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C-Rations
Individual meals
used in the field from World War II until Vietnam.
(background)
They came in a box containing cans of food and a
foil accessory pack. They were replaced by the Meals, Ready to Eat (MRE).
Cadet
A student at the
U. S. Military Academy, U. S. Air Force Academy, Reserve Officer Training Corps
units as well as other officer procurement organizations. (see
Aviation Cadet.)
Cadillac
Marine Corps
issued boots. The predominant form of transportation for recruits and infantry
Marines.
Call Sign
(Commtalk) The word identifier for a unit, aircraft or pilot.
CamelBac®.
A name brand
version of a personal hydration system which allows the wearer to sip water
through a tube from a bladder worn on the back.
Cammies
The field
uniform of the Marine Corps since the 1970s. The original design was stolen by
the Army and then every other military service and in 2002 the “pixelated”
design was introduced. The design itself includes tiny Marine Corps emblems and
blends better into most natural settings.
Campaign Cover
The hat worn by
drill instructors, sometimes called a “Smoky Bear” hat. The only official Marine
headgear not called a cover.
Cannon Cocker
A Marine in the
artillery or a Navy gunner's mate.
Canoe U
The U. S. Naval
Academy.
CAO
Casualty
Assistance Officer.
CAP
Combat Air
Patrol.
Combined Action
Platoon, Marines and Vietnamese soldiers working together, generally as part of
the "Pacification Program".
(origin)
(Vietnam)
Cap
To fire at
something or someone. see Busting Caps. From the act of busting the primer cap
on a round of ammunition.
(origin)
Vietnam
Captain (Navy,
Coast Guard)
1. The sixth
commissioned officer grade. The rank is lieutenant and is additionally
indicated on the shoulder boards and sleeves of various uniforms by two broad
gold bands topped by the insignia indicating the branch of the service to which
the officer is assigned (most often a gold star indicating a line officer) or,
in the Coast Guard, a gold shield.
2. The pay
grade is O-6.
Captain (Marine,
Air Force, Army)
1. The third
grade of commissioned officer and most senior of the company grade officers
indicated by two silver bars on the collar of the uniform. The rank insignia
for a Captain of Marines differs from every other service's rank insignia (the
tie-bars are at the ends of the rank bars rather than somewhat inboard like a
railroad track--no one seems to know why and most reference sources use it
incorrectly).
2. The pay
grade is O-3.
Captain Jinx of
the Horse Marines
A popular square
dance tune from the 19th Century. The captain is actually an Army officer but
the tune was so popular that no application of fact could change the words.
Captain’s Mast
Non-judicial
punishment exercised by a ship captain.
Carry On
An informal
order to continue what you were doing before being interrupted, usually by the
appearance of a commissioned officer.
Casual Company
(or Platoon)
A unit of
Marines awaiting reassignment.
Cat 4
Applicants who
scored next to the lowest on the entrance exams. Under normal circumstances they
would not be allowed to enlist but during times of war and when recruiting was
difficult a number of them were allowed to join.
(background)
In the 1960 the Pentagon was forced to accept some
social engineering called Project 100,000 in which a great number of Cat 4
enlistees were taken in--the military has yet to recover. For classification
purposes the category was further broken down to 4a, 4b or 4c which were defined
by recruiters as "animal," "vegetable," or "mineral."
Cat 9
A reference to
someone as "beyond dumb" since Category 4 is the lowest of the scores on the
entrance exams.
Catapult
A device on
aircraft carriers that hurls an aircraft into the air. Operated by a giant steam
piston, it shakes the entire ship when engaged.
Cates, Clifton
B.
Nineteenth
Commandant of the Marine Corps. A Tennessee native, he was born Aug 31, 1893 and
died June 4, 1970. He served as Commandant from Jan 1, 1948 until Dec 31, 1951
in the rank of General.
