u.s. ARMY GUIDE TO

ORAL HISTORY

By

Stephen J. Lofgren

Center of Military History

United States Army
u.s. ARMY GUIDE TO ORAL HISTORY

By

Stephen J. Lofgren

Center of Military History

United States Army

Washington, D.C, 2006
Front Cover: Oral History in the Field. Maj. Jack McKenna (/eff), 126th

Military History Detachment (MHO), interviews Capt. David Stone

(centet), 3d Battalion, 7th Cavalry, 3d Infantry Division, and an

unidentified combat engineer about improvised explosive devices along

the infamous BIAP (Baghdad-International Airport) Road in Baghdad,

Iraq, December 2005. (Photographer: Sfc. Patrick R. Jennings, 126th

MHO)

ii
Foreword

The U.S. Army Center of Military History (CMH) first

developed a concept for an oral history handbook in the

mid-1980s. Its objective was to provide Department of the Army

(DA) oral history guidance for the growing number of historians

tasked with conducting interviews. Since that time, Army

historians, military and civilian, have conducted thousands of oral

history interviews. Because of the increased importance of oral

history in documenting the history of the U.S. Army-as

exemplified by the efforts to capture the Army's response to the

terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 and the ongoing operations

in the Global War on Terrorism-the Center of Military History

deemed the time was right to revise its guide to practicing oral

history in order to disseminate lessons learned from this wealth of

experience.

Washington, D.C.

15 September 2006

iii

JEFFREY J. CLARKE

Chief of Military History
Preface

The U.S. Army has a long tradition of using oral history to

preserve historical information and to enrich its official written

histories with material otherwise unavailable in the documentary

record. In fact, one could say that the Army's oral history program

actually began before the Army existed: in April 1775 the

Massachusetts Provincial Congress commissioned a series of

interviews (called "depositions") with participants in the

engagement at Lexington.1 In doing so, the Provincial Congress

harkened back to useful practices at least as old as Herodotus.

Since World War II, oral history has been an integral piece in the

U.S. Army historian's toolbox. Today Army historians benefit from

the increased popularity and institutional acceptance of oral

history both within and outside the Army and from the

technological advances that make capturing and preserving the

spoken word easier than ever before.

Moreover, the demand for oral history has never been

greater. In addition to providing important information for official

historians to supplement official records, oral histories today are

used in a variety of ways ranging from informing soldiers and

leaders about their predecessors' experiences to "bringing to life"

museum exhibits with the words (and sounds) of participants. The

result is a fuller appreciation and understanding of the events and

experiences that constitute the history and heritage of the U.S.

Army.

1 Robert K. Wright, Jr., "Clio in Combat: The Evolution of the Military History

Detachment," Anny Historian 6 (Winter 1985): 3-6. The depositions are

listed in Arthur B. Tourtellot, William Diamond's Drum (Garden City, New

York: Doubleday &Co., 1959). 287-89. See also Peter Force, ed., American

Archives: A Collection ofAuthentic Records, State Papers, Debates, and

Letters and Other Notices of Public Affairs (Washington, D.C.: M. St. Clair

Clarke & Peter Force, 1839-1853), 4th ser., 2:487-501. The U.S. Army, of

course, was not formed officially until 14 June 1775-afterthe battles at

Lexington and Concord bridge.

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This publication reflects the Army's long-term experience

with oral history, particularly the prodigious work of Army

historians to document Army history since 1989 in the words of

participants. To create a document encompassing the surprisingly

strong thoughts and emotions that oral history evokes among

historians can be a perplexing challenge. Stephen Everett

prepared the Center of Military History's first oral history guide,

Oral History: Techniques and Procedures, which was published in

1992 and offered Army historians a common point of reference.

This revision builds on that first effort by including updated

information and incorporating insights and lessons gleaned from

the experiences of Army historians. The purpose of the guide is to

provide a concise user-friendly handbook that can aid experienced

hands and novice historians alike by offering general guidelines

and methods that have proven effective. The focus of the guide

throughout is on practical advice and suggestions that will enable

the novice to get started with confidence and the experienced user

to refine and improve his or her methods and practices.

The U.S. Army Guide to Oral History is in accordance with

Army Regulation 870-5, Military History: Responsibilities, Policies,

and Procedures (29 January 1999), and FM 1-20, Military History

Operations (February 2003), yet its primary intent is to suggest

procedures that have been proven effective. Obviously, no one

method or approach is suitable for each oral history program or

interviewer, and readers should pursue those styles and

techniques that best suit their own programs, needs, and skills.

Proposals for improving the guide or questions concerning its

contents should be sent to the U.S. Army Center of Military

History, ATTN: DAMH-HDS, 103 Third Avenue, Fort Lesley J.

McNair, D.C. 20319-5058.

The author would like to thank the following members of

the Army historical community for their assistance in preparing this

guide: Diane Sedore Arms, Stephen A. Bourque, Stephen E.

Bower, Anne W. Chapman, Patrick R. Jennings, Benjamin D.

King, Christopher N. Koontz, John C. Lonnquest, J. Britt

McCarley, Beth F. MacKenzie, James C. McNaughton, Richard W.

v
Stewart, Frank R. Shirer, Charles E. White, and Robert K. Wright,

Jr.

Washington, D.C.

15 September 2006

vi

STEPHEN J. LOFGREN
Contents

1. Oral History in the Army 1

Overview 1

Background..... 4

2. Preparing for the Interview 8

Topic and Interviewee Selection: What is the Plan? 9

Contacting Interviewees 11

Conducting Background Research: The

Topic-Question List 13

3. The Interview 17

Before the Interview 17

The Interview 18

Guidelines for Successful Interviewing 20

4. After the Interview 25

Product Management. 25

Transcription 27

Editing 32

Storage 35

5. End-of-Tour Interview Program 37

6. Video-recording Interviews and Group Interviews 40

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7. Appendixes

A. Audio Equipment 43

B. Sample EOT Invitation Letter and CMH

Information Paper 46

C. DA Form 7273-R, Access Agreement.. 49

D. Abstracts 51

E. EOT Core Questions 56

F. Field Interviews 58

G. Bibliography 62

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1.

ORAL HISTORY IN THE ARMY

Overview

When the U.S. Army Center of Military History first

published a guide to oral history in 1992, Chapter One was titled,

'What is oral history?"2 Today few in the Army-and certainly no

Army historians-would find it necessary to ask that question. An

integral part of the Army Historical Program since World War II,

oral history has assumed an even more important role in

documenting Army history in the post-Cold War era. Indeed, oral

history interviews are at the center of accounts of the Army's

numerous, diverse, and challenging operations and institutional

initiatives since the end of the Cold War. From Panama and

Operation JUST CAUSE through Operation IRAQI FREEDOM,

and from the post-Cold War drawdown of the Army to

transformation and modularity, Army historians have sought to

supplement meager documentary records with the insights and

spoken words of knowledgeable participants in these historical

events.3

2 Stephen E. Everett, Oral History Techniques and Procedures (Washington,

D.C.: U.S. Army Center of Military History, 1992).

3 Examples include Frank N. Schubert and Theresa Kraus, general editors,

The Whirlwind War: The United States Army in Operations DESERT SHIELD

and DESERT STORM (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Army Center of Military

History, 1995); Gregory Fontenot, E.J. Degen, and David Tohn, On Point:

The United States Army in Operation Iraqi Freedom (Annapolis: Naval

Institute Press, 2005); David McCormick, The Downsized Warrior: America's

Army in Transition (New York: New York University Press, 1998); Walter E.

Kretchik, Robert F. Baumann, and John T. Fishel, Invasion, Intervention,

"Intervasion": A Concise History of the U.S. Army in Operation Uphold

Democracy (Fort Leavenworth, Kans.: U.S. Army Command and General

Staff College, 1997); R. Cody Phillips, Bosnia-Herzegovina: The U.S.

Army's Role in Peace Enforcement Operations, 1995-2004 (Washington,

D.C.: U.S. Army Center of Military History, 2005), and Operation Just Cause:
Oral history interviews preserve the perspective of the

individual. The purpose of oral history, therefore, is to interview

individuals in order to capture and preserve their spoken

perspectives, jUdgments, and recollections. As explained in Army

Regulation (AR) 870-5, Military History: Responsibilities, Policies,

and Procedures, oral history activities "are conducted to obtain

historical information that may not otherwise be recorded."

Interviews supplement the written record, which all too often

slights the role of individuals in important decisions and events

and generally omits the detailed information that nonparticipants

require in order to understand what happened and why.

Command reports, press conferences, and memoirs of senior

officers, for example, while useful in providing a high-level

perspective, cannot adequately portray the course and confusion

of a battle at the level of the soldiers who waged it. Nor can

PowerPoint briefings, information papers, and press releases

adequately chronicle the complexities and nuances inherent in

senior leader decision-making-particularly in this period of

sweeping change for the Army. Interviews help elucidate the

background of important events and place decisions in context.

Interviews that explain, for example, how previous Army Staff and

Secretariat principals dealt with problems and issues also can

provide insights for current and future Army leaders confronting

similar challenges.

It is important to note that "oral history" and "interview" are

not synonymous. An interview is the recording of an individual's

words in response to the questions of the historian. The interview,

in whatever form it is recorded, constitutes an official record and

must be treated (and preserved) as such. The "oral history" is a

The Incursion into Panama (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Army Center of Military

History, 2004); Robert H. Scales, Certain Victory: The U.S. Army in the Gulf

War (Fort Leavenworth, Kans.: U.S. Army Command and General Staff

College Press, 1994); Richard W. Stewart, The United States Army in

Afghanistan, Operation Enduring Freedom, October 2001-March 2002

(Washington, D.C.: U.S. Army Center of Military History, 2003); James I.

Yarrison, The Modem Louisiana Maneuvers (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Army

Center of Military History, 1999).

2
collaborative venture that reflects the twin efforts of the interviewer

and interviewee to create a unique historical source through

reviewing and editing the transcript of the interview. An unedited

transcript of an interview is neither an oral history nor a substitute,

from the perspective of Army records management, for the original

recording.

Like all historical sources, oral history has inherent

strengths and weaknesses. The greatest strength of oral history

is its ability to capture and preserve information that may not

otherwise be saved, particularly personal perspectives and

anecdotes that will not be found in official records. The

weaknesses of oral history are often overstated and usually

attributable to human failings-that is, shortcomings on the part of

either practitioners or users. All historical sources-from

command reports to after-action reviews (AARs) and unit

records-eontain biases and shortcomings. The historian's

responsibility and obligation is to weigh and compare multiple

sources before rendering judgment. The historian must approach

a completed oral history, therefore, with the same analytical

standards that would be used to assess any source. Interviews

will reflect personal biases: interviewees may be unwilling to

address directly controversial issues or mistakes and errors they

made, while the passage of time may render the interviewee's

memory suspect on points of fact. (Evidence of personal bias or

touchiness on a particular topic, it should be noted, may prove

useful information at a later date.) Similar problems exist with

written records, and the historian simply must go about the

business of discerning the truth in the old-fashioned way:

comparing and analyzing all the available sources to distinguish

between the likely and the improbable.

