Comments in RTF Templates

I am using the Word Add-On to modify an Oracle delivered template.  Although there are comments at the top of the document, I can not add any I can not add comments to the document.  Every time I try, it actually prints on the document.

I have tried:

<!--Added condition to prevent cross career degrees from appearing-->

<xsl:comment>This is a comment!</xsl:comment>

This will work at the very beginning of the document outside of any sub-templates, but if put inside a sub-template - It prints on a PDF.

Is it possible to put comments inside the active part of a template?