Cattle Car
A cargo trailer
converted by adding bus doors to the right side, sealing the back doors and
adding bench seating. It was pulled by a truck utilizing a fifth-wheel and it
was employed at Parris Island and Quantico until the late 1960s to transport
recruits and officer candidates.
CC
Correctional
Custody.
CAX
Combined Arms
Exercise. Exercises the MAGTF.
CG
Commanding
General.
CH-46 Sea Knight
Twin engine
helicopter capable of carrying a platoon of Marines.
Chain of Command
The continuous
chain of authority that links the most junior private to the Commander in Chief
and vice versa.
(background)
Many argue that the US implementation of the chain of command is the most
important strategy employed by our military forces. In other armies the loss of
a commander would throw the entire organization into disorder while in the
U S military,
the next most senior person present just assumes command. It is taught that
whenever two Marines are walking together, one is in charge.
Chairman of the
Joint Chiefs of Staff
A general or
admiral appointed by the President to serve as his senior military advisor.
(background)
He works with the Secretary of Defense and has no direct authority over the
individual services. He does, however, direct the Unified Commands as the direct
superior to their Commanders (who were previously called Commander in Chief
until the practice was ended by President Bush who wanted exclusive use of the
title).
Challenge
A word or phrase
given by a sentry to someone approaching his or her post. The person approaching
must give the password or the sentry will assume that the person approaching is
an enemy or an unauthorized person.
(synonym)
Challenge Coin--a coin shared by members of a specific organization which is
used to identify a member of that group to another member of the group.
CHAMPUS
Civilian Health
And Medical Program of the Uniformed Services. (The military HMO)--now TRICARE.
Chaplain
A religious
leader commissioned into the Navy to provide religious services to members of
the Naval establishment. They are addressed as Chaplain regardless of rank.
Chapman Jr.,
Leonard F
Twenty-fourth
Commandant of the Marine Corps, serving from Jan. 1, 1968 until Dec. 31, 1971.
He was born Nov. 3, 1913.
CHARLIE
(Commtalk)
The letter “C”.
Charlie
A Viet Communist
soldier, abbreviated VC or Victor Charlie, thus Charlie.
(origin)
Vietnam
Charlie Echo
Code
A numerical code
devised by aviators during the Vietnam War after they were admonished for their
frequent use of profanity and unkind references to staff and command personnel.
(background)
The code was a three-digit number with each number having a specific meaning. It
was used in the form “Charlie Echo 103”.
Charlie Sierra
Chicken Shit.
Check
Yes, affirmative
or I agree.
Check your six
Look behind you.
(background)
Based on the position of numbers on a clock. An aviation term, it refers to the
relative location of an aircraft with 12:00 being the nose.
Cheeseburgers
(see
Sliders.)
Cherry Boy
1. A newcomer
to the Orient.
2. New or
inexperienced soldier.
Chesty
1. Lieutenant
General Lewis B. “Chesty” Puller, legendary former enlisted Marine who commanded
Marines during the Korean War. Many Drill Instructors require their recruits to
recite, “Good night General Puller, wherever you are” upon retiring at night.
2. Also a
favorite name for the bulldog mascot of a Marine unit.
3. Marine PFC.
(see
Mustang)
Chevron
1. A basic
element of the enlisted rank structure.
2. A military
uniform stripe
(background)
Until the late 19th Century chevrons were worn in the European tradition with
the point facing down. Now the normal position for a chevron in the United
States military is with the point up.
Chi-Com
Short for
Chinese Communist.
(origin)
Vietnam
Chicken Shit
Stupid and petty
stuff usually directed by someone of more rank or authority.
Chief of Naval
Operations
Abbreviated CNO,
this is the highest ranking Naval Officer, reporting to the Secretary of the
Navy. He sits as a regular member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and is eligible
to serve as Chairman. He holds the rank of admiral. The Commandant of the Marine
Corps does not report to the CNO.
Chief of Staff
of the Air Force
The highest
ranking general in the Air Force, reporting to the Secretary of the Air Force.
He sits as a regular member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and is eligible to
serve as Chairman.
