The language of the novel and the meaning of the terms used are relatively clear and straight forward. The easy to read novel is written in everyday English. Even though the main characters are all in the military, there are not many military terms used and Griffin explains the various kinds of weapons and equipment where necessary. The only terms he doesn't define are terms like CINCPAC. In most of the Griffin novels, these terms are usually defined in footnotes, but not in Close Combat. This doesn't cause much of a problem for the reader because there are not that many used.