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WAAC
Women's Army
Auxiliary Corps, predecessor to the WAC and without military status. (see
Woman Marine.)
WAC
Women's Army
Corps.
(see Woman
Marine.)
WAF
Woman (or Women)
in the Air Force.
(see Woman
Marine.)
WAG
Wild Assed
Guess.
Warrant Officer
An officer who
ranks below a second lieutenant but above all enlisted personnel. see Chief
Warrant Officer. Most warrant officers are former enlisted. They wear the
insignia of first and second lieutenants with various red stripes painted on the
insignia.
Warrior
Breakfast
The meal served
to recruits upon completion of the gruelling 54-hour crucible. For many, it is
the first good meal in two days.
WASP
Women's Air
Force Service Pilots, while not a Marine unit is still worthy of comment. These
were civilian female pilots during World War II who ferried planes from
construction plants to free male pilots for combat. They were a courageous and
patriotic group who have finally been granted veteran status. Originally they
were the Women's Auxiliary Ferrying Squadron--WAFS---and the Women's Flying
Training Detachment, dually created Sep 1942 within the Air Transport Command.
Wasted
Extremely drunk
or, in Vietnam, killed.
Water Buffalo
A water tank on
wheels.
Wave Cage
(Not PC) Living
quarters of female enlisted Navy personnel.
WAVES
Women Accepted
for Volunteer Emergency Services. The component unit in which women served the
Navy.
(see Woman
Marine.)
Webb, Jack
Hollywood
producer and actor, best knows as Sgt. Joe Friday from the television series
Dragnet in the mid-20th Century. He was lead actor in a movie from the
1950s called "DI" about a Marine Drill Instructor at Parris Island SC. His
production company was Mark VII.
Well Deck
A lower deck on
some ships that can be flooded to embark and debark Marines on board amphibious
tractors and boats.
Wetting Down
A party held to
celebrate a promotion (in the past it involved copious amounts of alcoholic
beverage).
Whale Shit
According to
many Drill Instructors, the only thing lower on God's green earth lower than a
recruit.
Wharton,
Franklin
Third Commandant
of the Marine Corps. A Pennsylvania native born on July 23, 1767, he was named
LtCol Commandant on March 7, 1804 and served until his death on Sept 1, 1818.
Whiskey 95
A type of
transfer from an overseas assignment in which the Marine is within 3 months of
discharge. Rather than assign them to a unit for such a short time, the Marine
is assigned to a holding unit at Camp Pendleton, CA or Camp Lejeune, NC.
White Hat
An enlisted
sailor, from the headgear worn with the enlisted uniform.
(see
Dixie Cup)
WIA
Wounded in
Action.
Widow Maker
Unofficial and
uncomplimentary name for the CH-53 helicopter.
Wigged Out
Crazy, flipped
out or, in Vietnamese, "Dinky Dau".
WILCO
(Commtalk)Will
Comply. Often used after Roger.
Willie Peter
(WP)
White
phosphorus, an incendiary material that burns hot and is not extinguished with
water. Used in WP hand grenades and long range artillery rounds.
Willie Peter Bag
A waterproofed
canvas bag originally designed to keep a rolled up sleeping bag dry.
Wilson, Louis
Medal of Honor
recipient and twenty-sixth Commandant of the Marine Corps. He served as
Commandant from July 1, 1975 until June 30, 1979. He was born Feb. 11, 1920.
Wing
Usually Air
Wing, an aviation unit equivalent to an infantry division.
Wing Wiper
A pejorative
term for a Marine assigned to an aviation unit.
Winger
A Marine
assigned to an Air Wing.
(see Wing
Wiper.)
Wire, The
The perimeter of
a position so named because most perimeters were marked with concertina or
barbed wire.
(origin)
Vietnam
Woman Marine
Former term for
a female Marine. No longer in use because women are integrated into the Corps
and are identified simply as Marines. Similar groups in the other services
were: WAC for Women’s Army Corps; WAAC for Women’s Army Air Corps; WAF for Women
in the Air Force; WAVES for Women Available for Volunteer Emergency Services
(Navy) and SPAR for Semper Paratus Always Ready (Coast Guard).
WM
Abbreviation for
Woman Marine, acceptable for use from 1948 when women were first accepted into
the regular Marine Corps until the late 1990s when it was decreed that they will
be Marines (without prefix).
Wookie Monster
Woman Marine.
Word, The
Information
supposedly received from a reliable source. Also, scoop, poop, skinny.
World, The
The United
States of America.
(origin)
Vietnam
WR
Abbreviation for
Woman Reserve, used from the time women were first allowed to join the Marine
Corps Reserve, Feb. 13, 1943, until 1947 when they were allowed to join the
active Marine Corps.
WTFO
“What the fuck,
over.” A statement of disbelief or question using radio communication
terminology .
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