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Posted on 11/10/2004 12:01:01 AM PST by Mama_Bear
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11-09-04 What they're wearing to the Inaugural Ball |
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Almighty Father, whose command is over all and whose love never fails, make me aware of Thy presence and obedient to Thy will. Keep me true to my best self, guarding me against dishonesty in purpose and deed and helping me to live so that I can face my fellow Marines, my loved ones, and Thee without shame or fear. Protect my family.
Give me the will to do the work of a Marine and to accept my share of responsibilities with vigor and enthusiasm. Grant me the courage to be proficient in my daily performance. Keep me loyal and faithful to my superiors and to the duties my Country and the Marine Corps have entrusted to me. Help me to wear my uniform with dignity, and let it remind me daily of the traditions which I must uphold.
If I am inclined to doubt, steady my faith; if I am tempted, make me strong to resist; if I should miss the mark, give me courage to try again.
Guide me with the light of truth and grant me wisdom by which I may understand the answer to my prayer. Amen.
Outstanding post.
I just saved it to my Docs.
Thank you.
Lejeune unit’s gear readied for shipping
As military convoys from Camp Lejeune rolled to the state port in Wilmington on Wednesday, Marines and sailors prepared to leave for the Persian Gulf.
The first wave of troops with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit boarded a Navy ship off Camp Lejeune’s Onslow Beach. About 250 Marines, most with the unit’s aviation squadron, were flown or ferried in landing craft to the Norfolk, Va.-based USS Kearsarge. The ship will leave within a couple days, said Capt. David Nevers, a public affairs officer with the MEU.
The unit’s roughly 200 tactical vehicles will be loaded onto the 950-foot pre-positioning ship USNS Charlton, which will arrive at the state port later this week. Pre-positioning ships are strategically located in the world’s oceans on standby for the military and carry supplies and equipment.
During the next few weeks, most of the unit’s 2,200 Marines and sailors will head to Iraq, about a month ahead of schedule. The 24th MEU and Camp Pendelton’s 11th MEU – along with about 5,000 other Marines, including reservists – will relieve the Army’s 1st Armored Division and 2nd Light Cavalry Regiment in Iraq.
This deployment is unique because the troops will be flown to the Persian Gulf region rather than sail on ships, the way MEUs typically deploy.
The main body, about 850 troops, will leave around the end of June or early July.
The unit’s Battalion Landing Team will train at March Air Force Base in California in security and stability operations.
"That is the imperative right now in that country," Capt. Nevers said.
Where the unit will be in Iraq hasn’t been determined, he said.
The unit will likely be in Iraq about seven months.
"We’re ready to go," Capt. Nevers said. "The Marines are focused. They’re making final preparations now and taking some well-earned time with their families."
AFMC News Service Release 0238
Released Feb. 27, 2003
By Jeanne Grimes
Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center Public Affairs
TINKER AIR FORCE BASE, Okla. (AFMCNS) — The possibility of war lent power and poignancy to the message a Marine veteran brought to Tinker recently during a National Prayer Breakfast gathering.
With one empty sleeve and a black eye patch as reminders of courage in combat, Clebe McClary’s South Carolina accent said, “Y’all, this is a serious time. We’re getting ready to jump in something right now, and I haven’t seen a whole lot of people praying. And we need to get back to prayer.”
His own life, McClary said, is proof that God answers prayer. He was a college coach in December 1966 when he came to a turn in the road.
“I saw a young man do something on a college campus I hope and pray I never see again,” said McClary, referring to a United States flag-burning.
He said the scene so disturbed him that he quit his job and went to Parris Island, S.C., where he enlisted in the Marine Corps. Following basic training, the Corps sent him to Quantico, Va., for Officer Candidate School and in 1967 commissioned him a second lieutenant.
He was later sent to Vietnam, where he led numerous reconnaissance patrols into enemy-held territory. The 19th patrol would be his last.
He said the 13-member patrol landed on a small tea plantation and made camp atop a hill they cleared of punji pits, booby traps and mines. Around midnight, McClary thought he heard enemy movement at the bottom of the hill.
He started toward his nearest men when a grenade exploded. McClary, hit in the shoulder and neck, got the radio and called for air support. A suicide squad of 10 to 12 North Vietnamese Army regulars breached the defenses.
“They had grenades around their waists, had the pins pulled, killing themselves, trying to kill us,” McClary said. “I didn’t know them, didn’t know anything about them, didn’t hate them, just didn’t want them killing me.”
McClary said he shot an enemy soldier, who fell into the pit where he’d taken shelter. The satchel charge the North Vietnamese was carrying exploded, blowing both men from the pit.
“I reached back for my shotgun and realized the blast had blown my left arm off just above the elbow,” McClary said. “I looked to my left. My radioman [and] my corpsman were dead or unconscious.”
In the foxhole to McClary’s right, a private “walked up on a grenade, smothered it with his stomach and blew himself in half to save my life and the lives of two Marines with him.”
Yet another grenade came his way and McClary threw up his right hand to shield his face.
