The squadron “Doofer Book” is a fighter pilot tradition that\u00a0has spread to many other services and career fields in one form or another.\u00a0 It is generally a handwritten, running compilation of the missteps of the various members of the squadron that may be updated daily, or at weekly or monthly pilot events.\u00a0 While entertaining as a day-to-day squadron chronicle, they are most interesting when kept during deployments\u2014they serve as a unique collection of history (and often humor) for a unit.<\/p>\n
Generally, there are but a few rules: most often the entries have to be signed, and pilots often have to be “named<\/a>” members of the unit prior to contributing.\u00a0\u00a0Other than that, there are\u00a0generally no\u00a0restrictions\u00a0on content or language\u2014the only criterion is that the story must be at least 10% true (and even that may be waiverable).<\/p>\n Doofer books have fallen out of favor because they have found their way to CNN, complete with their\u00a0seedier details;\u00a0ranking officers have lost their jobs over the books’ often illicit content.\u00a0 Predominantly “politically correct” versions\u00a0still exist, and “true” doofer books\u2014complete with racier entries\u2014nevertheless continue to survive.<\/p>\n