List of United States Marine Corps acronyms and expressions

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This is a list of acronyms, expressions, euphemisms, and sayings in common or formerly common use in the United States Marine Corps. Many acronyms have come into common use translated into the NATO phonetic alphabet.

0–9

  • 6-by — A rugged truck equipped with six-wheel drive.
  • 180 — One-hundred-eighty degrees on a compass; to do an about face: to change to the opposite one's point of view.
  • 360 — Complete circle on a compass; to put protection (360) all around.
  • 782 or deuce gear — Standard issue web, combat gear, field equipment, such as ALICE, MOLLE, or ILBE. Named after standard Marine Corps Form 782, which Marines signed when they took custody of and responsibility for their equipment.

A

  • above my/your pay grade — an expression denying responsibility or authority (indicating that the issue should be brought to higher-ranking officials)
  • acting jack — Assistant drill instructor at a recruit depot or an acting corporal.
  • ahoy — This is an old traditional nautical greeting and also is used for hailing other boats. It was originally a Viking battle cry.
  • Air Force salute — To say, "I know" by a shrug.
  • all hands — Entire ship's company or unit personnel, including officers and enlisted personnel.
  • APC — A large, white tablet formerly issued for minor discomfort, that was commonly, albeit mistakenly, called an "all-purpose capsule." APC was in reality named after its ingredients: aspirin, phenacetin, and caffeine. Replaced by 800mg ibuprofen today.
  • ashore — On the beach, as differentiated from on board ship; any place off a Marine Corps or government reservation (go ashore, go on liberty, or leave the reservation).
  • Asiatic — Mildly deranged or eccentric as a result of too much foreign duty, or one who has missed too many boats.
  • ate up — Describing one who has no clue about what's going on; one who is always lazy, in disarray, and unsatisfactory.
  • aye-aye — A nautical term used as a response to orders. When a Marine receives orders or instruction, the Marine replies, "Aye-aye," meaning: "Yes, I understand the orders I have received and will carry them out." "Aye" said by itself means one agrees. "Aye-aye" is generally supposed to be a corruption of the words yea, yea; the claim is advanced that Cockney (true Londoners born within the sound of the bells of St. Mary Le Bow (Bow Bells), Cheapside, in the city of London) accents changed the Yea to Yi, and from there it was a simple transition to aye.

B

  • bag nasty - bagged lunch issued to Marines (usually recruits or in the field) that usually contains: a bologna or ham sandwich, a hard boiled egg, fruit, and a small bag of potato chips; often served with a quarter water or similar beverage.
  • Battalion Lance Corporal — the seniormost non-rate in the unit; the E-3 most least likely promoted to the rank of Corporal.
  • battle pin — tie clasp or tie tack, originally a metal collar bar worn on the shirt collar until the beginning of World War II.
  • battle zero or BZO — The settings on the sights of a rifle that allow the shooter to overcome various factors and hit accurately at a given range, used as a default before adjusting for wind or distance. Also used as a verb when firing to obtain a BZO by trial and error.
  • beans, bullets and bandages — expression used to refer to those things a logistican must provide his unit: rations, ammunition, and medical care.
  • belay — to cancel an order; to stop; to firmly secure a line.
  • below — down the ladder well; below decks.
  • binnacle list — sick list, list of men excused from duty. In past times, it was posted on or near the binnacle, which is a large stand used to house a magnetic compass and fitting.
  • blouse — military dress coat or jacket; or as a verb to tuck one's trousers into boots or otherwise secure excess legging.
  • boondocks — woods or wilds, far-away spaces or that portion of the country which is fit only for the training of Marines. Possibly from the Tagalog "bundok" or mountain jungles of the Philippines.
  • boondoggle — any trip on government time that serves no purpose other than to entertain the Marine making it.
  • boot — recruit, or derisive term for a Marine just out of training.
  • boot bands — also known as blousing bands. Marines roll the legs of the utility trouser under boot bands and blouse them over the top of their boots. They never tuck their trousers in.
  • boot camp — recruit training for enlisted Marines at Marine Corps Recruit Depots, Parris Island, SC, and San Diego, CA. While there are several explanations for it being called boot camp, many refer to the fact that recruits wear boots nearly every day of their training.
  • boots and utes or Boots'n'utes — Boots and utility uniform, minus the blouse; sometimes used for physical training or working in the heat.
  • brain-housing group — thought processing, used as a parallel to a rifle's trigger housing group.
  • brass — brass uniform items, expended casings from weapons, term for senior officers.
  • brig — place of confinement aboard ship or ashore at a Marine Corps or naval station (prison).
  • brightwork — brass or shiny metal, which Marines must polish.
  • brig rat — One who has served much brig time, a habitual offender.
  • brown-bagger — a Marine (usually married) who lives off base with his family, termed because he or she does not eat at the mess hall and must bring his/her meals with him.
  • bulkheads — Walls.
  • bus drivers — Air Force pilots, so termed for early USAF uniforms and the function they carry.
  • "By your leave, sir/ma'am." — When overtaking a senior officer in rank proceeding in the same direction, Marines draw abreast on the senior's left, coming to the salute as they say, "By your leave, sir." The senior officer acknowledges the salute and replies, "Granted" or "Carry on."

