Previous annual meetings have been defined by a single theme. The location of the 2004 annual meeting in Washington, D.C., however, favors the adoption of a multi-theme approach. This is because the potential local audience will include the leadership of the American military, members of the executive and legislative branches of the American government, the staff and students of three major military educational establishments (National Defense University, Marine Corps

University, and Naval Academy), and the civilian employees of the government whose work is related to military affairs, as well as the faculty and students of several major university campuses (Georgetown University, American University, Johns Hopkins University, George Mason University, Howard University, George Washington University, University of Maryland). The 2004 annual meeting thus presents an opportunity for the SMH to provide current and future practitioners of war/peace and diplomacy with a view of state-of the-art military history. For this reason, the theme of the 2004 annual meeting is a broad one that will offer an agenda of the critical military issues addressed by historical inquiry, which define the field as a serious scholarly activity.