Higgipedia
SOC-11
Let us not forget the individual who goes to Jump School, earns their wings and never goes to an airborne unit afterward: The Five Jump Chump.
military slang and sayings (Some may be mildly offensive)
- Thread starter Xerxeskingofking
- Start date
Let us not forget the individual who goes to Jump School, earns their wings and never goes to an airborne unit afterward: The Five Jump Chump.
Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
Collecting badges tends to help the promotion fast track.
In Spanish Army, the Comandante (major) bears an 8 star, while the Lt. Colonel wears 2 and the Colonel 3. In slang, this star is called (of course, when they don't hear you) la galleta (the biscuit) or el mantecado (a kind of round seet eaten on Christmas),
In a likewise way, the Liutennant (Teniente in Spanish) is sometimes calld the el Tete (a chidish way to call on older brother), while Colonel is called the el Coco (the Spanish equivalent to the boggey man, a unspecified monster used as a threat to put children to sleep)
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It's important to realize that all those schools are entirely volunteer. One is almost never assigned to them without requesting them. Likewise, assignment to units where one can use them is almost assured if one passed the classes and asks for it.
The exceptions tend to be Guard and Reserves - where one can be assigned to the unit before one gets qualified, and where the unit assignment has everything to do with geography.
The term generally refers to guys who are active, went to the schools, passed, and then asked for non-airborne/non-air-assault units.
You'd look real hard at a guy who has the tabs but not the wings... "Paper Parachutes" for the 501 Airborne, the infamous "Five-oh-worst chairborne"... during the days of Ft. Richardson being HQ 6th Infantry Division. (Prior, it was host to the 172 Lt Inf Bde, often known as the "172d Hunting and Fishing"...)
[m;]Admin Note:[/m;]
And while these terms all tend a bit to the derogatory, in this thread, we are treating it as a historical exercise. So, if you cannot handle the terms, avoid the thread.
Keklas Rekobah
SOC-14 1K
The Sari-Sari Store
So... after 18+ hours of flying, I’m laying in bed in an air-conditioned room somewhere in beautiful downtown Makati, and re-reading this thread when an idea hit me. I hope that none of the fine people of Philippine ancestry are offended, but the drive from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport to the hotel inspired the following idea. Anyone who ever served in Olongapo or at the AFB before the Pinatubo eruption will know right away what I’m writing about.
You are hailed by a small vessel. The captain of Akino’s Sarisari offers a wide assortment of “rare delicacies” and “local treasures” with no fixed price. Zooming the PTZ cam reveals what looks like the aft part of a shuttle, the mid-section of at least 3 modular cutters, and the forward section of a ... what’s the Droyne word for “dog’s breakfast”? It is obviously not streamlined at all...
Note for non-Filipinos: “A sari-sari store, or neighborhood sundry store, is a convenience store found in the Philippines. The word sari-sari is Tagalog meaning "variety" or "sundry". Such stores form an important economic and social location in a Filipino community and is ubiquitous in neighborhoods and streets. Sari-sari stores tend to be family-run and privately owned operating within the shopkeeper's residence...” (from Wikipedia)
Vessels like this are set up where the main starport is Class C, with no highport of its own. Sarisaris operate as combination convenience stores, pawn shops, post offices, and brokers for cargo and passengers. Family-owned, they operate in the grey area between the jurisdictions of the Starport Authority and the planet-side government. Most Sarisaris are eventually driven out of business by bigger commercially-franchised operations, especially when the starport upgrades to Class B or A.
Sarisaris are usually constructed from spent fuel tanks, cargo containers, and the occasional small craft (for maneuverbility and station-keeping) by an enterprising person or group of people who see the wisdom of filling a need in an advanced space-faring society. These vessels are usually serviced by whatever orbit-capable small craft are available.