C

  • C & S — "Clean and Sober" notation formerly entered on the liberty list beside the names of Marines returning from liberty in that condition.
  • Casual Company or CasCo - a holding unit/formation of Marines awaiting one of the following: discharge from the Corps, training (usually at a formal school), or deployment to a unit.
  • catwalk — walkway constructed over or around obstructions on a ship or building.
  • chairborne — someone who works in an office environment.
  • chalk — squad of Marines in a helicopter.
  • charlies or chucks - The service "C" uniform, consisting of the short-sleeve khaki shirt and green trousers.
  • chaser — contraction of prisoner-chaser, an escort for a prisoner or detail of prisoners.
  • chevrons — symbols of enlisted ranks above private, usually not acceptably called "stripes" unless describing the rank insignia itself.
  • Chinese field day - a form of field day where every item from a room is removed for cleaning, which tends to last much longer than necessary. This is often used as a punishment, typically for unsatisfactory performance in routine field day.
  • chit — a letter, note, voucher or receipt, such as a light duty chit, probably derived from Hindi word chitti (letter).
  • chow — food.
  • chow down — to eat.
  • chowhound — a gourmet on the rampage.
  • circular file — an office garbage can.
  • CNN effect — The fascination or disruption created by extensive, live television presence in a combat zone.
  • C.O.B. — Close Of Business (the end of working hours), or Close Order Battle.
  • CommO — Communications Officer (S-6).
  • comrats or comm-rats — Commuted Rations, an extra pay for married personnel to replace the loss of mess hall priveleges.
  • corpsman — Navy hospital corpsman attached to a Marine unit; also known as "doc" inapprpriate to address as "medic" or "aid man".
  • cover — headgear; to align to the person in front of you in formation(regarding close order drill).
  • cover and alignment - when in formation, this refers to the proper distance between those Marines next to you, in front of you, and behind you.
  • covered and uncovered — when wearing and not wearing covers.
  • crew-served — short for crew-served weapon; also large and very powerful (based on a crew-served weapon being such).
  • cruise — an enlistment period, inappropriately called a stint.
  • CS — tear gas or 2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile, a white solid powder usually mixed with a dispersal agent, like methylene chloride, which carries the particles through the air. This is commonly used for NBC training.
  • cumshaw — something extra or free; Pidgin English expression using the Chinese word, kamsia (meaning grateful) and sia (meaning thanks).

D

  • D & D — Drunk and Disorderly, an entry formerly made on the liberty list beside the name of any Marine returning from liberty in that condition.
  • DD-214 — discharge papers, commonly referred to by form number.
  • dai jobi — Japanese for OK.
  • dead horse — to draw advance pay out of the normal pay cycle, the Marine is then obligated to repay the debt at the government's convenience.
  • deck — floor or surface of the earth; to punch or knock down with one blow.
  • deep-six — to dispose of by throwing overboard ship.
  • defecation hits the oscillation — when the shit hits the fan, meaning a derranged or impossible situation.
  • devil dogging — correcting another Marine's minor deficiency.
  • diddy bop — poor performance in close order drill, or marching in a manner that does not present a crisp military appearance.
  • DIET - Deep Infiltration and Extraction Team, to "leap frog" across great distances by utilizing helicopters as ground refueling points to perform special missions. Later known as FARP (Forward Area Refueling/Rearming Point).
  • Doc — Navy hospital corpsman attached to the Marines, can be combinded with "devil dog" to become "devil doc".
  • dog — small metal fitting used to secure watertight doors, hatches, covers, scuttles, etc; also, to close/secure such door/hatch.
  • dog and pony show — any display, demonstration, or appearance by Marines at the request of seniors for the pleasure of someone else, such static display at a local venue.
  • Dogg — short for devil dog
  • dope — information, or sight settings and/or wind corrections for a rifle under given conditions.