Chief of Staff
of the Army
The highest
ranking general in the Army, reporting to the Secretary of the Army. He sits as
a regular member of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and is eligible to serve as
Chairman.
(background)
Prior to the Civil War, an officer in this position was often called
General-in-Chief. It was last applied to Winfield Scott, commander of U. S.
troops in the Mexican War.
Chief of the
Boat
The senior chief
petty officer on a submarine.
Chief Petty
Officer
A Navy/Coast
Guard enlisted rank consisting of three inverted chevrons with an inverted
rocker on top and a Navy eagle sitting on the rocker. see Gunnery Sergeant of
Marines.
Chief Warrant
Officer
A commissioned
Warrant Officer. The top four grades of Warrant Officer (W-2 through W-5) are
commissioned officers.
Chieu-Hoi
Unconditional
surrender by an enemy soldier or force.
(origin)
Vietnam
China Marines
Marines of the
4th Marine Regiment assigned to China in the first half of the 20th Century.
(synonym)
Horse Marines.
Chit
Any piece of
paper authorizing something (light duty chit, leave chit, etc.) within the Naval
establishment.
Chop Chop
Quickly or in a
hurry.
(origin)
Derived from Chinese by the old China Marines.
Chopper
Helicopter.
Chosin Reservoir
The fiercest and
most costly battle in the Korean War. A retreat under fire in 30 below
temperatures against a well-trained, much larger force. “Chesty” Puller and all
of the Marines were professional in all aspects of the operation. They won the
respect of everyone from General MacArthur to the newest Army private who fought
with them.
(see Puller,
Lewis B.)
Chow Hall
Place where
meals are served
(synonym) Mess,
Mess Hall, Dining Hall, Mess Deck.
Chuck
A reference to
white Marines by black Marines.
(origin)
Vietnam
CID
Criminal
Investigation Division. Military Police unit charged with criminal
investigations, polygraph examinations, etc. Commissioned and non-commissioned
officers who wear civilian clothing. CIDs are not identified by rank; instead
they are called Investigator. They work closely with Naval Criminal
Investigation Service (NCIS -- formerly NIS).
Cinderella
Liberty
Liberty that
expires at midnight.
(background)
Used mostly in foreign ports where the captain is concerned for the safety of
his crew or as a subliminal form of punishment.
Class VI
A military
liquor store.
(background)
From the priority level assigned to the shipment of such supplies during World
War II. Class I was for medical supplies and ammunition, Class II for food and
the lowest priority, Class VI, included liquor for troop consumption. Often
written Class 6.
Class A
The green
service uniform with ribbons. Term use until about the 1980s, replaced by
"Alphas".
Claymore
Directional
anti-personnel mine with plastic explosive-propelling ball bearings. Often used
in perimeter defense.
Cleary, Robert
E.
Tenth Sergeant
Major of the Marine Corps having served from June 28, 1983 until June 26, 1987.
He was born in Tewksbury, MA on June 2, 1931.
Click
An inexact
distance derived from artillery sightings in which each click of site elevation
would move the impact point depending on a number of diverse options.
Roughly either a
mile or a kilometer. Used mostly since Vietnam.
(background)
Legend has it that when the GP (jeep) vehicle was first introduced the odometer
would click every one fifth of a mile and that soldiers soon learned to judge
distance by the click so that they could pay attention to road hazards and enemy
positions.
Close Air
Support
A concept
developed by Marines during the Bananna Wars of the 1930s, copied by the Germans
in World War II and perfected by the Marines. Aircraft strafe enemy positions or
formations only yards from the Marine front line. Marine aviators are most
proficient at it but flying sailors also do an acceptable job. The Navy calls
it, "Moving mud to help out the grunts."
Cluster Fuck
A mission,
operation or activity gone bad.
Confusion.
(origin)
Vietnam
Circle Jerk
see Cluster
Fuck.
