There are many books about the U.S. military that'll help you understand our culture, history, and traditions. This book isn't one of them. If you're enlisted, a lot of this book will sound familiar. Use it as motivation - a precious and scarce resource. If you're an officer, use this book to try to relate to your troops because they don't think you care about them. If you're thinking about enlisting or commissioning as an officer, this book will help you prepare, since the recruiters probably lied to you. If you're the loved one of a service member, this book will help you understand your well-dressed, military-trash loved one. We are so sorry. If you're looking to steal valor, this book will help you get any woman you want (below a 6), get free drinks at dive bars, and, of course, a free meal on Veteran's Day. You're welcome for our book and for our service.

Few areas of human endeavor have produced more—or more colorful—terms than has the military. Soldiers, sailors, marines, and airmen have over centuries come up with words, phrases, and acronyms to express everything from raw emotion to complex technology. The military is both a distinctive way of life and a community, and a command of its slang is essential to admission to full membership within the group. Most military slang is almost always familiar only to the troops. Mating mosquitoes, for example, refers to the two-chevron insignia of the Army corporal. Gadget describes an enlisted man or woman who is temporarily promoted to a position of increased responsibility to fill an urgent need, while a panty raid is a foray into enemy territory for the purpose of gathering evidence of adversary activity. Among the less delicate entries are the day the eagle shits, or payday, and skimmer puke, a submariner’s term for any surface ship sailor. (And then there’s the book’s title, the acronym for What The F-ck). Many elements of military vocabulary have become part of our national speech: John Wayne, boondocks, attaboy, and hot dog. But whether the words and phrases are the exclusive property of our fighting men and women or are also in general use, the “real” language of the modern military set forth in this lively book embodies a uniquely American attitude and an exuberantly colloquial, unwaveringly honest, and enduringly American grace under pressure.

The children's issues picture book Why Is Dad So Mad? is a story for children in military families whose father battles with combat related Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). After a decade fighting wars on two fronts, tens of thousands of service members are coming home having trouble adjusting to civilian life; this includes struggling as parents. Why Is Dad So Mad? Is a narrative story told from a family's point of view (mother and children) of a service member who struggles with PTSD and its symptoms. Many service members deal with anger, forgetfulness, sleepless nights, and nightmares.This book explains these and how they affect Dad. The moral of the story is that even though Dad gets angry and yells, he still loves his family more than anything.

From abort and azimuth to zero point and ZULU time, this is the comprehensive standardized dictionary of military and asso-ciated terminology compiled for general use by the United States government. It's nearly 800 pages of words, phrases, names, and acronyms that for many can seem like a foreign language. For the 1.3 million men and women on active duty with the U.S. military and the 1.1 million in the National Guard and Reserve forces, for government workers and contractors working the Department of Defense, it is a vital resource. For anyone with an interest in all things military, this is a fascinating read.

A riveting account of three women who fought shoulder-to-shoulder with men and worked with local women to restore their lives and push back the Taliban They marched under the heat with 40-pound rucksacks on their backs. They fired weapons out of the windows of military vehicles, defending their units in deadly battles. And they did things that their male counterparts could never do--gather intelligence on the Taliban from the women of Afghanistan. As females they could circumvent Muslim traditions and cultivate relationships with Afghan women who were bound by tradition not to speak with American military men. And their work in local villages helped empower Afghan women, providing them with the education and financial tools necessary to rebuild their nation--and the courage to push back against the insurgency that wanted to destroy it. For the women warriors of the military's Female Engagement Teams (FET) it was dangerous, courageous, and sometimes heartbreaking work. Beyond the Call follows the groundbreaking journeys of three women as they first fight military brass and culture and then enemy fire and tradition. And like the men with whom they served, their battles were not over when they returned home.