Use of Terms A-Z

Military Community and Family Policy writing guidance aligns with The Associated Press Stylebook with a few exceptions. Definitions of military-specific terms appear below, along with editorial guidance for certain commonly used words for MC&FP and our programs. See additional writing guidance in the Writing Best Practices section. Find program-specific guidance in the Program Content Guides section.

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lethality – Use this term when appropriate to the audience and content of your writing to refer to the capability and capacity of a force, unit or weapon system to effectively neutralize or destroy enemy targets in reference to our warfighter’s skill or military’s might.

life cycle – Two words, not lifecycle.

lists – Use a colon after introductory text before a bulleted list. Lists should contain parallel structure. Capitalize the first word of the bulleted content, and finish with a period only if it is a complete sentence. Also, see the lists section.

loan locker, lending locker, loan closet, lending closet – When referring to this program or service in general, lowercase the term. For example: Lending lockers (also known as loan lockers, or lending or loan closets) allow service and family members to borrow basic household goods while they await arrival of their own personal household goods after a PCS.

Capitalize the term when referring to a specific program or service on a specific installation. For example: The Marine Corps Base Quantico Loan Locker allows service members, family members and DOW civilians to borrow basic household items for up to 30 days while they await the arrival of their household goods.

Note: The need to refer to installation-specific programs and services most commonly arises on the MilitaryINSTALLATIONS website.