The obligation of the historian conducting an oral history

interview is to keep in mind the interests and needs of the

historian who will use the oral history. Regardless of the focus or

topic of a particular interview, the interviewer should concentrate

on eliciting the interviewee's thoughts and opinions as

3
comprehensively as possible. Statements that reflect the

interviewee's belief, for example, such as, "I thought that X would

happen," should be followed by questions to determine why the

interviewee believed that at the time. Similarly, generalizations

such as 'We always had problems with V," should be followed by

a request for a specific example. Such details will increase the

likelihood that an interview proves useful for historians at a future

date. A related issue, and one that is often highlighted by

detractors of oral history, is the diminished memory of individuals

when interviewed many years after the event. Memories are

malleable and can be influenced and changed over time. The

task of the historian in such instances is twofold: to determine the

relative accuracy of the interviewee's account, for example, by

asking questions that can be corroborated by other sources, and

to focus the interview on topics that are less susceptible to the

passage of time. While an interviewee may not remember

accurately the specific time or date of an event, certain details

about the event itself will be inscribed in the interviewee's memory

for all time.

Any interview can produce useful historical information. It

is the task of the oral historian to discover and record that

information; it is the responsibility of the historian who later uses

that information to determine its significance.

Background

Over the years the Army has accumulated a wealth of oral

history interviews that have helped preserve the record of its

activities in peace and war. Without these materials,

reconstructing many events in the Army's history would be

difficult. Beginning with World War II, Army historians have

interviewed soldiers of all ranks in order to fill holes and discover

information not available in unit records. Confronted with the

challenge of documenting and understanding the actions of an

organization of millions that was spread across the globe, Army

historians quickly recognized the value of oral histories for

4
capturing individual perspectives and supplementing unit records.

Perhaps the most important initiative these historians undertook

was to interview soldiers immediately after they had been involved

in combat actions. Such interviews proved of crucial importance

in enabling Army historians to write knowledgeably and accurately

about combat operations after the war. "This corpus of Combat

Interviews," wrote one author of an official World War II history, "is

one of the most valuable sources of information available to the

historian. It fleshes out the framework of events chronicled in the

unit journals and provides additional testimony to help resolve

disputed questions of fact.,,4 The final product-the United States

Army in World War II series known as the Green Booksdemonstrated the value of these historians' work.

This practice of collecting firsthand accounts continued in

subsequent wars and conflicts, particularly in Korea and Vietnam

where technology, in the form of the portable tape recorder,

facilitated the historian's task. Equally important was growing

institutional acceptance in the U.S. Army that oral history was a

necessary requirement for capturing the experiences of war and

organizational history.

In 1970 Army Chief of Staff General William C.

Westmoreland directed the U.S. Army War College and the U.S.

Army Military History Institute to sponsor jointly a peacetime

interview program. This program, which became known as the

Senior Officer Oral History Program, was expressly designed to

gather and preserve the memories of selected individuals for the

benefit of the Army. Students at the Army War College performed

background research on the careers of important retired general

officers and then, after oral history training by the staff of the

Military History Institute, interviewed them about their experiences

and their careers. The students, mostly lieutenant colonels who

4 Hugh M. Cole, The Lorraine Campaign, U.S. Army in World War II

(Washington, D.C.: Historical Division, Department of the Army, 1950), p.

617. Cole conducted after-action interviews as a combat historian in the

European theater and subsequently used and evaluated many interviews in

the preparation of his combat histories. For a brief biography of Cole, see "In

Memoriam, Hugh M. Cole (1910-2005)," Army History 62 (Winter 2006): 59.

5
were expected to advance to future leadership positions, learned

oral history techniques from the institute's staff. The Senior Officer

Oral History Program was the most visible Army interview program

during the 1970s, although other historical programs, like that of

the U.S. Army Medical Department, had been collecting interviews

since the early 1950s.

By the late 1970s the range of Army oral history activities

had begun to expand. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

established an active biographical and subject interview program

in 1977. During the early 1980s the establishment of full-time

historians at most of the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine

Command's centers and schools provided greater opportunities to

record new military developments using oral history. Today, in

Army commands, Army service component commands, and direct

reporting units historians use interviews to collect data for

preparing monographs or to teach lessons learned to young

soldiers.5

In 1986 the Department of the Army directed that exit

interviews be conducted with departing school commandants as

well as division, corps, and MACOM commanders. This effort,

known today as the End-of-Tour (EOT) Interview Program, is

designed to make interviews available to incoming commanders

so they can better understand the issues faced by their

predecessors. Through the guidance and support of successive

Army Chiefs of Staff-Generals Carl E. Vuono, Gordon R. Sullivan

and Dennis J. Reimer-an expanded EOT program ensures that

selected members of the Army Staff are also interviewed.

Recognizing the expanding role of oral history, the Center

of Military History created an Oral History Activity in 1986 to

coordinate issues concerning the Army's oral history programs.

The Center's oral historians established interview guidelines and

oral history policy for Army historians, initiated EOT interviews with

5 In 2006, the Army reorganized commands and specified headquarters to

create the three categories of Army command, Army service component

command, and direct reporting unit. The term, major command ("MACOM"),

ceased to be an official category.

6
members of the Army Secretariat and Army Staff, and advised the

Army on the uses of oral history. In addition to those ongoing

responsibilities, today the Center's oral historians monitor the

contemporary history of the Headquarters, Department of the

Army, and conduct special oral history projects such as

interviewing witnesses to and participants in the terrorist attack on

the Pentagon on 11 September 2001. They also compile indices

of oral histories conducted throughout the Army, assist historians

in using proper oral history techniques, and aid researchers

searching for oral history resources.6

6 In 2005 the Oral History Activity became part of the Historical Support

Branch of CMH's Histories Division. For an overview of oral history in the

U.S. Army and current practices, see Stephen J. Lofgren, "The Status of Oral

History in the Army: Expanding a Tradition," Oral History Review 30

(Summer/Fall 2003): 81-98.

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2.

PREPARING FOR THE INTERVIEW

Army historians conduct several types of interviews with

names that reflect their focus and content: biographical

(sometimes known as career interviews), subject, exit, end-of-tour

and after-action. A biographical interview focuses on an

individual's life or career. Army historians usually conduct this type

of interview after an individual with lengthy and significant

government service has retired. A subject interview focuses on a

single event or topic, such as the Army's role in providing disaster

relief in the aftermath of a hurricane or the formulation and making

of a particular Army policy or decision. Exit interviews and end-oftour interviews are conducted near the end of a person's tour in a

particular assignment and concentrate on the issues and

decisions unique to that job. Unlike subject interviews, exit and

end-of-tour interviews cover many topics because their purpose is

to record the breadth of the individual's experiences in a position.

After-action interviews are similar to subject interviews, but their

purpose is to gather information about military operations in the

field while events are still fresh in the minds of participants.

As anyone who has ever been in combat or has tried to

reconstruct the events of a battle knows, official records simply

cannot tell the entire story. Indeed, the idea of a single "story"

itself is a problematic concept, because every individual-whether

participant or bystander-has a unique perspective. The phrase,

"the fog of war," evocatively describes not only the experience of

participants but also the challenge that confronts historians who,

after the fact, try to compile a factual narrative account of what

transpired. Penetrating the fog in order to gather and preserve the

history and heritage of the U.S. Army during its operations,

consequently, is the crucial task for historians. One means of

doing so is to conduct interviews with soldiers and participants in

battles, campaigns, and operations.

8
The Army historians who bear the greatest responsibility

for conducting interviews about U.S. Army operations are the

members of military history detachments (MHOs). These threeperson units, usually comprised of one officer and two

noncommissioned officers, seek to obtain and preserve historical

materials that can be used as the basis for official histories.

Firsthand accounts of soldiers' experiences during operations are

the most perishable historical sources, and MHOs try to collect

them as soon as possible after the event. Such wartime

interviews are unique and irreplaceable. Interviews conducted

months or years after the fact cannot replicate the emotion and

details of those conducted within a few days of the actual event.

TIP: Combat historians also should refer to FM 1-20, Military

Operations in the Field, for fuller discussion of this and related

sUbjects and to augment the material provided in this guide.

Regardless of the type of interview to be conducted,

preparation is the key to a successful oral history interview.

Preparation encompasses the practice of interviewing (to include

familiarization with the equipment to be used) and learning the

methodology of oral history, selecting individuals to be

interviewed, setting the stage for interviews, acquiring the

knowledge necessary to conduct an interview with a specific

person, and developing an oral history plan that provides order

and direction for the historian's actions.

Topic and Interviewee Selection: What is the Plan?

As all Army historians know (or quickly learn) time and

resources always are limited. While everyone has a story to tell,

the historian cannot interview everyone. Consequently, before

investing time and resources in an interview, the historian must

consider the potential significance and usefulness of each

interview to the Army and in relation to both the availability of

other resources and the historian's ability to conduct the interview.

9
The means for balancing time and resources with action is an

overall oral history plan that establishes priorities and provides

direction for the historian's actions. All historians should develop

an oral history plan that identifies people and subjects of interest,

establishes their relation to other historical projects, and sets

priorities for interviewing. Having a plan and knowing why specific

individuals are to be interviewed also assists in the preparations

for specific interviews and can be of great utility, for example, in

covering military operations in the field where interview

opportunities may arise suddenly. Creating an oral history plan

helps to focus background research efforts, exposes holes in

coverage of events or operations (particularly important for

historians in the field), and helps the historian understand why

specific individuals have been chosen for interviews.

For most historians, especially those in MHOs, the

development of an oral history plan will be followed by the

requirement to prepare a list of prospective interview candidates

and relevant discussion topics for each. Although such a list will

change over time, the process of generating the list will help

determine what background research the historian must conduct

as well as provide coherence and direction to the historian's

overall actions. Preliminary background research should begin,

therefore, with the questions, "Has this person previously been

interviewed?" and 'What information can I expect to obtain from

this individual?" This will help avoid wasted effort and duplicating

information that already exists on those persons and subjects in

other interviews. After this initial survey, the historian can decide

which candidates offer the best return for the effort invested in the

project.

MHOs normally will be assigned to major headquarters and

larger units in an operation. Although ideally the objective will be

to gain as comprehensive an account as possible of the

headquarters or unit during an operation, the reality is that MHOs

cannot cover everything and will have to make decisions about

what to study and document in detail. This is particularly true

when choosing individuals to interview because there can be

10
literally thousands of potential interviewees. In order to determine

whom to interview, the MHO commander will have to exercise his

or her judgment in assessing the significance of particular events

and the roles of individuals along with the capabilities of the MHO.

Moreover, "ordinary operations," such as routine convoy runs, in

their own way are just as important as uncommon actions, such

prolonged firefights, when capturing the totality of a unit's

experiences. Similarly the experiences and perspectives of

planners and key staff officers must be captured in order to gain a

complete appreciation of events. Development of an oral history

plan, therefore, is of paramount importance to ensure that

priorities are established, that resources are identified and made

available, and that there is sufficient coverage in depth and

breadth.

