review. This includes, but is not limited to:
Manuscripts, books, theses
Conference papers, briefings, brochures
Articles, biographies, speeches
Research and scientific papers
International Traffic in Arms Regulations technical data
Congressional hearing statements
Reports to Congress, Reprogramming Actions, Selected Acquisition Reports"
So, as a former US Army Command Sergeant Major (Soldier), Defense Contractor, and Civilian Service Employee (federal civil service), I am required by federal law to submit my fiction manuscript for review before I can publish, promote, or even talk about it.
I researched what could happen if I simply ignored the requirements. Here's what I found out througha simple Google search:
"Ignoring a required prepublication review of your manuscript could lead to the government seizing all profits from the book, the revocation of your security clearance, and potential criminal prosecution under laws like the Espionage Act. While the odds of being caught might seem low, the consequences are severe, and the government has pursued legal action against those who have failed to comply.
Potential consequences:
Civil penalties: The government can seize all profits from the book's sale as a penalty for violating the review requirement.
Loss of security clearance: A past requirement to submit the work for review is likely tied to your security clearance, and failure to comply can result in its revocation.
Criminal charges: While less common, the government can pursue criminal prosecution, which may result in fines or imprisonment.
Contractual violation: By signing a non-disclosure agreement (NDA), you agreed to the prepublication review process, making failure to comply a violation of that contract.
Other legal action: In some cases, authors have faced lawsuits from their former agencies, such as when a former CIA officer published a book without approval and the agency sued, winning a court judgment against the author.
Important considerations:
The requirement is contractual: The prepublication review is a contractual obligation for many former intelligence and military personnel who have signed NDAs.
Sci-fi is not exempt: The requirement applies to all works, including science fiction, if they are believed to contain information related to national security, even if that is not the author's intent.
The process is intended to protect national security: The review process is designed to prevent the disclosure of classified information and protect intelligence sources and methods.
Consequences vary: The specific consequences can vary depending on the nature of the manuscript and the information it contains."
I didn't know about this requirement as it wasn't part of my transition briefings when I retired, and I'm sure that most of your authors aren't aware either. Having shared all this with you, I ask that you make them aware so they can avoid the possible severe legal and financial consequences for failing to comply. I believe your organization could be found liable for publishing non-cleared content.
Anyway, this is what I wanted to bring to your attention. Many thanks for all that you do. I look forward to possibly submitting some of my work through your platform in the future, once cleared, of course.
v/r,
Allen V. Cheesman
CSM, US Army Retired
allen.v.cheesman@gmail.com