“Yep! I started out with a vacc suit, an G-Carrier, an ambition to serve the people, and the desire to make a little profit along the way. Now look at me! The first station manager of a brand-new Class B Imperial highport! Life just doesn’t get better than this. By the way, you look like someone who could use a new watch...”
So... after 18+ hours of flying, I’m laying in bed in an air-conditioned room somewhere in beautiful downtown Makati, and re-reading this thread when an idea hit me. I hope that none of the fine people of Philippine ancestry are offended, but the drive from the Ninoy Aquino International Airport to the hotel inspired the following idea. Anyone who ever served in Olongapo or at the AFB before the Pinatubo eruption will know right away what I’m writing about.
What would be the 55th-century equivalent of an orbital “banca boat”? How would it be spec’ed? Or would it be more like...
You are hailed by a small vessel. The captain of Akino’s Sarisari offers a wide assortment of “rare delicacies” and “local treasures” with no fixed price. Zooming the PTZ cam reveals what looks like the aft part of a shuttle, the mid-section of at least 3 modular cutters, and the forward section of a ... what’s the Droyne word for “dog’s breakfast”? It is obviously not streamlined at all...
Note for non-Filipinos: “A sari-sari store, or neighborhood sundry store, is a convenience store found in the Philippines. The word sari-sari is Tagalog meaning "variety" or "sundry". Such stores form an important economic and social location in a Filipino community and is ubiquitous in neighborhoods and streets. Sari-sari stores tend to be family-run and privately owned operating within the shopkeeper's residence...” (from Wikipedia)
Vessels like this are set up where the main starport is Class C, with no highport of its own. Sarisaris operate as combination convenience stores, pawn shops, post offices, and brokers for cargo and passengers. Family-owned, they operate in the grey area between the jurisdictions of the Starport Authority and the planet-side government. Most Sarisaris are eventually driven out of business by bigger commercially-franchised operations, especially when the starport upgrades to Class B or A.
Sarisaris are usually constructed from spent fuel tanks, cargo containers, and the occasional small craft (for maneuverbility and station-keeping) by an enterprising person or group of people who see the wisdom of filling a need in an advanced space-faring society. These vessels are usually serviced by whatever orbit-capable small craft are available.
“Yep! I started out with a vacc suit, an G-Carrier, an ambition to serve the people, and the desire to make a little profit along the way. Now look at me! The first station manager of a brand-new Class B Imperial highport! Life just doesn’t get better than this. By the way, you look like someone who could use a new watch...”
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Condottiere
SOC-14 5K
Going by actual experience, entrepreneurially inclined cultures will have expatriates competing at the neighbourhood retail level.
Major B
SOC-14 1K
When the newly-qualified paratrooper arrives at an airborne unit, he is a "cherry." Many units, when the "cherry" is rigging for his first jump with the unit, will cover his helmet with red duct tape and others will give him a hostess cherry pie to carry in his cargo pocket. The jumpmaster will then smash the cherry pie in his pocket while doing the jumpmaster personnel inspection (JMPI) of his rig.
Edit: I thought of an additional note after posting this but first some background - Each country with airborne forces handles the details of a jump in different ways. In the US, an Army Jumpmaster is responsible for ensuring each Soldier is rigged correctly, loading the aircraft, and controlling the exit of the jumpers. Typically the Jumpmaster will follow the stick out after all the jumpers have exited if the doors of the aircraft are the exit point. If jumping off the ramp, the jumpmaster leads each stick out. In the UK, the individual responsible for controlling the jumpers' exit is called the Dispatcher and he is Air Force, not Army.
Some time back I was working out how 3I Assault Troops using drop capsules might work and created the term "dropmaster" as the title for the unit member that would ensure the trooper had properly strapped himself and his equipment inside the capsule before closing the hatch and clearing him for launch. It would be a Navy crewmember that would actually launch the capsules when he was issued the command. Another crewmember would be responsible for plotting the course for each capsule while another fed him meteorological/atmospheric data necessary to get each capsule where it was intended to go according to the drop plan. Has anyone else come up with terminology associated with drop troops?
