To me, this seems like very basic information. However, some questions I have received lately have me wondering about how basic it all actually is. The following items are things that you should absolutely know about your soldier. If you don’t know these things, you will find it very hard to navigate the Army system. You will also be facing delays if you ever need to contact the Red Cross to relay an emergency message to him.

1. His full name and rank

2. His social security number (you need this for just about everything in the Army)

3. Where he is stationed (I am amazed by the number of people who only know a state and don’t even know the name of the post!). For example, Ft Bennning, Columbus, GA

4. His unit information, at least down to his platoon (team if possible, especially if his name is common). For example, 1/75 Ranger Regiment, A Co, 1st Platoon

5. His job (MOS) – For example, Infantry or 11Bravo

6. His address – for his unit stateside and overseas (if deployed)

This information is not optional for you to know. You need all of this information if you are an immediate family member of a soldier. It will be much easier to get in contact with him and relay emergency information if you know these six items.

As an Army spouse, I see many who say they don’t need to be so involved in his job – after all, it is HIS job. However, not knowing simple information such as what I’ve listed above is just irresponsible. If he had a civilian job, you would know the name of his company, his job title and where his office is located. This information is no different. You don’t have to be “all involved” in his job to know this information.

So find it. Write it. Memorize it.

The first of the year is always a great time to be sure that all of the paperwork related to your soldier is in order. A lot of times, this paperwork represents something we’d rather not think about, but it’s important to be prepared.

1. Power of Attorney - This simple document is where the soldier gives someone the authority to act on his behalf. It can be a general power of attorney which means the agent can do anything on behalf of the soldier or it can be very specific only giving the agent certain rights. No matter who the soldier chooses for his POA, he needs to have one so situations can be handled if he is away. Without a POA, you won’t even be able to check on his bills, etc. The legal office on base can help with these documents and you can also usually find examples online that can easily be copied.

2. Know the Numbers. This is especially important if your soldier is deployed. Be sure you know his SS#, his bank account numbers (and associated PIN), credit card numbers (including phone # to call if it is lost or stolen), and login and PIN for MyPay.

3. Draw Up A Will. This is definitely one we would rather not think about but it is important to be sure it is up to date.

4. Ask the difficult questions. If something were to happen to your soldier, do you know what he prefers? If he were to get hurt, do you know what kind of life saving measures he would want to have? For instance, do you know if he would want a feeding tube, etc.? Also, if the unthinkable happens, do you know if he has any special preferences for his funeral? It’s a tough conversation to have but you need to know.

5. Know about paperwork. In addition to having all of this paperwork in order, you also need to know where all of it is. Set up a central location (preferably a fireproof safe or safe deposit box) to store all of the important documents – will, POA, birth certificate, copies of orders, etc.

Just remember, it’s best to be prepared! They also cover many of these topics at pre-deployment briefings which is another reason why it’s important to attend them.

ASK is a component within AKO. You must have an AKO account in order to be able to log-in to ASK. This system is where the wish list of future duty locations is housed. The soldier has the opportunity to choose three Army CONUS locations and three Army OCONUS locations. Two of the CONUS locations must be with divisional installations.

Within this system, the soldier can also indicate his or her interest in volunteering for special duty such as recruiting or drill instructor. They can also for volunteer for certain duty station assignments.

ASK will display orders for the soldier. Be aware that these are not official orders. Particularly during training, the duty location can change quite a bit. I’ve witnessed several Army wives and Army husbands get excited over a great first duty station (such as Hawaii) early in the training process only to have it change a few weeks later. Orders are not official until your Army soldier has paper orders in hand. And even then, technically, they can still be changed.

Do not, under any circumstances, move to a new location based on what you find in ASK. It is more likely than not that the duty location will change. Official orders will come soon enough so just try to be patient and wait for the official word before moving.

Log into ASK (need an AKO log-in)

If there is one thing the Army is full of, it’s acronyms. In order to survive as an Army wife, Army mom or any other Army family member, it will help to know at least the basics of Army acronyms.

If you know other Army acronyms that aren’t included here, please email me!