“The grenade exploded and blew my nose off and my left eye, teeth on the left side and both eardrums out,” he said. “... I don’t know how long had passed, but believe me, y’all, I never wanted to live so bad in all my life. I wasn’t trying to be a super hero. I took 12 men out there, Marines, and I wanted to bring them back.”
Helicopters evacuated the Americans at 3 a.m.
“Five more minutes and nobody would have gotten off that hill alive,” McClary said.
Broken and bleeding, McClary said he wasn’t expected to live. His men, making what they believed was a deathbed call, brought him a plaque that read, “In this world of give and take, there are not enough people willing to give what it takes.”
Thirty months in hospitals and 39 operations gave McClary his life back. But it was a Michigan minister speaking at a Fellowship of Christian Athletes rally that gave him new spiritual realization.
“He said, ‘There are two kinds of fools in this world — a fool for Christ and a fool for others. Whose fool are you?’ That just slapped me right in the face,” McClary said.
After talking about his spiritual beliefs, McClary encouraged his listeners to give themselves and their children a few things money can’t buy — leadership, integrity and courage.
“Fellas, take that stupid cover off when you come in a building,” he said. “Stand up when a lady comes into the room, open the door for a lady, close the door. Pull her chair out, push it back. And ladies, let ‘em do it!”
Since the military loves acronyms, McClary left his audience with a few new ones:
PIG (Professional, Integrity, Guts) — “One needs to be professional, folks,” he said. “Be responsible. If you make a mistake, don’t blame somebody else. Take a stand.”
PRIDE (Personal Responsibility in Daily Effort) — “Pride in coming early and staying late, pride in shining your shoes, tucking your shirt tail in,” he said. “We’re gonna change the world and we can’t make up our beds? Something’s wrong.”
FIDO (Forget It and Drive On) — “Make a mistake, learn from it, forget it and drive on,” he said. “Don’t let somebody else’s life ruin your life.”
America is looking good, and we have these men (and women) to thank for a lot of it!
Yes, we do! Thank God that throughout America's history brave men and women have been willing to step up to the plate and put their lives on the line for freedom.
What Does It All Mean?
In the March/April issue, we asked for definitions of a few words from the USMC lexicon in order to build a glossary of terms peculiar to the Corps (and which may be used by other services as well). Here is what we have received so far to supplement the list that appeared in the March/April issue (and it's quite a bit). We have received entries from many different eras of USMC history. Unfortunately, we can not thank everyone individually for their submissions and suggestions, since we received so many.
Like so many other projects Follow Me's editorial staff has initiated, this one took on a life of its own-but one with a unique challenge as suggested by DA Mills, USMC (Ret), curator of the Marine Corps Legacy Museum in Harrison, Arkansas. He noted that the difficulty in constructing a Marine dictionary is the fact that the vocabulary changes with each generation of Marines They adapt to new technology, which brings its own language, the wars they fight in, and the society as a whole. The young Marines of today know deck and bulkhead, but few call a door a hatch. Instead of leaving some place, they "book." You rarely-if ever-hear a Marine say "Aye Aye" anymore. And it goes on and on. However, you have embarked upon an interesting effort that will document one more piece of the legacy of the United States Marine Corps.
Based on the response so far, it is indeed an interesting effort-and not just for members of the SMDA, apparently. We have received contributions from non-SMDA members who saw the article. The list has grown considerably since the original list appeared. So, we will run it one time in its up-to-the-minute entirety to allow readers to make corrections in spelling, definitions, etc. (Please send your correc tions, suggestions, additional entries, etc., to the Follow Me Glossaryologist at 35 Ashwell Avenue, Rocky Hill, CT 06067-2415
Contributions are welcome from all Marines, not necessarily just those who belong to the SMDA.)
Finally, we apologize to our more squeamish readers for some of the definitions. But, what can we say? Marines do sometimes use socially unacceptable language-as some of these definitions suggest. And, some of the definitions may be politically Incorrect accord ing to today's societal standards. That was not the case when they were in vogue, so we have included them in the glossary.
UNITED STATES MARINE CORPS GLOSSARY: 1776 TO THE PRESENT
782 GEAR - a Marine's individual equipment, e.g., web belt, canteen; so
called because of the form number used to issue the gear
86 - discard
A
ABOARD - on base
ACED - to kill or be killed cleanly
AFT - Rear of ship
AIREDALES - Marine fighter pilots
ALICE PACK - individual field pack (All Purpose, Light Weight, Individual, Carrying, Equipment)
ALL HANDS - everybody
ANDALE - hurry up
AO - aerial observer
ASIATIC - Mental condition developed by extended time served in the Pacific Theatre during WWII
AS YOU WERE - disregard my last statement - resume what you were doing
AYE, AYE - a term used to acknowledge an order
B
BAM - Women Marine (AKA - Broad Ass Marine or WM)
BAR - Browning Automatic Rifle
BATTLE BAR - small clip on the collar tabs that goes under the field scarf
BATTLE JACKET - the waist-length, Winter Service blouse that was in the supply system from WWII to the early sixties, highly desirable. The "doggies" called theirs an "Ike" jacket.
