P
page numbers –Follow AP guidelines but note one exception: It’s a Page One story.
Pay grades – Use “grade” to designate pay grade. Use “rank” to refer to the order of precedence or seniority within a grade. Examples: E-1 through E-9 (enlisted pay grades); W-1 through W-5 (warrant officer pay grades); O-1E through O-3E (commissioned officer with over four years of active-duty enlisted and/or warrant officer service pay grades); O-1 through O-10 (commissioned officer pay grades).
PCS (permanent change of station) – Acceptable on first reference when writing for service members, families, service providers and leaders. Also acceptable in verb form, such as PCSed and PCSing. If writing for an audience not as likely to be familiar with the term, for example the broad audience of the Friends & Family Connection eNewsletter, spell it out on first reference and use the acronym sparingly on subsequent references.
please – Do not use “please” in content for Military Community and Family Policy digital properties, including websites, applications and social platforms. This includes website articles, collateral material and social posts. For example, do not say: Please visit MilitaryINSTALLATIONS when planning your next move. Instead, say: Visit MilitaryINSTALLATIONS when planning your next move. “Please” is acceptable, however, in blogs and correspondence, as appropriate. Outreach Operations must approve all other exceptions.
podcasts – Capitalize “podcast” when it is part of the title of a podcast, such as Military OneSource Podcast or the Office of Special Needs EFMP Podcast series. Lowercase when used in a general context.
post-traumatic stress disorder – Always lowercase and hyphenate except if written differently as part of a proper name. For example: National Center for Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.
president – Use the first and family name on first reference; use only the last name in subsequent references.
preventive – Never preventative.
primary care manager – Lowercase this term. It refers to an assigned health care professional who provides all routine, nonemergency and urgent health care to those enrolled in TRICARE Prime or TRICARE Young Adult Prime. Use the acronym PCM in subsequent references.
primary care provider – Lowercase this term. It refers to an assigned health care professional who provides all routine, nonemergency and urgent health care to those enrolled in the Uniformed Services Family Health Plan, also known as the US Family Health Plan. Note that “US” stands for “Uniformed Services” in this context.
privacy – Do not identify juveniles under the age of 18 who are accused of crime, even if the news media has done so. Do not identify, through text or images, juveniles who have been witnesses to crimes. Do not identify, through text or images, those who say they have been sexually assaulted unless they voluntarily identify themselves. There may be exceptions in extraordinary cases. For imagery guidelines, consult with MCO Outreach Operations staff.
privately owned vehicle – Always lowercase and never hyphenate this term. POV is acceptable on second reference (so long as it will not be confused with “point of view” within the context of the story).
