B00-500
500 cubic feet
field space cooler/air conditioner. Requires a dedicated generator.
B1RD
Humorous
identification for a Air Force plane. (see
GU11).
(pronounced “b
one r d)
BA1100N
Balloon.
BA 30/30
Government-issue
green Ray-O-Vac "C" cell battery.
Ba Mu'o'i Ba
Brand name of a
Vietnamese beer.
Baby Dicks
Hot dogs
contained in MREs.
Bad Conduct
Discharge
A discharge
ranking between Honorable and Dishonorable.
(background)
It is rumored that Walt Disney's Bad Conduct
Discharge from the Marine Corps was framed and hung behind his desk--that its
distinctive yellow color is seen in early introductions to "Walt Disney's
Wonderful World of Color" on ABC in the 1950s and 1960s. This is false--Walt
Disney never served in ANY military service. (synonym) Big Chicken
Dinner.
Backdoor Draft
Government
policy of keeping troops in the military beyond their original enlistment
contracts through “stop loss orders” (retaining specific shortage job
specialties such as military intelligence and aviation) and “stop movement
orders” (locking down entire units so that troops can’t leave the military or
rotate out into another unit). Some troops have spent one to two years serving
past their enlistment contract or retirement date.
Bag
To get, as in
“to bag some sleep.”
Bag Drag
Being
transferred, shipped out or the process of moving to new quarters. From the act
of dragging the sea bag from place to place.
Bag Nasty
An unappetizing
meal delivered in a paper bag, mostly during Marksmanship Training at boot camp
but also at other times in the fleet.
BAM
A pejorative
term for a Woman Marine
(background)
broad-assed Marine. Never used much in the presence of female Marines. Women
Marine recruits in the 1960s, when it was most used, were taught that the
letters meant "Beautiful American Marine". Known to have been used as early as
World War II. It fell out of use in the late 20th Century.
Bandoleer
A cloth or
canvas container of several rounds of ammunition.
Bandolier
A linked belt of
machine gun ammo.
BAQ
Basic Allowance
for Quarters.
BAR
Browning
Automatic Rifle. The M1918A1 automatic rifle was first used in World War II
until Vietnam. Marines, of course, didn't get it until after World War I. It was
replaced by the SAW.
Bar Fine
An amount of
money paid by bar girls in Subic Bay (Philippines) to be allowed to leave the
bar or walk the streets.
Barnett, George
Twelfth
Commandant of the Marine Corps. A Wisconsin native, born on Dec. 9, 1859, who
became the first graduate of the U. S. Naval Academy to be appointed Commandant.
He served as Major General Commandant from February 25, 1914 until June 30,
1920. He died April 27, 1930.
Barracks
Buildings where
single Marines live or a duty station where they serve.
Barracks Cover
A frame cap with
a leather bill and a metal hoop frame for the cloth covering. It has a chin
strap which is usually worn setting above the bill and is adorned with a large
eagle, globe and anchor above the chin strap.
Barracks Rat
1. A Marine who
does nothing but stay in the barracks all day watching television and playing
video games.
2. The Marine
equivalent of a couch potato.
3. Also a woman
who hangs around a barracks, BEQ or BOQ for the purpose of giving or selling
sexual favors.
Barrow, Robert
H.
Twenty seventh
Commandant of the Marine Corps serving from July 1, 1979 until June 30, 1983.
Born Feb 5, 1922.
BAS
Basic Allowance
for Subsistence. Food allowance paid to individuals not living in barracks.
Barracks residents use the military dining facilities.
(synonym)
Also Battalion Aid Station.
Base Pay
A
servicemember’s basic monthly/yearly pay, based on rank and years of service.
Basic School
Basic training
for new second lieutenants. Conducted at Quantico, VA.
Basket Leave
1. Illegal
practice of keeping a leave request form in an “In” basket (versus submitting it
for processing) while the individual goes on leave.
2. A leave that
is never charged against a member’s leave balance.
(background)
Often, leave papers were actually filled out and
approved, to cover everybody's ass in case the person on leave got arrested,
killed or detained somehow while on leave. When the individual returned, the
papers were then destroyed. Used by supervisors or leave clerks to provide a
“bennie” to someone.
Basketball
A flare ship on
station to drop illumination flares on command.
(origin)
Vietnam
(synonym)
“Puff
the Magic Dragon” or “Spooky”.
Baton
see Field
Marshall and Drum Major.
Battalion
A unit
containing multiple companies. It is typically commanded by a lieutenant
colonel.
