As is often the case, not all cadets provided constructive feedback beyond "I like it," or "I hated it," but the majority of the comments are provided. The soldiers were asked a similar question and replied with these scant comments:
In some ways, cadets are often like students, such as in their dislike for the way revision requires that they review their mistakes and make corrections based upon feedback some perceive as negative. However, many of the cadets involved in this project told me that they learned to value revision after providing advice to the soldiers because it gave them a new perspective on the purpose of writing. As one wrote, It was different than anything I have ever done, which made it difficult. But it helped me as a writer to realize what mistakes I was making, and will help me correct myself in future papers. This cadet understood Bruffee's argument about the power of using others’ writings as mirrors into our own. Many told me that it was easier to spot mistakes in their own paper after the project because they had paid close attention while reading the soldiers’ stories. Of course, they paid such close attention because they felt the stories had more meaning to them than the disconnected textbook articles they might have expected to encounter in an academic context. One cadet wrote, I liked the project because there is a lot of satisfaction in knowing that your comments and revisions will actually affect another writer's work which may help it be published. It was an excellent way for us to combine many of the skills we'd learned up to that point in one project. One of the pedagogical goals of the project was to prompt just such reflection from the cadets who were involved.
Briefing