Skip to Main Content

The M16A1 Rifle

Operation and Preventive Maintenance

By Department of the Army
Introduction and notes by Robert A. Sadowski

The U.S. Army teamed up with cartoonist and graphic artist Will Eisner to produce teaching tools for U.S. soldiers in a medium that they could easily understand. The M16A1 Rifle: Operation and Preventive Maintenance, first printed in 1969, features a female narrator who instructs GIs on the proper care of their AR-15 (military name M16A1) rifles—firearms notorious for jamming and malfunctioning. More than a simple manual and step-by-step guide, this unconventional yet important military document tried to appeal to soldiers with suggestive chapter titles such as “How to Strip Your Baby,” “What to Do in a Jam,” “Sweet 16,” and “All the Way with Négligé.” A copy of the thirty-two-page booklet was issued to nearly every soldier serving in Vietnam.
Department of the Army

The U.S. Department of the Army is headquartered at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, and authors The Soldier’s Guide, The Complete Guide to Edible Wild Plants, U.S. Army Hand-to-Hand Combat, U.S. Army First Aid Manual, U.S. Army Weapons Systems, U.S. Army Special Forces Handbook, U.S. Army Guide to Boobytraps, U.S. Army Explosives and Demolitions Handbook, U.S. Army Special Forces Guide to Unconventional Warfare, and Special Operations Forces Medical Handbook.

The M16A1 Rifle

Operation and Preventive Maintenance

By Department of the Army
Introduction and notes by Robert A. Sadowski

More books from this author: Department of the Army

SEE ALL
See more by Department of the Army