(background)
Battalions are normally assigned to a regiment.
Battalion Aid
Station
A field medical
unit. The first organized aid station a Marine will see when transported from
the front line corpsmen.
Battle Dressing
A rectangular
medical dressing carried into battle by each Marine.
Battle Jacket
A service green
uniform jacket with a faux belt and no skirt.
(background)
Used
from World War II until the mid-1960s. (see
Ike Jacket)
Battle Pin
Necktie clip.
Battle Stations
(see
General Quarters)
Battery
An artillery
unit equivalent to an infantry company. Usually six guns used in support of an
infantry battalion.
Bayonet
A knife-like
weapon attached to the muzzle of a rifle used for hand-to-hand combat.
Bazooka
first of the
modern rocket launched weapons and was made in 2.75" and 3.5" versions. They
were replaced by the M72 LAW.
A WWII period
invention, it was the
They were used
against tanks, vehicles and other profitable targets but they were plagued by
electrical problems.
BB Stacker
Anyone dealing
directly with ordnance.
BC Glasses
Marine Corps
issue eyeglasses (officially F-9). Named Birth Control glasses by the troops due
to their repulsive effect on the opposite sex.
BCD
Bad Conduct
Discharge.
BDU
Battle Dress
Uniform. The official name for cammies.
Beating A Dead
Horse
A Naval term
meaning to work off advance pay onboard ship--the period before you start
earning money again. see Dead Horse.
Beef, Grease,
and Shrapnel
C-Ration meal of
beefsteak, potatoes and gravy.
Belay
1. Stop.
2. Make fast,
from the Naval practice of tying off a line with a belaying pin.
3. Disregard,
as in "Belay my last".
Bells
A system of time
onboard ship. The routine day was broken into six watches of four hours each.
(background)
The watch on duty was responsible for maintaining
the time, so each half hour a bell would be rung. This began at 30 minutes into
the watch with one bell, and ending up at the end of the watch with eight bells.
Watches began at 12, 4 and 8 so at those times eight bells were struck.
Below Decks
The decks below
the main weather deck of a ship. They are numbered from the main weather deck.
Deck 7 is therefore seven decks below the main deck. see Superstructure.
Bennie
Short for
“benefit.” All services provided to or for soldiers, sailors, airmen or Marines
are considered bennies.
BEQ.
Bachlor Enlisted
Quarters (barracks).
Bestwick, Wilbur
First Sergeant
Major of the Marine Corps. Served from May 23, 1957 until Aug 31, 1959. He was
born in Sabetha, KS on Nov 27, 1911 and died in San Francisco, CA on July 10,
1972.
Betel nut
Narcotic seed
nut chewed by Vietnamese villagers. The nut turned their teeth and gums blood
red.
Bib
The portion of a
Navy enlisted uniform that hangs from the back of the neck.
(background)
In the wooden navy it was fashionable for sailors to
have long hair but it would get blown about by the winds and get stuck in the
rigging or machinery. To counteract this, sailors at sea would braid their hair
and dip it in tar (used to seal the boards on the ship). When ashore on liberty
(as opposed to a longer leave where they would wash the tar out of the hair),
they would cut a bib out of sack cloth and tie it around their neck to keep from
getting tar on their one good shirt. The bib eventually became an official part
of the enlisted uniform.
Biddle, William
Eleventh
Commandant of the Marine Corps. The Pennsylvania native was born on Dec. 17,
1853 and died on Feb. 25, 1923. He served as Acting Commandant in the rank of
Colonel from Dec. 1, 1910 until Feb. 2, 1911, when he was appointed Major
General Commandant and served until Feb. 12, 1914. During his command, the term
of office was set, by law at 4 years.
Big Chicken
Dinner
Bad Conduct
Discharge.
Big Green Weenie
see Green
Weenie.
Big Nasty
see Bag Nasty.
Bilge
1. An acrid mix
of sea water, petroleum products and other brackish material that settles to the
bottom of a ship.
2. Information
that is of no value; garbage.
3. To fail at
something.
Bilge Rat
1. The sailors
who drain and maintain the bilge on ship.
2. Marine
assigned to bilge duty as non-judicial punishment.
Billet
A specific job
authorized within a unit structure.
Bingo
In Naval and
Marine Aviation, a fuel level or condition requiring return to base or ship or
aerial refueler.
Binjo Ditch
Rudimentary
sewage ditches found throughout the Orient.
Bird Colonel
A full colonel,
designated by the eagle emblem on the insignia.