Contacting Interviewees

Requesting an interview is an important step in the

interview process. After selecting interview candidates, contact

them to explain the mission and purpose of the interview. When

possible, request an interview in writing, either by letter or

memorandum or by email. The written contact should identify the

interviewer, the interviewer's agency, the purpose of the interview,

the potential product, and the process that will be followed. Use

this opportunity to inform the prospective interviewee about the

probable number and length of the sessions, as well as what is

expected in terms of editing the transcript and signing an access

agreement. This is also the time to request assistance from the

individual's office to schedule the interview and to help the

historian prepare for the interview. (See Appendix B for an

example of a CMH contact.)

In many cases, especially when senior individuals with

busy schedules are involved, follow-up contacts and effort will be

needed to secure an interview date and to arrange access to

office files for background research. Be persistent, but tactful. Do

not, however, be passive. An initial contact that is followed up on

11
half-heartedly, or not at all, is unlikely to secure an interview. The

historian knows that the interview is of historical significance, and

it is the historian's task to convince the prospective interviewee of

that fact as well.

TIP: For MHOs and deployed historians, most contacts and

interview arrangements will be made face-to-face. Historians

should routinely introduce themselves to commanding officers,

staff officers, and soldiers of the unit or headquarters to which the

historians are assigned. Ensure that the unit understands the

purpose of the historian's/MHO's presence.

The interview session should be scheduled at a mutually

convenient time to avoid distractions or interruptions. As a

general rule, try to schedule a two-hour session. After two hours,

fatigue is likely to set in for either the interviewee or the

interviewer, and the quality of the interview will suffer. The

schedules of some individuals may make this impractical, and the

participants may have to arrange several shorter sessions or be

content with a single shorter session. If the latter proves to be the

case, take what time is available: a well-conducted interview often

can fuel the enthusiasm of an interviewee to sit for additional

sessions.

As soon as an individual agrees to an interview, the

historian should begin developing a draft topic-question list. This

list can be provided to the prospective interviewee after the initial

contact. This serves several purposes: it initiates a serious

dialogue with the interviewee; it allows the interviewee to review

and to think about the potential topics and question to be covered

(and provides an opportunity for the interviewee to suggest

changes or refinements); and it gives the historian a legitimate

reason for subsequent contact with the prospective interviewee.

The historian can use these additional contacts, if necessary, to

schedule the interview as well as to request background

information and documents to help the historian prepare.

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At times individuals will decline to be interviewed, generally

for one of two reasons. A common response is for someone to

suggest that his or her experiences are not worthy of an interview.

If this happens, the historian can encourage the individual to talk

by explaining the purpose of the interview and telling him or her

the type of information the historian hopes to gain from the

interview and why it is important. Prior development of an oral

history plan will help the historian be prepared to counter this

sentiment because the historian already will have thought about

why this person should be interviewed. Providing the individual

with a draft topic-question list can help show why his or her

experiences and opinions are worth recording for the record. If the

individual still refuses to be interviewed, however, be tactful and

leave open the possibility of trying again at a later date.

A second reason that an individual may decline is because

controversial events or people are likely to be topics and the

prospective interviewee is reluctant to speak about them "on the

record." Prior submission of a topic-question list generally resolves

this issue by showing the interviewee that the historian does not

have a hidden agenda. Also useful is emphasizing to the

individual that the purpose of the interview is to record his or her

views; that is, the interview is not an interrogation but an

opportunity for the interviewee to get his or her opinions and

experiences into the historical record.

Conducting Background Research: The Topic-Question List

Thorough preparation is the key to a successful interview

that produces useful historical information, and the development

of the topic-question list is the historian's central enabling tool for

achieving that end. To develop a meaningful list of questions the

historian must conduct as much in-depth research on the specific

subjects of the interview as is possible.

The availability of time and source material often will

determine the quality of the topic-question list. The potential

sources for background research are innumerable and often

13
contingent upon the individual to be interviewed. Again, the

development of an oral history plan will help the historian focus his

or her efforts-the historian will know why the individual is being

interviewed and will be able to prepare accordingly. Has the

individual recently retired or completed an important assignment?

Was the soldier involved in an important event? If so, in what

capacity-eombatant? Planner? Observer? Will this be an

interview with a World War II veteran conducted in his home or an

in-theater interview with a soldier fresh from combat?

TIP: MHD members and deployed historians should attend staff

meetings in order to understand events as they unfold and to

observe personal interactions. Doing so will result in both better

preparation for interviews and knOWledge of whom to interview.

The answers to these questions will help the historian

identify potential sources of information that can be mined to

prepare the topic-question list. Such sources include websites,

published accounts, the news media (for example, the DOD "Early

Bird," a daily compilation of defense-related news available on the

Army Home Page, is a useful tool for gathering information about

recent events), unit or office records, and background discussions

with other individuals who possess useful knowledge about the

individual or his or her experiences. All of these sources can aid

the historian in conducting background research. Ultimately,

however, the oral history plan will determine the purpose of the

interview; the purpose of the interview will determine the topics

and questions to be covered, and that will help the historian focus

his or her efforts.

TIP: Each historian should keep a notebook in which he or she

can write notes, the names of people to contact, questions to ask

(or topics about which to ask), bits of information to be

remembered, and potential sources of information. Have a place

to write down passing thoughts and ideas so they are not

forgotten and so they are accessible in case, for example, the

14
opportunity for a no-preparation interview suddenly arises.

Additionally, information collected for one interview often can be

useful to the historian in preparing for another interview.

Yet, even though the purpose of the interview will dictate

some of the questions to be asked, the historian also should

prepare questions that will elicit information useful for both

contemporary and future historians. Avoid tunnel-vision on one

topic when preparing a topic-question list. A well-prepared

interviewer will be aware of gaps and inconsistencies in the

available source materials and, as a result, will be able to ask

questions to clarify inconsistencies and to fill in gaps. Interviewers

should not shy from preparing questions even if they suspect that

they already know the answers; the historian never can truly know

what an interviewee will say until the question has been asked. An

interviewee's response to these queries may shed new light on an

issue; if not, the answers may serve as yardsticks to judge the

accuracy of other information provided by the interviewee.

When preparing a topic-question list, writing down every

possible question is not necessary. (It will be very important,

however, during the interview to listen to what the interviewee

says and to ask follow-up questions when the interviewee says

something that merits elaboration. Sticking to one's question list

regardless of the answers is one of the greatest and most

common flaws demonstrated by inexperienced oral historians;

and, in the field, it is one of the more lamentable.) Be sure that

the topic-question list focuses on the individual and his or her

experiences-those things about which the interviewee can speak

with accuracy and firsthand knowledge.

The topic-question list is a tool: its creation forces the

historian to prepare for the interview; its existence shows the

interviewee that the historian has prepared. During the interview,

the topic-question list helps the historian remember specific

questions and topics as well as providing a safety net in case the

discussion wanders and leaves the historian at a loss as to what

to say next.

15
For some interviews, however, the historian simply may

not feel prepared-perhaps there was not much (if any) available

source material for the historian to use or the opportunity for an

interview arose suddenly without the opportunity for research.

(The latter is particularly likely to happen to historians in the field.)

In such cases the historian will condl,Jct historical reconnaissance

by fire and then develop the situation as appropriate-that is,

asking general open-ended questions, listening to the answers,

and then following up and drawing out the interviewee. Knowing

who the interviewee is and why he or she is being interviewed will

be enough to get the historian started under such circumstances.

Once the interview is started, the historian should focus on

drawing out the story the interviewee has to tell and use his or her

instincts and training to formulate questions that will ensure the

story is complete.

16
3.

THE INTERVIEW

Before the Interview

Before arriving for the interview, the historian should

double-check to make sure that he or she has all the necessary

equipment and that it is functioning. Familiarity with equipment

will avoid any embarrassing moments at the start of the interview.

An interviewer should bring the following items to each

interview: a recorder (either digital or cassette) and any necessary

microphones and cables; power and extension cords; batteries; an

ample supply of cassettes or memory media; pen and paper;

question list; access agreement; and any supporting

documentation such as maps or photographs. Ideally, run two

recorders during the interview, which will eliminate the problems

that result if the historian's sole recorder malfunctions during the

interview. If traveling to conduct interviews, the historian certainly

should have backups for everything or at least the means to

obtain them on short notice. When traveling on temporary duty to

conduct an interview, make sure that the travel orders authorize

the emergency procurement of supplies, including a recorder. All

your preparation will be wasted if your equipment does not work.

TIP: When using cassettes to record an interview, advance the

tape past the leader-the white or clear segment of tape at the

beginning and end of most cassettes-to ensure that the initial

portion of the interview is recorded. Use a ninety-minute standardsize cassette. (Sixty-minute tapes often prove too short, and

concern about the relative strength of ninety-minute cassettes is

unfounded.)

Once settled in the interview location, position the recorder

so the microphone can register the voice of each participant. The

17
historian should make sure that he or she is positioned both to

take notes and to monitor the recorder so that, for example,

recording does not stop during the middle of an answer. Assess

the surroundings. If there is, for example, annoying background

noise such as an air conditioner or radio, see if it can be turned

off. If necessary, use a separate microphone to ensure sound

clarity. Place the recorder (or microphone) on a thin piece of foam

rubber, such as a mouse pad, or a pad of paper or magazine to

insulate it from vibrations. When everything is set-up and working

the interview can begin.

The Interview

Before starting the interview, briefly recount the purpose of

the interview and general plan for the interview. Explain how the

session will be conducted. Tell the interviewee that you may ask

follow-up questions to those on the basic list. Remind the

Interviewee that he or she need not hurry into a response simply

because the recorder is running. Do not worry about the

interviewee feeling uncomfortable in the presence of a recorder;

an interviewee usually forgets about it once he or she begins

talking. Answer any questions the interviewee may have, discuss

potential classification issues (the time to find out that the

interviewee may give classified information is before the interview

starts), and have the interviewee sign the access agreement. The

access agreement in Appendix C is DA Form 7273-R, Access

Agreement for Oral History Materials. Use this form. AR 870-5,

Military History: Responsibilities, Policies, and Procedures (29

January 1999), requires that access agreements be completed for

all interviews, and this access agreement meets regulatory

requirements and has been approved by the Department of the

Army's Office of the Judge Advocate General. Interviewers should

explain the implications of the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

to interviewees before the interview session-that also means that

the historian needs to understand FOIA and its impact before the

interview.

18
TIP: Be conscious of classification procedures and guidelines.

Don't let the conversation reach a classification level that is too

high. Tell the interviewee at the beginning of the session the

highest level of classified information that you want to cover.

Before concluding, discuss the interview's proper classification

level with the interviewee. If an interview contains classified

information, be sure to mark the recording media appropriately!

Turn on the recorder. Begin the interview by identifying the

interviewer, the interviewee, the purpose of the interview, the date,

and the location of the session. For example:

This is Dr. John Lonnquest of the Office of History,

Headquarters, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Today my colleague, Eric Reinert, and I are going

to interview Major Kim Colloton, commander of the

FEST of the Baghdad FEST-A. The interview is

being conducted at the CPA headquarters in

Baghdad, Iraq. Today is August 2, 2003.

