david.wendelken
SOC-12
What are the traditional expressions soldiers in the different services use to deal with times of stress, to show courageous resolve, or just their disgust with the current situation?
Any ideas?
Any ideas?
Traditional Service "Expressions"
- Thread starter david.wendelken
- Start date
far-trader
SOC-14 10K
Welcome aboard david.wendelken 
I've used "Emperor's Stars!" a few times as a general term. Not specific to the Military though.
And there's the old standby "long walk out a short airlock".
EDIT: Ah, and there's some who give the Scouts the motto "First In" that might be used as a rally cry.
I've used "Emperor's Stars!" a few times as a general term. Not specific to the Military though.
And there's the old standby "long walk out a short airlock".
EDIT: Ah, and there's some who give the Scouts the motto "First In" that might be used as a rally cry.
Last edited:
In fact, that's exactly what their rallying cry means when translated from the Vilani /Ziknegiish Lan!/, often shortened to /Agiishlan!/.
A more general-purpose stress-based expression is /Kugganzir!/, used by Merchants primarily but also found in other services. It usually expresses surprise.
And perhaps the oldest expression known to the Imperium is the Vilani term /Dam!/, or its longer form /Dukam!/, used for surprise, irony, or when hitting one's thumb with a hammer.
david.wendelken
SOC-12
Is there a Vilani word list online somewhere?
First In! is great for the scouts.
I'm looking for inspiration for the Marine equivalents of Semper Fi and the Ranger Hoo-ah.
First In! is great for the scouts.
I'm looking for inspiration for the Marine equivalents of Semper Fi and the Ranger Hoo-ah.
One should note that, in the 80's, the rangers used ooh-rah! and/or er-ah! (my roomie in 92 was just out of a ranger unit, and into a NG ranger unit)... Fun to watch him cringe at the hooah hooey. Ft Dix, it was "Drive On!"
Drive On! is the standard for ImpMar Combat Units IMTU. Mostly because (1) I liked it, (2) it's an imperative command (3) it's a motivational message. Further, most of the IM CU are motor or grav mounted.
Major B
SOC-14 1K
David, in over 20 years of mostly infantry service including light, mech, and airborne, I've heard too many variations and variations of the variations to count. But then again, I'm an infantryman and can't count too high.
Most of those are formed from or include expletives so you may want to use Vilani translations. There are some great resources on Robject's website and others you can find with a google search.
Other examples that don't include expletives are:
Move Out
Move out and draw fire
Charlie Mike (phonetic for Continue [the] Mission)
Geronimo (US airborne traditional from the beginnings in 1942)
Airborne
Air Assault
Rangers lead the way (actually an imperative or command, not a description - attributed to then BG Norman Cota on Omaha Beach, 1944)
Drive on
Strike (based on a unit motto - many variations there)
First to fire (air defense but ortillery or planetary defenders could adopt this)
There's lots more.
Most of those are formed from or include expletives so you may want to use Vilani translations. There are some great resources on Robject's website and others you can find with a google search.
Other examples that don't include expletives are:
Move Out
Move out and draw fire
Charlie Mike (phonetic for Continue [the] Mission)
Geronimo (US airborne traditional from the beginnings in 1942)
Airborne
Air Assault
Rangers lead the way (actually an imperative or command, not a description - attributed to then BG Norman Cota on Omaha Beach, 1944)
Drive on
Strike (based on a unit motto - many variations there)
First to fire (air defense but ortillery or planetary defenders could adopt this)
There's lots more.
Dark - unlit side of the planet or jumping into a system with black globes turned on.
Crow's Nest - Command Bridge.
Viper's Nest - Army slang for an undesirable mission.
Peacemaking - when the Marines get called in.
Running on Empty - stealth commando mission
Glide - come in undetected
When the Stars Are Right - the mission time
Hodge Podge - mix up of coordination & chain of command between different branches.
Kolonel Blimp - Imperial pompous officer
Browncoats - informal Solomani Resistance/Insurgency
Eh K - WTF
WTF - when things go nuclear, chemical, biological or neural weapons in the battlespace.
Crow's Nest - Command Bridge.
Viper's Nest - Army slang for an undesirable mission.
Peacemaking - when the Marines get called in.
Running on Empty - stealth commando mission
Glide - come in undetected
When the Stars Are Right - the mission time
Hodge Podge - mix up of coordination & chain of command between different branches.