(synonym)
Full Bird
Bird, Ball and
Chain
Eagle, Globe and
Anchor (usually used by short-timers).
Bird, Ball and
Hook
A disrespectful
reference to the modern emblem of the Marines, the eagle, globe and anchor.
Bird Farm
An aircraft
carrier.
Birdmen
A pejorative
term for airmen.
Bitchbox
The 1-MC on
board ship or any amplified system used to pass information widely.
Bladensburg Pike
Location of the
Marine line of defense on the edge of Washington, DC when the British attacked
in the War of 1812.
(background)
The Marines were overrun by superior forces but they earned the respect of their
enemy. Some say the British spared the Commandant's House, at 8th and I Streets
SE, out of respect.
Black, Henry H.
Seventh Sergeant
Major of the Marine Corps serving from June 1, 1975 until March 31, 1977. He was
born Feb 9, 1929 in Imperial, PA.
Blanket Party
Used most often
to "encourage" a screw-up to mend his ways. While sleeping, his platoon mates
would sneak up on him or her, cover them with a blanket and administer numerous
blows to him, while he writhied and screamed. Unauthorized and punishable under
the UCMJ. Not performed frequently.
Blivet
1. Anything
overstuffed
2. A rubber
fuel bladder.
3. modified
fuel tank used to haul small cargo outside the aircraft.
(origin)
(WWII) Two pounds of shit in a one pound bag.
Block
To tighten or
straighten a fieldscarf (necktie).
Blood Groove
A groove in a
fighting knife or sword. It allows blood to flow from a wound to aid in
removing the knife blade (a significant concern in close combat).
Blood Stripe
A red stripe
displayed on the outer seam of dress blue uniform trousers. It is worn by
noncommissioned officers, warrant officers and commissioned officers,
traditionally to honor the high number of casualties among the ranks at the
Battle of Chapultapec in the Mexican War.
Bloop or Bloop
‘em
(Vietnam)
Unofficial field command to hit a target with an M79 grenade launcher.
Blooper
M79 grenade
launcher. At least one is assigned to each squad of infantry Marines.
Blouse
1. The service
or dress coat worn by Marines.
2. Act of
tucking pant legs into boots so that the fabric slightly overhangs the boots
(worn mostly by Army personnel and in utility uniforms).
3. Act of
tucking in a shirt with military creases so that it appeared tight over the
entire belt line and caused a slight overhang between the two outside creases in
the back.
Blowing Smoke
Wasting time,
talking for no purpose and to no effect.
Blown Away
Killed.
BLT
Battalion
Landing Team, main body of infantrymen that make up a MEU.
Blue Blood
Former enlisted
Marine who accepted a commission.
(see
Mustang.)
Blue Falcon
1. Someone who
causes trouble for another.
2. Buddy
Fucker.
Blue Peter
1. The
International Signal Flag for the letter “P”. It is a blue square with a white
square within it.
2. Signal that
all hands are to return to ship as it is preparing to go to sea.
Blues
The Dress Blue
uniform.
Blue Water
Sailor
One who sails on
the deep seas, as opposed to members of the Coast Guard who are Shallow Water
Sailors. (see Brown Water Navy.)
Boat
1.
Any small vessel incapable of making regular independent
voyages on the high seas.
2.
Traditionally, a submarine.
Body Armor
Flack jacket.
BOHICA
Bend Over, Here
It Comes Again.
(origin)
(Vietnam) Derived from the French beaucoup meaning many or much.
Boondockers
Shoes with high
sides, manufactured to 1917 specifications and famous for having the heels come
off. Discontinued in the latter part of the 20th Century.
Boondocks
Anyplace out in
the country.
Boondoggle
Any situation in
which the Marine gets more out of an assignment, job or situation than the
Marine Corps. A good time at the Uncle's expense.
Boonies
Boondocks.
Boonie Hat
Field cover with
a brim all the way around it. It became an issue item in 2001 when the no-iron
cammies were introduced. May not be worn in garrison.
Boot
A recruit, a
rookie, a newbie. Applicable to all U. S. military services.
Boot Camp
In the Marine
Corps it is official Recruit Training. It is conducted at Marine Corps Recruit
Depots at Parris Island, SC and San Diego, CA. Parents, friends and other
relatives of Marine Corps recruits can find help and understanding among the
members of myMarine.
Boots and Utes
A uniform
combination consisting of the utility uniform (the uniform worn in the field)
and boots. Most often prescribed for physical training events.
Bogey
An unidentified
object, usually an aircraft, ship or other mobile weapons system.
