Preparing Our Soldiers For Combat In Afghanistan

TOP RESERVE SOLDIER - U.S. Army Spc. Joshua McDowell listens to instructions before the event to test warrior tasks and battle drills at the annual U.S. Army's Best Warrior Competition on Fort Lee, Va., Oct. 21, 2010. The competition is the premier event to determine the top noncommisioned officer and junior enlisted soldier in the Army. McDowell is the Army Reserve Soldier of the Year. U.S. Army photo by Timothy L. Hale

Graphic Novel As An Afghanistan War Primer -- L.A. Times

The military is distributing about 5,000 copies of the book, which is meant to prepare Navy medical corpsmen for deployment.

To help prepare Navy medical corpsmen for the stress and danger of Afghanistan deployments, the Navy has turned to a modern form of popular culture: the graphic novel.

Although graphic novels fill several shelves at most large bookstores, their use by the military is relatively new and represents a break from the usual training material that is heavy on the didactic and light on anything that could be labeled as entertainment.

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My Comment: Reading a book is no replacement for the actual experience of being in battle .... but it is a small (and necessary) start to sensitize the soldier to what they are getting into.