Ask the interviewee whether he or she is sitting for the interview

voluntarily, and then ask whether the interviewee has any

objections to the interview being used by historians or researchers

(it is helpful to add "with the understanding that the interviewee will

be quoted or cited accurately"). Getting this information recorded

is important in case the accompanying paperwork is lost. Then,

start with the first question or topic on the topic-question list.

TIP: Like with sports, interviews work best when everyone is

"warmed up." For the first question, ask something easy to

answer, such as an inquiry about an individual's previous

assignments. Anything is fine so long as it makes the interviewee

comfortable and gets him or her talking.

19
Guidelines for Successful Interviewing

There is no way to predict the course of an interview. The

personalities of the participants, the material to be covered, even

the location of the interview all can qffect the nature of the

interview. The following guidelines, however, should provide

enough general and practical guidance to conduct a successful

interview regardless of the circumstances or the type of interview.

a. Do be confident and relaxed. Your background study

should have familiarized you with the material to be covered

during the interview. Even if you do not feel fully prepared,

remember that an oral history interview is just an extended

discussion with a subject-matter expert. The interviewee should

have information and knowledge that the historian lacks. so do not

worry about asking questions or requesting that the interviewee

explain something if it is not clear to you. (If it is not clear to you

during the interview, then it likely will not be clear to someone

reading the transcript at a later date.)

b. Do maintain control of the interview. Responsibility for

initiating and directing the course of an oral history interview falls

to the interviewer. The historian, while observing military and

social courtesies, must maintain control of the interview session

despite the rank or status of the interviewee. If the conversation

veers off in an unexpected direction, do not worry. Wait for a

convenient stopping point (that is, if you do not wish to pursue that

course of discussion) and use the topic-question list to get back

on track.

c. Do follow the topic-question list but be flexible. Do not

blindly follow your topic-question list! Remain alert to the

conversation. Listen to the answers. Do you need to ask a

question that is not on your prepared list? Historians who will not

deviate from a prepared list miss opportunities to collect

20
information. Keep in mind that the interviewee may have

important information that the prepared list does not address.

d. Do not ask questions that can be answered with a "yes"

or a "no" without following up. Yes/no questions can be useful for

nailing down a specific point, but they generally are best followed

with broader questions that permit more expansive answers.

e. Do focus on the interviewee's experiences and firsthand

knowledge. If the discussion moves to subjects that did not

directly involve the individual, try to develop the difference

between fact and conjecture. If, for example, the interviewee says

that General X felt a certain way about something, ask why the

interviewee believes that. Is it just the interviewee's belief or is

there some factual foundation for the statement? With a soldier

involved in an operation, focus the questions on what he or she

saw, did, and felt. Ask about specific equipment that the soldier

carried and used. Avoid secondhand stories and accounts; they

are hearsay and only pull the course of the interview away from

the individual's firsthand knowledge.

f. Do not ask leading questions, suggest answers to

questions, or anticipate answers. Instead ask general questions

and then follow up with more specific questions if necessary. For

example, initial questions like 'Was the most feared German

weapon that you encountered the 88-mm.?" or "Was the lack of

mobilization time the greatest obstacle for your unit to overcome?"

suggest particular answers and will usually bring a simple

affirmative response from the interviewee. Ask instead a more

general question-'What was the most feared German weapon?"

or 'What was the great challenge your unit faced?"-and then ask

follow-up questions. After the interviewee has answered the initial

question, you can ask the more specific question (e.g., 'What

about the German 88?" or "Tell me about your mobilization

process.") without influencing the interviewee's reaction to your

initial question.

21
g. Do ask direct questions to focus answers. Use a specific

frame of reference, such as "during the drive toward Baghdad,"

that gives the interviewee a starting point around which to

organize his response. Try to maintain a chronology for events;

for example, ask when one action oGcurred in relation to another.

TIP: When interviewing someone about an operation, one of

the most useful questions to ask is 'What happened next?"

h. Do ask follow-up questions. In addition to making the

interview feel more like a real conversation, such queries may

help an interviewee to recall specifics otherwise overlooked and

also to clarify any possible contradictions with earlier statements

or written sources. Asking the interviewee to explain some subject

is often a useful means for obtaining useful clarification on a

subject. A frequently successful approach is to acknowledge

some confusion or incomplete knowledge on your part before

asking additional questions. Follow-up questions that request

examples are particularly useful after asking general questions. If

an interviewee, for example, says, 'We always had problems with

getting our command to do X," ask for an example so that the

interviewee's experiences and thinking are fully understood.

i. Do take notes during the interview. (This is perhaps the

part of the job that is most neglected by historians conducting

interviews in the field.) Interview notes are often vital sources of

information; if an interview is not transcribed immediately, the

interview notes will be the only source of information about the

contents of the interview. Interview notes are useful during the

interview for indicating when follow-up questions are needed, for

organizing one's thoughts, and for preparing a preliminary word

list of items requiring verification. Writing down key words and

topics as they are mentioned during the interview is also helpful

for preparing a SUbject index of the tape.

22
j. Do not interrupt the interviewee in the middle of an

answer. Do not ask the interviewee to explain or spell out a word

or acronym while he or she is speaking. This will only disrupt the

interviewee's train of thought. Make a note of it and then ask for

clarification at the end of the interview.

k. Do be respectful, courteous, and attentive during the

interview. Do not argue with the interviewee. Do not confront the

interviewee in a manner that challenges his or her integrity. If he

or she says something that you believe is incorrect or with which

you do not agree, ask the interviewee to explain why he or she

holds that opinion. Do remember that the interview is about the

interviewee, not you, so keep personal opinions, comments, and

judgments to yourself.

TIP: Pay attention to your responses and interview style. Vary

your verbal responses and combine them with gestures. Avoid a

steady diet of "Uh huh."

I. Do not be afraid of silence. A pause may signify that the

interviewee is thinking and perhaps formulating a further

response. That information could be lost if the interviewer is too

quick with the next question.

m. Do not pretend to be an expert on a subject if you are

not. Do not worry if you do not know a lot about a particular

interview topic. Your task is to elicit what the interviewee knows

about the subject.

n. Do not worry if you find that you cannot cover

everything you wanted to cover during the interview. This is a

common experience. Focus on getting solid answers to the

questions you can ask.

23
TIP: Be aware that the interview may be stressful for the

interviewee. The interviewee may be tired and harried from an

exhausting day or preoccupied with current work issues.

Moreover, a soldier being interviewed after a combat action may

be filled with emotions with which he or she has yet to deal. Pay

attention to the interviewee's body language.

o. Do not conduct a marathon interview session. Both the

interviewee and the interviewer will become fatigued, so limiting

sessions to no more than two or three hours is advisable. Take

short breaks (perhaps when changing tapes) as necessary.

p. Do give the interviewee an opportunity to express

thoughts that may have occurred to him or her but that did not fit

with any of your questions. One of the closing interview questions

should provide the interviewee with the opportunity to discuss

relevant matters that may not have occurred to the oral historian.

This question can be as simple as "Is there some topic that I

should have asked you about?" or "Is there anything that you

would like to add on this subject?"

q. Do ask the interviewee upon the conclusion of the

interview to explain the meaning of acronyms and jargon. This is

also the time to request additional information on any unfamiliar

subjects or individuals mentioned during the interview. Ask for

proper spellings, if necessary. (Again, during the interview, the

historian should write down any words or terms that she or he

needs explained.) The end of an interview is also a good time to

ask 'Whom else should I interview?"

r. Do thank the interviewee for his or her time and ask

whether there are any questions.

24
4.

AFTER THE INTERVIEW

Product Management

After the interview the historian's task is that of product

management: summarizing, transcribing, editing, publishing, and

storing. The historian's job is not complete until the information

contained in the interview is available and accessible to other

historians.

a. Label cassettes and digital storage media upon

completion of the interview. List the names of the interviewer and

interviewee, the date, the place of the interview, and the

classification. Digitally recorded interviews should be backed up

either on a CD or DVD or on a separate hard drive. If an interview

is recorded or stored on multiple cassettes or CDs, indicate that

as well: writing "1 of 2" or simply "1 /2" on a label sufficiently

identifies part one of a two-part interview. Use soft-tip pens to

label CDs and DVDs. If using cassettes, press in the two tabs at

the top of each cassette in order to prevent accidental erasure of

the interview through re-recording. Documents pertaining to

interviews should be listed in the interview notes and stored along

with the interview.

TIP: Sufficient digital storage memory is a must for historians in

the field. Historians should have, in addition to their own laptop

computers, flash drives or external hard drives. Use these to

store audio files and for backup copies of interviews. For

additional security, backup copies of interviews can also be made

on CDs and DVDs and sent to a different location.

25
b. Prepare the word-term list. This is a list of words,

jargon, and terms requiring identification. Then identify them.

This is very important if the interview is going to be transcribed by

someone other than the interviewer. This is also important

because knowledge of acronyms and jargon (such as terms,

operational names, and nicknames) .is perishable and can be lost

unless recorded at the time they are used.

c. Prepare an abstract of the interview. The historian

should use the interview notes and word-term list to write the

abstract while the interview is still fresh in the historian's mind.

An abstract is a brief summary, approximately one to three

paragraphs in length, that provides a reader with an overview of

the interview. It should cover who was interviewed, the date, the

location, and provide a general overview of the interview that

includes the major topics of discussion as well as the historian's

assessment of the strengths of the interview. Given the number of

interviews that are conducted during operations in the field, the

likelihood is that many interviews will not be transcribed for a

significant period of time. Interview abstracts, therefore, provide

the crucial tool for anyone seeking to use the interview collection

because reading the abstracts will tell the reader whether the

interview is likely to contain enough information to warrant reading

or listening to the entire interview. Moreover, properly prepared,

the abstracts can provide enough information to serve as the

basis for a command report or a narrative account of an operation.

Historians intent on producing a written account will find the

practice of preparing abstracts to be of great value. Remember

that the job of a historian covering an event is not complete until

the information that has been collected is available to other

historians. Abstracts are an important tool for achieving that goal.

Reading an abstract should enable a historian or researcher to

determine whether or not the interview is a useful source for a

project. (Sample abstracts are in AppendiX D.)

26
d. Review the interview notes. The interviewer should

review the interview notes and compare them with the original

topic-question list while the memory of the interview is still fresh.

Were all the topics covered? Is another interview session

warranted?

e. Duplicate the interview to prevent loss if something

should happen to the original. With cassettes, the duplicate

should be clearly labeled as such and used as the working copy in

order to preserve the original.

1. Enter the interview information into the appropriate oral

history index (for a history office) or oral history log (for an MHO or

historian in the field). All interviews conducted by Army historians

should be reported to the U.S. Army Center of Military History

twice each year with the semiannual report. AR 870-5 lists the

required interview information. This reporting system enables the

Center to update its index and finding aids in order to assist Army

historians and researchers interested in Army oral histories. All

historical offices, of course, should maintain indices of their own

holdings. Additionally, revised and edited transcripts should be

sent to the appropriate Army historical agencies. AR 870-5 directs

that copies of all transcribed interviews be sent to the U.S. Army

Center of Military History, ATTN: DAMH-HDS, 103 Third Avenue,

Fort Lesley J. McNair, D.C. 20319-5058; to the Military History

Institute, The Army Heritage & Education Center, 950 Soldiers

Drive, Carlisle, PA 17013-5021; and to the Center for Army

Lessons Learned, ATTN: ATZL-CTL, 10 Meade Avenue, Building

50, U.S. Army Combined Arms Center, Fort Leavenworth, KS

66027-1350.