* I would like to say a special thank you to Jessica for helping me to update this list including adding how some are actually said (A-Fees instead of A-A-F-E-S). Thank you! *

A
AAFES (A-Fees): Army, Air Force Exchange System
AAM: Army Achievement Medal
AAR: After Action Review
ABT: Annual Battle Training
ACAP (A-cap): Army Career and Alumni Program
ACS: Army Community Service
ACU: Army Combat Uniform
AD: Active Duty
AER: Army Emergency Relief
AFAP: Army Family Action Plan
AFN: Armed/American Forces Network
AFTB: Army Family Team Building
AG: Adjutant General
AGR: Active Guard Reserve
AIT: Advanced Individual Training
AKO: Army Knowledge Online
AMMO: Ammunition
ANCOC (A-knock): Advanced Noncommissioned Officers’ Course
AO: Area of Operations
APC: Armored Personnel Carrier
APDES: Army Physical Disability Evaluation System
APFT: Army Physical Fitness Test
APO: Army Post Office
AR: Army Reserves
ARCOM (Are-com): Army Commendation Medal
ARNG: Army National Guard
ARTEP: Army Training Evaluation Program
ASAP (A-sap): As soon as possible, also Army Substance Abuse Program
AUSA: Association of the United States Army
AVN: Aviation
AWOL (A-wall): Absent Without Leave

B
BAH: Basic Allowance for Housing
BAS: Basic Allowance for Subsistence (food allowance)
BC: Bradley Commander or Battalion Commander or Brigade Commander
BCT: Basic Combat Training or Brigade Combat Team
BDE: Brigade
BDU: Battle Dress Uniform
BEQ: Bachelor Enlisted Quarters (for NCOs)
BN: Battalion
BNCOC (B-knock): Basic Noncommissioned Officers’ Course
BOQ: Bachelor Officers Quarters
BSM: Bronze Star Medal
BX: Base Exchange (AF) – Army refers to it as PX (Post Exchange)

C
CAB: Combat Action Badge
CASCOM: Combined Arms Support Command
CBRNE: Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, or High-Yield Explosive
CCMRF CBRNE: Consequence Management Response Force (Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, or High-Yield Explosive)
CDC: Child Development Center
CDS: Child Development Services
CFC: Combined Federal Campaign
CG: Commanding General
CHAMPUS: Civilian Health and Medical Program for the Uniformed Services
CHPPM (Chip-um): Center for Health Promotion and Preventative Medicine
CIB: Combat Infantry Badge
CID: Criminal Investigation Division (Army’s FBI)
CINC: Commander In Chief
CLT: Casualty Liaison Team
CMB: Combat Field Medical Badge
CO: Commanding Officer
COA: Course of Actions or Certificate of Appreciation/Achievement
COB: Close of Business
COC: Chain of Command
COE: Center of Excellence
COL: Colonel
COLA (Cola, like the drink): Cost of Living Allowance
CONUS (cone-us): Continental United States
CP: Command Post
CPL: Corporal (E-4 pay with leadership, like a NCO)
CPO: Civilian Personnel Office
CPX: Command Post Exercise
CQ: Charge of Quarters (duty after regular hours)
CSA: Chief of Staff Army
CSM: Command Sergeant Major
CYS: Community Youth Services

D
DA: Department of the Army
DAC (Dak): Department of the Army Civilian
DC: Dental Corp
DCINC (d-sink): Deputy Commander-in-Chief
DCU: Desert Combat Uniform
DeCA: Defense Commissary Agency
DEERS (deers, like the animal): Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System
DENTAC: US Army Dental Activity
DEP(dep): Delayed Entry Program
DEROS (d-ros): Date of Estimated Return from Overseas
DF: Disposition Form (sometimes referred to as a “buck slip”)
DFAC (D-Fac): Dining Facility
DFAS: (d-fas) Defense Finance and Accounting System
DI: Drill Instructor
DISCOM (dis-com): Divisional Support Command
DITY (Ditty): Do It Yourself Move
DIVARTY (div-r-t): Division Artillery; FA units of a division
DLA: Dislocation allowance
DOB: Date of birth
DOD (Dod): Department of Defense
DODDS (Dods): Department of Defense Dependants Schools
DODEA: Department of Defense Education Activity
DOR: Date of Rank
DOS: Date of Separation
DS: Drill Sergeant
DSN: Defense Switched Network
DTP: Delayed Training Program
DZ: Drop Zone

