A B C D
E F G H
I J K L
M N O P
Q R S T
U V W X
Y Z
A(back to top)
Ash and Trash Detail - The cluster of janitorial jobs no one wants
to get stuck doing.
Auger In - Not a favorite expression with pilots, it means to
dig a hole with an aircraft while still at the controls
B(back to top)
BDU - Battle dress uniform, the camouflaged fatigues most soldiers
wear everyday
Black Hat - Basic training drill sergeant.
Black shoe - A `real' sailor (very old expression).
Blood Wings - Illegal, but when one graduates from Airborne school,
the instructor punches the metal wings into their chest. (Poking
the metal prongs through your shirt and attaching the dammits
on the back is for sissies.)
Bravo Zulu - Job well done.
Brown shoe - A sailor who flies instead of sails; aviation crews
(aircrewmen) and pilots (again, an old expression).
Bubble head - What a surface sailor calls a submariner.
BUFF - Slang for a B-52 Bomber, Big, Ugly Fat F###er.
Butter Bar - Second Lieutenant.
C (back to top)
Captain v. Captain - The rank of Navy Captain is O-6 like a Colonel
and he or she is the person in charge of the boat/ship. The Navy
equivalent of an Army/AF/Marine Captain is a Lieutenant, which
are all O-3. NOTE: there is NO Navy rank of Major. The equivalent
of a Major is a Lieutenant Commander, which is an O-4 like a Major.
Charlie Foxtrot - Cluster-F###.
Cover - Your hat to be worn at all times outside, except places
known as "no cover zones." Military members do not salute
uncovered (i.e. indoors)
D (back to top)
Deck - The actual deck(s) of a ship, or the floor.
DMZ - Demarkation zone, or demilitarization zone
Duece or Duece and a half - 2 1/2 ton truck.
F (back to top)
FART - Fast Action Repair Team -- The SMART (see below) was initially
defined as the FART for one very quick iteration of the regulation
that first defined this concept.
Fat - Good, satisfied, not in need of anything such as tools,
food, jacket, etc., usually as "I'm fat." (which I could
say then because I wasn't, but can't now because I am).
Five Jump Chump - You graduated from Airborne school, which requires
five jumps, but then never were assigned to an Airborne unit and
therefore never jumped again.
Flying a Desk - Usually used to describe a grounded pilot who
has been assigned to non-flying duty
Front leaning rest position - The starting position for a push-up.
FUBAR - F###ed up beyond all recognition.
Full Bird or Full Bull - Colonel, an O-6.
G (back to top)
Geedunk - Candy or a snack.
Ground Pounders - Folks without wings.
H (back to top)
Hangar queen - Either an aircraft that's always in maintenance
or one of President Clinton's Don't Ask/Don't Tell recruits.
Head - The bathroom, head call - going to the head. "Make
a head call before you get in the car for a long trip." Similar
to latrine in the rest of the military.
Huey - Army helicopter.
J (back to top)
JOOD - Junior officer of the deck, second to the OOD.
L (back to top)
Latrine - The bathroom or a hole in the ground with minimal privacy.
What naughty soldiers may dig.
Light Colonel - Lieutenant Colonel, an O-5.
Lost on Post - where you tell the headquarters crew you will
be when you leave to run errands in the middle of the day.
LZ - Landing zone
M (back to top)
MAC - (pre-1992) was officially known as Military Airlift Command
but all too often referred to as "Maybe Airplane Come?"
MRE - Meals ready to eat, which replaced the canned rations (c-rats)
in the 1980s.
Mud mover - A low level attack aircraft, such as an A-6 Intruder
or the beautifully ugly A-10 Warthog.
N (back to top)
NCO - Non-commissioned officer, generally known as sergeants,
although many ranks exist. Rank with more authority and responsibility
for a soldier who began their career enlisting as a private.
O (back to top)
OOD - officer of the deck, the guy in charge (this does not have
to be an officer, can be an enlisted man). If underway, the OOD
is on the bridge of the ship. If in port, the OOD is on the quarterdeck
.
P (back to top)
Passageway - the hallway on a ship or on shore.
PCS b Permanent change of station, transfer to new place of duty.
Prime BEEF - Prime Base Engineer Emergency Forces -- the civil
engineering squadron troops that would handle natural disaster
or wartime emergencies. Includes carpenters, electricians, plumbers,
water/sewer plant employees, heavy equipment, etc.
Prime RIBS - (no kidding!) Prime Readiness In Base Services --
the base services folks (cooks, hoteliers from the VOQ/BOQ, etc.)
who provided base services in natural disaster or wartime emergencies.
Push Texas - if a soldier is stationed in Texas, this command
means they should get down and start doing push-ups. Any geographical
location can be substituted for Texas. Push Georgia, Push Panama,
etc.
R (back to top)
Ranger Pudding - in your MRE, you take the packet of sugar, the
packet of powdered coffee creamer, and the packet of hot cocoa
mix, and mix together in the cocoa mix's foil envelope with just
a little bit of water from your canteen. Surprisingly delicious.
RED HORSE - Rapid Engineer Deployable, Heavy Operational Repair
Squadron Engineers. Air Force combat engineers who can go anywhere,
do anything. I always suspected they made up the words to fit
the acronym.
Right Arm - Every commissioned officer works with an NCO counterpart.
An officer's right arm is his top-ranking NCO. A commander has
a first sergeant, a platoon leader has a platoon sergeant, even
the highest ranking general has a command sergeant major. The
Officer's Club on post will have a "Right Arm Night",
when officers bring their NCOs and pay for their drinks. (The
reverse is the NCO Club's "Bring Your Boss Night.")
Roads and Commodes - The none-too-flattering nickname for Civil
Engineering. It aptly defines the CE mission.
Roger that - AF term for Yes, sir! Navy's version would be Aye,
aye!
RON - Remain Over Night, as aircrews are often required to do
on cross-country flights. That's what they tell their girlfriends,
anyway.
S (back to top)
Shallow water sailor - what both call the Coast Guard.
Shift colors - When a ship is steaming (underway) the colors
(flag/ensign) fly at the mast head, when a ship is in port/anchored,
the colors shift to the stern. So shift colors means a change
in the status.
Ship v. boat - A ship is a navy vessel while a boat is a navy
vessel that can be carried on a ship such as a lifeboat or the
captain's gig. However, all submarines are boats (not ships).
Side-straddle hop - Jumping jack.
Sierra Hotel - Super hot, as in a man's opinion of a woman.
SitRep - Situation report.
Skinny - the information, the gossip, the news, the scuttlebutt.
Skipper - Commanding Officer of a Navy squadron.
SMART - Structural Maintenance And Repair Team -- a team of plumbers,
electricians, painters and carpenters that spruce up buildings
and base housing, doing routine maintenance on a scheduled basis.
SNAFU - Situation Normal, All F###ed Up!
Surface skimmer - what a submariner calls a surface sailor.
T (back to top)
TDY - Temporary Duty.
The Old Man - The commander of a squadron, base or wing, unless
he happens to be a she, in which case the correct appellation
is simply THE BOSS (or CO for commanding officer).
Trash hauler - Any cargo aircraft or the crew thereof
V (back to top)
VFR Direct - Indicates you can go directly to the person in question
instead of via any chain of command,
Z (back to top)
Zeros - The affectionate term often applied to officers (Air Force).
Zoomies - Air Force Academy graduates.