E

  • EAS — End of Active Service, the date of your discharge from the USMC active duty.
  • eightball — worthless, troublesome individual who deservedly remains behind the eightball.
  • EM — Enlisted Marine/Man, very inappropriate to use today.
  • elephant hat - pith helmet issued in 1940 and worn by rifle range coaches today
  • EPD — Extra Police Duties, often a punishment.

F

  • fart sack — linen one slips a mattress into.
  • feather merchant — Marine of slight build, lightweight.
  • field day — day or portion of day set aside for general cleanup or police of an organization's area or barracks rooms; also as a verb for the act of conducting a field day.
  • field expediency — improvisation, to make due to with what's is available.
  • field hat — Broad-brimmed felt hat, originally with one straight crease down the middle, then with a Montana peak, worn on expeditionary missions from 1912 to 1942, and then again authorized in 1961 for wear at rifle ranges and recruit depots. In the 1961 regs, it's called the campaign hat.
  • field music — drummer, trumpeter, bugler, fifer; mostly an antiquated term.
  • field scarf — khaki uniform necktie.
  • field-strip — to disassemble a piece of ordnance or weapon, to the major part groups, for routine cleaning or oiling; to strip cigarette butts and their filters before throwing the butt away.
  • fighting hole — a defensive position dug into the ground, can be dug for one Marine, a pair, or a weapon crew; known to the other services as a "fox hole".
  • File 13 — paper shredder.
  • Fire Watch — sentry on duty specifically guarding a person, place, object, or area in a non-combat area (such as a barracks); considered under arms but usually unarmed.
  • fore-and-aft cap — garrison cap, also frequently referred to as a piss cutter.
  • four-deuce — 4.2 in. (107-mm) mortar.
  • foxhole — fighting hole as termed by the Army and Marines of the past, no longer appropriate for Marine use.
  • FUBAR — Fucked/Fouled Up Beyond All Recognition/Repair), similar to SNAFU.

G

  • galley — kitchen aboard ship.
  • gangway — ship's passageway; also used to inform juniors to give way to seniors in passageways, and particularly when going up and down ladders.
  • gear — property or equipment; usually referring to an individual's combat equipment.
  • gear adrift — gear found left lying around, from the saying "gear adrift, must be a gift!".
  • general mess — enlisted mess.
  • GI — government-issue; formerly a term for a servicemember, but now describes being squared-away or the goverment's idea of an ideal servicemember.
  • GI house — place where garbage is stored until it is hauled away.
  • gizmo — miscellaneous, nondescript, unidentified gadget or tool.
  • grab-ass - horseplay, loafing, lounging.
  • grid squares — marked reference lines on a map; often used as a prank fool's errand where an unsuspecting Marine is asked to find some when they don't physically exist.
  • grinder — parade ground or deck used primarily for drill.
  • gunner — abbreviation of Marine Gunner, the title for line warrant officers, designated as experts in various combat arms and tactics, signified by a bursting bomb designation; used informally to refer to the Officer In Charge if he or she is of a warrant officer rank.
  • gyrene — nickname for Marine, often thought an insult.

H

  • half-mast — position of the ensign when hoisted halfway; usually done in respect to a deceased person, also called "half-staff" amongst non-naval forces.
  • hashmark — service stripe worn on the uniform sleeve by enlisted men and women for completion of four years of honorable service in any of the U.S. Armed Services and Reserves.
  • hatch — door; more specifically, the watertight cover over an opening that leads to the ladder wells between decks of a ship.
  • HBT — HerringBone Twill; the cotton material of Marine utilites from 1941 to the late 1950's.
  • HDR — Humanitarian Daily Ration, a variation on the MRE used to feed a malnourished person for one day with 2,300 calories.
  • headgear — hats, helmets, caps, etc.
  • head — bathroom or latrine, a nautical term stemming from the days of sailing ships when sailors and Marines answered nature's call by going forward to the bow of the ship.
  • heavy hat - junior drill instructor who performs more discipline and punishment tasts than his peers.
  • homesteading — remaining at one duty station for an extended tour or consecutive tours.
  • honcho or head honcho — Japanese term that applies to the Marine in charge, also a nickname for Okinawan taxi drivers.
  • hump — carry or lift a load, originally an Australian digger's word, "to hump one's swag,"; also a forced march carrying full equipment loads.
  • huss — to give a helping hand, so named beacuse the H-34 Choctaw helicopter's utility configuration was designated as the "HUS-1 Seahorse," and when Vietnam-era Marines needed a medical evacuation helicopter, they'd ask for or to be "cut a huss".

I

  • I & I — Inspector-Instructor, an active duty Marine assigned to supervise the training of a reserve unit.
  • IG Inspection — official inspection of a command or unit by the IG or his representatives.
  • inkstick — pen
  • Irish pennant or IP — loose thread, string, or strap on a uniform or equipment that detracts from a perfect appearance.

