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.

N

National Guardsman – When referring to an individual in a National Guard unit, use National Guardsman. Lowercase guardsman when it stands alone.

Navy – Capitalize references to U.S. forces: the U.S. Navy, the Navy, Navy policy. Do not use USN. Lowercase when referring to naval forces of other nations: the French navy. Use "U.S." before service names only when the context is unclear without it.

no cost – Use this term only when communicating to a leadership audience about Military OneSource services for eligible individuals — specifically, when writing content for leaders pertaining to Military OneSource policy or the Military OneSource contract. Hyphenate when using as an adjective: no-cost services. When writing about Military OneSource services for service and family members and service providers, use the term free. When writing for MilTax, use free or no cost as needed for the best way to convey the messaging. MilTax does not have restrictions on when to use no cost versus free. Review the MilTax Program Content Guide and the most current MilTax communication plan for more information.

nonappropriated – No hyphen. This is usually paired with funds — nonappropriated funds, or NAF, meaning funds that are not appropriated by Congress (e.g., some funds related to MWR, resale and commissaries).