Kolonel Blimp - Imperial pompous officer
Browncoats - informal Solomani Resistance/Insurgency
Eh K - WTF
WTF - when things go nuclear, chemical, biological or neural weapons in the battlespace.
FreeTrav
SOC-14 1K
Any comment referring to 'daddy', 'father', or other male parentage term is generally interpreted as referring to the situation going into a failure mode of some sort. Etymological research suggests that the original term was "going pear-shaped", which got shortened to "pearing off", abbreviated "P.O." (phonetic, PAPA OSCAR), which evolved through "papa-oh" to "daddy-o" to any generalized comment about fathers.
A dictionary, but it lacks a lot of the color terms that you're looking for.
They can be added, though.
Vilani-related resources link follows. Vilani_Dictionary.html is the word list.
http://eaglestone.pocketempires.com/lang/vilani/
Sailors Expressions
noob- Naval ..Nub ..standing for Non-Usable Ballast..refering to one fresh out of the academy or boot camp not even worth his weight in ballast.
Snafu- generally expressed right after you find out that planned extraction ain't going to happen or that a last second mission change is to ones detriment.
Sierra Mike Alpha-you have the wrong guy for this mission...
"I'm getting to old for this mess" - Normally stated by folk nearing retirement and still having to run nasty missions.
"Any ship can be a submarine, ONCE."
"You APES want to live FOREVER??" - Gunny to Platoon just before embarkation to a hostile shore line..
"It will be a milk run." - Avoid missions that have officers describing it like this at all costs odds are it means Military Intell rates the mission with less than 1% survival chance.
Military Intelligence is an Oxymoron.
MI cannot tell the south end of a northbound mule from a hole in the ground.
..............
The ship always takes on water at twice the rate that it can pump it over the side. (sign above many bildge pumps)
..............
Only enough life boats are expected to survive initial combat for 50% of the crew..engineers are the last to have a shot at the life boats.
..............
"You will learn Damage Control procedures Seaman cause its a long way to swim home.."-Chief Damage Controlman to some nub deck seaman just reporting aboard asking why he needed to know how to fight a fire..
.............
"You will fight this fire and put it out now...cause I cannot swim 7000+miles..and this is my only ride home." - Damage Controlman Second Class Grim on board USS Hawes FFG-53 in 1990-1991 while fighting a fire in an Auxiliary Machine Room during Operation Desert Storm.
.............
noob- Naval ..Nub ..standing for Non-Usable Ballast..refering to one fresh out of the academy or boot camp not even worth his weight in ballast.
Snafu- generally expressed right after you find out that planned extraction ain't going to happen or that a last second mission change is to ones detriment.
Sierra Mike Alpha-you have the wrong guy for this mission...
"I'm getting to old for this mess" - Normally stated by folk nearing retirement and still having to run nasty missions.
"Any ship can be a submarine, ONCE."
"You APES want to live FOREVER??" - Gunny to Platoon just before embarkation to a hostile shore line..
"It will be a milk run." - Avoid missions that have officers describing it like this at all costs odds are it means Military Intell rates the mission with less than 1% survival chance.
Military Intelligence is an Oxymoron.
MI cannot tell the south end of a northbound mule from a hole in the ground.
..............
The ship always takes on water at twice the rate that it can pump it over the side. (sign above many bildge pumps)
..............
Only enough life boats are expected to survive initial combat for 50% of the crew..engineers are the last to have a shot at the life boats.
..............
"You will learn Damage Control procedures Seaman cause its a long way to swim home.."-Chief Damage Controlman to some nub deck seaman just reporting aboard asking why he needed to know how to fight a fire..
.............
"You will fight this fire and put it out now...cause I cannot swim 7000+miles..and this is my only ride home." - Damage Controlman Second Class Grim on board USS Hawes FFG-53 in 1990-1991 while fighting a fire in an Auxiliary Machine Room during Operation Desert Storm.
.............
A few motto's from units I served in were, "Ready to Strike", "Tropic Lightning", "Golden Dragons", "Duty First", and "Mighty Proud" (always cringed at that last one).
One of the Gurps military books has a list of military slang, some new, some based on modern ones.
Here are some modern (maybe not so modern now) slang I can think of from US Army:
REMF - Rear Echelon Mother....