J

  • jarhead — pejorative term for a Marine. Jarhead has several supposed origins: the regulation "High and Tight" haircut resembles a mason jar (to add insult, some note that the jar is an empty vessel, also therefore a Marine's head an empty vessel); the Mason Jar Company stopped making jars and made the helmets for Marines during World War II.
  • Jesus slippers of Jesus boots — government-issue sandals or flip-flops for sanitation in showers; see shower shoes.

K

  • K or klicks — kilometer, a unit of measure.
  • KA-BAR — fighting/utility knife first issued during WWII.
  • kelly helmet or K-pot- 1917-model basin helmet worn during World War I until 1942.
  • keyboard jockey — person whose job causes him or her use a computer for a length of time.
  • knock it off — expression meaning "stop what you are doing".

L

  • lad — A young man. Never a boy. Lass is proper for a young woman. Never WM.
  • ladder/ladder wells — Stairs.

prob

  • laminated — A perceived semi-permanent state of issue. "He has a laminated light duty chit"
  • lance criminal - Used among NCO's and above as a slightly derogatory term when discussing lance corporals who are difficult or thick-headed, sometimes the phrase "privates, PFC's, and lance criminals" is used, sometimes the term lance coolie is used as well.
  • lass — A young woman. Never a WM.
  • leadstick — pencil
  • leatherneck — A U.S. Marine. Since the days of the Barbary pirates, U.S. Marines have called themselves "leathernecks." Legend and lore have it that the term leatherneck was derived from leather neckbands worn in the late 1700s to protect Marines from the slash of the cutlass. Another more likely reason is that the high stocks were worn for discipline to keep the Marines' heads high and straight. Neither explanation has ever been verified. Whatever the reason, the name leatherneck stuck and the distinctive dress blue uniform blouse still bears a high stock collar to remind Marines of the leatherneck legacy. Leatherneck: Magazine of the Marines.
  • leggings — Seldom worn today, leggings are canvas with eyelets and laces to secure the trouser legs over shoes.
  • liberty — Authorized free time ashore or off station, not counted as leave.
  • liberty list — Periodic list prepared by the first sergeant, containing the names of enlisted Marines entitled to liberty, employed by the guard in checking enlisted personnel on and off the ship or station.
  • lieutenant — Proper for either first or second lieutenants. Never L.T.
  • Lima Charlie — Phonetic alphabet signifying loud and clear. Is often substituted by "lickin' chicken"
  • line company — Originally a separate, numbered Marine company performing infantry duties. Now, lettered Marine companies or the aviation term for ground units.
  • lollygagging — The sailor-like habit of fooling around or to dawdle.
  • long handles — Winter skivvies.
  • lost lieutenant finder — A hand-held GPS unit.

M

  • ma'am — Replaces sir, when addressing women officers in particular and all women in general.
  • Mac Marine — Any Marine. Mac was a popular term with Marines during WW II, similar to calling someone Bub. Mac Marine was the Marine career planner popular on posters of the 1960s.
  • Maggie's drawers — A red flag attached to a pole, which those pulling butts in the pits wave to signal a miss. Today the flag has changed to a red disc, but it is still "Maggie's drawers."
  • MAGTF — Marine air-ground task force—a reservoir of combat capabilities made up of a command element, combat service support element, aviation combat element and ground combat element. The smallest is a MEU and largest is a MEF.
  • main battle tank — M1A1 tank. Avoid calling it by its Army name, i.e., Abrams tank.
  • Major — The CO of a ship's Marine detachment. On a ship there can be only one captain among her officers and that's the captain of the ship. Consequently, the CO of the Marine detachment, usually a Marine captain, is called a major. Provided by Maj Rick Spooner, USMC (Ret), former ship's MarDet commander.
  • Marine — leatherneck, devil dog, sea soldier, soldier of the sea, jarhead, gyrene, warrior, hardcharger, stone-face, motivator. Never Soldier.
  • master guns or master gunny — Master gunnery sergeant.
  • MEF — Marine expeditionary force. The largest of MAGTF units, approximately 46,100 Marines and sailors. It can range in size from less than a division to several divisions, aircraft wings and FSSGs.
  • messmen — Not KPs or mess cooks.
  • Mickey Mouse boots — The extreme cold weather rubber boots that resemble air filled galoshes that use an air bladder for insulation. They have a valve that equalizes pressure when worn in pressurized transports.
  • mike-mike — Millimeter.
  • military time — General Wallace M. Greene Jr., 23rd Commandant of the Marine Corps, forbade the practice of suffixing the unnecessary word "hours" after each indication of time of day. This is another Army usage. Say or write "1200," never "1200 hours."
  • Mister — Marine lieutenants, CWOs and warrant officers were at one time addressed as mister. Naval officers with the rank of lieutenant commander or below. Women officers are addressed as ma'am. Women Marine lieutenants and warrant officers technically may be addressed as miss or misses, but the terms may seem too civilian with today's women officers. Caution and good judgment are paramount.
  • monkey suit — Originally the fur suit used by WW I and WW II aviators at high altitudes. Now used to refer to military uniforms in general.
  • MOS — Military Occupational Specialty, a job classification.
  • MRE — Meal, ready to eat. Standard U.S. field ration sometimes called "Meals rejected by Ethiopia."
  • MSG — Marine Security Guard. Embassy duty.

