Beck was a regular if not prolific author of professionally related articles. The editors of Overland Monthly, in publishing his article "The Wireless Telegraph in the U.S. Army Field Work," noted that he "possessed considerable literary ability" and was previously published in the "best magazines.", p. 107 In 1908 his Catechism of a Field Company, Signal Corps, U.S. Army was published by the Chief Signal Officer. He authored a chapter in 1912 for The Curtiss Aviation Book, by Glenn Curtiss and Augustus Post, which gave his views on the military applications of the airplane, identifying four primary tasks: aggressive action (combat), fire control (communication by radio), aerial reconnaissance, and transportation (movement of materiel), only one of which was the province of the Signal Corps.Beck, The Curtiss Aviation Book, pp. 205–218 Also in 1912 he submitted an article to the Infantry Journal, "Military Aviation in America: Its Needs." This article, published after Beck's return to the Infantry on 1 May 1912, advocated an air arm within the army independent of all other branches and reporting directly to the Chief of Staff, the first advocacy of many ultimately resulting in the creation of the United States Air Force in 1947. It also proposed tactical aircraft, a pilot selection process, limiting the process to commissioned officers, a year of flight training, pilot certification, regular flight medical examinations, additional pay and allowances for flying, and distinctive uniforms, insignia, and badges for aviators.
