The M16A1 Rifle

Operation and Preventive Maintenance

By (artist) Will Eisner

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.

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