DOD-STD-2167A is rapidly becoming an international defacto standard for software development in the defense industry. This is largely due to the size of the Department of Defense market for software intensive applications and the lack of a readily available and more widely accepted standard for software development. At the same time DOD-STD-2167A is on its way to becoming one of the most widely used standards it is also one of the least understood software development standards in history. Misconceptions and confusion about the application and tailoring of DOD-STD-2167A are common and stem from a variety of factors. This paper will discuss some of these factors as well as issues, potential pitfalls, and approaches to applying DOD-STD-2167A.