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The Dave Box Chronicles - Volume 3 Greetings everyone.   I just visited the T&T Website and found a section called, "The Dave Box Chronicles", as well as a rather scary looking guy you selected as the "Student of the Month" for Middleburg Heights. I was shocked and awed (a little military humor).   My head, bloated by this new found stardom, began to think that it might be interesting to write about "a typical day in the life of CDR Box" for the next Volume of the "DBC" (as I've now coined the Dave Box Chronicles to all my fans -- OK, just my wife and daughter, but its a start).   Not sure if that would be an interesting read, but I thought it would be an interesting writing experience. As I began writing that email, I realized that I speak "militareaze", a dialect that most sane individuals would not (rightfully so) understand.   So, I'd like to start this piece by explaining the definition of some of the many military terms, slang, jargon and vernacular.   Here it goes... I live in a hooch. My hooch is also called a POD. My POD is basically an 8 ft X 10 ft CONEX (metal) box that has a door. They line up the POD's in a row and stack a second row on top to maximize the available ground space.   I live by a 24 hour clock. 5:00 AM is 0500. 10:00 PM is 2200. Any time between midnight (0000) and 0500 is referred to as "zero dark thirty". Not sure why, its just the way life is.   I eat at a DFAC. DFAC is Army for Dining Facility. We don't eat food in a DFAC, we eat chow.   I live on a FOB. FOB is short for Forward Operating Base.   My FOB is located in the AOR. AOR is short for Area of Responsibility. The Middle East is the AOR in which I am currently deployed.   When I ride, I ride in a MRAP or HMMWV. A MRAP is short for Mine Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle. The MRAP is the newest vehicle in the military and is taking the place of the HMMWV or High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle or more commonly known as a Hummer.   I don't walk, I pace-count. Pace counting comes from basic land navigation. When one learns to get lost in the woods, and then find their way out, a critical tool is your pace count. To establish your pace count, you walk 100 meters over & over again and count your paces. Generally, counting every pace is tough to do, especially while you are looking at your destination and listening to the guy next to you counting his paces. The Army teaches us to count every other pace, or more accurately, count only the paces taken with your left foot. Every time your left foot touches the ground during your 100 meter walk, you count it. For me, my pace count is 66, which means my left foot touches the ground 66 times in a 100 meter walk. This number is quite valuable when you are trying to establish how far you've gone and how far you need to go.   I shop at the AAFES or PX or BX or Exchange. The store on base. It contains clothes, electronics, food... just about anything you need.   I don't wear clothes, I wear DCU's. In the Navy, we wear DCU's which stands for Desert Camouflage Uniform. In the Army, they wear ACU's, or Army Camouflage Uniforms, and the Air Force wears ABU's, or Airman's Battle Uniform.   I'm no longer a member of the Navy; rather I've been indoctrinated into the Narmy. The Narmy is the organization made up of the Army, and everyone else. Having successfully defined a few of the common Narmy terms, I think I can walk you through our day beginning in the next installment.   Cheers,   Dave   David W. Box CDR, SC, USN CENTCOM DDOC/BLDG 505 Camp Arifjan APO AE 09306