Leg - Non-Air Assault or Airborne qualified.
Short - Close to ETS, leaving the service.
Chairborne -A play on "Airborne" for a person with a desk job (derogatory).
PoG - Pronounced poge. For "People Other then Grunts".
Lifer - Someone who is planning on making the military a career.
Oscar Mike or Charlie Mike - Military phoenetic alphabet for "On Mission", or "Continue Mission". Means you are back on mission.
RPG - Not just Rocket Propelled Grenade, also Rape Prevention Glasses for the military issue, large, ugly, plastic framed glasses.
Beans and Bullets - Military supplies.
Barracks Rat - Soldier that never goes out to have fun, stays in the barracks, loner.
The Field - Any area where you are living without regular quarters, camping.
Woobie - Sleeping kit in the field (sleeping bags usually left behind)
Pogie Bait - Extra junk food you sneak with you into the field.
Blood wings - Getting your new Airborne or Air Assault "wings" (a uniform medal) punched into your chest from prior graduates (it pokes the two posts on the back into your chest).
Walking the Gauntlet - Similar to blood wings, but after a promotion, walking down a double line of people with more rank, getting punched in both shoulders (where the new rank is worn).
Dinosaur Country - Rough jungle terrain.
Boot - Brand new soldier (just in from Boot Camp).
Butter Bar - Usually derogatory for a brand new Lieutenant (gold colored bar shaped rank).
Full Bird - A Colonel. "Full" because not a Lt. Colonel, "Bird" because the rank symbol includes a bird.
Smoked - Tired, exhausted.
Jar Head - A Marine (from Army perspective).
Grunt - Infantryman.
Hooah - Can mean about anything depending on how you say it, but most often used as an acknowledgement. A cheerful Hooah can mean you are motivated, an uncheerful one can mean you aren't, for example. Officialy meant to show your esprit de corps, a.i. "Hooah!" after receiving an order (I found it hilarious when I deployed to Thailand and found it also meant "puke").
One of the Gurps military books has a list of military slang, some new, some based on modern ones.
Here are some modern (maybe not so modern now) slang I can think of from US Army:
REMF - Rear Echelon Mother....
Leg - Non-Air Assault or Airborne qualified.
Short - Close to ETS, leaving the service.
Chairborne -A play on "Airborne" for a person with a desk job (derogatory).
PoG - Pronounced poge. For "People Other then Grunts".
Lifer - Someone who is planning on making the military a career.
Oscar Mike or Charlie Mike - Military phoenetic alphabet for "On Mission", or "Continue Mission". Means you are back on mission.
RPG - Not just Rocket Propelled Grenade, also Rape Prevention Glasses for the military issue, large, ugly, plastic framed glasses.
Beans and Bullets - Military supplies.
Barracks Rat - Soldier that never goes out to have fun, stays in the barracks, loner.
The Field - Any area where you are living without regular quarters, camping.
Woobie - Sleeping kit in the field (sleeping bags usually left behind)
Pogie Bait - Extra junk food you sneak with you into the field.
Blood wings - Getting your new Airborne or Air Assault "wings" (a uniform medal) punched into your chest from prior graduates (it pokes the two posts on the back into your chest).
Walking the Gauntlet - Similar to blood wings, but after a promotion, walking down a double line of people with more rank, getting punched in both shoulders (where the new rank is worn).
Dinosaur Country - Rough jungle terrain.
Boot - Brand new soldier (just in from Boot Camp).
Butter Bar - Usually derogatory for a brand new Lieutenant (gold colored bar shaped rank).
Full Bird - A Colonel. "Full" because not a Lt. Colonel, "Bird" because the rank symbol includes a bird.
Smoked - Tired, exhausted.
Jar Head - A Marine (from Army perspective).
Grunt - Infantryman.
Hooah - Can mean about anything depending on how you say it, but most often used as an acknowledgement. A cheerful Hooah can mean you are motivated, an uncheerful one can mean you aren't, for example. Officialy meant to show your esprit de corps, a.i. "Hooah!" after receiving an order (I found it hilarious when I deployed to Thailand and found it also meant "puke").
Last edited:
Mark Morgan
SOC-10
I do like what is reported to be popular wth RCES
"daves, I stil have the greatest confidence in the mission" menaing of course thing can't get any worse
"daves, I stil have the greatest confidence in the mission" menaing of course thing can't get any worse
IMTU the Terran Imperial Security Police are called 'varks. Short for Aardvark, or earth pig.