BOQ
Bachelor Officer
Quarters.
Boucoup
(origin)
(Vietnam) Many, a large amount. From the Vietnamese French.
Bouncing Betty
A US
anti-personnel mine that pops into the air to waist level before exploding.
Box of Grid
Squares
One of the
endless group of nonexistent items that new members of a unit would be sent
looking for. This one was used mainly in artillery.
Boxsee
Vietnamese word
for doctor. Marines called their corpsmen by this name.
Boy
A Civil War era
rank just below private.
(background)
Boys were "apprenticed" to the Marine Corps or Navy to learn useful jobs. Many
later enlisted or joined the Marine Corps Band. In the Navy they were put on
ship and made "powder monkeys".
Brady, James
1. Press
Secretary to Ronald Reagan who was shot during an attempted assassination of the
President. He suffered severe brain trauma.
2. A journalist
and author. His name was given to a law that requires a waiting list for the
purchase of handguns and he became an advocate of hand gun control. Served in
the Corps during Korea.
Brain Bucket
Helmet of any
type including combat Kevlar® and aviation headgear.
Brain Fart
Discontinuity,
lost of concentration, a senior moment.
Brain Housing
Group
The human head.
Brass
Officers.
Brat
(see
Military Brat.)
Bravo
(Commtalk) the
letter “B.“
Bravo Zulu
Well done.
(background)
From the Allied Naval Signal Book (ACP-175 Series), adopted after the formation
of NATO.
Bridge
The compartment
aboard ship, usually in the superstructure, where the captain controls the ship
by issuing orders. It is the ship's at-sea headquarters.
Brig
1. A jail in
the Naval services usually operated by Marines.
2. Small
warship under sail during the 18th and 19th Centuries.
Brig Chaser
A Marine, now
normally an MP, assigned to guard a prisoner while being transported to a
location outside the brig, often for a work detail.
Brig Rat
A prisoner or
someone who is frequently in trouble.
Brig Step
A regular step,
as in marching. but the distance between the back of the first soldier and the
front of the second soldier is reduced to about four inches, so that they must
all march in step. It is a common method of controlling prisoners while moving
them from place to place. It is an illegal step for anyone other than a
prisoner.
Brigadier
A rank in the
Royal Marines, equivalent to Brigadier General in the U. S. Marine Corps.
Brigadier
General
First of the
Flag Officer ranks, signified by a silver star on the collar of the uniform.
(background) The pay grade is O-7 and is the same in the Army and the Air
Force. In the Navy and Coast Guard, the rank is Rear Admiral (lower half) and at
some times the rank of Commodore has been used. The rank is additionally
indicated on the sleeves of various uniforms by a two-inch gold band topped by a
one-inch gold band and an insignia indicating the branch of the service to which
the officer is assigned (most often a gold star indicating a line officer).
Shoulder boards are mostly gold with a silver-foiled anchor and one silver star.
Bronze Star
A personal
decoration originally intended for valorous service.
(background)
By the end of the 20th Century it was being given out for many non-combat acts,
it even became known as the "officer’s good conduct medal". The value of the
award was deflated so much that a metal "V" device to be worn on the medal's
suspension ribbon was issued to indicate valor.
Brown Shoe
Marine
An old salt.
(background)
Until Secretary of Defense MacNamara, under President Kennedy, forced all of the
services to use the same shoes, Marines were issued brown shoes. In the early
1960s the shoe color changed to black but the old salts continued to wear their
brown shoes as long as they could get away with it. In the Navy, any member of
the aviation community is called Brown Shoe in reference to the aviator's brown
flying boots.
Brown Shoe Navy
Navy from the
old days
(background)
Naval officers assigned to aviation billets from World War II through Vietnam
were authorized Aviation Greens in addition to their standard Navy blue uniform.
The cut was very similar to Marine greens except that there was no belt. Rank
insignia was in black and they wore a khaki shirt and black necktie. The shoes
were lighter brown than the standard Marine Corps issue of the time and they
wore tan socks. The Naval Aviator wings were gold-embroidered and the fore and
aft cap had small solid gold wings on the port side and rank insignia on the
starboard.
Brown Side Out
Instruction to
wear reversible hat with the brown side showing.
(origin)
(Vietnam Era) Helmet covers and shelter halves were green camo on one side and
brown camo on the other.
(background)
It was most often used to describe confusion in
orders as the color would change frequently and ultimately someone would show up
for formation in the wrong color.
