Are You HUA?

Note: I know many of you may have already read this last Friday from when it was a guest blogging post for the fabulous Mrs. Sergeant. I wanted to share it here on my blog as well. Enjoy!

Are you HUA? I am. It gets a little ridiculous at times. What is HUA? Don't fret! I, Mrs. S, am here to help you.

HUA actually stands for Hear(d), Understand(stood), Acknowledge(d) and is a backronym to Hooah. Hooah originated as a battle war-cry used by American soldiers. It stands for anything in the affirmative.  It is a saying used by the Air Force while the Army employs Hooah, the Marines use Oorah, and the Navy uses Hooyah. Huzzah is also sometimes used. Despite all differing slightly from each other,  all of these are terms of confirmation, affirmation, agreement, acknowledgment, pride, and enthusiasm.

All of these terms can be traced throughout history and their influence in Hollywood's view of the military. Al Pacino, Samuel L. Jackson, Denzel Washington, The Manchurian Candidate, Black Hawk Down, Lions For Lambs, Jericho Road, Transformers, The Green Zone, America's Army, Crysis, Call of Duty, and many many more actors, movies, television shows, computer games, and video games employ HUA (Hooah, Oorah, Hooyah) to demonstrate and depict the Armed Forces. 

For me, I didn't really know, let alone understand or care about the meanings of such words up until about a year ago. Before Mr. Superman enlisted, I was clueless to all things military. Even after he had signed his life away, I was ignorant. Even after he signed his "official" contract and had left for BMT, I was lost in this wonderful world of camo and acronyms. It wasn't until traveling to and attending his BMT Graduation that I started to get that loving HUA feeling. It was those moments of hearing the cadences during the Airman's Run, seeing him march in formation in his Dress Blues and recite the Airman's Oath that my heart began to swell with this new feeling of incomprehensible joy and pride.

Now don't get me wrong, I have always been patriotic. I have always stood for The National Anthem, placed my hand over my heart, and sang along. I attended an elementary school, junior high school, and high school that based their curriculum on the Founding Father's teachings and standards. My uniform consisted of red, white, and blue polo's, we memorized the Declaration of Independence, the Bill of Rights, and had the opportunity to go to the State Senate to debate. In light of my patriotic upbringing and education, none of these things even compare to what I consider to be my HUA pride.

When I see a rolling wave of ABU's, my heart flutters. I am HUA. When I can recognize my Airman strutting amongst countless other Airmen, all decked in camo, my heart nearly leaps out of my chest. I am HUA. When I see my Airman jump to attention and salute, it gives me butterflies. I am HUA. When I am doing laundry, and it comes to the part where I'm hanging up his uniform, I often find myself running my fingers over his name stitched across the chest and the stripes stitched on his sleeves. I am HUA. When I see his boots on the floor, I don't move them. I like seeing them there in plain site. I am HUA. I cry at nearly every photo I see of our troops and my heart gets unbelievably heavy when I hear of another fallen soldier. Another man or woman paying the ultimate price and making the ultimate sacrifice leaving behind yet another family to pick of the pieces of their shattered world. I am HUA. I cry at any slightly patriotic song and get giddy over fabulous American style photos and decor. I am HUA.

I feel inexplicably connected to every single person associated with the military. I have made incredible friends through the internet (and a few in real life) because of the fact that I am an Air Force wife.  Its barely been a year since my life changed and I, along with (and essentially because of) my Airman became a part of something bigger. Its only been a year but it feels like its been a part of me forever. The patriotic pride I had before finding myself as part of the military family seems absolutely miniscule compared to the appreciation and enthusiasm I have now. The only way I can explain it is I am HUA.

So let me ask you again. Are you HUA?