gangloading n.— «Yesterday I joined 14 students in the altitude training chamber at the Eighty-ninth Physiological Training Flight at Andrews Air Force Base in Camp Springs, Maryland. Wearing helmets and oxygen masks that covered everything but our...
It’s the Moby Dick of etymology: Where do we get the phrase “the whole nine yards”? A pediatrician in North Carolina wonders if it derives from a World War II phrase involving “nine yards” of ammunition. Grant and Martha discuss the many theories...
freshman retiree n.— «Last July, after more than 20 years of service—a period in which the family moved 15 times, lived in four countries and endured three deployments—Todd, 44, and Julie, 40, retired from the Air Force.…Last August the Nielsens...
yellow-star cluster n.— «Starting with the upcoming 2009 budget, the Air Force will need at least $20 billion more every year to meet its modernization needs, he said. “I think this is really a yellow-star cluster,” Wynne said, describing the...
synchronizer n.— «From crating up the bombs and bullets, to shrink-wrapping the helicopters, to counting up the endless tiers of port-a-potties, the pullout of U.S. combat forces from Iraq, when it inevitably comes, will rank as the longest-planned...
shut up and color v. phr.— «While the Air Force warmly embraced “Integrity First” and “Excellence in All We Do,” many Airmen in 1997 and today believe “Service Before Self” is just the Air Force telling you to “shut up and color” when you get your...