N

  • NCO — Noncommissioned officer—corporal or sergeant. Never noncoms.
  • NJP — Non-judicial punishment. Legally speaking, a commanding officer is authorized to award summary punishments and courts-martial at office hours (called Captain's Mast afloat). The CO or an officer in charge may nevertheless inflict NJP. NJP under Article 15, UCMJ, is intended to take care of offenses too serious to be dealt with by a mere rebuke, but not serious enough to warrant court-martial.
  • non-rated — Not an NCO or petty officer rank. A snuffy.
  • number one — The best.
  • number ten — The worst.

O

  • O-dark thirty — Very early, well before dawn.
  • office hours — Captain's Mast when afloat. Office hours can be, and frequently are, devoted to nondisciplinary matters such as praise, special requests and the like. However, it also deals with legal and disciplinary aspects. It is not merely an administrative procedure, but also a ceremony intended to dramatize praise and admonition. Like any ceremony, it should be dignified, disciplined, especially set apart in the daily routine and carefully planned.
  • officers' club or officers' mess — Never O-club.
  • officers' country — Officers' living spaces on board ship. Any portion of the post or station allocated for the exclusive use of officers.
  • OFP - Own Fu**king Program. Being on your OFP "Oh I guess we dont want to do what the Sgt says, we are just on our OFP I guess huh?"
  • OJT — On-the-job training.
  • Old Asia Hand — Anyone with more than one tour in Asia.
  • Old Man — The commanding officer.
  • OMPF — Official Military Personnel File.
  • ooh rah — Although the other services have since come up with their own versions, oorah is the uniquely Marine way of replying positively to almost anything. In 1953 members of 1st Amphibious Reconnaissance Company were aboard the submarine USS Perch (APSS-313). Perch was a WW II diesel retrofitted to carry underwater demolition teams and Recon Marines. Whenever the boat was to dive, someone would announce over the PA system, "Dive, dive!" and sound a klaxon horn that sounded like "arrugha!" While 1st Amphib Recon Marines were on conditioning runs on land, they started singing chants. Someone imitated the horn sound "arrugha," and it became a Recon mantra: lexicon. Former Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps John Massaro took "arrugha" from Recon with him to Drill Instructor School and passed it to the DI students, who in turn passed it to their recruits. Arrugha eventually evolved into "oorah."
  • OQR — Officer qualification record, officer service record.
  • out of bounds — An area or space restricted from use by normal traffic, or prohibited to enlisted Marines. Sometimes called "restricted area." Avoid using "off limits," an Army and Air Force equivalent.
  • outside — Civilian life, sometimes colloquialized as, "Sergeant Boatspace is now serving on USS Outside." Occasionally referred to as "the 1st Civ. Div." See also, The Real World
  • overheads — Ceilings.
  • over the hill — To the desert. Too old.