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Timerover51
SOC-14 5K
Is this done to all of the new personnel in the unit, or just the enlisted men?
I knew a 2LT they did that to... but he was also quite a chump... "as useful as the bar on his collar" (from his first OER...)
Major B
SOC-14 1K
The cherry pie thing I've only seen twice and both were enlisted but I have jumped with quite a few active and reserve units so I don't know if officers got the same treatment. The red tape I have seen more often and that included officers up to Captain. In one unit that routinely jumped with steerable parachutes (MC1-1B) they taped a red fin to the top of a new LT's helmet. Those units used the term "sky shark" to describe new jumpers. The term also described someone who would steer toward the turn-in point rather than steering to avoid other jumpers.
Major B
SOC-14 1K
I've remembered a few more terms for units and branches:
The 4th Infantry Division is known as the "Ivy Division" because in the First World War division numeric designations were shown using Roman Numerals so the fourth division was "IV." When I served there it was also known as the "Ironhorse" Division alluding to it being mechanized. The unit patch is based on the WWI name. It is a white square canted 45 degrees so it looks like a diamond. Green Ivy leaves looking somewhat like arrowheads point toward all four corners. Among NCOs in my unit it was said to represent "Four Lieutenants going North."
The US Army Signal Corps branch insignia depicts two semaphore flags from the civil war so Signal Officers are commonly called "flag flappers."
Army Engineers all seem to want to take the name "Sapper" as their radio callsign. After one particular battle at NTC I vowed to never make fun of the engineers again but before that I would call them "Snappers," "Ditch Diggers," or "Picket Pounders" depending on the situation.
The 4th Infantry Division is known as the "Ivy Division" because in the First World War division numeric designations were shown using Roman Numerals so the fourth division was "IV." When I served there it was also known as the "Ironhorse" Division alluding to it being mechanized. The unit patch is based on the WWI name. It is a white square canted 45 degrees so it looks like a diamond. Green Ivy leaves looking somewhat like arrowheads point toward all four corners. Among NCOs in my unit it was said to represent "Four Lieutenants going North."
The US Army Signal Corps branch insignia depicts two semaphore flags from the civil war so Signal Officers are commonly called "flag flappers."
Army Engineers all seem to want to take the name "Sapper" as their radio callsign. After one particular battle at NTC I vowed to never make fun of the engineers again but before that I would call them "Snappers," "Ditch Diggers," or "Picket Pounders" depending on the situation.
I have told this story before... I forget the Ensign's name.
One summer the ship's Captain apparently volunteered our ship to host not one, but three, third year guys from the Navy Academy on their cruise before senior year. I've forgotten the technical terms for them 'Third Officers' ?
Anyway, they were put through several trials and tribulations. Sea bats, mail buoy watch in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, etc.
One of them had to have sea bats explained to him, that it was a joke. Along with being told, after more than one night out on the bow of the ship, that mail buoys haven't been used since the 1800s.
Guess which ship got him after he graduated ? Yup, our ship.
In the Navy there are surprise inspections of the damage control/repair parties, etc. for combat drills. They show up, we went to General Quarters, and the inspection started.
This particular Ensign was made DCA, officer incharge of the damage control parties. All he had to do, he was told, was take norte of the scores given. Give no orders, do nothing.
So they are simulating a fire in the after gun mount ready room. Where the powder and shell hoists meet, and then those items are sent up to the gun crew to fire.
From what I was able to find out later, he said something like 'oh no, no water pressure on the hose !'. Not supposed to be any, its a drill.
So he runs back about 100 feet and turns the water on. The fire hose nozzle is open, and 3 feet of salt water gets put in that compartment shorting out cables befroe the nozzleman can shut it off. Also salt water ets on the inspecting officer's shiny shoes.
The inspection team said they would come back when we were ready, the next day.