E
EEO: Equal Employment Opportunity
EER: Enlisted Evaluation Report
EFMB: Expert Field Medical Badge
EFMP: Exceptional Family Member Program
EIB: Expert Infantry Badge
EN: Enlisted
EO: Equal Opportunity
EOD: Explosive Ordinance Disposal
ERB: Enlisted Record Brief
ESC: Enlisted Spouses Club
ESGR: Employer Support of Guard and Reserve
ETA: Estimated Time of Arrival
ETS: Estimated Time of Separation
EWC: Enlisted Wives Club

F
FA: Field Artillery
FAC: Family Assistance Center
FCP: Family Care Plan
FLO: Family Liaison Office
FOB (Fob): Forward Operating Base
FORSCOM (For’s-com): Forces Command
FRG: Family Readiness Group
FRO: Family Readiness Officer
FRSA: Family Readiness Senior Advisor
FSA: Family Separation Allowance
FTX: Field Training Exercise

G
GCM: Good Conduct Medal
GI: Government Issue
GO: General Officer
GS: General Schedule
GWOT-E: Global War On Terror-Expeditionary medal
GWOT-S: Global War On Terror-Service medal

H
HH6: HouseHold Six (refers to spouse at home who stands “behind” their soldier)
HHB: Headquarters and Headquarters Battery
HHC: Headquarters and Headquarters Company
HHG: Household Goods
HHT: Headquarters and Headquarters Troop
HOR: Home of Record
HQ: Headquarters
HRAP (h-rap): Health Risk Appraisal Program
HS: Home Station
HTRAP (h-rap): Hometown Recruiting Assistance Program
HUMMER: Highly Mobile, Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, a.k.a. Humvee

I
IADT: Initial Active Duty Training
IDT: Inactive Duty Training
IE: Initial Entry
IED: Improvised Explosive Device
IET: Initial Entry Training
IG: Inspector General
IMA: Individual Mobilization Augmentee
IO: Information Officer or Inspecting Officer
IRF: Immediate Reaction Force
IRR: Individual Ready Reserve
ITB: Infantry Training Brigade
ITT: Information Tours and Travel

J
JAG (jag): Judge Advocate General
JCS: Joint Chiefs of Staff
JPPSO: Joint Personal Property Shipping Office
JSLIST: Joint Service Lightweight Integration Suit Technology
JTF: Joint Task Force
JUMPS: Joint Uniformed Military Pay System

K
KIA: Killed in Action
KISS: Keep it simple stupid/sweetie
KP: Kitchen Patrol

L
LES: Leave and Earnings Statement (his pay stub)
LOD: Line of Duty
LZ: Landing Zone

M
MACOM: Major Army Command
MC: Medical Corp
MEB: Medical Evaluation Board
MEDCOM: Medical Command
MEDDAC: US Army Medical Department Activity
MEPS (meps): Military Entrance Processing Station
MGIB: Montgomery GI Bill
MHO: Medical Hold Over
MI: Military Intelligence
MiCAP: Mileage Capability
MIA: Missing In Action
MILES (miles): multiple integrated laser engagement system
MOS: Military Occupational Specialty
MP: Military Police
MRB: Medical Retention Board
MRE: Meals Ready to Eat
MSC: Medical Specialty Corp
MSM: Meritorious Service Medal
MSO: Morale Support Officer
MTF: Military Treatment Facility
MWR: Morale, Welfare and Recreation

N
NAF: Non-Appropriated Funds
NATO (Nato): North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NCO: Non Commissioned Officer
NCOER: NCO Evaluation Report
NCOIC: NCO in Charge
NG: National Guard
NLT: Not Later Than
NPS: Non Prior Service

O
O: Officer
OBC: Officer’s Basic Course
OCONUS (Oh-Cone-us: Outside Continental United States
OCS: Officer Candidate School
OER: Officer Efficiency Report
OHA: Overseas Housing Allowance
ORB: Officer Record Brief
ORE: Operational Readiness Exercise
OSC: Officer Spouses’ Club
OSUT (oh-sut): One Station Unit Training
OWC: Officers’ Wives Club