Transcription

Transcribing and editing an interview can be an arduous

process. It can take up to ten hours to transcribe and edit one

hour of tape. The first step is to decide whether an interview

27
should be transcribed. Ideally, every interview will be transcribed,

edited, and reviewed by the interviewee-thereby creating a true

oral history. Nevertheless, not all interviews are worth the

commitment of time, manpower, and money, nor will the historian

always have the ability to transcribe every interview. The historian

will have to decide whether to transcribe interviews based on

available resources and the value of the interview. (The means

for transcribing interviews, particularly for deployed or deploying

historians, should be addressed in the oral history plan.) The

following questions will help determine whether an interview

should be transcribed or if a summary (that is, a detailed abstract)

will suffice:

a. Is transcription mandated by regulation or official

tasking?

b. What is the significance and quality of the interview? Is

the interview with a particularly noteworthy individual, or does it

contain useful information (such as a detailed account of an

operation)?

c. What is the purpose of the interview? Is it intended to be

read in the near future (as with, for example, an exit interview)?

Does the interview support a current project such as an official

history? Is the interview itself intended for publication?

d. Are resources (both financial and personnel) available to

transcribe the interview?

Transcription is time-intensive and demanding work.

Ideally, the individual who conducted the interview will transcribe it

soon after the event. This practice produces the highest quality

transcript. Historians who conduct many interviews, however,

seldom have the time to transcribe all of their own interviews. The

primary options are to use other individuals in the agency or unit

28
or to employ outside contractors to produce the initial transcripts

of interviews.

In-house transcription offers certain advantages such as

the ability to closely supervise the transcription process and the

opportunity to develop trained transcribers who know the subject

matter. Few offices or units, however, will have enough people to

transcribe large numbers of interviews. Use of outside

contractors, therefore, often becomes a necessity, particularly

when large numbers of interviews are involved. Outside

transcribers offer the benefit of speed, but there are other

considerations. Cost can be an issue. (The cost of transcription

usually is related to how quickly the transcriber is required to

produce a transcript.) Letting a contract for transcription services

will involve a significant amount of paperwork and administrative

oversight requirements, yet a contract can be an efficient means

for dealing with large blocks of interviews. Today, the accepted

use of government credit cards to pay for transcription services,

particularly when the requirement is sporadic, makes obtaining

outside transcription services a much easier process than in

previous years when contracts, with their lengthy lead-time and

administrative paperwork requirements, were necessary.

Although some companies specialize in transcribing oral

histories, most large transcribing firms function primarily as court

reporters who only transcribe interviews as a sideline. They may

subcontract to other organizations or randomly assign

transcription jobs to any available worker. Thus it may be hard for

a transcriber working for a large contractor to develop expertise

with military interviews, which often have a unique vocabulary of

words and acronyms. Preparing a word-term list for each interview

to assist the transcriber will lead to transcripts that require

significantly less editing than ones for which the transcriber had to

guess at the spelling of strange words, terms, and place names.

Smaller companies or individuals also will require word-term lists,

but often offer the advantage of working with the same transcriber.

When using outside transcribers, decide upon a simple

standard format for interview transcripts and pass the appropriate

29
instructions, along with the word-term list, to the transcriber.

Instructions do not need to be extensive. For example:

a. On the first page of the transcript, identify the

interviewee, the interviewer, their respective organizations, the

date and place of the interview, and the interview number.

b. Use one-inch margins on each side of the page with

double-spaced text and number each page.

c. Identify each speaker at the start of his or her comments

by typing the participant's name in bolded capital letters, followed

by a colon.

d. Provide a verbatim transcript.

e. Use standard symbols within the transcript to convey

specific messages. Within parenthesis place a question mark

before and after a word or phrase to indicate any uncertainty

about what was said. Example: (?destroyed?).

f. Place in brackets details explaining why the interview

was interrupted or why the tape recorder was turned off.

Example: [Interview interrupted by a telephone call].

g. Garbled or inaudible portions of an interview should be

indicated. If one word is inaudible, the transcriber should indicate

the gap by underlining (example: "_"); if multiple words are

inaudible, use" _+." If a significant passage is inaudible, the

transcriber should estimate the elapsed time by underlining and

estimating the length of the passage. Example: "_.... (# of

seconds)."

h. Indicate recording breaks in capital letters. For

example (for a cassette recording): END OF SIDE ONE, TAPE

ONE: BEGIN SIDE TWO, TAPE ONE. For digital interviews,

30
indicate the conclusion of a sound file and give its name. For

example: END OF OIF-XX-SMITH-PT1: BEGIN OIF-XX-SMITHPT2.

TIP: It is important for historians to maintain an oral history

index or log in order to have visibility of the status of their

collections. Methods range from simple Word documents and

spreadsheets to databases. Use the index or log to track the

status of individual interviews as they progress toward being a

completed oral history. Simple annotations, or codes, noting the

status of each interview-such as "at transcribers," "transcribed,"

"edited," or "out for review"-will prove of great value in managing

the historian's oral history collection.

Whenever possible, MHOs should transcribe an interview

before sending it to CONUS. If time does not permit this-and,

generally, it will not-then the abstract, the interview notes, and

the word-term list should be sent along with the interview. If an

index sheet of topics covered in the interview has been prepared,

that should be sent as well. The information on an index sheet is

listed in the order that it would be on the interview tape, together

with the corresponding counter reading or an estimate of the

elapsed time.

While some interviews will warrant transcription in the field

(for example, the commander of the unit to which an MHO was

attached), it is likely that historians in the field will lack the time

and resources to carry out much transcription. This should not be

a cause for alarm because the collection of information is the

primary objective of historians in the field. (To make a point again,

proper preparation of abstracts will resolve most requirements for

information in the field. Abstracts enable the historian to identify

which interviews require transcription or should be listened to

when preparing a report.) Historians deploying to the field are

advised to locate sources of transcription support prior to

deployment. Interviews can be mailed or emailed from anywhere

31
in the world with relatively brief delays. If arrangements have

been made ahead of time, a historian can mail interviews with

supporting materials (the interview notes and the word-term list) to

CONUS for transcription. The interview transcript then easily can

be mailed or emailed back to the historian for editing and use in

preparing reports. This is an option that previously did not exist,

but that has been tested and proven effective during recent

operations. The primary requirement, however, is planning ahead

to secure both a receiving office and transcription support (to

include funding for the transcription).

MHOs periodically should forward their oral history log or

inventory, with interviews and related supporting materials, to the

U.S. Army Center of Military History, Attn: DAMH-FPR, 103 Third

Avenue, Fort Lesley J. McNair, D.C. 20319-5058. The Center's

Oral History Team will catalog all interviews and, as necessary,

endeavor to transcribe tapes. The Center of Military History will

provide storage space for all wartime oral history materials.

Editing

Once a transcript has been produced, the

historian/interviewer should read and edit the text while listening to

the tape. Editing an interview transcript invariably will require the

editor to exercise his or her judgment when deciding just how

much to modify the verbatim transcript. While there is no single

"right way" to edit, being consistent in making changes is

important.

Because the nature of an interview is conversational,

sentences often are disjointed or run on for many lines. Decide

whether to leave them alone or to form several sentences out of

separate or incomplete phrases. Be sure to check spelling and the

use of acronyms. The transcript, however, should reflect what

actually was said. Contractions should be transcribed as spoken.

Do not change "I'm" to "I am." Acronyms, jargon, and similar

expressions should be left as they were said. Similarly, the

transcript should not use rank abbreviations if they were not

32
spoken. For example, "General" should not become "GEN." If the

speaker said, "Colonel," the transcript should not show "lTC" or

"COL." If a Lieutenant General is called "General," that is what the

transcript should reflect (not "lTG").

Any recorded conversation will contain a number of ''filler

expressions." Omit filler expressions such as "urn" or "ah," unless

they suggest confusion or hesitancy or something similarly

substantive. Change such expressions as "uh-huh" or "urn-hum"

to "Yes" when the interviewee is responding to a specific question.

More fine-tuned changes, such as substituting "yes" for "yeah" will

be the editor's decision; again, consistency should be the rule.

Expressions of disagreement should follow the same rule. False

starts, which often represent a change in thinking, should appear

in the transcript separated from the rest of the text by two dashes

(--) when the change is abrupt; when the change in thinking

results in a sentence trailing off, use ellipses (....). When

reviewing the transcript, the interviewee may recall the original

train of thought and perhaps clarify or expand upon his recorded

remarks. If a false start is insignificant, it may be deleted during

editing.

Speech patterns and styles (for example, the dropping of

pronouns such as in "Deployed to theater," or the use of phrases

like "you know," etc.) should be transcribed, whenever possible.

These phrases may reveal something about the interviewee's

personality or conversational manner. Some filler expressionswith "you know" being a prime example-actually serve as

punctuation during extended conversation. Thus, an interviewee

may indicate the start of a new sentence or a change of topic with

"so" or "you know." Sometimes extensive use of filler expressions

can dominate a transcript; some individuals are simply more

articulate than others. The historian will have to judge how

extensively to edit out such filler expressions, although they

should not all be deleted in order to avoid dramatically changing

the flavor of the interview. If they add to the substance of the

interview, however, they should remain in the text. Remember

33
that the interviewee should have an opportunity to delete these

expressions during his or her review of the edited transcript.

Interviews that are intended for pUblication as an oral

history are likely to be edited more thoroughly than the average

interview. Published oral histories will differ significantly from the

original interview and transcript. Editorial changes-for reasons

ranging from clarity and readability to interviewee review-are part

of the process. As long as the editorial process does not alter the

substance or meaning of the original interview, the historian has

remained faithful to the task. Published oral histories that are

broadly disseminated should include the word-term list as a

glossary. Glossaries are useful to readers, particularly when the

oral history is long or laden with jargon. Annotating names and

terms the first time they appear in the interview is also helpful to

the reader. Material inserted into the transcript should be placed

within brackets. Similarly, the historian may include explanatory

footnotes to briefly explain to a reader, for example, the meaning

of a term or to clarify a reference that is not clear in the transcript.

TIP: When editing a transcript, write the corrections and

changes on the paper copy of the transcript. Use standard

editorial or proofreading marks, such as those found in the Center

of Military History's Style Guide. Maintain a record copy of the

edited transcript that documents all editorial changes made to the

transcript.

Some historical offices publish interviews in order to reach

the widest possible audience. These interviews may be published

individually or as part of a series or anthology. Examples of

published biographical interviews include the Military History

Institute's Changing an Army: An Oral History of General William

E. DePuy, USA Retired; and Engineer Memoirs, which cover the

careers of senior engineers and are published by the Historical

Office, Corps of Engineers. The historical offices of the U.S. Army

Tank-Automotive and Armaments Command and the Army

34
Materiel Command routinely publish exit interviews. On occasion

the Center of Military History has published end-of-tour interviews

and other general officer interviews. One such publication is Air

Assault in the Gulf: An Interview with MG J. H. Binford Peay, III,

Commanding General, 101st Airborne Division (Air AssaUlt).? To

merit publication, an interview should contain information that is

unique and important, appeal to a substantial audience and be

able to stand as a separate publication.

