The L.A. Time is running a piece on Iraqi battlefield slang. I was pretty interested at first but after reviewing the list, it looks pretty white-washed. Some of these things aren’t even slang, just the abbreviated pronouncement. Hello, DFAC? I don’t know who did this or where they spent time doing it, but how could you leave out the now infamous K-pot? It’s been a few years since I got out but here are a few more that are a lot more interesting:
- TOT time on target, often used by airbourne soldiers to describe when they’ll be hitting the ground after a jump.
- leg – a derogatory term commonly used by airbourne infantry in reference to regular infantry, i.e. “you dirty leg.”
- woobie or ‘cho liner – in reference to the Vietnam era poncho liner
- snookie cap – in reference to the watch cap better known as a beenie
- snivel gear – warm clothing, gloves, etc. it’s what you do without the gear
- klick – stand for one military kilometer
- Hump – to hike or road march with kit. “It’s a five klick hump.”
- NODS – night vision. Though I don’t know this officially I suspect it’s the abbreviation for Night Observation Devices
- Suck it – short for “suck it up” often used when complaining or when responding to a complaint
I’m sure I could go on forever without sounding like I’m making this up.
edit: oh, Jesus! I misspelled Military. Thankfully no one actually reads this thing.
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