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Authors: Merline Lovelace

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Behind the Scenes from Eglin Air Force Base:

A Day in the Life of Merline Lovelace

Serving as the wing commander at Eglin Air Force Base was the highlight of my military career. It was comparable to being the mayor of a city. The more than 3,000 men and women I commanded provided essential medical, law enforcement, communications, engineering, transportation, supply, housing and morale/welfare/recreational support to everyone who lived or worked on base.

Every day brought new adventures—some fun, some not so much. During my tenure, a C-141 crashed in the swamp, killing all aboard, a tornado caused more than $10M worth of damage and we mobilized for the first Iraqi war. Each of those events reinforced my tremendous respect for the highly trained, incredibly dedicated civilian and military personnel who serve their country.

I thought you might enjoy a glimpse at my typical schedule during those busy, wonderful years at Eglin. I've also included a dictionary of useful acronyms and favorite expressions. I've cleaned those up considerably for public consumption. Hope you find both Sierra Hotel!

A Day in the Life of a Base Commander

0245

Call from command post, Hurricane Bertha forming in Caribbean

0433

Call from command post confirming Bertha's projected trajectory

0530

Reveille

0630

Breakfast at airman's dining hall with first sergeants

0720

General's morning stand-up with senior commanders

0800

Ground-breaking ceremony for new communications center

0930

Briefing by Hospital/CC re: Medical Accreditation Inspection

1000

Visit mobility center, review schedule of troop deployments

1130

Guest speaker, NW Florida Mayors' Conference

1330

Review hurricane preparation/response plan with key staff

1430

Update by OSI on counterterrorist activities

1500

Present diplomas at kindergarten graduation

1630

Throw out first ball at base softball tournament

1800

Dinner with Junior Officers' Council reps

1900

Accompany security police on marijuana bust

2200

Quiet time in office to plow through paperwork

2330

Return to quarters, snuggle in with hubby

2357

Call from command post—Bertha heading up Gulf Order recall of key staff and activation of hurricane plan

Merline's Abridged Dictionary of Military Acronyms & Slang

The military have their own unique language—they even have an alphabet used exclusively by them. Read on to discover more.

Auger In
—Not a favorite expression with pilots, it means to dig a hole with an aircraft while still at the controls.

Black Hat
—An army drill instructor or other creature of a similar nasty nature.

Bravo Zulu
—Letters from the international civil aviation alphabet (see below) meaning a job well-done.

BDU
—Battle Dress Uniform, either desert tan or forest-green/black/brown. Although why anyone would designate these baggy pants and loose shirts as a “dress” uniform remains a mystery to all.

Butter Bar
—Second lieutenant (ensign in the navy), one of nature's most pathetic life forms.

Ground Pounders
—An aviator's term for everyone without wings.

Hangar Queen
—Either an aircraft that's always down for maintenance or one of President Clinton's Don't Ask/Don't Tell recruits.

Lost On Post
—Where you say you'll be when you have to run errands.

MRE
—Meals Ready To Eat: a packaged meal that includes snacks, main course, sweets, drink, heating element and a sanitary pack with utensils, napkins and dental floss. No excuse for gum disease in today's military!

NCO
—Noncommissioned Officers, generally known as sergeants. Top-ranking NCOs are usually called Chief or Top.

PCS
—Permanent Change of Station, where you pack up kids, pets and grandmother's quilt for a move to another base.

Ranger Pudding
—Made from sugar, a packet of powdered coffee creamer and cocoa mix in the MRE. Mix with a little water from your canteen and heat. Yummy!

Roger That
—Air force-ese for yes. Why use one word when two will do?

Sierra Hotel
—An expression of approval, also from the international alphabet. The cleaned-up translation is Super Hot.

SNAFU
—A holdover from WWII. The polite version is Situation Normal, All Fouled Up.

TDY
—Temporary Duty at a location other than your home base.

The Old Man
—The commander of a squadron, base or wing, unless he happens to be a she, in
which case the correct appellation is simply The Boss or CO, for commanding officer. Similar to the Skipper in U.S. Navy talk.

Trash Hauler
—Any cargo aircraft or the crew thereof.

And just in case you've always wondered, here's the International Alphabet used by U.S. military personnel and just about everyone you talk to when making hotel or airline reservations these days….

 

A—Alpha

B—Bravo

C—Charlie

D—Delta

E—Echo

F—Foxtrot

G—Golf

H—Hotel

I—India

J—Juliet

K—Kilo

L—Lima

M—Mike

N—November

O—Oscar

P—Papa

Q—Quebec

R—Rome

S—Sierra

T—Tango

U—Uniform

V—Victor

W—Whiskey

X—X-ray

Y—Yankee

Z—Zulu

ISBN: 978-1-4268-6833-7

ONE OF THE BOYS
Copyright © 2005 by Harlequin Books S.A.

The publisher acknowledges the copyright holders of the individual works as follows:

BITS AND PIECES
Copyright © 1993 by Merline Lovelace.
Revised text copyright © 2005 by Merline Lovelace.

MAGGIE AND HER COLONEL
Copyright © 1994 by Harlequin Books S.A.

BITS AND PIECES was first published by Meteor Publishing Corporation in 1993.

All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Silhouette Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.

All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.

This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.

® and TM are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.

www.eHarlequin.com

BOOK: One of the Boys
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