BOA - bomb damage assessment
BDR - basic daily routine
BELIEVER - any dead enemy
BELOW - downstairs
BILLET - assignment or job
BIRD - terminology for helicopter
BLACK GANG (Marine) - nothing to do WITh color of skin-Motor Transport Man
BLACK GANG (Navy) - ditto-they work in the boiler rooms
BLOOD STRIPE - red stripe down the leg of dress blue uniform, rated by corporal or above: commemorates the battle of Chapaultepec, Mexic( BLOUSE - jacket of the camouflage uniform
BLOWING SMOKE - boasting about some deed of questionable truth BLUES - Marine formal dress uniform (Dress Blues)
BLT - Battalion Landing Team
BOONDOCKING - in the field
BOONDOCKS - swamps, small towns (also called "boonies"); known by some Marines as the high-type combat boot
BOONDOCKERS - ankle-high combat boots (that hurt to wear)
BOOT - recruit or person junior in rank
BOQ - bachelor officers' quarters
BOUNCING BETTY - a bounding mine which often detonates at waist height and infticts damage that no amount of medical care can over come
BRASS - officers or expended rounds on the rifle range
BRIGHT WORK - highly polished brass or other metal surface
BRIG CHASER (aka "chaser") - a person assigned to escort "brig rats' inside and outside military prisons
BRIG RAT - a person housed as a guest of the government in a military prison
BST - battle skills training
BULKHEAD - a wall
BULLS EYE - on target, be IT a bullet or truth
BUNK - bed (also called a "rack")
BUSH - another term for "boonies"
BUTTS - the target area at the rifle range
BUTCHER - barber
C
C-RATS/K-RATS - Manne meals for the field pnor to MRE's
CADENCE - intonation of the voice; the measure of steps per minute in marching
CAMMIES - camouflage uniform
CARRY ON - an order to resume previous activity after an interruption CATCH SOME Z'S - get some sleep CATTLE CAR - a vehicle (usually a tractor-trailer) used to transport troops on and around bases
CEB - Combat Engineer Battalion
CG - Commanding General
CHARLIES - the service green short-sleeve uniform
CHAIN OF COMMAND - the succession of commanding officers from a senior to a subordinate
CHANCER MECHANIC - corpsman (unless in war: then they become our angel of mercy)
CHIT - obtain by credit and sign CHIT
CHICK - girl or youngest looking Manne in your unit
CHOPPER - terminology for helicopter
CHOP CHOP - "hurry it up"
CHOW - GOOD Manne Corps food
CHOW DOWN - to eat
CHOW HALL - dining facility
CINDERELLA LIBERTY - liberty that expires at midnight.
CIVVIES - not a uniform
CLICK - (also spelled "klick") one notch of the rifle sight or one kilometer, mainly used in Viet Nam
CMC - Commandant of the Marine Corps
COFFIN NAILS - cigarettes
COLORS - the national flag, or the ceremony which takes place when the flag is raised at 8 a.m. and lowered at sunset
COMPANY GRADE OFFICER - captain and below
CORPSMAN - Navy medics serving with Mannes, also known as "Docs
CORRECTIONAL CUSTODY UNIT (CCU) - a place where lance corpo rals and below who are nonjudicially punished at the company or bat talion level can go for a "motivation tune-up" if their commanders think they are "salvageable"
COUNTDOWN - the number of days until a Marine's enlistment is up COVER - uniform headgear; hat
COW -like in "pass the cow," e.g., milk for coffee
CREAMED FORESKINS - creamed chipped beef
CRUISE - tour of duty
CUMSHAW - something you can scrounge or trade
CUP OF COFFEE - a term used by short timers to designate the day their enlistment is up, e.g., "forty days and a cup of coffee"
D
DEAD GOAT - New Zealand Mutton
DEEP SIX - throwaway, File 13, Shit-Can it
DECK - the floor
DEUCE GEAR - 782 gear, equipment camed by individual Mannes DEVIL DOG - (Teufelhunde) nickname given to the Mannes by the Germans following the WWI battle of Belleau Wood
DI - Dnllinstructor
DISH WATER - soup or weak coffee
DIXIE CUP - Sailor's hat
DITTY BAG - a carry-all bag for miscellaneous items
DOC - Navy hospital Corpsman
DOCTOR - an MD; never call a doctor "Doc"
DOG AND PONY SHOW - a special drill, etc, performed for visiting digni taries
DOGGIE - U.S. Soldier
DOG TAGS - slang term for the identification tags that service members wear around their necks
DRAW GARBAGE - chow
DRESS BLUES AND TENNIS SHOES - full dress blue uniform
DUNG DEN STICK - a straight multi-segmented plant used for walking
DOUBLE TIME - to run
DRILL INSTRUCTOR (01) - a unique breed of men and women whose job it is to mold raw recruits into mean, lean, fighting machines, aka United States Marines
DRY RUN - practice exercise
DUMP - act of relieving oneself of that GOOD Marine Corps chow
DUST OFF - medical evacuation