So... the captain kept them drilling until 10 PM. The adjacent ships sent over a delegation of officers asking him to please stop as him using the out on deck speakers was keeping everyone awake.
We passed the next day.
After everyone had calmed down, took a month or so. ( It did take 6 months for all the shorts in that gun mount to be fixed. ) I asked what would have happened if we had flunked the second day ?
At that time Adak, Alaska was a hard duty station. The Captain, the XO, and several other officers would have been sent up there to count penguins. There are no penguins on Adak Island.
Took that O-1 Ensign an extra year to make it to O-2, Lt. jg.
One summer the ship's Captain apparently volunteered our ship to host not one, but three, third year guys from the Navy Academy on their cruise before senior year. I've forgotten the technical terms for them 'Third Officers' ?
Anyway, they were put through several trials and tribulations. Sea bats, mail buoy watch in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, etc.
One of them had to have sea bats explained to him, that it was a joke. Along with being told, after more than one night out on the bow of the ship, that mail buoys haven't been used since the 1800s.
Guess which ship got him after he graduated ? Yup, our ship.
In the Navy there are surprise inspections of the damage control/repair parties, etc. for combat drills. They show up, we went to General Quarters, and the inspection started.
This particular Ensign was made DCA, officer incharge of the damage control parties. All he had to do, he was told, was take norte of the scores given. Give no orders, do nothing.
So they are simulating a fire in the after gun mount ready room. Where the powder and shell hoists meet, and then those items are sent up to the gun crew to fire.
From what I was able to find out later, he said something like 'oh no, no water pressure on the hose !'. Not supposed to be any, its a drill.
So he runs back about 100 feet and turns the water on. The fire hose nozzle is open, and 3 feet of salt water gets put in that compartment shorting out cables befroe the nozzleman can shut it off. Also salt water ets on the inspecting officer's shiny shoes.
The inspection team said they would come back when we were ready, the next day.
So... the captain kept them drilling until 10 PM. The adjacent ships sent over a delegation of officers asking him to please stop as him using the out on deck speakers was keeping everyone awake.
We passed the next day.
After everyone had calmed down, took a month or so. ( It did take 6 months for all the shorts in that gun mount to be fixed. ) I asked what would have happened if we had flunked the second day ?
At that time Adak, Alaska was a hard duty station. The Captain, the XO, and several other officers would have been sent up there to count penguins. There are no penguins on Adak Island.
Took that O-1 Ensign an extra year to make it to O-2, Lt. jg.
BlackBat242
SOC-14 1K
MIDN 2/C stands for Midshipman Second Class (third year United States Naval Academy cadet).
Actually you could have genuine "Bumboat" if you anchor your Scout off a fishing village on a waterworld (E class starport or wilderness landing on waterworld is fun, lagoon, light breeze ... ).
Actually they are even more likely at D starport, or even at high LL, E class starport that you game as "the local autorities have a no Gringos landing rule". So local entrepreneurs operate the "grey market" from orbit.
have fun
Selandia
Thanks !
What better way to recharge surplus plasma rifles to use on the natives...
Also SOS standing for S**t. on a Shingle. Can also be applied to beef stew over toast, and other meat-n-white-gravy combos. Green Beans and Sausage was a standard at the mess hall my company ate at in BT at Dix. Made from the leftover gravy from breakfast, plus ground-beef style sausage, and canned green beans.
I've also seen it applied to beef or bird gravies. The usual vegetable is peas, sometimes with diced carrots, but I've seen green beans, diced carrots alone, chickpeas, and diced mystery veggie. I've seen pulled pork, pulled beef, chipped beef, beef stroganoff, pulled chicken, pulled turkey pulled pork, ground sausage, ground beef, ground pork.
Yeah, I grew up eating on base 2-3 times a month or more. And yes, my school cook was formerly an Army cook. She was an SP6, according to her desk plate.