P

  • padre — Spanish, meaning "father," thus Catholic chaplains.
  • parade ground/field/deck — Purists will call it a parade ground, but parade deck is acceptable.
  • passageway — A corridor or hallway.
  • passed over — In the status of having failed selection for the next higher rank.
  • pay grades — The DOD system of designating a U.S. serviceperson's pay: enlisted E-1 to E-9; warrant officers W-1 to W-5, and officer 0-1 to 0-10. (Prior enlisted officers hold the paygrade of O-1E to 0-3E. The DOD makes no differences between 0-4 and 0-4E.) Pay grades are not ranks, or billets. One would never call the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, E-9 of the Marine Corps, or the Commandant, 0-10 of the Marine Corps. Neither should one refer to others or themselves as, say, an E-7 or 0-6. Give people their correct ranks.
  • PCS — Permanent change of station, transfer to another post, station, base or installation.
  • PFC — Enlisted rate of E-2, Private first class.
  • PFT - Physical fitness test, pull-ups, abdominal crunches, and a (approximately) 3 mile run
  • Phone Watch — Marine on duty taking care of the phones when senior Marines are busy.
  • p--- and punk — Solitary confinement on bread and water. Only authorized on board ship and sometimes called B & W.
  • platoon sergeant — A staff NCO (usually a staff sergeant) in a platoon, executive to the platoon leader, usually a lieutenant.
  • pogey bait — Candy, cookies, sweets favored by pogues.
  • pogue — Anyone who is not in combat arms and not on the front line. Mostly seen as "POG", Persons other than Grunt.
  • police — To pick up items such as brass and butts and to square away an area.
  • port — Left. On a ship the port light, like port wine, is red. Opposite of starboard.
  • pot shack — Where pots are washed.
  • POV — Privately owned vehicle.
  • property shed — A place where organizational property is stored.
  • pucker factor — Level of anxiety experienced by aircrews or others in tight situations.
  • PX — Post Exchange. Here the Corps borrowed from the Army. It is in reality the Marine Corps Exchange, but PX is the common term, not BX.

Q

  • quarter deck - a position of prominence in a barracks or office, in recruit training, this area by the drill instructor's door is usually off-limits to recruits except during ceremonial discipline; the term comes from the quarter deck of a ship defined as "the part of the upper deck abaft the mainmast, including the poop deck when there is one. Usually reserved for ship's officers, guests, and passengers."
  • quarters — housing, whether bachelor (barracks) or family (government-leased apartments or houses); or periodic, muster of a ship's company.

R

  • racks or sacks — Beds. Never called bunks or beds.
  • radio watch — Marine on duty monitoring radio networks for traffic.
  • ranks — There is no contraction or shortened way of addressing the following: privates, lance corporals, corporals, sergeants (never sarge), staff sergeants, sergeants major, warrant officers, majors and colonels.
  • real world — Civilian life
  • REMF — rear echelon MFer, someone who served in a non-combatant type unit such as logistics.
  • red death — Poorly prepared corned beef with cabbage.
  • red lead — Catsup.
  • reefer — A large refrigerator or refrigerated room.
  • regulation — Strictly in accordance with regulations or adopted specifications. Issued from government sources (equivalent Army term, "GI").
  • Remington raider — a typist or clerk in the S-1 or G-1 sections.
  • RHIP — Colloquial abbreviation for the service phrase: "Rank hath its privileges."
  • rock — A Marine that is G2 (intelligence) challenged. Used as in, "That Marine's a rock!"
  • rock happy — Eccentric or mildly deranged as the result of long overseas duty at a remote station, usually an island; akin to Asiatic but without cosmopolitan connections.
  • Rocks and Shoals — Articles for the Government of the Navy, better-known as Rocks and Shoals, was prior to 1951, when replaced by the UCMJ, the military law governing the individual conduct and performance of duty in the naval services. Rocks and Shoals were, according to Captain Donald I. Thomas, USN (Ret), "wonderfully inspiring. We heard the dire consequences to those who 'suffered any vessel of the Navy to be stranded or run upon rocks and shoals, or improperly hazarded'; or who, 'when engaged in battle, treacherously yields or pusillanimously cries for quarter.' We were enjoined to 'guard against and suppress all dissolute and immoral practices.' Court-martial punishment was provided for any person 'who is guilty of profane swearing, falsehood, drunkenness, gambling, fraud, theft or any other conduct tending to the destruction of good morals.' We learned that any officer 'who absents himself from his command without leave may be sentenced by a court-martial to be reduced to the rating of seaman second class.' "
  • rotate — End of deployment in a theater or unit. As in "When do you rotate out of this place?"
  • running lights — The navigational night lights on a ship or a Marine's eyes.

