During in-processing to Army Basic Training many years ago, my fellow trainees and I were issued two little books. They were cheaply-made and thin, about 3” x 5” with the longer dimension being their width. One had an orange paper cover, which was for all basic trainees. The other had a white cover, that was for trainees in the specialty of combat engineer. These were always to be carried in our pockets over the next three months.
The contents of these pocket-sized books were cram sheets for the material we were supposed to be learning. They were the condensed and most crucial items that could otherwise be found scattered in a shelf full of military manuals. The little books had diagrams and sketches to illustrate the minimal texts. During any idle time, the drill sergeants expected us to at least be pretending to review the material in the books. Sometimes we would be quizzed on the information, and almost all of it was material that we would be tested on sooner or later. These little books were called smartbooks. The U.S. Army still uses that term, and at least one civilian publisher does, as well. The more recent iterations are thicker and published under the title Soldier’s Manual of Common Tasks (SMCT.)
The intent was always to convey needed information as economically and conveniently as possible. The information is usually technical in nature: arming and disarming landmines, specifications of US weapons, diagrams of tactics, how to install barbed wire obstacles, and so forth. Smartbooks are still being produced by the U.S. Army. For example, there is now a doctrine smartbook that provides a 120-page summary of official training and operational doctrine.
Civilian equivalents exist, of course, such as Glover’s Pocket Reference or the Ugly’s Plumbing and Ugly’s Electrical references. And there are lots of examples exist in the academic world of test prep and study aids, naturally. Many of us will remember using flashcards to improve our recall and understanding of different subjects.Continue reading“Your Smartbooks and Battlebooks, by G.P.”