P
PAC (Pack): Personal Administration Center
PAD: Patient Administration Division
PAO: Public Affairs Officer
PCS: Permanent Change of Station
PDA: Physical Disability Agency
PDHRA: Post Deployment Health Re-Assessment
PDQ: Pretty Damn Quick
PDRL: Permanent Disability Retirement List
PEB: Physical Evaluation Board
PEBLO: Physical Evaluation Board Liaison Officer
PHA: Periodic Health Assessment
PLDC: Primary Leadership Development Course (now WLC)
PMOS: Primary Military Occupational Specialty
POA: Power of Attorney
POC: Point of Contact
POV: Privately Owned Vehicle
POW: Prisoner of War or Personally Owned Weapon
PS: Prior Service
PT: Physical Training
PX: Post Exchange

Q
QM: Quartermaster
QTRS: Quarters

R
RA: Regular Army
RBI: Reply by endorsement
RC: Reserve Component
RD: Rear Detachment (also referred to as “Rear D”)
RDC: Rear Detachment Commander
RDF: Ranger Dining Facility or Rapid Deployment Force
REGT: Regiment
RFO: Request For Orders
RHHT: Regimental Headquarters and Headquarters Troop
RIF (riff): Reduction in Force
RIP: Ranger Indoctrination Program
RLTW: Rangers Lead The Way
RON: remain overnight (TDY)
ROTC (sometimes called rot-see): Reserve Officer Training Course
R&R: Rest and Relaxation/Recreation
RSO: Ranger Safety Officer

S
S-1 – Adjutant
S-2 – Information and Security
S-3 – Planning and Training
S-4 – Supply Officer
SBP: Survivor Benefits Program
SD: Staff Duty
SDO: Staff Duty Officer
SGLI: Serviceman’s Group Life Insurance
SHAPE (shape): Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
SOCOM (so-com): Special Operations Command
SOP: Standard Operating Procedure
SOUTHCOM (south-com): Southern Command (Miami)
SQT: Skill Qualification Test
SRB: Selective Reenlistment Bonus
SRP: Sustainable Range Program
SSN: Social Security Number

T
TA-50: Field equipment
TAP: Transition Assistance Program
TC: Truck Commander
TDRL: Temporary Disability Retirement List
TDY: Temporary Duty
TIG: Time In Grade
TLA: Temporary Living Allowance
TLE: Temporary Lodging Entitlement
TRADOC (tray-doc): Training and Doctrine Command
TSM: Transition Services Manager
TSP: Thrift Savings Plan
TTAD: Temporary Tour Active Duty

U
UCMJ: Uniform Code of Military Justice
USACE: United States Army Corps Engineer
USAFE: U.S. Air Force Europe
USAPDA: United States Army Physical Disability Agency
USAR: United States Army Reserve
USAREC: United States Army Recruiting Command
USAREUR (use-ar-eur): U.S. Army Europe
USARJ: U.S. Army Japan
USGLI: United States Government Life Insurance
USO: United Service Organization
UXO: Unexploded Ordnance

V
VA: Veterans Affairs/Administration
VASRD: Veterans Affairs Schedule for Rating Disabilities
VEAP: Veterans Education Assistance Program
VGLI: Veterans Group Life Insurance
VHA: Variable Housing Allowance
VTC: Video TeleConference

W
WESTCOM: Western Command (Hawaii)
WG: Wage Grade
WIA: Wounded In Action
WLC: Warrior Leadership Course
WO: Warrant Officer

X
XO: Executive Officer

Acronyms you’ll see on the message board:
PAF: Proud Army Fiancée
PAG: Proud Army Girlfriend
PAM: Proud Army Mom
PAW: Proud Army Wife
SO: Significant Other
DH: Dear Husband (or damn husband depending on how you feel about him at the moment!)

There are many parts to the Army uniform. Some of these can vary according to the unit your soldier is assigned to as well as any additional training he may have received. Let’s talk about uniform basics so if your soldier calls and says he needs you to bring him his jungle boots, you know what he is referring to.

Just a note, my husband helped me with this article and these standards apply to those in a Ranger BN. For your husband’s unit, when he wears certain items (or if he is allowed to) may differ.

Army Head Cover

The beret is worn with duty uniform (ACUs) and as with all other head cover, it is not worn indoors or on the airfield. There are different color berets to identify certain units.

Tan beret is worn by Rangers serving in Ranger Regiment, green beret is worn by Special Forces, maroon beret is worn by Airborne units and all other units are issued the black beret.

The patrol cap (PC) is worn with the field uniform and has the same pattern as the uniform. Many soldiers prefer the PC because it actually blocks the sun where the beret does not.

