'Hooah': Odd Cry Becomes Soldier Shorthand

Associated Press ^ | NICK WADHAMS

[steveo]

There's a home brew beer store near here. At the completion of a transaction the shop keeper rings a rope of cowbells and proclaims 'huzzah for the customer!'.

[jjm2111]

I had a rule over there too. Don't trust anyone with starched and pressed cammies.

[Chi-townChief]

A lot older than that - I heard it in high school back in the 60s although I'm not sure where it originated.

[jjm2111]

I know that :). I was wondering what abbrev. he meant. But then their are REMFs and their are REMFs if you know what I mean.

[Americanexpat]

I heard the soldiers using Hooah before Iraq, they used it a lot in the movie Blackhawk Down, which means they were using it during and before Somalia.

We were not using it up to the time I retired in 1985.

VN was a bit different.

Sarge you just mortared a village. ¨Sorry about that¨

We are dropping your company into this LZ, there is an expected battalion of hard core VC in the area. ¨Ooh number fu$king ten¨

We´re getting shot at sarge ¨No shit GI¨

[Natty Bumppo@frontier.net]

You forgot "When is our tee time, anyway?"

[300magnum]

I worked with a guy that did a couple of tours in Nam. He said when they went out through the villages the locals would beg for cigarettes. If he threw out some Winstons or 'Boros they'd yell GI number 1, GI number 1! When he'd throw out the cartons of Pall Mall's (no filter of course so nobody wanted to smoke them) they'd yell GI number 10!!, GI number 10!!

[ThirstyMan]

"Isn't this from Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman?"

It most certainly is!

I'm surprised that an article can address that phrase and not mention it at all.

Hoo-Ah!!!

[roaddog727]

Hooah bump.

[Wombat101]

Know the difference between a fairy tale and a sea story?

A fairy tale begins "Once upon a time..."

A sea-story begins "No Shit..."

Just a little Navy joke to brighten your day...

[boris]

Somebody said it came from the battle cry of the Turks, which meant essentially, "Kill! Kill!"

I like that one.

[Americanexpat]

That is true, they loved the menthols, especially Salems.

[Don Carlos]

My favorite was always "Beer call". Sends shivers up my spine to this day!

[CharlieOK1]

I'm not a military guy, but I always thought it was short for Heard, Understood, Acknowledged. I didn't realize there was a debate.

[blaquebyrd]

Somehow I knew this would turn into Air Force bashing. Hey once I deployed to Southern Italy in the Summer and the hotel didn't have AC! So yeah us Air Force guys have hard times too.

[Final Authority]

I heard a soldier say to a reporter when asked what it meant. The soldier said, "it means anything but no, sir".

[CMAC51]

Where have these people been?? This has been around a long time. It used to be Huzzah!!!

Actually Huzzah goes back to the British Military and was the equivelant of "Hurray". Hooah more likely evolved from the acronym HUA which stood for Heard Understood Acknowledged. It was used as the response to an order. Thus it gained its characteristic of being an enthusiastic positve response.

[TC Rider]

Nah, the Air Force shouts 'Fore'!

[Uncle Miltie]

"around her it's Uffdah"

Oh fer cute!

Well ther you go ther then now 'eh?

[xzins]

I agree with you.

I had the privilege of being in the Army from 70-74 and then getting out and doing college and seminary and then coming back in 85.

Hooah was not there in the early 70's and it was there when I came back in the mid-80's.

I was told by some nsdq aviators I was chaplain to that it came out of the Rangers. From there it gradually spread.

Any Rangers out there?