CMC
Commandant of
the Marine Corps. The senior officer in the Marine Corps although under the
Joint Chiefs of Staff and Unified Command systems of organization it is possible
to have a Marine whose billet outranks the Commandant (Gen. Peter Pace, Deputy
Chairman of the Join Chiefs of Staff, is in a position that out ranks the
Commandant). Also, in the Navy, Command Master Chief Petty Officer.
CO
1. Commanding
Officer.
2.
Conscientious objector.
Coast Guard
One of the five
armed services and the only one not in the Department of Defense. In peacetime,
they are part of the Department of Homeland Security because of their missions
which include water search and rescue, drug interdiction and waterway safety.
(background)
Prior to being transferred to Homeland Security, they were part of the
Department of Transportation. They were originally part of the Treasury
Department because one of the major components that became the Coast Guard, the
Revenue Cutter Service, was in that Department. The other major component that
became the Coast Guard in the early 20th Century was the coastal US Life Saving
Service.
Coastie
A member of the
Coast Guard.
Coaxial
Machinegun
A machinegun
mounted exactly alongside a tank cannon enabling the tank's gunner to use the
same fire control system for both weapons.
COC
Combat
Operations Center.
(synonym)
Center of Confusion.
Code Talkers
Navajo Marines
who were recruited during World War II to serve as field radio operators. They
would take the orders of the various commanders and translate them into Navajo
and sending the information to another Code Talker who would translate it back
into English. It is the only field code never broken by the Japanese.
Colonel
The sixth grade
of commissioned officer and senior field grade officer indicated by a silver
eagle on the collar of the uniform. Air Force and Marine colonels wear two
eagles, while Army colonels wear the eagle only on the left collar while the
insignia of their branch of service is worn on the other. The pay grade is O-6.
Navy and Coast Guard call the rank captain.
Colors
1. The time of
day when the national flag is hoisted or lowered from the flagpole. All
personnel stop and render appropriate honors during this period.
2. Also the
flag of a specific unit upon which the battle streamers are mounted.
Color Sergeant
By regulation,
the most senior sergeant (E-5) in the Marine Corps. He or she is assigned to 8th
and Eye and has charge of the official colors of the Marine Corps.
COMCIVLANT
Navy version of
1st Civ Div COMmander, CIVilians, AtLANTic.
Commandant's Own
Name given to
the United States Marine Drum and Bugle Corps.
Combat
Correspondents
Marines who
report war news from the front and who assist the news media in reporting about
Marines in combat. They are trained at the Defense Information School.
(see
United States Marine Corps Combat Correspondents Association.)
Commandant of
the Coast Guard
The highest
ranking Admiral in the Coast Guard, reporting to the Secretary of the Treasury
in peace time and the Secretary of the Navy in wartime.
Commandant of
the Marine Corps
The highest
ranking person in the Marine Corps. The first CMC was a captain and the rank has
increased until today he holds the rank of general. He is appointed by the
President and reports to the Secretary of the Navy. He sits as a regular member
of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and is eligible to serve as Chairman.
Commander in
Chief
The President of
the United States (POTUS). Prior to 2002, it was also used to indicate the
senior officer in a unified command. In June of 2002, the Secretary of Defense
decreed that the only the POTUS can serve in this position.
Commander
One who is in
charge of a military unit or, in the Navy and Coast Guard a rank equivalent to a
Marine lieutenant colonel. (see
Lieutenant Colonel.)
Commanding
General
A general
officer in charge of a unit with authority to dispense justice appropriate to
his or her rank.
Commanding
Officer
A person in
charge of a unit with authority to dispense justice appropriate to his or her
rank.
Commando
Not wearing
skivvies.
Commissary
Grocery store on
base run by DeCA (Defense Commissary Agency).
Commissioned
Officer
Officers who
have been designated as “officers and gentlemen” by the Congress on the advice
of the President. The commissioned ranks are: Second Lieutenant, First
Lieutenant, Captain, Major, Lieutenant Colonel, Colonel, Brigadier General,
Major General, Lieutenant General and General.