Brown Water Navy
Operations in
rivers and other shallow water locations. (see
Shallow Water Sailor.)
Brownbagger
-
A person who
carried lunch rather than eat at the mess hall (usually a Married Marine).
-
Bar just
outside the main gate to Camp Lejeune, NC.
Bucket of Steam
A commodity used
in a practical joke by “salty” Marines who would send inexperienced comrades on
a mission to find one as part of an informal initiation rite. Taken from a
similar tactic among sailors.
Buddy
Best friend. It
is said that a real buddy is someone who will go into town when you are
restricted to base and get himself two blow jobs, then come back to base and
give one of them to you.
Bug Juice
1. Colored,
sweetened water served on ship or in mess halls.
2. Also a bug
repellent used in Vietnam.
Bug Out
To leave
quickly, usually as a unit, as in An individual would “bug out”.
Bulkhead
Wall, from the
Naval term for the water-tight structure between compartments on a ship.
Bull
The center or
highest scoring part of a target often called a Bulls-Eye.
Bull Run
The first major
battle of the Civil War in which a battalion of inexperienced Marines from the
Washington Navy Yard performed well beyond what should have been expected of
them. With an average of 3 weeks since enlisting, the Marines were trained
enroute to the battle by Major John G. Reynolds, the battalion commander, and
his officers. They supported the 11th New York "Fire Zouaves" in the first
attack during which the Zouaves broke and ran--never to be seen again on the
battlefield-taking the Marines with them from the field. The Marines were
rallied four times and entered the battle (a rate equal to the professional
soldiers of the Federal Army) five times. On the fifth attack, the field was
swept by fresh Confederate troops (in blue uniforms) who had just been brought
in by train from the Shenandoah Valley. General McDowell and his officers
roundly praised the Marines for their skill and tenacity but Colonel Commandant
John Harris, in his report to the Secretary of the Navy, wrote "It is the first
instance in history where any portion of its members turned their backs on the
enemy." Ignoring fact, the Commandant attempted to hurt the career of Major
Reynolds and established a lie in the annals of the Corps.
Bullshit
A card game
played by groups of Marines while standing in line, usually aboard ship.
(background) A player will draw five cards from a shuffled deck and after
reviewing the hand will announce the hand (it can be anything from "One Jack" to
"Full Boat, Flush"). The next Marine in line will decide if the announced hand
is what the player has and will either accept or proclaim "bullshit". If the
hand is accepted the Marine can draw from one to five cards and announce the
hand, but his hand must be better than the hand he accepted. This continues
until someone calls "bullshit". There is no scoring as the game is usually
played while standing up.
Bum Scoop
Bad information.
Often information passed on by “Bum Scoop Ned.”
Burn in
Military term
used to describe the action a paratrooper smacking into the ground after their
parachute fails to open.
Bumfucknowhere
1. “Bumfuck
Egypt” meaning in the middle of nowhere
2. very, very
remote.
Bunker
A covered,
reinforced fighting hole.
Burrows, William
Ward
Second Marine
Commandant. Appointed to major under the authority of the Act of July 11, 1798
which established the Marine Corps, He was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel
Commandant on May 1, 1800 under the authority of the Act of April 22, 1800. He
was born in South Carolina on Jan. 16, 1758 and died in office on March 6, 1804.
Bush
1. Outside the
perimeter wire.
2. The boonies.
(origin)
(Vietnam)
Bust Caps
1. A firefight.
2. The actual
firing of a weapon.
Bust Heavies
To work hard.
(origin)
(Vietnam era)
But
The pits on a
rifle range.
Butt
A cigarette or a
wooden cask or barrel in the wooden Navy.
Butt Kit
Ash tray. Often
a #10 tin can filled with dirt or sand.
Butter Bar
Pejorative term
for Second lieutenant or ensign, from the gold color of their rank insignia.
Bursting Bomb
1. Found on an
ancient insignia used in the Marine Corps to designate a warrant officer with
the MOS that entitles him or her to be called "gunner".
2. Found on the
enlisted grade insignia of master gunnery sergeant.
Buy The Farm
Killed.
Buzzard, Ball
and Hook
Another version
of Bird, Ball and Chain.
By the Numbers
1. Training
command to perform step-by-step, stopping at each step to allow for correction.
2. From the
beginning.
3. Used to
indicate that the action would have to be done precisely as directed.
By your leave...
1. A phrase
spoken by a junior when overcoming a senior prior to passing.
2. With your
permission.
3. A request to
be allowed to depart. Usually followed by "sir" or "ma'am".
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