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Acronyms are spreading

  • Published
  • By Bob Fehringer
  • U.S. Transportation Command Public Affairs
SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. --  Acronyms are so popular here at USTRANSCOM that people are beginning to make them up as they speak. 

Example: in the Café Depot coffee shop in Building 1900, a general officer placed an order for his regular drink with shop owner Ed Harvey the other day. 

"Ed, I'd like a L-A-R-G-E, I-C-E-D, D-E-C-A-F Americano (not an acronym or a derogatory term for a U.S. citizen in a third-world country, but a coffee drink loaded with extra coffee octane)." the officer said. 

"Sir, I don't know what those acronyms are," Harvey said, proving that even though a civilian, he knew an acronym when he heard one, or several in this case.
Unofficial acronyms such as these have probably been around since the dawn of military time. Perhaps Attila and his Hun buddies made them up as they invaded villages. What does Hun stand for anyway? 

Or maybe the Roman generals made up Roman numerals to acronmymically (probably not a real word, so don't check) keep track of the year they first invaded Britain, 55 B.C., and that didn't stand for British Columbia or a comic strip until modern times. Coincidence? Probably not. 

And where would texting be without Acronyms? OMGABIHRFMAICPDMBTSOOIP (Oh my gosh, a Buick is heading right for me and I can't put down my Blackberry to steer out of its path).