FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kan.—The audiobook version of the Army's operations manual, which will drive how the force fights in future large-scale combat operations, received its seventh download on iTunes earlier today, sources confirmed.

"What we actually did was, we had regular soldiers read the document so it sounded just like, you know, soldiers hanging out in the smoke pit reading doctrine to each other," said Col. Rick Deed, the driving force behind the audiobook's production. "So, the mumbling S1 who screws up names at the change of command ceremony—she reads a chapter. And the corporal from Alabama who is totally incoherent—he reads a chapter. I think that contributed to this thing's popularity."

The audiobook of the Army's capstone doctrine, also known as Field Manual 3-0, was first released in audiobook format June. It was part of a joint effort by the Army’s Combined Arms Center and the Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate to make this important document widely available to soldiers, in a format they would use.