After editing the interview, send a copy of the edited

transcript to the interviewee for review. Be sure to note any

passages that may require the attention of the interviewee as well

as passages about which the historian has questions. This review

is an opportunity for the interviewer to ensure the accuracy of the

transcription and for interviewee to edit, revise, or supplement the

text with additional information. Discourage deletions from the

text. Providing interviewees with a professionally edited transcript

often reduces the amount of time they will hold on to it. When the

interviewee returns the transcript, make the requested changes,

edit again for errors, and then print a clean transcript. The process

is now complete.

Storage

Before storing interview recordings and transcripts make

sure that recordings are properly labeled and encased. (This

should have been done immediately after the interview or after the

interview was duplicated.) Ideally, cassette tapes should be stored

in a dust-free environment that is not subject to great fluctuations

of either temperature or humidity. Digital recordings should be

stored away from items with magnetic fields that could disrupt the

stored electrons. Rewinding can create uneven tension within a

tape; therefore, do not rewind tapes before storing. All interview

7 Conducted by the XVIII Airborne Corps historian, then-Maj. Robert K.

Wright, Jr. The General Peay interview is a good example of how to conduct

an operational interview with a senior commander.

35
tapes, transcripts, and supporting materials (maps, photographs,

documents, and access agreements) should be stored together.

TIP: Store duplicate copies of recordings separately from the

original. Let researchers who wish to listen to an interview use the

duplicate copy.

Digital recordings also should be duplicated and stored

separately from the original. Although storing recordings and

other digital records (such as photographs) on storage media (CDROMs, DVDs, and external drives) will work, the best long-term

solution is to store such records on a server that is regularly

backed up.

36
5.

END-OF-TOUR INTERVIEW PROGRAM

The End-of-Tour Interview Program described in AR 870-5

consists of interviews with the principals of the Secretariat and

Army Staff, MACOM commanders, commanders of Army specified

commands and Army components of unified commands,

commandants and deputy commandants of the U.S. Army

Training and Doctrine Command (TRADDC) schools and of the

Army Medical Department Center and School, corps and division

commanders, and commanders of theater and corps support

commands. The program is designed to collect the experiences of

individuals in important positions and to ensure that the

information is preserved and available to the Army.

An EDT interview differs little from other official interviews,

particularly exit interviews, but the follOWing considerations should

be noted:

a. When an individual assumes a position covered by the

EDT Program, the appropriate historical office should notify the

individual or the appropriate office of the requirement for an EDT

interview and request that an individual be designated as the point

of contact. This notification also provides an opportunity to

request the retention of important documents by either the

historian or the interviewee's office. These documents will be

useful when developing the topic-question list for the EaT

interview.

b. The interviewee's office is responsible for selecting the

point of contact (PaC) for the EDT interview. The pac should

assist the historian with the preparation of the topic-question list,

provide pertinent documents, and schedule the interview session.

In some cases, the point of contact may also sit in on the

interview.

37
c. To develop a topic-question list, the historian must know

the interviewee's tenure in the position about which he or she is to

be interviewed. To further assist the historian in developing a

topic-question list for an EOT interview, a set of core questions is

provided in Appendix F. These questions, however, form only the

skeleton of a topic-question list and should be considered only a

starting point.

TIP: Use the POC to help develop a topic-question list. One

useful technique is to ask the POC for a "Top Ten List" of issues

about which the interviewee should be asked. Once you have a

draft list, provide a copy to the POC, or someone else in the office,

and ask that person to review it. Ask whether you have neglected

any significant issues.

d. EOT interviews should be transcribed, edited, and

reviewed by both the interviewer and interviewee as soon as is

possible. Timely completion of an oral history helps ensure

availability for the next individual to occupy that position.

Additionally, AR 870-5 requires that the interviewee, the incoming

commander, the Center of Military History, the Military History

Institute, and the Center for Army Lessons Learned all receive

copies. The historian should inform the interviewee that his

interview may be sent to other offices. The cover or title page for

each EOT interview will contain the folloWing statement: FOR

REFERENCE ONLY. NOT TO BE RELEASED OUTSIDE OF THE

DEPARTMENT OF THE ARMY WITHOUT THE APPROVAL OF

THE ORIGINATING AGENCY.

e. The interviewing historical office will maintain the original

tapes, supporting documents, and transcripts. When the historical

office can no longer retain these materials, it will transfer them to

the U.S. Army Center of Military History, AnN: DAMH-FPR, 103

Third Avenue, Fort Lesley J. McNair, D.C. 20319-5058. The

38
Center's Oral History Team will catalog the interviews, if that

already has not been accomplished.

f. Army historical offices should inform the U.S. Army

Center of Military History (CMH) periodically about which EOT

interviews have been conducted. The CMH maintains a database

of general officers who have been interviewed under the EOT

Program. This inventory also serves as a resource for Army

historians and other researchers-for example, a historian may

learn whether an EOT interview was conducted for a specific

individual. Additionally, the Director of Military History uses this

information to update the Army Chief of Staff on the EOT

Program. This report necessitates input from historical offices

concerning the status of their EOT interviews. Historical offices

encountering difficulty in securing agreement to conduct EOT

interviews should contact CMH and request assistance.

39
6.

VIDEO-RECORDING INTERVIEWS AND

GROUP INTERVIEWS

The availability and ease of use of video-recorders have

created additional opportunities for historians charged with

collecting data. Video records not just the words and sounds of

an interview, but also captures the facial expressions and

nonverbal communication of interviewees. The result is a richer

historical source. Interviews that are recorded on video also can

be used by museums in creating historical displays.

Although the preparation for a video interview (Le., contact,

scheduling, and preparation of a topic-question list) is the same as

for audio interviews, there are other considerations. A prospective

interviewee should be asked about video-recording prior to the

interview. Do not spring a surprise on the interviewee.

Additionally, a video interview requires two people: one to ask the

questions and run the interview, and the other to record the

interview. Decide beforehand how to "shoot" the interview. For

example, should both interviewer and interviewee face the

camera, or should the camera remain focused on the interviewee?

While either option is appropriate at times, remember that the

purpose of the interview is to record the responses of the

interviewee, not the interviewer. Video-recording is also the best

way to record a group interview because identifying individual

speakers is easier. Transcribing a group interview for which there

is only a sound recording often is an exercise in frustration as the

transcriber struggles to identify each speaker.

Conducting individual interviews is always preferred.

Group interviews are difficult to record and harder to control for

reasons ranging from the sheer number of individuals involved

(many of whom will want to speak at the same time) to the fact

that shy individuals are often inhibited from speaking.

Nevertheless, time and logistical considerations often require

interviewing groups. In such cases, try to limit the number of

40
participants as much as possible and ensure that two historianinterviewers are present. One historian will concentrate on

leading the discussion, asking the questions, and ensuring that

everyone is involved. If one or two individuals start to dominate

the session, the historian should involve others by directing

questions to them. The second historian will focus on taking

interview notes, particularly identifying speakers and noting jargon

and terms that later will require identification or explanation in the

edited transcript. If a third individual is available, that person

should observe the participants and examine their reactions. By

reading body language and other nonverbal cues, the observing

historian often can identify soldiers who have something

substantive to contribute but will remain quiet unless someone

prompts them.

Group interviews are more work than individual interviews,

but they also can provide historians with more information. Group

interviews often generate their own momentum as individuals

react to the comments and observations of others, remember

potentially important details, and offer corrections-or, at least,

differing positions-to the statements of others. While

exaggeration is less likely to occur in a group environment, the

opposite-excessive modesty-may become more of an issue.

Some individuals may be reluctant to take credit for actions or

ideas in front of friends and colleagues out of concern that doing

so will be viewed as bragging. Additionally, sometimes as a

particular "story" develops during an interview, interviewees, in the

spirit of camaraderie, may downplay or ignore their own opinions,

perspectives, and experiences if they differ from the developing

"group story." The resultant silence can hide potentially significant

information from the historian, who may complete the interview

unaware that there is a different way of explaining events.

Although there is no perfect solution to these issues that stem

from group dynamics, by being aware of their possibility the

historian can take various steps. The historian should watch for

potential signs of a different story-this is the purpose of reading

body language, as noted above. Another profitable technique is to

41
conduct group interviews only after individual interviews that allow

the historian to determine where the inconsistencies lie in the

various accounts. If that is not an option, the historian can follow

up a group interview with one-on-one interviews with selected

individuals. These interviews can be used both to pursue

additional information and to ask the individual about the content

of the group interview.

TIP: Audio group interviews create problems for the transcriber by

hiding the identity of the speaker. Interviewees will not remember

to identify themselves each time before speaking. If a group

interview is not videotaped, historians must engage in the laborintensive method of outlining the interview and identifying each

speaker as he or she participates in the conversation. Noting

everything that is said is not necessary, but enough should be

written so that the transcriber can identify each speaker.

Post-interview actions should be the same as with other

interviews. Be sure to duplicate the recording and store the two

copies separately. Many outside transcribers will gladly provide

transcripts of video interviews; those that specialize in this area

can provide a transcript that is keyed to the running time of the

interview, although there likely will be an additional charge for

doing so.

42
7.

APPENDIXES

A. AUDIO EQUIPMENT

Army historians should use either standard cassette

recorders or digital recorders when conducting interviews.

Adherence to this policy will facilitate the transcription process and

the exchange of interviews between Army historical offices. The

use of proprietary software for digital recorders, as well as the use

of microcassettes, is discouraged. The Center of Military History

will transcribe only standard cassettes.

Cassette Recorders

Although most Army historians will want to use digital

recorders, standard cassette recorders remain widely available,

relatively inexpensive, and portable. If using a cassette recorder,

be sure to:

a. Purchase a recorder that has a jack for an external

microphone, in addition to a built-in microphone. An external

microphone can help cut background noise, and the jack can be

used to connect two recorders in order to duplicate tapes.

b. Use a recorder that operates with both direct current and

batteries. Remember that most batteries will only power a

recorder between four and six hours. Monitor the usage of

batteries. Develop a system for tracking battery usage.

c. Use a cassette cleaner on the recorder heads and tape

drive mechanisms after every 20 hours of recording or playback

time. This procedure helps maintain the recording quality of your

recorder.

43
Cassette Tapes

Use 90-minute cassettes (C-90). An advantage of

cassettes is that, if properly treated and stored under good

conditions, they should last for at least twenty years. Use only

new tapes. Purchase quality tapes made by reputable companies.

Do not erase and reuse cassettes for your interviews. After

completing the interview, break in both tabs at the top of the

cassette in order to prevent accidental erasures of an interview.

Clearly label cassettes after each interview. If clearly labeled, a

cassette is much less likely to go missing. Do not rewind tapes

after each use. Store cassettes in their plastic boxes at a constant

temperature away from high heat, humidity, and magnetic fields.