(background)
Noncommissioned officers are rated and warrant officers are granted warrants to
their grade. Enlisted Marines are fond of making note that their parents made
them gentlemen, it did not require an act of Congress.
Commo Wire
Field telephone
wire.
Company
A unit
containing more than one platoon. They are typically commanded by a captain.
Companies are assigned within Battalions.
Company Grade
A commissioned
officer in the first three grades. In the Navy and Coast Guard they are ensign,
lieutenant (junior grade) and lieutenant. In the Army, Air Force or Marine Corps
they are first and second lieutenants and captain. Traditionally, particularly
in the Naval services, these officers may be addressed as mister, but a smart
Marine doesn’t follow this tradition.
Company Gunny
Usually a
gunnery sergeant in a company who is charged with training. It is a billet and
not a rank.
ComRats
Commuted
Rations. Payment in lieu of eating in the mess hall, usually paid to married
Marines.
Comshaw
(see Cumshaw.)
Concertina
Heavy duty
barbed wire.
Conscientious
objector
Someone who
objects to combat on religious grounds.
(background)
They can serve in non-combatant positions (including service on the battlefield
as a corpsman or other unarmed person) or they can serve in non-military public
service assignments. They are usually not slackers or traitors and deserve
respect for making difficult decisions before getting someone hurt or killed in
combat.
Confederate
States Marine Corps
Many of the
officers of the CSM were formerly officers or noncommissioned officers in the U.
S. Marine Corps who resigned to "go south". Their headquarters were at the fort
at Drewry's Bluff on the James River, keeping the U. S. Navy from firing on
Richmond, the Confederate capital.
Confidence
Course
A series of
large scale obstacles that a Marine must overcome, particularly in boot camp. It
is generally not a timed event and is most often an individual effort to
overcome fears of height and to develop confidence in recruits.
(synonym)
Obstacle Course.
Congressional
Medal of Honor
No such thing.
(see
Medal of Honor.)
Constructionman
A Navy enlisted
rank.
(see
Seaman.)
Contraband
A slave freed by
Union forces during the Civil War.
(background)
While these slaves were in the South they were legally free. When they passed
into the hands of Union forces they were still slaves (the Emancipation
Proclamation did not free slaves in the Union). Many of them enlisted into the
Army or Navy, but because of their status could serve only in menial positions.
Many sailors of the time were free blacks and were treated like any other
shipmate, but they would not associate with contrabands. It was only after the
Civil War that the Navy was segregated.
CONUS
Continental
United States.
Cool Beans
Everything is
OK.
Cop
To get, as in
"cop some Zs".
Corfam®
A material used
to make dress shoes and boots that has a high gloss finish. A registered
product of the DuPont Company.
(see
Spit Shine.)
Corp
An abbreviation
for the word corporation which is frequently incorrectly used in place of the
word Corps.
Corporal of
Marines
The first of the
noncommissioned officer ranks. Indicated by two chevrons and crossed rifles
below them worn on both sleeves. The pay grade is E-4 and is equivalent to:
corporal in the Army, senior airman in the Air Force and petty officer third
class in the Navy and Coast Guard.
Corps
A military unit
containing multiple Divisions or a unique, specified military organization given
the designation.
Corpsman
An enlisted
member of the Navy Medical Corps trained in field medical aid. (During WWII they
were Pharmacist Mates.) They usually wear Marine Corps uniforms with Navy rank
and insignia. Until they are promoted to Chief Petty Officer they wear subdued
insignia of rank on the right collar of field uniforms and a shield with a
Caduceus on the left collar. On service uniforms they wear their rank insignia
on the left arm only. Their rank structure is:
* HR - Hospital
Recruit (E-1)
* HA - Hospital
Apprentice (E-2)
* HN -
Hospitalman (E-3)
* HM3 - Hospital
Corpsman Third Class (E-4)
* HM2 - Hospital
Corpsman Second Class (E-5)
* HM1 - Hospital
Corpsman First Class (E-6)
* HMC - Chief
Hospital Corpsman (E-7)
* HMCS - Senior
Chief Hospital Corpsman (E-8)
* HMCM - Master
Chief Hospital Corpsman (E-9)
(see Doc.)
