The Society of Military History will hold its 71st Annual Meeting under the auspices of the Department of History, University of Maryland, College Park, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Bethesda, Maryland. The conference theme is "What’s on Our Minds: Critical Problems in Military History." The main purpose of the conference is to address issues that define the field as a serious academic activity and medium of public policy discourse. This approach should engage the attention of the large military and civilian governmental audience that resides in the region surrounding the nation’s capital, as well as encourage the participation of leading military historians. The Program Committee especially invites proposals for papers and panels that will address such general issues as military institutional transformation, professional military education, strategy and politics, the relationship of historical understanding and policy-making, and the economic dimensions of national security policy. As always, proposals for papers and panels treating all aspects of military history are welcome.

Proposals should include a one-page abstract for each paper, utlining topic, thesis, and sources, and a brief c.v. for all participants. The Program Committee intends to post the abstracts on the SMH Web site, http://www.smh-hq.org. The committee welcomes volunteers to serve as chairs and/or commentators. Volunteers are asked to provide a brief c.v.

The due date for paper and panel proposal submissions is October 1, 2003. The program committee will begin deliberations in October, but will accept late submissions until 1 November.