Duplicate interviews onto other cassettes and then use the

duplicate copy for transcribing and editing and for researchers to

use. The original can remain protected in storage.

Digital Recorders

There is a profusion of high quality digital recorders

available to Army historians, and their use is encouraged. How

historians choose to record interviews will be determined partly by

their equipment and, especially in the field, partly by memory

constraints. The following guidelines are provided as minimal

recommended recording standards:

PCM: sampling rate: 48,000, 44.1 kHz

MP3: bitrate: mono, 32 kbps*

sampling rate: 48,000, 44.1 kHz

(* Consider recording at a higher rate if it is possible that the

sound file might be used in the future in ways that would benefit

from greater fidelity, such as on a website, in a documentary, and

on the radio.)

44
Transcription Machines

If you decide to transcribe your own interviews you will

need a transcription machine. Most are equipped with

headphones and foot pedals that allow transcribers to play or

rewind the tape while keeping their hands free for typing. Some

transcription machines also allow the operator to lower the

playback speed and reduce background noises on the tape. A

comfortable set of headphones is a necessity when transcribing in

a noisy work environment. There are commercially available

software packages that, together with the foot pedals, will allow

you to turn your personal computer into a transcription machine

for audio files. They are relatively inexpensive and easy to use.

45
B. SAMPLE EDT INVITATION LETTER

Dear _

I am writing to request an End-of-Tour (EOT) interview with

you regarding your time as _

The purpose of the U.S. Army Center of Military History's

EOT interview program is to capture the personal perspectives of

senior leaders in key Headquarters, Department of the Army

(HQDA), positions in order to supplement the sometimes sparse

documentary record. To give you an idea of how the process

generally works, we contact your office beforehand to obtain

information about your tenure in the position. We customarily

receive a certain amount of documentary material-ranging from

email and internal reports to PowerPoint briefings-after which we

discuss the material with the point of contact for your office.

Subsequently, we produce a topic-question list to serve as a

rough game-plan for the interview; at the same time we try to

schedule one or more interview sessions, depending on how

much material there is to cover and the time you are able to

devote to the interview.

Clearly you served in a key position in HQDA at a

significant moment in U.S. Army history. I believe that you can

provide a unique perspective on . I

hope that you will consider sitting for an interview at a time that is

convenient for you.

Attached is an information paper that describes the EOT

interview program. I, of course, would be glad to answer any

questions that you might have. Thank you.

46
INFORMATION PAPER

DAMH-HDO

27 September 2004

SUBJECT: End-of-Tour Interview Program

1. Purpose. To provide an overview of the End-of-Tour (EOT)

Interview Program.

2. Facts.

a. Program. Since the EOT program began in 1989, Army

historians have interviewed more than 300 senior Army leaders. The

requirements of the EOT program are set forth in AR 870-5, Military

History: Responsibilities, Policies, and Procedures (29 Jan 99),

chapter 8.

b. Purpose. The goal of the EOT program is to help document

important events and to capture the perspective of individuals in key

positions on major issues. Interviews supplement the written record,

which all too often slights the role of individuals in important decisions

and events. Nor can PowerPoint briefings, information papers, and

press releases adequately chronicle the complexities and nuances

inherent in senior leader decision-making-particularly in this period

of sweeping change for the Army. Interviews help clarify the

background of important events and place decisions in context.

Additionally, interviews that explain how previous ARSTAF and

Secretariat principals dealt with problems and issues also can provide

insights for current and future Army leaders confronting similar

challenges.

c. Process. Each interviewee's office designates a point of

contact (POC) to handle administrative details and to assist in

gathering background materials for the historian. Drawing on these

background materials, CMH historians draft interview questions,

47
which then are submitted to the POC and the interviewee prior to the

interview. The interview itself is taped and then transcribed and

edited by CMH. The interviewee sUbsequently has the opportunity to

review the edited transcript to ensure factual accuracy and, if desired,

to provide additional commentary. Interviews have varied in length

and been classified or unclassified.

d. Point of contact. To submit the name of your office POC, or for

additional information, please contact Mr. Stephen Lofgren, Chief,

Oral History Activity, tel. 202-685-2315/DSN 325-2315, email:

stephen.lofgren@hqda.army.mil.

Mr. Stephen J. Lofgren/202-685-2315

Approved by: Dr. Brown

48
C. DA 7273-R, Access Agreement

DAMH-HDS

MEMORANDUM FOR THE CHIEF OF MILITARY HISTORY

SUBJECT: Access to Oral History Materials

1. I, , am voluntarily

participating in an oral history conducted by _____________of the

___________on the following date(s):

2. I understand that the recording(s), transcript(s), and

photograph(s), and any materials resulting from this oral history

will belong to the U.S. Government to be used in any manner,

consistent with federal law, deemed in the best interests of the

U.S. Army, as determined by the Chief of Military History or his/her

designee.

3. I understand that the recording(s), transcript(s), photograph(s),

any other materials, and information and material derived from

them, may be made available to members of the public, subject to

the Freedom of Information Act, Privacy Act, and DA Information

Security Program.

4. I hereby expressly and voluntarily relinquish all rights and

interests in the recording(s), transcript(s), photograph(s), and any

other materials resulting from the oral history to the U.S. Army.

This grant, release, and discharge of rights to the U.S. Army is

made without the expectation of recompense of any kind. This

voluntary grant and release will not be made the basis of a future

claim of any kind against the U.S. Government. Finally, I

49
understand that this does not preclude my personal use of these

materials, subject to security restrictions.

(Name of Interviewee)

(Date)

Accepted on behalf

of the U.S. Army by

(Date)

Privacy Act Statement

Authority: Title 10, USC 3013, Secretary of the Army; Army

Regulation 870-5, Military History: Responsibilities, Policies, and

Procedures.

Principal Purpose: To obtain historical information that

focuses on persons, events, and topics of historical interest to the

U.S. Army.

Routine Uses: This information may be used by Department

of Defense as source material for publications or other historical

works.

Disclosure: Voluntary; however, failure to provide the

requested information may preclude participation in the Army oral

history program.

DA 7273-R, XXX 05

50
D. SAMPLE ABSTRACTS

There is no set length for an abstract. The length of the

interview and the amount of information it contains will determine

the length of the abstract. Each historian will have to decide what

the proper length should be. The abstract is intended to be

neither a substitute for reading the interview nor a condensed

version of the interview. Rather, the abstract should be a

descriptive summary of the interview that allows a researcher to

quickly gain an idea of its contents and to decide whether the

interview seems worth reading. To that end, include a

commentary on the quality of the interview when it is appropriate.

(Try to avoid comments that would make the interviewee feel

uncomfortable if he or she were to read the abstract.)

Describe only the major contents of the interview.

Summarize what the interviewee said; do not repeat all the details.

Lines such as "SGT Jones provides substantial information about

x, y, and z" will allow the abstract author to cover a lot of ground

with just a few words. Include brief quotes if they are striking or

memorable. If the interviewee made a lot of quotable statements,

mention that in the abstract!

The following are abstracts of interviews at CMH. They

were randomly selected from several collections: Operation

IRAQI FREEDOM, Operation JUST CAUSE, Operation JOINT

ENDEAVOR, and Operation NOBLE EAGLE.

IFIT-l02-049:

Abstract: CSM Robert Gallagher describes the training his

brigade underwent in the United States and in Kuwait before the

invasion of Iraq in March 2003. He stresses the importance of

rigorous training and the ability of lower-echelon soldiers to make

decisions in combat. CSM Gallagher, a veteran of Task Force

Ranger and former light infantry soldier, discusses his personal

conception of leadership, his role as a brigade CSM, and the

value of mechanized infantry to the Army. The interview focuses

heavily upon pre-combat training rather than combat operations,

51
which are treated in a sketchy and non-chronological fashion. The

interviewer asks questions about the initial thrust into Iraq, the

battle at Objective Curly in downtown Baghdad, and the transition

from maneuver warfare to occupation. The brigade suffered

chronic problems in maintenance and logistical re-supply even

during training, and these intensified, after crossing the line of

departure. The discussion of Objective Curly centers upon CSM

Gallagher's slight wounding in the battle, the importance of first

aid training, CSM Gallagher's praise for selected soldiers in his

task force, and his defense of the actions of the brigade chaplain,

who armed himself and fired back at the objective. The interview

ends with a discussion of presence patrols and attempts to restart

public works in Baghdad after the city was taken. The

interviewer's reliance upon pre-planned questions and lack of

adequate follow-up questions limits the value of this interview.

JCIT-268:

Abstract: This is an interview with the operations sergeant (83

NCOIC) from the 5th Battalion, 87th Infantry (193d Infantry

Brigade), conducted by the 49th Military History Detachment. The

interview begins with background information about the rising

tensions leading up to the final crisis. He relates about the

preparations for the operations including creating improvised

facilities for training in military operations on urban terrain

(MOUT), and the reconnoitering of targeted sites. When the

hostilities began the battalion had the mission of seizing four

locations in the Alcon vicinity: three were Panamanian police

activities and the fourth was an Engineer Battalion. The initial

objectives were seized by 0200 hours during the first night.

Thereafter members performed sweeps of the populated areas of

the city, establishing a presence and searching for PDF members.

He also discusses the function of the battalion tactical operations

center (TOC) and the jump TOC used by the commander to be

more mobile. He also discusses the communications and

intelligence capabilities of the organization. Families living in

Panama were especially heroic, in that they were near the fighting

52
and the children knew that their parents were leaving home to go

to war. The interview concludes with him crediting the improvised

MOUT training during the fall of 1989 with teaching the soldiers

the skills they needed to survive without any fatalities.

JEIT-FWD-005

Abstract: MAJ Vincent Fields, Special Troop Battalion (STB), V

Corps, discusses the mission of the pre-deployment site selection

survey team he led and lessons learned from the mission. MAJ

Fields was on the initial site survey group sent to Hungary. The

group was divided into four teams, each with a specific survey

mission: airfields, railheads, bridges, or billeting. The initial survey

was completed in five days. The teams returned to Heidelberg to

review the information and make recommendations on which sites

to use. After the recommendations were reviewed, the teams

returned to Hungary to verify the initial information and make the

final site selection. The senior US representative, a brigadier

general, had no authority to sign contracts or to commit funds to

have the selected facilities prepared for occupation before US

troops arrived. He noted that Morale, Welfare, and Recreation

funds were adequate and were important for maintaining troop

morale. Soldiers were under stress, however, due to being

"locked down" (Le. restricted to the base camps) without being told

why. The STB is the administrative cell for USAREUR-FWD. It

does all of the administrative duties and life support for the

headquarters. MAJ Fields' concludes the interview by stating that

it would be cheaper and quicker to establish a traditional rear area

logistic base by renting an open field and putting everything and

everyone in tents instead of renting vacant bUildings. He also

recommends using Army assets instead of civilian contractors for

those mission requirements for which the Army has trained

soldiers and units.

