MILITARY TERMS

One of the chief complaints of civilian editors concerning military journalism is the excessive use of abbreviations for titles and organizations. In the majority of cases, most people within a particular service will know most of its standard abbreviations. However, many will not know them all, particularly family members, visitors and new service personnel. Titles and organizational designations should those that are so well known that it would be a definite waste of space.

All foreign services should be lowercased and spelled out; for example, French army. Military jargon and colloquial expressions should be avoided unless they are used in proper context or direct quotes. When possible, eliminate abbreviated terms to differentiate between a professionally written news article and a set of travel orders. Some examples of military abbreviations that you should not use in news stories always be spelled out in the first reference - except include the following:

TAD (temporary additional duty)

R&R (rest and recreation)

RON (remain overnight)

OOD (officer of the day (deck)

PCS (permanent change of station)

When you refer to members of a particular service, use the following collective terms:

Soldier (a member of the U.S. Amy)

Sailor (U.S. Navy)

Marine (U.S. Marine Corps)

Airman (U.S. Air Force)

Coast Guardsman (U.S. Coast Guard)

Guardsman (Army or Air National Guard)

For military rank and title abbreviations, by service, consult the latest edition of The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual.

Thousands of doctors, nurses, veterinarians, dentists, chaplains and lawyers serve the military in their respective professional capacities. As such, they should be identified in news stories by their profession. This identification should be made in the first reference. Note the following examples:

Examples: Capt. (Dr.) Joe Johns of the Portsmouth Naval Hospital conducted . . . Cmdr. Edna Knox, Navy Nurse Corps, told medical authorities . . . Maj. (Dr.) Larry Riley, a veterinarian, stressed the importance . . . Navy Chaplain (Cmdr.) John Frisby will preside over ... (Note: A chaplain's rank is enclosed in parentheses. In the previous example, subsequent References would be Chaplain Frisby.)

Lawyers are not identified by profession in the military service per se. However, in all possible cases, they should be referred to in relation to their role in the story. Consider the following example:

Example: Coast Guard Lt. Henry Smith, the defense attorney (trial lawyer, staff judge advocate, etc.), a member of the Maryland Bar Association, moved for a dismissal of the charges.

In many cases, news stories require the use of a person's service in addition to name and rank, particularly in joint maneuvers. When this occurs, place the service identifier before the rank and name as in the following examples:

Examples: Navy Capt. Rob Rogers; Coast Guard Lt. Jim King; Air Force Maj. Richard Johnson. (The "U. S." before Amy, Navy, Air Force, "Coast Guard or Marine Corps is optional unless tied in with foreign dissemination.)

Women, military as well as civilian, should receive the same treatment as men in all areas of news coverage. Never use sexist References, demeaning stereotypes and condescending phrases in reference to women. The same standards for men and women should be used in deciding whether to include specific mention of personal appearance, physical description or marital and family situation.

As in the following examples, aircraft, ships and other military equipment should be identified by popular name and model designation.

Examples: The Air Force Lockheed C-141 Starlifter flew. ... Each soldier carried an M-79 grenade launcher. ... The aircraft carrier USS Lexington (AVT 16), "Lady Lex," was opened as a floating museum. ...