DUTY HUT - Drill Instructors office or location of duty standers
DUTY NCO - a corporal or sergeant who was in charge of the barracks from the end of the normal work day until reveille the next morning
E
EAGLE SHITS - payday
ELEPHANT PLATOON - special platoon at recruit depots to which over weight recruits were sent to lose pounds via special diets and extra physical training; platoon had its own guidon which featured an ele phant imbedded in Marine Corps colors
EMERGENCY HEAD CALL - need to take an emergency dump
EOD - explosive ordinance disposal
F
FART SACK - bunk. bed, cot, or blanket on the deck
FATIGUES - work/combat clothes: presently called "cammies" or camouflaged clothing
FOC - Fire Direction Control
FEATHER MERCHANT - usually a "goof off" or inept person; late sleeper: feather merchants were characters in the old "Snuffy SmITh" cartoons in the 1930s. They were tiny, mysterious hillbillies, like gnomes or pixies
FIELD DAY - a time set aside for scrubbing and general cleaning
FIELD GRADE OFFICER - major, LtCol., and colonel
FIELD SCARF - necktie
FIELD STRIP - to break apart an ITem, e.g., a weapon or a cigarette, to its smallest elements
FILE 13 - throwaway
FIRE WATCH - security patrol inside of and/or immediately adjacent to squad bays and barracks
FIX (A) - location
FLAG OFFICER - general and admiral wearing any number of stars :LOAT - sea deployment on Navy shipping
FMF - Fleet Marine Force
F0 - forward observer
FOOTLOCKER - a small storage compartment used to store personal belongings
FORE - front of a ship
FOXHOLE - low place in the terrain you share with your foxhole buddy
FUBAR - fouled up beyond all recognition
FREQUENCY GREASE -the same as "Bucket of Steam." A rookie com municator would be given a suitable container and sent to Supply for some
FRESH MEAT - applicant before uniform or haircut
FRUIT SALAD - a chest full of ribbons
G
G-3 - Operations
G-4 - Logistics
GALLEY - a Navy or Marine Corps kitchen
GANGWAY - "move out of the way" or "make room"
GEEDUNK - a snack or snack stand
GENERAL QUARTERS - warning aboard ship of imminent attack or criti cal situation
GENTLEMAN - a Marine officer, but said with a sneer
GO FASTERS - running shoes
GOOK - native west of California
GRAB ASS - playing around
GREASE - butter
GREENS - Marine green winter dress uniform
GRINDER - parade deck
GROG SHOP - tavern or beer joint
GROUND POUNDER - Korean War Marine infantry
GRUNT - a nickname for a Marine Corps infantryman
GUIDON - small flag bearing unit's number or designation
GUNG HO - highly motivated (Chinese for "working together"); done in the right spirit
GUNNY - a familiar term for the rank of gunnery sergeant
GYRENE - Marine
H
HAT - Drill Instructor
HATCH - a door
HAWK - the wind, e.g., "The hawk is howling tonight"
HEAD - a bathroom
HEAD CALL - act of going to the head to attend to business
HIGH AND TIGHT - the short haircut that male Marines have become famous for having
HIT THE DECK - reveille "Turn loose your cock and grab a sock"
HOLLYWOOD MARINE - graduate of MCRD San Diego
HOOCH - two man field tent, or loosely used to define a dwelling
HONCHO RECRUIT - the recruit in charge of a particular job or assign ment
HORSECOCK - lunch meat shaped as. . .
HOUSE - recruit squad bay
HOUSE BOY - person who does odd jobs to keep quarters clean, shoe shines, wash clothes, etc.; usually kept by an officer
HOUSEWIFE - sewing kit
HUMP - march or hike
I
INK STICK - pen
IG -Inspector General
IKE JACKET - green waist-length uniform jacket named after General Eisenhower
IN THE FIELD - see "boondocks"
IRISH PENNANT - an untidy loose end of a line, a string on a uniform that is unsightly
ITR - Infantry Training Regiment
J
JARHEAD - derogatory term for a Marine used by lesser branches of the military
JAWBONE - see "chit"
JOE - coffee, aka java, battery acid, mud
JOHN WAYNE (or "church key") - metal can opener for C-rat cans
JUNGLE JUICE - home-made liquor
JUNK ON THE BUNK - 782 gear and uniforms displayed on bunk for inspection
K
KA-BAR - knife
KITCHEN POLICE (KP) - duty served by military personnel in mess halls
L
LADDERWELL (or simply ladder) - a stairway
LEAD STICK - pencil
LEAVE - vacation
LEGGENS - the leg wrap-around from boots to calves
LIFER - a Marine who has been in the Corps for a long time
LIMA LIMA LINE - phone line run by hand over ground
LIBERTY - permission to be absent from the ship or station
LIBERTY CARD - a document that verified a Marine was off-base legally; required to be presented to MP's or senior officers or NCOs on demand. Usually issued by the Duty NCO.
LIFER - a career Marine.
