Princeof Chungshan. However, within the U.S. Armed Forces, theincorporation of acupuncture into modern military medicalpractice is a relatively new development.The effectiveness of acupuncture is well known to manycultures. Its widespread use is primarily credited to the Chi-nese and to Mao Zedong’s legion of “barefoot doctors” (indegenous practitioners) who promulgated the use ofacupuncture during the period of the Chinese Cultural Rev-olution (1949–1970s). Although acupuncture continues togain popularity in civilian sectors across the globe, use ofacupuncture techniques by U.S. military medical personnelis still a relatively nascent process. Given the unique natureof blast and combat-related injuries sustained by Americanmilitary service members during current operations inAfghanistan and Iraq, ear and scalp acupuncture techniqueshave promise in helping to reduce the pain associated withbattlefield wounds.One of the first persons to introduce acupuncture to U.S.military medical personnel was the (then) Army Major (Dr.)Norman Rich, who, along with Army Lieutenant Colonel(Dr.) Francis Dimond, Jr., reported on their experiences atthe 2nd Surgical Hospital in Vietnam, in a 1967 edition of