Combat Reader works by accelerating the visual cortex and associated learning processes that a reader's brain has already developed. British researchers found that the segments of the brain that recognize word form images activate at the same time as the segments that control language and speech motor functions1. In 2009, Neuroscientists at Georgetown University found that the brain recognizes words as whole units, and does not confuse words that look similar but are different (e.g. "clip" and "slip")2. A 1999 study found that speed reading does not detract from comprehension3. A speed reading application like Combat Reader works naturally with the brain's processing of written text.
By increasing reading speed, Combat Reader can make professional reading requirements more palatable and less time-consuming for Marines. In 2015, Kwon and Linderholm found that a student's self-perception of reading speed is highly correlated with their self-perception of reading skill, despite the study's finding that actual reading speed is poorly correlated with actual reading skill4. What this tells us is that Marines who merely perceive their reading speed as having increased will consequently perceive their overall reading ability to have improved as well. The resultant increased confidence in reading ability can lead to improvement in the Marine's overall reading experience, and consequently an increase in the amount of reading that the Marine will choose to engage in on their own.
1) Cornelissen PL, Kringelbach ML, Ellis AW, Whitney C, Holliday IE, Hansen PC, "Activation of the Left Inferior Frontal Gyrus In The First 200 ms of Reading: Evidence from Magnetoencephalography (MEG)," PLoS ONE 4(4): e5359 (2009).
2) Laurie S. Glezer, Xiong Jiang, Maximilian Riesenhuber, "Evidence for Highly Selective Neuronal Tuning to Whole Words in the 'Visual Word Form Area,'" Neuron Volume 62, Issue 2 (2009), 199-204.
3) Tammie Calef, Marci Pieper, Bradley Coffey, "Comparisons of Eye Movements Before and After A Speed-Reading Course" Journal of the American Optometric Association Vol 70(3) (1999), 171-181.
4) Heekyung Kwon, Tracy Linderholm, "Reading Speed as a Constraint of Accuracy of SelfâPerception of Reading Skill." Journal of Research in Reading Volume 38, Issue 2 (2015).