Marines are referred to by the Imperial Navy as bootnecks or joeys, and as jarheads by the Colonial Fleet.
The Jump Troops are a separate service which has its origins in the various special forces of many nations by the strongest influence was from the French Foreign Legion after I incorporated some of the events from Trav:2300 into my future history. As a result Camarone Day is celebrated by them, their motto is: "Jump or Die", and this led to a clever player suggesting they be nicknamed "Frogs" (both for the jumping and their origins) - though never to their face.
So the name stuck.
The old Terran Confederation Peace Enforcers were referred to as "skunks" by the colonists in one particular cluster (and it gradually spread from there) because they were having regular riots in those 3 worlds during a widespread insurrection. So the cops would hover along in their grav bikes and spray the area of the massive riots with vomit and blackout gas. They also regularly carried a sleeve projector built into their armor that could also spray you with vomit gas.
Marines are referred to by the Imperial Navy as bootnecks or joeys, and as jarheads by the Colonial Fleet.
The Jump Troops are a separate service which has its origins in the various special forces of many nations by the strongest influence was from the French Foreign Legion after I incorporated some of the events from Trav:2300 into my future history. As a result Camarone Day is celebrated by them, their motto is: "Jump or Die", and this led to a clever player suggesting they be nicknamed "Frogs" (both for the jumping and their origins) - though never to their face.
So the name stuck.
The old Terran Confederation Peace Enforcers were referred to as "skunks" by the colonists in one particular cluster (and it gradually spread from there) because they were having regular riots in those 3 worlds during a widespread insurrection. So the cops would hover along in their grav bikes and spray the area of the massive riots with vomit and blackout gas. They also regularly carried a sleeve projector built into their armor that could also spray you with vomit gas.
I also just make it up on the fly like with a discussion of a hard mission on Jewell during the Fifth Frontier War between a couple of Jump Troops (Imperial Marines):
Marine 1: "I heard Jewell got pretty messed up."
Marine 2: "Yeah, orty was late to the party and half our 'toon got smoked including our light by Zho addy when we got laid, but our Gunny rallied the drabs and we bounced to that battery and smoked 'em good. What was s'posed to be cake turned into a real crap-fest; we all got bangles for it though, that battery had been a real threat in the zone, the crunchies really got it."
Translation:
Yes, orbital bombardment was off target or didn't do enough prep-fire around the jump troop's LZ, half of the platoon was taken as casualties including our Lieutenant by Zhodani Air Defense Artillery during our orbital insertion, but our Gunnery Sgt/Platoon NCO rallied what was left of the platoon and we attacked and destroyed the Zhodani Air Defese Artillery Battery. What was supposed to be easy, turned into a bad situation; we all were decorated for it though, that battery had been causing a lot of casualties, particularly amongst the Combat Armored troops and their Transports.
Marine 1: "I heard Jewell got pretty messed up."
Marine 2: "Yeah, orty was late to the party and half our 'toon got smoked including our light by Zho addy when we got laid, but our Gunny rallied the drabs and we bounced to that battery and smoked 'em good. What was s'posed to be cake turned into a real crap-fest; we all got bangles for it though, that battery had been a real threat in the zone, the crunchies really got it."
Translation:
Yes, orbital bombardment was off target or didn't do enough prep-fire around the jump troop's LZ, half of the platoon was taken as casualties including our Lieutenant by Zhodani Air Defense Artillery during our orbital insertion, but our Gunnery Sgt/Platoon NCO rallied what was left of the platoon and we attacked and destroyed the Zhodani Air Defese Artillery Battery. What was supposed to be easy, turned into a bad situation; we all were decorated for it though, that battery had been causing a lot of casualties, particularly amongst the Combat Armored troops and their Transports.
Andrew Boulton
The Adminator
Nice. Can I borrow this for my Terran Dawn guides?
My Old Earth Union pocket empire has a Union Enforcement Corps. I have a list of slang in my forth-coming Old Earth pocket guide (everything free) and your "aardvark" made me think of Ground Hogs (from Earth/Terran Hog/Pig). I will put a note in the back to give you credit if you allow.
Last edited:
Similar threads