LIFER JUICE - coffee
LIGHTS OUT - signal for all good Marines to hit the rack; literally, lights go out, the day is done
LIQUID CS - tear gas
LP -listening post
LZ - landing zone
M
MAGGIE'S DRAWERS - red disk on pole waived in front of a rifle range target to indicate a miss; missed the target (with weapon or complete miss with a snow job)
MAGGOT - a new recruit
MARINE CORPS WAY - the third way of doing something, i.e., there's the right way, the wrong way, and the Marine Corps' way
MCRD - Marine Corps Recruit Depot
MCT - Marine Combat Training
MSG - Marine Security Guard
MECHANICAL MULE - a vehicle with a flat, wooden platform, 4-wheel drive, flotation tires and an engine that started with a pull-cord. it was used for transporting rations, ammo, supplies, etc., and could also be mounted with a 106 recoiless rifle. Also a blast to drive.
MEGA - Marine Embassy Guard Association
MESS DUlY - opportunity to help distribute that good Marine Corps chow MESS HALL - dining facility MIGHTY MITE - an all-aluminum vehicle with 4-wheel drive capabilities powered by an air-cooled V-4 engine that was about a 3/4 scale ver sion of a regular jeep, manufactured by AMC. A blast to drtve.
MLR - main line of resistance MOMENT OF TRUTH - last opportunity to correct false information or personal records before recruit training begins
MONGOLIAN PISS CUTTER - a winter hat with fuzzy ear flaps (from Korea)
MONKEY SUIT - evening dress
MOS - MiIitary Occupational Specialty
MOTIVATION PLATOON - special platoon in boot camp to which "unmo tivated" recru_s were assigned temporarily for attitude adjustments (see CCU for modem-day equivalent)
MREs - Meals Ready to Eat; pre-made meals for use in the field
MUD MARINE - WWII Martne infantry
MUSTANG - a Martne officer commissioned from the ranks
N
NCO - noncommissioned officer
NERVOUS PUDDING - Jello
NINETY-DAY WONDER - newly made 2nd lieutenant (unless remark said by Swabbie or Doggie, then it means FIGHT)
NJP - nonjudicial punishment
NON-QUAL - a Marine who failed to qualify with his service rifle.
O
0001 - One minute past midnight
0800 . said as Oh Eight Hundred, never 0800 hours; that's Doggie talk
OFFICE HOURS - CO's nonjudicial punishment
OFFICE POGUE aka Remington Raider) - office clerk
OLD MAN (aka the "Skipper) - usually the company commander
OLD CORPS - a term used by anyone who has been in the Corps a minute longer than another Marine
ON POST - on guard duty or not on liberty
ON THE DOUBLE -run
ONTOS - a small, tracked vehicle capable of speeds over 60 mph, mounted with six 106 recoilless rifles. A tank and bunker kille[
OP - observation post
OPLR - outpost line of resistance
ORGANIZED GRAB ASS - in a formation, e.g., close order drtll
OVERHEAD - naval reference for a ceiling
OVER THE HILL - AWOL, i.e., absent without leave
P
PASSAGE WAY - corrtdor or hallway, p-way for short
PARADE DECK (aka grtnder) - place where "troop and stomp" is conducted
PEA SOUP - fog
PFT - Physical Fitness Test
PIECE - a Martne's weapon, primartly a rifle
PILL ROLLER - corpsman
P-CUTTER ("Piss" cutter) - an overseas hat. The "fore-and-aft" cover was issued in khaki, tropical worsted, and winter service green. (Fore and aft means it looks the same from either direction.) The Eagle, Globe and Anchor device was worn on the left front, and it was usu ally worn low on the forehead with a "dimple" in the top.
PISS AND PUNK - bread and water
PISS POT - helmet
PISS TUBE - a pipe stuck into the ground for urinating into
POGEY BAIT - any food other than an MRE or C-Rations, particularly candy
POGEY BAIT MARINE - Marine in the 6th Marines
POGEY ROPE - the French Fourragere worn by the Sixth Marines. (They called it that; allegedly, no one outside the 6th Regiment called it that, at least not to the wearers' faces.)
POLICE - clean up or make tidy
POLICE PARTY - individuals or groups assigned to clean up an area
PORT - left side of a ship
PORTHOLE - naval reference for a window
PORT LIBERTY - one-half of ship's complement or unit is allowed to go on liberty (see STARBOARD LIBERTY for other half
PT - physical training
PX - post exchange, a store on base
Q
QUARTERS - living space
R
RACK-bed
RACK OPS - (rack operations) to go to sleep
RAIN LOCKER - a shower on board a ship
RAPPEL - to descend by rope
RED LEAD - catsup (or in New Zealand, tomato sauce)
RECON - reconnaissance
REMINGTON RAIDER (aka Office Poge) - office clerk
RE-UP - re-enlist
RIKI TIK - something that needs to be done or is going to happen quickly
ROACH COACH - the mobile canteen (with pogey bait) that came along side ships tied up at piers in Norfolk
ROUND - bullet or shell
RP - religious program specialist, usually a Navy enlisted
RUPTURED DUCK - a medal given to all servicemen after WNII
S
S-2 - intelligence section (NOTE: Military intelligence is considered by many people to be an oxymoron.) SALTY MARINE - one who has time in the Corps
SAM BROWNE (1) - a belt (with the strap over the shoulder); heavy leather brown belt with a brass buckle worn on outside of blouse (phased out early 1947). That extended over the left shoulder and attached to the belt front and rear. It was authorized for wear by offi cers and warrant officers with greens or dress blues, and designed to carry the weight of a pistol or sword. Allegedly a good weapon in a bar fight.