NEIT - 504

Abstract: Mr. Joel B. Hudson, the Administrative Assistant to the

Secretary of the Army, is in charge of all administrative offices that

53
support the Army Secretariat and General Staff. He was on leave

in Florida when he heard about the attack on the World Trade

Center. He called his deputy, Ms. Riley, at 0915 to ask about the

protective status of the Pentagon. After hearing about the attack

on the Pentagon, he drove back from Florida and arrived at the

Army Operation Center (AOC) around midnight on 12 September.

His immediate focus was on re-establishing telephone and

oomputer connections in the building. Secretary of the Army

White's guidance was "do what needs to be done." Forty-five of

the Army personnel who were killed worked for him in the

Resource Management Directorate (RS-W) and IMCEN. His

biggest challenge became taking care of his people. Other

significant challenges were finding space, furniture, computers,

communications equipment, and re-staffing RS-W. The re-staffing

of RS-W was especially critical because the attack occurred only

nineteen days before the end of the fiscal year. Many retired RSW personnel came back to work and other offices loaned people

to help.

He praises the initiative shown by his people on the both

the 11 th and in the weeks afterward and mentions SGT Chris

Braman who pulled three people out of the rubble. He also

mentions Eric Jones, a student at Georgetown University and

EMT, who helped that day and after, and later went to New York

City to work at ground zero. He mentioned several other people

who were killed. Mr. Hudson also discusses his responsibility for

the Defense Post Office that services the building. With the office

shut down because of the anthrax letters, he had to devise

measures to deal with the threat of anthrax and other hazardous

materials. He discusses the decision to create a central facility to

for all Pentagon mail and the special equipment designed for it.

Additionally, he covers how the improvements in Wedge One

saved lives, his decision to move his organization into the Taylor

Building, and how the attack has affected the Pentagon renovation

plan.

54
NEIT-535

Abstract: BG Eikenberry was in his E-ring office receiving a

briefing from MAJ Andrew Mueller (NEIT-544) when the plane hit

the Pentagon on 11 September. He had not heard about the

attack on the World Trade Center. The plane hit the building near

his office, throwing both him and MAJ Mueller against the wall.

He remembers seeing a fireball outside his window. They left his

office and saw MG Wood's secretary, Ms. Linda Moore, who told

them that General Wood was trapped in his office. BG Eikenberry

told her to get out of the area, and then he broke open the door to

Wood's office and got him out. They entered the E-ring corridor,

which was filled with smoke, and could see flames. They headed

away from the flames toward the 4th corridor, crossing over

broken fractures in the floor. He said that these fractures were the

break points where the floor collapsed. He joined LTC Mark Volk

and searched for people in the E-ring. He remembers hearing a

rumbling ten to fifteen minutes after the impact and thinks that it

might have been the area near the fractures collapsing. After

finding no one he went to the Pentagon courtyard and then to

South Parking. Once in South Parking he began accounting for

the people in his division. He accounted for 95% of his 120

people and sent them home about 1230. He got home to his

quarters at Ft. Belvoir, VA about 1400. On September 12th he

went to work at the Army Operations Center (AOC) in the

Pentagon. In the AOC he helped organized the night shift and

headed it through the 15th when he returned to his normal duty as

the Deputy for War Plans and assisting MG Wood develop the

Army strategic campaign plan for the war on terrorism.

55
E. EOT CORE QUESTIONS

The following questions provide a basic core or structure

for devising a topic-question list. Each topic-question list,

however, should be unique as a resl,Jlt of the background research

performed prior to the interview. The core questions must be

modified or tailored to fit the particular circumstances of each

interview and the duties, responsibilities, and achievements of

each interviewee. Additionally, each of these questions will

logically lead to additional questions as the historian reacts to the

interviewee's answers.

(Note: While many of the questions that follow are presented here

in groups, the historian should ask them individually during an

interview.)

1. When you assumed your duties, what guidance did you receive

from your superiors? Were you charged with accomplishing

specific objectives? If so, what were they? Did you have the

opportunity to discuss your duties with your predecessor? How

was the transition handled? How could the transition be

improved?

2. Looking back at your career, which assignment best prepared

you for this position?

3. What issues, events, or responsibilities consumed most of your

time? Why? Did you anticipate this would be the case when you

began this position?

4. Please explain the operations of your office (or agency). With

which other offices or agencies did you work on a regular basis?

5. Please describe your style of management. What were your

techniques for handling the vast spectrum of information and

56
ideas that you needed to understand in order to carry out your

duties? What criteria did you use for making tough decisions?

(Note: If one is not volunteered, ask for an example.)

6. What issues or events occupied your time? What were your

major initiatives during this assignment? What were the major

problems you faced in getting these initiatives accepted?

7. What was your greatest challenge? What were your most

significant accomplishments?

8. Did you make any major organizational changes? If so, why?

Do you see a need to change the organization, staffing, budget, or

responsibilities of your office?

9. As you leave for your next position (or retire), what areas still

cause you concern and what things did time not allow you to

complete? How has your own perception of your duties changed

since assuming this position?

10. What major issues will your successor face?

11. What advice would you like to pass on to your successor?

12. What do you see as the course of the Army in the future?

What will be the major challenges in your area of responsibility

[that is, the interviewee's current position] over the next five to

fifteen years?

13. If you were "king for a day," what would you change?

14. Is there a topic that I should have asked you about, but did

not?

57
F. FIELD INTERVIEWS

Historians conducting operations-focused interviews face

many challenges. These will include finding the time-and a

suitable location-to interview individuals who, in all likelihood, will

be tired and very busy. If an individual recently has been involved

in combat, or any other stressful situation, be aware that the

person is probably dealing with a range of extreme emotions.

Additionally, some issues may be sensitive, so the historian must

pay attention to how questions are phrased. Pointed or leading

questions about, for example, command decisions (and the

reasoning behind them), the specific actions of individuals, or the

influence of personalities can be interpreted by the interviewee as

evidence that the historian already has formed an opinion. The

historian must remember that the course of any interview can be

influenced by how the interviewee "reads" and responds to the

Interviewer, so the historian's demeanor should emphasize the

task-and the responsibility-of objectively gathering information.

Any opinions expressed during the interview should come from

the interviewee.

As for all interviews, the historian should begin

preparations for an interview in the field by formulating an

interview plan. One way to develop an interview plan is to answer

the following series of questions. While more time for preparation

and research is always preferable, even a short period of focused

thinking about these questions will pay dividends. With time and

experience, this technique will become second-nature.

1. "Why is this person being interviewed?" That is, what is the

objective of the interview? Is the historian trying to document a

platoon-level combat action or the history of a unit for a period of

time (to include its mobilization, training, and deployment)? Is the

purpose to learn how a tactical operations center functioned

during a battle, or how a transportation company operated during

several months in a combat theater? Is the intention to learn

58
about the experiences of senior commander and the environment

in which he or she operated?

2. 'Who is the interviewee?" What does the historian know about

him or her? (If the answer is, "Nothing," then the next question

should be, whom can the historian ask for information?) What sort

of firsthand information is this person most likely to possess?

What is the interviewee's rank or grade and position? For how

long? Does this person have twenty years of Army experience, or

is this the soldier's first enlistment? Is this the interviewee's first

deployment? What information would another historian want to

know about this individual in order to give broader context to the

information contained in the interview?

3. "What sort of information do I hope to obtain?" Answering this

question after thinking about the first two questions should serve

as an azimuth check for the historian. How does this interview fit

into the historian's plan and purpose? Where is this interviewee's

firsthand knowledge likely to overlap with what the historian is

seeking?

Because the "righf' question list rarely will be the same for

more than one interview, answering the foregoing questions

before the interview will enable the historian to develop a line of

questioning appropriate to each interview. By bringing into focus

the three issues of the historian's objective, the individual to be

interviewed, and the germane information that individual mayor

should have, the historian will have identified many of the

questions to ask. If, by chance, the historian finds it necessary to

start an interview before having the chance to answer some of

these questions, then it makes sense to begin the interview with

questions designed to elicit those answers. Indeed, questions

about the interviewee-history, position, experience-should be

asked to get the information on the record and because the

historian never can really know what an interviewee will say.

Each interview, in essence, is a request for an individual to tell his

59
or her story; the historian wants to capture that story while keeping

in mind the larger purpose for the interview.

From this point, conducting the interview is a relatively

straight-forward process. Start with the customary introductory

questions to get the interviewee talking and to record basic

information about the individual. Then, set the stage. Ask

appropriate questions about the individual's environment: the unit

or command, the mission, the people with whom the interviewee

worked, the challenges encountered. Ask about routine

procedures or SOPs, specialized equipment and training, and how

the individual lived day-to-day. This last category, that of life in

the field, is perishable information that is easy to overlook. If the

focus is a headquarters, ask about policies and guidance that

were in place. (For many interviews with commanders and staff

officers, the EaT questions in Appendix E will be a useful starting

point.) If the focus of the interview is a particular activity or action,

lead the interviewee to that point, and then have the interviewee

recount what transpired. 'What happened next?" will keep the

interviewee speaking. Focus on the individual: what did the

interviewee see or think? Ask for specific details and evidence as

follow-up questions: how does the interviewee know something?

Who made the decision? What time did an action begin? What

was the interviewee thinking at a particular moment? Ask about

reasoning or motivation if it is unclear. If the story becomes

confused or the historian does not understand something, ask the

interviewee to elaborate. Remember, if the historian does not

understand the story being told in the interview, later readers of

the interview transcript probably will not understand, either. At the

end of the interview, ask the interviewee who else should be

interviewed on this subject. Then thank the interviewee for his or

her time and for helping to document the history of the U.S. Army.

Even when a solid question list exists, the historian should

seek to tailor the list for each interview. Not all questions will be

appropriate for each interview. As field historians conduct

interviews and observe events, their knowledge will grow, and

they should confidently use that knowledge to modify their

60
question lists in order to ask questions that are personalized for

the individual interviewee. Any question list is only a starting

point; the interviewer must "develop the situation" based on what

he or she encounters and learns during the interview.

Regardless of the specific questions, however, the

interviewer should focus on the experiences of the intervieweewhat he or she actually did or witnessed. Additionally, the

interviewer should be alert to cues from the interviewee that

follow-up questions, perhaps departing from the original list,

should be asked. As a safeguard against missing potentially

important information, always give the interviewee an opportunity

to offer information. One method of accomplishing this is to

remind the interviewee that he or she is the real subject-matter

expert on the topic and then to ask an open-ended question. This

often works best toward the end of an interview. One such

question is, 'What is something I should have asked you, but have

not?" Another is, "If you were a historian writing about X [that is,

whatever has been the main subject of the interview], what would

you emphasize?" Or, 'What can you tell me about your

experience that will not appear in the official reports?" Asking

such questions shows the interviewee bbth that the historian is not

merely following a pre-determined agenda and that the historian is

genuinely interested in what the interviewee has to offer. The

resulting responses often can be pleasantly surprising.

Finally, remember that interviewing in the field is a learned

skill. As with any skill, performance will improve with practice.

Practice developing question lists beforehand. After an interview,

engage in self-critique. Which questions worked? Which

questions did not? Why? Review interviews that have been

conducted, particularly those conducted by other historians.

Borrow questions and techniques that appear worthwhile, and

ask, "What would I have done differently?"

61
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64