Army Uniforms

The Army issues ACU pattern uniforms that can be used as a field or duty uniform. The difference between the two is based on the patches that are worn with each uniform. In my husband’s case, the field uniform was more sterile than the duty uniform.

Beginning soon, the Army will be issuing dress blues to all soldiers. In the past, soldiers were issued Class A’s (green uniform) at basic training and had the option to purchase the dress blues uniform if they wished. These uniforms are generally only worn for more formal occasions to include unit or Army balls, funerals, memorial services, etc.

At basic training, other layers will be issued as well such as undershirt and cold weather gear (“snivel gear”).

Soldiers also have a separate uniform for PT beyond basic training. For most soldier, this is a grey short and black shorts. Typically, they are issued cold weather gear as well for PT which would include pants and a jacket. Some units have different standards for PT uniforms. For instance in Ranger BN, Rangers were a black shirt with unit affiliation on the chest and what are known as Ranger panties (running shorts). In recent years, the Ranger shorts were lengthened. But I must say, the Ranger panties are some of the most comfortable shorts I’ve ever had on. We bought out the PX when they were switching over to the longer shorts.

Army Boots

In the past, the Army issued black boots in basic training that had to be polished on a regular basis. Now the tan boot is issued during basic training and does not require polishing. This is the boot that most soldiers wear throughout their Army career.

Depending on his unit and command, he may be authorized to wear other boots such as jump boots or jungle boots. When wearing ACUs, the entire boot must be tan including the sole of the boot.

For more information on regulations concerning uniforms, consult AR 670-1.

Picture courtesy of Lynette Gallagher

Welcome to military time! It’s really quite easy once you get the hang of it. And trust me, you’ll need to know it or you’ll never know when your Army husband is coming or going. Pretty soon, you’ll be using it yourself. Civilians may look at you a little strange when you tell them you get off work at 18:00 but don’t worry about it. Just respond “It’s an Army thing.” Here goes…

Time——-Military
Midnight—-0:00
1 a.m.——1:00
2 a.m.——2:00
3 a.m.——3:00
4 a.m.——4:00
5 a.m.——5:00
6 a.m.——6:00
7 a.m.——7:00
8 a.m.——8:00
9 a.m.——9:00
10 a.m.—–10:00
11 a.m.—–11:00
noon——–12:00
1:00 p.m.—–13:00
2:00 p.m.—–14:00
3:00 p.m.—–15:00
4:00 p.m.—–16:00
5:00 p.m.—–17:00
6:00 p.m.—–18:00
7:00 p.m.——19:00
8:00 p.m.——20:00
9:00 p.m.——21:00
10:00 p.m.—–22:00
11:00 p.m.—–23:00

If your husband will be home at 5:00 p.m., it’s 17:00 (pronounced “17 hundred”). If it is 12:30 a.m., it’s 0:30 (pronounced “zero thirty”). Basically once you get to PM hours, all you are doing is adding the time to the number 12. If it is 2:00 p.m., 2 plus 12 is 14, making it 14:00 (“14 hundred”).

You may often hear Army soldiers refer to their PT time as “zero dark thirty” as a joke!

Learning the ranks and grades of others in the Army can be very frustrating for a civilian. For your soldier, it is a necessity. He must know who to salute and how to address each person.

As an Army wife, it is up to you how you address someone. Some civilians are very traditional and always address by rank while others don’t address them any differently than they would anyone else. It is up to you. In my experience, if I have ever called someone by rank, they have quickly asked me to call them by their first name.

Below are a list of Army ranks and grades. (See what they look like here)

Just as a side note, you’ll often hear an E-4 referred to as a “Spec 4″ and a private referred to as a “cherry”.

In the Army, they have their own set of ABC’s so there’s never any confusion between a “b” and a “d” for instance. Between the alphabet, the new way to tell time and all of the acronyms, pretty soon no one in the civilian world will be able to understand any thing you say.

As an Army wife, when you are telling someone your husband is in D Company, you would say he is in Delta Company. You will be using these yourself in no time at all.

The alphabet is below. Learn it and you can impress your Army soldier with your knowledge.