SAWBONES - doctor
SCOOP (or dope) - news or information
SCOW - any Navy ship (other than the one you serve on)
SCREW UP - things don't go right
SCRIBE - recruit who serves as the platoon secretary or administrative clerk
SCUTTLEBUTT - a water fountain or a rumor
SCUZZ BRUSH - scrub brush used for cleaning
SEA BAG - the oversized canvas bags that Marines and Sailors use to transport their gear (known to the Army as duffel bags)
SEA GULL - Sunday chicken
SEA LAWYER - someone giving out legal advice that is likely to get you in trouble
SEA STORY - tall tale; story that is hard to swallow
SECONDS - more of anything
SECTION 8 - a mentally unbalanced person; a discharge for mental rea sons
SECURE - to leave work; to put something away
SEMPER FI- always faithful; from the Latin Semper Rdelis
SHIT BIRD - a Marine who was a disciplinary problem or not performing to standards
SHIT CAN (verb) - throwaway
SHIT ON A SHINGLE - creamed ground beef served over toast, a favorite Marine breakfast
SHORT ARM INSPECTION - the doc examines your penis
SHORT-STOP - at chow, you ask in a polite way, "Down on the damn grease," and some knucklehead helps himself before it gets to you
SHORT TIMER - anyone who has a short time to go before his/her enlistment or tour of duty is up
SHOULDER PADS - pancakes or padding sewn to shooting jacket
SICK BAY - medical facility
SIDEARMS - san and pepper shakers
SIX-BY -large truck used to transport personnel and supplies
SKIPPER - any captain, specifically one in a command billet
SKIWIES - underwear
SKOSH - just a little bit, e.g., "move it just a skosh"
SKY HOOK - Nonexistent article used as a practical joke by seasoned personnel
SKY PILOT - chaplain
SLIT TRENCH - (see "head")
SLUM - delicious stew
SLUM BURNER - the cook
SMOKE STACKER - one who blows smoke
SMOKING LAMP - permission to smoke if it is lit
SNAFU - situation normal: all fouled up
SNAP IN - to practice firing a weapon; also to give or get instruction on a new task
SNCO - staff noncommissioned officers
SNOOP AND POOP - recon mission
SNOW SNAKE - a warning to a "boot" about getting bit in the rear refer ring to the cold wind on the butt when using the outhouse in Korea
SOP - standard operating procedure(s)
SOUND OFF - to shout loudly
SPLIT TAIL - female
SPUD LOCKER - place where fresh vegetables are kept
SQUAD BAY - open living quarters in barracks without partitions in which Marines slept
SQUARE AWAY - put away your belongings, or tidy up
SQUARED AWAY - ready for inspection - by the book
SRB - service record book
STACKING SWIVEL (2) - the .03 and M1 rifles had an attachment that allowed three rifles to be stacked in the position of Stack Arms. The term "I'll grab you by the stacking swivel" probably referred to grab bing someone by the neck. To be "Grabbed by the Stacking Swivel" also described when your drill instructor grabbed a handful of your utility jacket, stood you on your tip-toes, placed his nose in close proximity to yours and counseled you as to the error of your ways, usually in very colorful terms that included references to your ances try, sexual preferences and the marital status of your parents. (See below for elaboration.)
STAND BY - wait
STARBOARD - right side of ship
STARBOARD LIBERTY - one-half of ship's complement or unit is allowed to go on liberty (see PORT LIBERTY for other half)
STATIC CHASERS - A term of endearment used by the company gunny to describe members of the Communications Platoon.
