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Do you speak Military

Every industry has its acronyms, but it seems the military more so than any other.

Not everybody would be able to clearly decode the following message:

"I'm a NCO at USAREUR and due to ETS next spring. My DEROS is in March. When I get back to CONUS I plan to return to my HOR, which is Olympia, WA. I'm currently on TDY at Ft. Lewis and would like to meet with you tomorrow at 1600 hrs. to go over property listings that are within my current BAH range."

Translation Chart:

NCO - Non-Commissioned Officer

USAREUR - US Army Europe (headquartered in Heidelberg)

ETS - Estimated Time of Separation

DEROS - Date of Estimated Return from Overseas

CONUS - Continental United States

HOR - Home of Record

TDY - Temporary Duty Station

BAH - Basic Allowance for Housing

After three years in the Army and another 20 years as a military spouse "military lingo" is almost like my native language (which, BTW is German). To someone not normally immersed in the culture it may appear like a foreign language. A nifty online guide to military acronyms can by found here.

Sandy Nelson
Realtor for Olympia Area Real Estate
www.sandynelsonrealestate.com

Posted by Sandy Nelson Realtor® Olympia Real Estate on 10/03/2007 07:13 PM

Comments (30)

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This post has been included in Washington Information
Post is included in group: Military Spouse Real Estate Referral Network

30 Comments on Do you speak Military

OCT

2007

Sandy, boy in the D.C. area we run into military all the time. A couple years ago I sold a home to a retiring Admiral. The seller was a General. When we all got together for the walkthrough and the two of them started throwing acronyms back and forth, I just walked around with their spouses, because the conversation just flew over my head and I had NO IDEA what they were talking about!

Sandy,

Nice post! I miss the military lingo.

I used to love to be able to confound folks when I would talk "military" . One of my past jobs (besides being a military spouse) was to transfer credits from the ACE guide for military students trying to get a college degree. I used to be able to say that you MOS found on your DD214 is NV17-0001 is worth 8 general education credits. HEHEHE.

I love the lingo , my son is in the army so i hear this kind of lingo all the time.

Cindy:

Thanks for the post. You should have kept on going. There is more. Maybe do another post. This is fun.

OCT

2007

Brian, "Military Lingo" should be a foreign language requirement for DC area Realtors. If any of your clients ever PCS to the Ft. Lewis area, give me a call.

Christopher, I like your "Army Values".

Cindy, What's nice about knowing the terms, is that I could jump on the secure net with you anytime.

Vicky, I hope your son isn't in "the sandbox".

Bill, I'm glad you had Foxtrot-Uniform-November.

Sandy

OCT

2007

Great post. It took years of being a military spouse to learn what in the world my husband was talking about. It's important for any agent working in a military community to at least know some of the basic lingo. It shows you've taken the time to learn a little about military life. If you have no idea what "BAH" and "PCS" are...you are in a lot of trouble!

Kristen, you're right. Agents working with the military need to learn the language.

Sandy

No doubt about that. MY PERSONAL OPINION IS that this is what being a military relocation specialist is all about. If you cant understand the lingo, dont call yourself a miltiary relocation specialist. Call yourself a relocation specialist. Good post! Auf wiedersehen, tschuss and aloha!

David Kucic RA, ABR, AHWD, e-PRO, GRI
First Sergeant, USA (Retired)
Tropic Lightning Real Estate, Oahu, Hawaii

OCT

2007

Hi Sandy,
I work with military families quite often and I have learned a lot but boy this will come in handy. I am bookmarking for further study. Thanks.

I laugh at the military lingo but never thought much of it. As a Former Marine we have our own language. Each branch has their own lingo BTW. I learned over many years to speak Air Force, Army and Navy a little Coast Guard which uses Navy terminology mostly.

Never thought about it but Yeah! We have a whole different language we use with our acronyms. It is different from branch to branch though with some commonalities.

example; TDY - Army = TAD - Marine Corps

OCT

2007

You bet I do... :) Actually more federal govt lingo is mu specialty:

SA, SAIC, ASAIC, POTUS, FPOTUS, VPOTUS, FFL, RON, DOD, DA,PPD, etc.

All the best,

Beth

Cynthia, I'm glad you find the acronym guide useful. Thanks for stopping by my blog.

Sharon, We're a mixed-service military family. My daughter is currently in the Air Force, my father in law was in the Navy and my husband is retired Army. The Marine Corps slot is still open. I've never worked with Marine Corps clients, as I live in the Ft. Lewis/McChord AFB area. It would be cool to have a translation dictionary for Army acronyms vs. Marine Corps acronyms.

Sandy

David, you're right on with your opinion. "Danke schoen" for commenting.

Beth, Thanks for your input. A translation for the readers might be helpful.

Sandy

No problem Sandy. Here they are:

SA - Special Agent
SAIC - Special Agent in Charge
ASAIC - Assistant Special Agent in Charge
POTUS - President of the United State (seriousy...no one got this one?)
FPOTUS - Former President of the United States
VPOTUS - Vice President of the United State
FFL - Former First Lady
RON - Remain Overnight
DOD - Days out of District
DA - Duty Agent
PPD - Presidential Protective Detail
etc.

Love the Post, and the acronyms.......but have to comment on Beth's..POTUS... in our current state I could think of many jokes for this one :) :)

I want to see the Marine Corps one too....I am ex-Army :)

Beth, Thanks for listing the acronyms. Every industry has them. I always have to be careful not to speak in real estate acronyms to my clients, such as CMA, STI, etc..., because we can't assume everybody is familiar with our language.

Kathy, POTUS=presenter of totally unbelievable story? :)

Sandy

Here's an IMPORTANT one ... "VA Certificate of Eligibility" for loans. Veterans need to request this before their ETS date as part of their out-processing from the military. Otherwise it can be complicated to acquire.

Sandy, thanks for the reminder of the military lingo. While in the miliatry, I served with several branches of the military. No, I was not in every branch, but my job consisted alot with joint operations. I learned alot of it from the Army Battle Staff course (Ft Bliss, TX) and the Air Force Air Ground Observation School (Hurbert Air Field) Ft Walton Beach, FL.

Larry, Lenders need to know the ling just as much as Realtors do. They also need to know how a VA loan is different from a conventional loan.

Paul, I bet in Lawton you deal a lot with military personnel. We used to be stationed in Ft. Sill many years ago.

Sandy

Love the post. I am working with a client who graduated from West Point and was an officer for several years. He uses military acronyms a lot so I will surprise him with some I read here. Thanks for a great post!

Maribeth, I'm glad you now have the "ammo" to surprise your client with some military terms.

Sandy

SNAFU, FUBAR, AFU (appraisal FU), and a few other choice loan acro's developed by our veteran LO, can't seem to get military habit out of his system!

Rich, It's probably better you didn't translate these. :)

Sandy

OCT

2007

Hi Sandy!

I just posted a blog about acronyms in the military relocation group - I guess I should've looked to see if anyone else had thought of it! I had an entirely different list, I guess it just goes to show how many different ways there are to say things! Great information, I love your opening line! Go Army!

OCT

2007

Angela, I just checked out your blog post. It's a helpful and detailed list. Thanks for pointing me to it.

Sandy

OCT

2007

Your post made me laugh. I was a naavy brat, and have been married to a Navy officer fore more than seven years, and he still surprises me with a new acronym every now and then!

Marlene Scheffer, Realty Station, Bremerton, Kitsap, WA