The soldiers of the U.S. Army have to learn training materials to keep up with updated information and conditions.
And here, the Training and Doctrine Command’s Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate (CADD) has released audiobook versions for soldiers, that include training manuals, FM 3-0, Operations, and ADP 7-0, Training.
FM 3-0, Operations describes how the Army should operate in the field, while ADP 7-0, Training is about how it undertakes the training.
The books are important documents internally for Army personnel to understand. As Col. Richard Creed, who leads the audio project, described it: it’s a common language so that the military, in its vast complexity, can understand itself.
This is the first time that audiobooks are used to spread information to solders across the force.
Initially, CADD wants to experiment whether the medium is an effective way for soldiers to learn.
It’s also part of a wider effort to overhaul and modernize how the Army conceptualizes and trains its forces.
CADD has an important role within the Army:
it’s responsible for developing and distributing Army doctrine, which includes creating the documentation and reference for how the military operates, combining military theory, history, and best practices.
Col. Creed explained that the project began in late 2018, with the assembled team brainstorming to find new ways to deliver information to soldier, in an interactive manner via the internet.
"We were looking to branch out a little, and said, 'Okay, so where else would people have an opportunity besides the classroom or in their unit, or professional development session to become familiar with doctrine?'" he explained.
“We were thinking to ourselves that a lot of people listen to audiobooks while they’re in their cars or while working out.”
The method is to "compress the time that the doctrine is absorbed by the force," the Colonel said.
He noted that the times when most officers are exposed to doctrine is in the classroom, and that it can take decades years for a soldier to rise through the ranks before going to the Army War College.
"That’s not enough exposure to drive the doctrine into the culture of the force."
"So what we were thinking was that this audiobook, [because it’s] easily accessible and uploadable on one’s personal electronic device, would be the kind of thing that would [reinforce the teachings] with the force,” Col. Creed said.
“And those folks who are interested in doctrine but don’t have time to read."
“Doctrine audiobooks give soldiers another way to receive information and learn by letting them increase their professional knowledge while doing other things, like working out or commuting."
"We are pleased by the flexibility the audio format provides to the majority of people in the Army, who don’t usually carry doctrinal manuals around with them every day."
Historically, doctrine has been issued in books. By adopting audiobooks as the new medium, the Army is having a way for modernize its force.