A: Alpha
B: Bravo
C: Charlie
D: Delta
E: Echo
F: Foxtrot
G: Golf
H: Hotel
I: India
J: Juliette
K: Kilo
L: Lima
M: Mike
N: November
O: Oscar
P: Papa
Q: Quebec
R: Romeo
S: Sierra
T: Tango
U: Uniform
V: Victor
W: Whiskey
X: X-ray
Y: Yankee
Z: Zulu

If your Army soldier is anything like mine, he’ll correct you if you’re using another term for the letter of the alphabet. For instance, I used to say “b as in boy” to which my husband would quickly respond “Don’t you mean bravo?” Sure honey, shall I salute you now too? *smile*

All Army soldiers are expected to remain physically fit at all times. In addition to physical fitness tests or PT tests in training, Army soldiers will be tested throughout their Army careers.

These are the Army PT test standards for male and female soldiers in the Army.

MALE STANDARDS:

FEMALE STANDARDS:

It is important for your Army soldier to try to meet and exceed the minimum PT standards before he gets to basic training. He will have a much easier time in training if he is already physically fit when he arrives.

Note:   If he continues on to other Army schools such as RASP (Ranger Assessment and Selection Program), chin-ups may also be a part of the PT test.

OPSEC, also known as Operational Security, is the principle that we, as Army wives and Army family members, should all abide by when talking about our soldiers. If you’ve been on any military related message board on the internet, you have more than likely seen a warning to be sure to practice OPSEC. This means protecting the information you know about your soldier and his unit.

Generally, it means that you should not give out the following:

• Your soldier’s exact location overseas
• Any information on troop movements – this includes any movement while they are deployed and in transit to/from theater (including R&R). Do not ever give dates or times.
• Any information on weapons systems, how they train or numbers – for this reason, many pictures from overseas can easily violate OPSEC

If your soldier is in a special operations unit, the OPSEC guidelines can be stricter. You may not be able to say he is deployed at all much less where he is. His unit and/or FRG should provide the OPSEC guidelines for these situations.

Always abide by the rules set forth by his unit. Just because it is on the news does not mean that you can talk about the issue. By talking about it, you are only verifying the information.

CORRECT:
My soldier is deployed in support of Iraqi Freedom or Enduring Freedom

INCORRECT:
My soldier is in XYZ Unit and is stationed at ABC Camp in XXX city in Iraq.

Give only general locations IF his unit allows it. The above incorrect statement is entirely too much information.

INCORRECT:
My soldier’s unit is returning from deployment and flying into XYZ Airport at 8pm next Thursday.

Never give dates or times for troop movements. Keep in mind that “next Thursday” is a date. This includes R&R dates as well as deployment and redeployment dates. Planes have been delayed for days or weeks because an excited family member made this information public.

INCORRECT:
Please pray for my soldier. He called today and told me he is going out on a very dangerous mission tonight. They will be gone for three days and I’m very worried about him.

When our soldiers are in dangerous situations, it is natural to want to reach out to others. But the above statement puts your soldier and his unit in danger. You could have very well just alerted the enemy about their mission.

It is important to realize that putting together the bits and pieces needed to create the larger picture can be amazingly simple on the internet. Many mistakenly believe that if they don’t talk about it all at once, the information is safe. This is wrong and dangerous to assume.

The internet is a wonderful tool but in regards to our military, it is a very dangerous one as well. It takes only minutes of searching online to find enough pieces of information that could potentially endanger our soldiers.

Deployment Tickers

Many family members like to use deployment tickers to count down their soldier’s deployment. Never have a ticker that shows XX days until he returns. If you must have a ticker, then have one with the amount of time he has been gone. Although it is best to not have this type of ticker at all.

Finally, for your own personal safety, be very aware of what you are putting on the internet or saying in conversations in public. With the internet, it is not difficult to track down an address and phone number. Do not make yourself a target by letting the world know that your husband is deployed.

PERSEC

PERSEC is also known as personal security. Like OPSEC, this involves guarding the information that you know. Do not give out your soldier’s name along with rank. This includes blacking out his name tape and rank in pictures. If he is in a special operations unit, you should also black out any unit affiliation.

Be vague about your personal information as an Army wife or Army family member on the internet. This is plain common sense in just every day life – regardless of if your family member is in the military.

The old saying loose lips sink ships still holds true today. Keep your soldier, your family and his unit safe by keeping the information you know to yourself. You never know who is lurking and gathering information on message boards, MySpace pages, Facebook, Twitter and other online profiles. Better safe than sorry!