MILITARY
Brush up on the lingo
The military has a language all its own. Here are some of the common acronyms and phrases you're likely to hear.
- ACP: Access control point. A regulated entrance to a military installation.
- ACUs: Army Combat Uniforms. This is the green and sandy brown digital uniform designed for worldwide deployment. ACUs replace the woodland green and desert tan uniforms.
- AAFES: Army and Air Force Exchange Service. Military stores have retail goods, food and concessions.
- CAB: Combat Action Badge. This badge indicates a soldier was present during an engagement with the enemy and was not assigned or attached to a unit that would qualify the soldier for the CIB or CMB.
- CIB: Combat Infantryman Badge. This badge indicates a soldier was present and under hostile fire while serving in an assigned infantry or Special Forces unit.
- CMB: Combat Medical Badge. This badge indicates a field medic has accompanied infantrymen into battle.
- Commissary: Civilians have grocery stores. The military has commissaries.
- DEERS: Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System. The automated system maintains information on members of the armed services and their dependents who are eligible for military benefits and entitlements.
- DZ: Drop zone. A place where paratroopers and their equipment are airdropped.
- ETS: Expiration of term of service. This is when a person leaves the military.
- FSB: Forward support battalion. A brigade's administrative, medical and logistical support.
- Hoo-ah: Pronounced who-ah or who-uh. Hoo-ah is usually shouted or grunted by motivated soldiers. It means "Yes," "I agree with you," or any other concurring comment. Oftentimes, a group of soldiers will respond with "Hoo-ah" when recognized for a job well done.
- Leg: A term that paratroopers use for soldiers who are not airborne qualified.
- LES: Leave and earnings statement. This is a monthly report of pay for military duty and vacation time.
- MOS: Military occupational speciality, or a soldier’s job.
- MWR: Morale, Welfare and Recreation. These programs allow military personnel and their families to bowl, swim, ride horses and go to clubs without having to leave the installation.
- NCO: Noncommissioned officer. A fancy name for sergeants.
- NCOIC: NCO in charge. The highest-ranking sergeant in a military office or activity.
- PCS: Permanent change of station is when a soldier moves for his or her next duty assignment. Instead of saying, "I'm moving," soldiers say "I'm PCSing."
- POV: Privately owned vehicle. This means your personal car as opposed to a government vehicle. (Signs on the Fort Bragg training ranges often say: No POVs beyond this point.)
- PX: Post exchange. Military department store.
- QRF: Quick reaction force.
- RCW: The red-cockaded- woodpecker. This bird is protected under federal law as an endangered species. White diamond-shaped signs on trees at Fort Bragg indicate habitat area.
- TDY: Temporary duty. Basically, this means taking a short-term trip for military business. For example, "He's gone TDY."
- THREATCON: An indication of the level of potential terrorist activity in an area.
Recreational activities
Even if you don't have a military ID card, you can enjoy recreational activities on Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base. Here's a good starting point for some places you can visit:
- Airborne Lanes off Bastogne Drive, 432-6899.
- Dragon Lanes on Reilly Street, 907-2695.
- Pope Air Force Base Bowling Center at 751 Armistead St., 394- 2891.
- Sports USA, a complex with a restaurant, video games, dancing, and 12 televisions showing college and professional sports. Longstreet Road, 907-0739.
- McKellars Lodge Rod & Gun Club, Gruber Road, 907-5253. Picnic areas are available.
- Clay Target Center with leagues, tournaments, RV sites. East Manchester Road, Spring Lake, 436-9489.
- Cleland Ice Skating Rink on Fort Bragg, 396-5127.
- Smith Lake Recreation Area, off N.C. 210, 396-5979.
- Fort Bragg Riding Stables, Smith Lake, 396-4510.
Online resources: For more information about recreation on Fort Bragg, check out www.fortbraggmwr.com. More information about Pope activities is at www.43dservices.com.
'Army Wives'
The real Army wives
Writers and Army wives Rebecca Logan, left, and Rebekah Sanderlin are among the regular contributors at The Fayetteville Observer's Web site devoted to military family life. Check out the interactive blog and forum and find information on upcoming events and other topics of interest to families. Join in at iBraggle.com
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The "Army Wives" TV show has its roots at Fort Bragg.
The Lifetime television series is based on the book "Under the Sabers: The Unwritten Code of Army Wives" by Tanya Biank, a former military reporter at The Fayetteville Observer. She serves as a consultant to the show.
Biank, whose father was a soldier, is married to a soldier.
The show, filmed on location in Charleston, S.C., is "about the struggles, dreams and friendships of a diverse group of women -- and one man -- living with their spouses and families on an active Army post and the pressures and traditions of the military on those who are left behind while their partners serve their country," according to a news release from Lifetime.
It airs Sundays at 10 p.m. and already has been renewed for a second season.
Updated: August, 2007