9. OWNERSHIP OF YOUR CONTEST ENTRY: By submitting your contest entry you hereby relinquish, grant, transfer, assign, and deliver to the sponsor all right, title, and interest of every kind and nature whatsoever that you have in the essay you write as part of your contest entry, including the copyright and all other intellectual property rights thereto. As a condition of receiving your prize, you may be required to execute additional documentation such as copyright assignments to sponsor of your contest essay. In addition, you hereby irrevocably assign to the sponsor all causes of action, including accrued, existing, and future causes of action, arising out of or related to the rights, including copyrights, in and to the essay you write as part of your contest entry.

10. DISPUTES: By participating, entrants release sponsor and its parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, and their members, directors, officers, employees, and agents from any and all liability with respect to all aspects of the contest including all losses, damage or bodily injury resulting from participation in this contest, and the possession, acceptance, or misuse of prizes. By entering the contest, you agree that (a) any and all disputes, claims, and causes of action arising out of or connected to the contest or the prize, shall be resolved individually, without resort to any form of class action; (b) any and all claims, judgments and awards shall be limited to actual out-of-pocket costs incurred, including costs associated with entering the contest but in no event attorneys’ fees; and (c) under no circumstances will any entrant be permitted to obtain any award for, and you hereby waive all rights to, any claim; punitive, incidental, or consequential damages; and any and all rights to have damages multiplied or otherwise increased and any other damages, other than for actual out-of-pocket expenses. All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation, and enforceability of these contest rules, or the rights and obligations of the entrants and sponsor in connection with the contest, shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Virginia without giving effect to any choice of law or conflict of law rules or provisions that would cause the application of the laws of any jurisdiction other than the Commonwealth of Virginia. Any legal proceedings arising out of this contest or relating to these contest rules shall be instituted only in the federal courts located in the Eastern District of Virginia, and the parties consent to jurisdiction therein with respect to any legal proceedings or disputes of whatever nature arising under or relating to these contest rules. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of these contest rules shall not affect the validity or enforceability of any other provision. In the event that any provision is determined to be invalid or otherwise unenforceable or illegal, these contest rules shall otherwise remain in effect and be construed in accordance with their terms as if the invalid or illegal provision were not contained in these contest rules.

11. INTERNET: If for any reason this contest is not capable of running as planned due to an infection by a computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of the sponsor that corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity, or proper conduct of this contest, the sponsor reserves the right at its sole and absolute discretion to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the contest. The sponsor assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, or theft, destruction, or unauthorized access to or alteration of entries. The sponsor is not responsible for any problems or technical malfunctions of any telephone network or telephone lines, computer online systems, servers, or providers, computer equipment, software, failure of any email or entry to be received by the sponsor due to technical problems, human error or traffic congestion on the internet or at any website, or any combination thereof, including any injury or damage to your or any other person’s computer relating to or resulting from participating in this contest or downloading any materials in this contest. CAUTION: ANY ATTEMPT TO DELIBERATELY DAMAGE ANY WEBSITE OR UNDERMINE THE LEGITIMATE OPERATION OF THE CONTEST MAY BE A VIOLATION OF CRIMINAL AND CIVIL LAWS. SHOULD SUCH AN ATTEMPT BE MADE, THE SPONSOR RESERVES THE RIGHT TO SEEK DAMAGES OR OTHER REMEDIES FROM ANY SUCH PERSON(S) RESPONSIBLE FOR THE ATTEMPT TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. Uses of automated devices are not valid for entry.

12. USE OF INFORMATION: The information that you provide in connection with the contest may be used by the sponsor to inform you about related opportunities and developments involving charitable or educational topics that the sponsor thinks may be of interest to you. The sponsor may also share the information you provide in connection with the contest with its subsidiaries, affiliates, divisions, and third parties in order to advance charitable or educational goals, and as otherwise stated in the sponsor’s terms of use and privacy statement.

13.GENERAL: By entering this contest or accepting the Prize, you (a) agree to be bound by the sponsor’s policies, these contest rules, and the decisions of sponsor which are final and binding in all respects; and (b) consent to the use of your name, voice, picture, and likeness for charitable, educational, advertising, and promotional purposes in any medium throughout the world in perpetuity without additional compensation unless prohibited by law. The sponsor reserves the right to correct typographical, clerical, or printing errors in any contest materials. The sponsor reserves the right to prohibit any person from participating in the contest if, at its sole and absolute discretion, the sponsor finds such person to be tampering with the entry process or the operation of the contest, or if such participant repeatedly shows a disregard for or attempts to circumvent these contest rules, or acts: (x) in a manner the sponsor determines to be not fair or equitable; (y) with an intent to annoy, threaten, or harass any other entrant, the sponsor, or related entities; or (z) in any other disruptive manner. The sponsor reserves the right to cancel, terminate, modify, or suspend the contest at its sole and absolute discretion.

14. WINNERS’ LIST/CONTEST RULES: To request an official prize winners list or a copy of these contest rules, both available through September 1, 2018, send an email to [email protected].

Image: The aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) is enveloped in fog Feb. 11, 2014, as it sits in its berth in San Diego. Flickr / U.S. Department of Defense.