S

  • sailor — acceptable: bluejacket, tar. Not so acceptable: gob, swab, swabbie, squid. Probably fighting words: anchor clanker, rust picker, deck ape.
  • salt — Salt from the brine. A Marine or sailor who has been at sea for a while or who had a number of years in the Corps or Navy is a salt.
  • salty — A Marine or sailor who is not necessarily a salt, but can act or appear salty, which can reflect a certain disregard for rules.
  • salty language — Profanity. It is the wise officer and NCO who avoids salty language or keeps it to a minimum.
  • Sandbox — Nickname for Iraq commonly used by Marines.
  • Sayonara — (Japanese) goodbye.
  • Schmuckatelli — An unnamed junior Marine, derogitory term. (e.g. Private Schmuckatelli, field day the shop).
  • SCIF - Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility -- A place where SCI (usually Top Secret) is processed. The main use of a SCIF is for processing of Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) which is Top Secret is nature and is not releasable to foreign nationals or to uncleared personnel.
  • scrounge — to appropriate, borrow or acquire by doubtful means; derived from "scringe," meaning to search about, rummage, or pilfer.
  • scullery — Where dishes are washed.
  • scuttlebutts — Drinking fountains. A "butt" is a cask. To "scuttle" means to make a hole in a ship's side, causing it to sink. A scuttlebutt in the days of wooden ships and iron men was a cask that had an opening in its side, fitted with a spigot. Casks of oak were used to contain fresh water for drinking purposes. Because people gather around a scuttlebutt, the gossip, rumor and sea stories are called scuttlebutt.
  • sea bags — Never duffel bags or barracks bags.
  • seagoing — Pertaining to or assigned to sea duty.
  • sea lawyer — Never barracks lawyer.
  • sea story — A yarn calculated to impress recruits or other gullible individuals. Fairy tales start off, "Once upon a time …" Sea stories start, "This is no s---."
  • secret squirrel - Usually a reference made to those who work in Intelligence (G-2), or those Marines who work in a SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility). Context used in: "Why don't you go back and do some more of your secret squirrel sh!t"
  • secure — Stop, make fast, cease work or put away. Also, to lock a door or building.
  • Semper Fi — A variant of semper fidelis (always faithful); the motto of the Corps. For several years during WW II and until the early 1980s, it also was a derisive term, "Semper fi, Mac!" that meant "I got mine; how are you doing?" or "Roll up the ladder. I'm aboard." Today "Semper Fi" is a friendly and positive greeting or sign-off among Marines.
  • sheets — maps
  • Shit bird — A habitually unkempt Marine, an undisciplined Marine. "That Marine is a shit bird..."
  • shooter — A Marine whose avocation is marksmanship with a rifle or pistol; loosely, a Marine who has displayed special prowess with rifle or pistol, or who has served with distinction on the Marine Corps rifle or pistol teams.
  • short-timer — One nearing the completion of his present tour of duty or whose enlistment is due to expire. We once knew someone so "short," he had to parachute off a dime.
  • shove off — To leave the vicinity.
  • sick bay — Ship or unit aid station, dispensary or infirmary.
  • sick call — Daily period when routine ailments are treated at sick bay.
  • side arms — Cream and sugar served with coffee. It also refers to weapons carried by Marines under arms.
  • sight in — In general, to aim a weapon at a target; loosely used as a synonym for zero.
  • skipper — Derived from the Scandinavian word schiffe, meaning ship, and the Dutch word schipper, meaning captain. A Marine captain, but only your own commanding officer.
  • skivvies — Underwear: skivvie shirt and skivvie drawers.
  • skylark — To run up and down the rigging of a ship in sport. To lollygag and frolic.
  • slopchute — PX restaurant or beer garden (equivalent of geedunk on board ship).
  • Smokin' and Jokin' — term describing Marines gathering in a mass and being unproductive.
  • SNAFU — Situation normal, all F'd-up. Similar to FUBAR.
  • snap in — To conduct sighting or aiming exercises with an unloaded weapon. To try out for, or break in for a new job.
  • snot locker — One's nose.
  • snow job — Misleading or grossly exaggerated report or sales talk.
  • snuffie or snuffy — Junior Marine in the grade of lance corporal and below.
  • soldier — The XO of a ship's Marine detachment. A ship's complement may already have a first lieutenant (an officer in charge of cleanliness and general upkeep of a ship or shore station. It is a duty not a rank.). Consequently, the XO of the MarDet is referred to as soldier. Attributed to Maj Rick Spooner, USMC (Ret), CO of a heavy cruiser MarDet.
  • SOS — An international distress signal or a dish of creamed beef on toast, better known as s--- on a shingle. Here are a couple of SOS recipes.
  • spit and polish — extreme individual or collective military neatness. Extreme devotion to the minutiae of traditional military procedures, ceremonies.
  • spit-shine — To shine leather, employing spittle or tap water to remove excess grease and produce a high polish. An extremely high polish on a piece of leather.
  • splice of the mainbrace — During sea battles between wooden ships, the rigging was a favored target, and following an engagement the first duty was to repair broken gear, sheets, and braces. It was custom, after the main braces were spliced, to serve grog to the entire crew. Today, the meaning is a general invitation to have a drink.
  • spud locker — A place where fresh vegetables are stored.
  • squadbays — Barracks room occupied by privates and junior NCOs.
  • square away — Make a neat and regulation appearance. One can also present a neat, regulation and squared-away appearance.
  • squid — Anyone in the Navy
  • stacking swivel — An oblong-shaped link with an opening screwed to the rifle that allowed other rifles to be hooked and stacked. The M1 Garand was the last service rifle to have a stacking swivel. To grab by the stacking swivel is to grab by the throat.
  • staff NCO — Staff noncommissioned officers: staff sergeant, gunnery sergeant, master sergeant, first sergeant, master gunnery sergeant and sergeant major.
  • Stand By — Wait.
  • starboard — Right. On a ship the starboard light is green. Opposite of Port.
  • survey — Medical discharge; to effect discharge or retirement of an individual for medical reasons; to dispose of an item of government property by reason of unserviceability.
  • swab — A mop or a sailor.
  • swoop — To make a long trip in a short period of time; to drive home during weekend liberty.
  • sympathy chit — Chit supposedly issued by those in authority, or by chaplains authorizing an individual with many woes to obtain a prescribed amount of sympathy. An expression used derisively to indicate a lack of sympathy or concern over the plight of another.