Cosmolene®
1. A protective
fluid placed on rifles and other metal objects which hardens and keeps the item
from rusting or corroding. It must be removed before the item can be used.
2. Also refers
to something new as in, "it was still in Cosmolene".
Court Street
Liberty
destination in Jacksonville, NC for Marines from Camp Lejeune, Camp Geiger and
MCAS New River.
(background)
Until the 1980s the street was populated with bars, pawn shops and the bus
station. The town cleaned it up and turned it into a "mall" sending the liberty
crowd to the "second front", a range of bars along US 17.
Cover
Caps, hats and
other things worn on the head. Marines wear covers, regardless of what the
headgear actually is. A Marine's cover is always removed when indoors unless
that Marine is armed. Also, in ranks, to align directly behind the Marine in
front of you.
Coxswain
One who steers a
boat or has charge of its crew.
(pronunciation:
cox-SUN.)
CP
Command Post.
Unit headquarters.
Cracker Jack
Sailor.
Crawford, Leland
D.
Ninth Sergeant
Major of the Marine Corps having served from Aug. 16, 1979 until June 27, 1983.
He was born in Sharon, WV on Feb. 16, 1930.
Crew-Served
Weapon
Any weapon which
requires more than one Marine to fire. Most artillery pieces, tanks and large
machine guns fit in this category.
Crossing the
Line
An allegorical
ceremony performed aboard ship whenever the ship crosses a navigational line
such as the equator or into another ocean. Very colorful and usually involves
an initiation of those who have never crossed the line before.
Crotch, The
Pejorative for
the The Corps.
Crow
General
reference to the Naval Eagle in the insignia of U. S. Navy petty officers.
Crucible
A 54-hour
training event in which Marine recruits are physically and mentally challenged
by lack of sleep, minimal food, forced marches, teamwork exercises and
leadership opportunities. It is the final major training event of boot camp and
is designed to pull together everything they have been taught previously and
survive a real challenge. Parents of recruits or potential recruits should be
told that while it will be difficult for their child, it is safe and well
supervised. It culminates in the Warrior Breakfast and signals a change in their
drill instructors from task masters to mentors.
Cruise
(see
Deployment.)
Crumb Catcher
The mouth.
Cut Sling Load
Military term
for taking a dump.
(origin)
Came from the command Air Assault soldiers use to order the helicopter crew
chief to drop the cargo load carried underneath the chopper.
Cumshaw
A present or
gratuity, often a piece of equipment that appears when needed (while at the same
time a similar item disappears from another unit). A cumshaw artist is
generally prized within a unit for his or her ability to provide - and few
questions are asked.
(origin)
From the old Chinese term “kam sia” meaning grateful thanks. The term was used
at the start of World War II to describe payoffs by Honolulu's Hotel Street
prostitutes to local police officials.
Cunt Cap
Garrison cover.
(see
Pisscutter.)
Cupola
The tank
commander's hatch.
CUPP
Combined Unit
Pacification Program. Units consisting of Marines and South Vietnamese soldiers.
(origin)
Vietnam
Cushman Jr.,
Robert E.
Twenty fifth
Commandant of the Marine Corps, serving from Jan. 1, 1972 until June 30, 1975.
The Naval Academy graduate was born Dec. 24, 1914 and dies Jan. 2, 1985.
CUPP
Combined Unit
Pacification Program. Units consisting of Marines and South Vietnamese soldiers.
(origin)
Vietnam
Cushman Jr.,
Robert E.
Twenty fifth
Commandant of the Marine Corps, serving from Jan. 1, 1972 until June 30, 1975.
The Naval Academy graduate was born Dec. 24, 1914 and dies Jan. 2, 1985.
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