STINGRAY - a term used in Vietnam for missions designed to deliberate ly make contact and kills
STRAPHANGER - a Marine who goes along with a patrol or group of Marines on a mission
SUDS-beer
SUPERNUMERARY - Extra personnel utilized on guard duty for fill in needs and situations
SURVEY - to turn in old or unserviceable equipment for new
SWAB - a mop or to mop
SWABBY - affectionate name for a sailor
SWAB JOCKEY - Sailor or a Marine/Sailor with a mop
SWAGGER STICK (3) - a decorated wooden stick carried by NCOs and officers as a symbol of their rank (see below for additional informa tion)
T
TAPS - military music generally played to honor deceased service mem bers; usually played at night to signify "lights out"
THE WORD - confirmed information
T-DAY - training day in recruit training
TIE-TIE - piece of string used to tie washed laundry to clothes line; little strings to slip through eyelets on skivvies; Pre-WWII meant to hang up after washing
TOPSIDE - upstairs, specifically on a ship
TROOP AND STOMP - marching drills on parade deck
TROPICALS - Marine summer dress unijorm
TURD - whale stool on the bottom of the ocean, as in "you are lower than a whale turd, and that sinks to the bottom of the ocean"
TURN TO - to begin
TWO BLOCKED - portion of necktie worn snuggled up to collar
U
UA - unauthorized absence (once called AWOL)
UNDER ARMS - armed with a weapon
UNDRESS BLUES - dress blue trousers worn with a gabardine shirt and tie
UNK or UNO - unqualified on the rifle range or in the pool
UNSAT - unsatisfactory
UTILITIES - field clothing/work clothing; dungarees; fatigues
V
VOMIT COMET - The bus transporting Marines back to base from Jacksonville after liberty on a payday weekend
Vl- Vertical Timed artillery round set to detonate a specific distance above ground
W
WAISTPLATE - the metal part of the ben on dress blues (NOTE: per current regulations, SNOs wear the waistplate with the emblem and wreath; NCOs wear them only with the emblem; lance corporal and below wear smooth waistplates)
WAKE UP - the last day of a Marine's enlistment
WATER BULL (or BUFFALO) - canteen or 500 gallon water dispensing unit
WAR BELT - cartridge ben worn in the field with canteens and equipment
WHISKEY LOCKER - locked closet used for the storage of cleaning solu tions and miscellaneous gear
WIDOW MAKER - strong punch
WP - aka "Willy P;" white phosphorous
Z
ZIPPO - cigarette lighter; to destroy by fire
Yes, indeed.....HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU! And thank you for your service!
I really like that picture. Thanks for posting it.
Marine Boot Camp Teaches Recruits to 'Do the Right Thing'
Date: Nov 10, 2004 8:38 AM
By Gerry J. Gilmore
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Nov. 10, 2004 -- Marines who routinely practice self-discipline are the desired result of 12 weeks of arduous training, explained a Marine drill
instructor at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C.
high-resolution image [/news/Nov2004/2004111003a.jpg] available.
Tough training on parade fields and rifle ranges, in swimming pools and in bivouac sites molds Marine recruits into the world's best and most flexible infantry, Staff Sgt. Matthew M. James noted.
Boot camp also instills in recruits the desire to "do the right thing" with or without supervision, the drill instructor explained.
"That's where the self-discipline comes in," James observed, noting that although boot camp "is definitely a rigidly structured environment," postings throughout most of the rest of the Marine Corps are much less regimented.
Recruits have earned the right to call themselves Marines after graduating from boot camp, James said. Yet, truly successful Marines, he emphasized, are those who stay true to Corps' teachings and traditions for the rest of their lives.
James said he stresses the importance of individual responsibility to his recruits, challenging them with questions like, "Are you going to be disciplined when I'm not around you?"
Drill instructors work long hours to mold recruits into Marines, James noted. But, seeing the joyous faces of new Marines and parents on graduation day "makes it all worth it," he said. "It makes you want to do another (training) cycle."
That makes me smile. I grew up a Navy brat and remember the rivalry between the Navy and the Marines, but there was always, underlying the friendly ribbing, the deepest respect for the job each branch does. And I grew up knowing that, throughout their history, the Marines have been held to a higher standard and they have always come through with flying colors. :-)
The Sailor and the Marine
An old Sailor and an old Marine were sitting at the VFW arguing about who'd
had the tougher career.
"I did 30 years in the Corps," the Marine declared proudly, "and fought in
three of my country's wars. Fresh out of boot camp, I hit the beach at
Okinawa, clawed my way up the blood-soaked sand, and eventually took out an
entire enemy machine gun nest with a single grenade.
"As a sergeant, I fought in Korea. We pushed back the enemy inch by bloody
inch all the way up to the Chinese border, always under a barrage of
artillery and small arms fire.
"Finally, as a gunny sergeant, I did three consecutive combat tours in
Vietnam. We humped through the mud and razorgrass for 14 hours a day,
plagued by rain and mosquitoes, ducking under sniper fire all day and
mortar fire all night. In a firefight, we'd fire until our arms ached and
our guns were empty, then we'd charge the enemy with bayonets!"
"Ah," said the Sailor with a dismissive wave of his hand, "all shore duty,
huh?"
'choo! Sorry.
Happy Birthday to all of stalwart marines!
Got a puppy named Shadow.
He shot this one of me 50 years after I entered the Corps, standing in front of the Iwo Jima Monument on the Parade Deck.
You can appreciate the pride I have in participating in its Dedication Ceremony in 1952, during The Korean Conflict - with 8 full companies, WM's were "A" Company, with out front of the whole shebang our Company Commander -- and with me as the Guidon Bearer, carrying the American Flag...
Memories don't get much better than that, short of Family ones --
History of the Marines' Hymn
(webmaster note: The proper name is the Marines' Hymn, NOT the Marine Corps' Hymn.)