T

  • TAD — Temporary additional duty for Marines and sailors. Not TDY, which appears on many joint forms and is an Army and Air Force term.
  • tie-ties — Strings used to tie laundry items to the clothes line. Also old issue skivvies had tie-ties.
  • tight-jawed — Angry.
  • top — A Marine master sergeant. Not a first sergeant, not a master gunnery sergeant, and certainly not a sergeant major.
  • topside — Ship's deck or area exposed to the weather. Upper deck.
  • tore up — Messed up, broken, messy, unserviceable.
  • TRAM — Tractor, Rubber-tired, Articulated steering, Multi-purpose.
  • trooper — Of Army origin. Refer to an individual Marine as a Marine, never a trooper.
  • troops — As a plural, it is acceptable, but not troopers.
  • trousers — pants.
  • two-block — To hoist a flag or pennant to the peak, truck or yardarm. A field scarf with the knot positioned exactly in the "v" between the collar of a buttoned shirt.

U

  • UCMJ — The Uniform Code of Military Justice (Public Law 506, 81st Congress) 1951 is the system of military law, both judicial and nonjudicial, now in force throughout the U.S. Armed Forces.
  • UD — Unit Diary morning report.
  • un-ass — To get off of, or out of, as in "Let's un-ass this place."
  • un-f**k- Correcting a junior Marine. "Someone un-f**k him!"
  • under arms — A Marine is under arms when he has a weapon in his hand, is equipped with side-arms, or when he is wearing equipment pertaining to an arm such as a sword sling, pistol belt, or cartridge belt. When a Marine is "under arms" he does not remove his cover when indoors. Any Marine wearing an "MP" or "SP" brassard is considered under arms.
  • under canvas — Living under canvas covers everything from life in a shelter half up to a squad tent.
  • under way — To depart, or to start out for an objective.
  • unsat - abbreviation of unsatisfactory. Used to describe an individual Marine or situation. "Marine, your cammies are unsat."
  • utilities — Camouflage or digital, herringbone or sateen, the field and work uniforms of Marines are utilities or utes, never BDUs(Army) and no longer called dungarees.

V

W

  • WAG — Wild-ass guess, followed by the more precise SWAG: scientific wild-ass guess.
  • Walking John — Traditional nickname for a Marine Corps sergeant in blues (marching) who sometimes appears on recruiting posters.
  • war belt — Web belt worn in the field or by recruits.
  • war paint — Sticks of camouflage face paint.
  • watch — Official tour of duty of prescribed length, such as guard or officer of the day.
  • water buffalo — A 400-gallon water tank/trailer towed behind a truck or externally hauled by helicopter.
  • wet down — To serve drinks in honor of one's promotion in Staff Non Commissioned officer ranks.
  • whites — Marine Corps or Navy white uniforms.
  • Willie Peter bag — A waterproof bag.
  • winger — Term of a Marine who works in an aviation unit.
  • wooly pully - Green sweater worn occasionally over the khaki shirt in the bravo uniform. Recruiters sometimes wear a blue colored wooly pully.
  • woman Marine — It is always best to use the term Marine, for that is what they are. When gender differentiation is needed, use woman Marine, female Marine or even lady Marine. Never WM, and BAM is verboten.
  • work one's bolt — To resort to special measures, either by energy or guile. To attain a particular end.

X

Y

  • yellow legs — Name given by the Communist North Korean Army to U.S. Marines, whom they recognized by their discolored, yellow-looking leggings.

Z

  • zoomie — Term of a Marine who serves with an aviation unit: a wing wiper or airdale.

See Also



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