Applying for the NDSEG fellowship with (mostly) unrelated research

[timedilation]

I am looking to apply for the NDSEG fellowship this year, but I am seeing conflicting reports on how strongly they weight the military importance of one's research.  My work is in (theoretical) gravitational waves, which is pretty far removed from national defense.  However, I have heard a few times that the DoD does like to support fundamental physics.  Still, I looked through the list of topics on the Army and Navy research pages and could not immediately tie anything into what I do.

 

Any tips?  Is there a good way to "sell" my research, or should I just accept that my chances are slim?

[Usmivka]

Well you won't be considered at all if you don't apply. My work (funded by NDSEG) had little direct application to anything military (one might argue for indirect connections), and I don't think I made any great effort to "sell" it as being essential to national defense in my application. You know your proposed work better than anyone reading your post, so only you can say whether it might fit into a general umbrella of interest to the DoD. I haven't read up on this in a while, but I think military importance is broadly defined, and your proposal is evaluated by reviewers solicited by ASEE, not military program managers.

[TakeruK]

I think it is important to carefully read the solicitation and the program goals. I wouldn't just assume anything based on the program name or the sponsor name. As @Usmivka said, the reviewers of these fellowships aren't necessarily from the organization funding the fellowship. Instead, the organization outlines their goals and purpose for the fellowship and ask the expert evaluators to judge applications based on those criteria. So, read the instructions carefully and ensure your application meets those goals.

In addition, note that the instructions may reference other documents that better list program goals. For example, when applying for a NASA fellowship, I saw that the solicitation mentioned some specific NASA programs and I found the documents that described the goals of those programs. I was able to write a fellowship application that shows how my work meets those goals. 

Finally, do you know anyone in your field that has won an NDSEG? Ask them for a copy of their proposal and/or tips on applying.