Following the war with the Barbary Pirates in 1805, when Lieutenant Presely N. O'Bannon and his small force of Marines participated in the capture of Derne and hoisted the American flag for the first time over a fortress of the Old World, the Colors of the Corps was inscribed with the words: "To the Shores of Tripoli." After the Marines participated in the capture and occupation of Mexico City and the Castle of Chapultepec, otherwise known as the "Halls of Montezuma," the words on the Colors were changed to read: "From the Shores of Tripoli to the Halls of Montezuma." Following the close of the Mexican War came the first verse of the Marines' Hymn, written, according to tradition, by a Marine on duty in Mexico. For the sake of euphony, the unknown author transposed the phrases in the motto on the Colors so that the first two lines of the Hymn would read: "From the Halls of Montezuma, to the Shores of Tripoli."
A serious attempt to trace the tune of the Marines' Hymn to its source is revealed in correspondence between Colonel A.S. McLemore, USMC, and Walter F. Smith, second leader of the Marine Band. Colonel McLemore wrote: "Major Richard Wallach, USMC, says that in 1878, when he was in Paris, France, the aria to which the Marines' Hymn is now sung was a very popular one." The name of the opera and a part of the chorus was secured from Major Wallach and forwarded to Mr. Smith, who replied: "Major Wallach is to be congratulated upon a wonderfully accurate musical memory, for the aria of the Marine Hymn is certainly to be found in the opera, "Genevieve de Brabant". . .The melody is not in the exact form of the Marine Hymn, but is undoubtedly the aria from which it was taken. I am informed, however, by one of the members of the band, who has a Spanish wife, that the aria was one familiar to her childhood and it may, therefore, be a Spanish folk song."
In a letter to Major Harold F. Wirgman, USMC, dated 21 October 1936, John Philip Sousa says: "The melody of the 'Halls of Montezuma' is taken from Offenbach's comic opera, 'Genveieve de Brabant' and is sung by two gendarmes." Most people believe that the aria of the Marines' Hymn was, in fact, taken from "Genevieve de Brabant," an opera-bouffe (a farcical form of opera, generally termed musical comedy) composed by Jacques Offenbach, and presented at the Theatre de Bouffes Parisians, Paris, on 19 November 1859.
Offenbach was born in Cologne, Germany, 21 June 1819 and died 5 October 1880. He studied music from an early age and in 1838 entered the Paris Conservatoire as a student. In 1834, he was admitted as a violoncellist to the "Opera Comique" and soon attained much popularity with Parisian audiences. He became conductor of the Theatre Francais in 1847 and subsequently leased the Theatre Comte, which he reopened as the Bouffes-Parisians. Most of his operas are classified as comic (light and fanciful) and include numerous popular productions, many of which still hold a high place in European and American countries.
Every campaign the Marines have taken part in gives birth to an unofficial verse. For example, the following from Iceland:
"Again in nineteen forty-one
We sailed a north'ard course
And found beneath the midnight sun,
The Viking and the Norse.
The Iceland girls were slim and fair,
And fair the Iceland scenes,
And the Army found in landing there,
The United States Marines."
Copyright ownership of the Marines' Hymn was vested in the United States Marine Corps per certificate of registration dated 19 August 1991, but it is now in the public domain. In 1929, the Commandant of the Marine Corps authorized the following verses of the Marines' Hymn as the official version:
"From the halls of Montezuma
to the Shores of Tripoli,
We fight our country's battles
On the land as on the sea.
First to fight for right and freedom,
And to keep our honor clean,
We are proud to claim the title
of United States Marines.
"Our flag's unfurl'd to every breeze
From dawn to setting sun;
We have fought in every clime and place
Where we could take a gun.
In the snow of far-off northern lands
And in sunny tropic scenes,
You will find us always on the job
The United States Marines.
"Here's health to you and to our Corps
Which we are proud to serve;
In many a strife we've fought for life
And never lost our nerve.
If the Army and the Navy
Ever look on Heaven's scenes,
They will find the streets are guarded
By United States Marines."
On 21 November 1942, the Commandant of the Marine Corps approved a change in the words of the fourth line, first verse, to read, "In air, on land, and sea." Former-Gunnery Sergeant H.L. Tallman, veteran observer in Marine Corps Aviation who participated in many combat missions with Marine Corps Aviation over the Western Front in World War I, first proposed the change at a meeting of the First Marine Aviation Force Veterans Association in Cincinnati, Ohio.
Many interesting stories have been associated with the Marines' Hymn. One of the best was published in the Stars and Stripes, the official newspaper of the American Expeditionary Force, under date of 16 August 1918.
"A wounded officer from among the gallant French lancers had just been carried into a Yankee field hospital to have his dressing changed. He was full of compliments and curiosity about the dashing contingent that fought at his regiment's left.
"A lot of them are mounted troops by this time, he explained, for when our men would be shot from their horses, these youngsters would give one running jump and gallop ahead as cavalry. I believe they are soldiers from Montezuma. At least, when they advanced this morning, they were all singing "From the Halls of Montezuma to the Shores of Tripoli."
The Marines' Hymn has been sung and played wherever U.S. Marines have landed, and today is recognized as one of the foremost military service songs.
Great picture.
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