For the twenty-first consecutive year, the John A. Adams ’71 Center for Military History & Strategic Analysis at the Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Virginia, will award prizes for the best unpublished papers on Cold War military history.

The contest promotes innovative scholarship from rising (early to mid-career) scholars on Cold War subjects.

Any aspect of the Cold War (1945-1991) era is eligible, including papers on military strategy, plans, and operations; the relationship between the armed forces and society; international security affairs; Cold War alliances; and the connections between Cold War military history and contemporary geopolitical challenges. The essay may embrace a U.S. or global focus.

Prizes: First prize will earn a plaque and a cash award of $2,000; second prize, $1,000 and a plaque; and third prize, $500 and a plaque.

Procedures: Submissions are due electronically to the Adams Center at the Virginia Military Institute by Friday, October 17^th, 2025. Please format your submission as a Microsoft Word document and limit your essay to a maximum of 7,500 words (minimum 4,000 words) of double-spaced text, exclusive of documentation and bibliography. A panel of judges will examine all papers; the Adams Center Director will announce the winners in December 2025. The first-prize winning essay will appear in The Journal of Military History.

Deadline for submissions: October 17, 2025

Send submissions to: adamscenter@vmi.edu

Questions? Contact Adams Center Director: Dr. Joel Christenson, at christensonjc@vmi.edu