Army vocabulary

[chauderlos]

Who cares?

 

[snooper]

...
- how do you call basic training camp? Is "boot camp" accurate?
...

Yes.

...
- how do you name the square where troop meet every morning? (gathering point ?)
...

They do not "meet" every morning, they "fall in" and are then "on parade".
Because of this, they do so on the "parade ground".


May I ask a question?

If you know so little about the Army, why set your story in the Army?

 

[chauderlos]

Who cares?

 

[Dinsmore]

Army lingo

Each service has their own way of confusing or communicating, if you like!

As an example, we have Navy and Air Force BASES, Army FORTS and Marine Corps CAMPS.

The regimental system is distinctly USMC; the Army uses a system of Brigades and Divisions, but often uses regiments for historical value, e.g., a highly decorated unit is identified by their, 'regiment', but there really is no regimental commander.

I spent 10 years in the Army; my son is a Marine Officer. Terminology changes, so what might have been common 20 years ago may have changed today.

Major service, support and logistics elements are often called, 'groups', e.g., 'FFS&SG, would be, First Field Service and Support Group. You may also see, 'LOG Command', short for Logistics Command.

It is difficult to keep up with this stuff. I might suggest not worrying too much about the exact terminology--it will drive you nuts! If you must, check out some of the military official web sites; they have lots of info on how their respective services are organized.

In the current IRAQ situation, there are numerous joint service commands. For example, my son was in a Marine BN, but in USMC tradition, it is identified by its regiment, and there is, in fact, a regimental commander. But, he wasn't who the BN Commander reported to; there was an Army Brigade next up the line, and that Brigade commander reported to a USMC Division Commander. To make it more confusing, their logistics support was provided by a USMC element---with Navy involvement.

If you have more specific questions, let me know. If I'm not current on the issue, I'll tell you. My son is in logistics, so if it's current USMC terminology, I can ask him.

 

[chauderlos]

Thanks

Who cares?

 

[Nathon_88]

Depending on how boring you want, you can write it back home!

Every military has some units that are back home, protecting the world from.....well, something.

Sometimes referred to as Home Guard, thought that is more in line with milita units, at times.

Anyway, just my 2 cents

 

[snooper]

Both of the answers from Dinsmore and Nathon apply to the American forces.

I can give you some translations to UK:

Navy BASE - all Royal Navy establishments are offically ships, for example HMS Royal Arthur is a "ship" some 100 km from the nearest sea, and several hectares in area. It was the source of much amusement in WWII when the Germans announced its sinking!
The Navy has its own aircraft in the Fleet Air Arm, with the slogan "Fly Navy".
The Navy has iis own soldiers known as the Royal Marines. They haver camps which are known by their place names, for example Lympstone Commando.


The Royal Air Force has three commands - Strike Command who do all the actual fighting; Logistics, who keep them capable of fighting; and Personnel and Training, who think they are important.
Air Force BASES - All Royal Air Force establishements are known as RAF placename, for example RAF Hendon, which is the RAF's museum.

Army FORTS - Army CAMPs, or BARRACKs.

The British Army is divided into Regiments, which subdivide into numbered Battalions, for example 2nd Battalion of the Parachute Regiment, usually shortened to 2 Para. Most regiments are single-function, of which there are several, Infantry, Cavalry (now with tanks, not horses), Artillery, etc. Many of the infantry regiments are geographically named (and loosely based) for example the Royal Welsh Fusileers. There is immense regimental pride and transfers from one regiment to another are unheard of in ranks below Colonel.

Service, support and logistics elements are called, various things, but most are called Corps. For example, the Army Pay Corps. However, the teams who service vehicles etc, at home and in the field are the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME). They are not to be confused with the Royal Engineers (Colloquially the "Sappers") who build bridges and the like.

The "Home Guard" (fondly known as Dad's Army) was a semi-civilian volunteer force during WWII which was dedicated to defending their local town. Their lineal descendents are known now as the Territorial Army, who are part-time volunteers who can be called upon in time of war.

Then there are the enemy of every uniformed (wo)man - I refer of course to the civil servants in the Ministry of Darkness (correction, Ministry of Defence).

As to women, there used to be three services for women which parallel the forces for men. The Women's Royal Navy (WRENs - also called Officers' Comforts), the Women's Royal Army Corps (WRACs), and the Women's Auxilliary Air Force (WAAFs). Now these are nominally integrated into the main forces.

We do not allow women as close to the front line as the US does. The US does not allow women as close to the front line as the Israeli Armed Forces which are totally integrated.

If you want a quiet life, try bomb disposal. You sit on your arse endlessly doing nothing, and then shit bricks for a few hours, then back to sitting.

 

[chauderlos]

A: 1re lettre de l'alphabet et 1re des 5 voyelles (pour la voyelle, cf. phonét.).
Graphies :
A majuscule ou grand A, de forme triangulaire caractéristique
minuscule ou petit
a romain
a italique
â accent circonflexe

 

[snooper]

... What does Special Light Undercover Team sound like ? ...

I am sooo tempted to say Special Light Undercover Team sounds like the Quality Control section of the US Army Catering Corps ...



... but I won't.

BTW at a personal level a Private soldier is part of a Squad. Four or five squads make up a Platoon, and several platoons make up a Company, and a number of companies make up a Regiment.

 

[WyldKarde]

I figured, just to round this out, I would include the NATO Phonetic Alphabet here. An easy shortcut to take, but when people make up military jargon, anyone with any military experience is immediately pulled out of the story (kind of like paraphrasing shakespeare).

I have included two alphabets. The first is the Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet used by the U.S. Military During WWII (since we've all included some historical tidbit) and the second is the NATO Phonetic Alphabet in use today.

Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet:

A Able M Mike Y Yoke
B Baker N Nutley Z Zebra
C Charlie O Oboe 0 Zero
D Dog P Peter 1 One
E Easy Q Queen 2 Two
F Fox R Roger 3 Three
G George S Sail 4 Four
H How T Tare 5 Five
I Item U Uncle 6 Six
J Jig V Victor 7 Seven
K King W William 8 Eight
L Love X X-ray 9 Niner

NATO Phonetic Alphabet


A Alpha M Mike Y Yankee
B Bravo N November Z Zulu
C Charlie O Oscar 0 Zero
D Delta P Papa 1 One
E Echo Q Quebec 2 Two
F Foxtrot R Romeo 3 Tree
G Golf S Sierra 4 Four
H Hotel T Tango 5 Five
I India U Uniform 6 Six
J Juliet V Victor 7 Seven
K Kilo W Wiskey 8 Eight
L Lima X X-ray 9 Niner

 

[chauderlos]

.....

 

[snooper]

Seeing the post with the NATO alphabet in it remided me of some of its uses.

Some commonly used phrases are replaced in ordinary conversation by NATO equivalents. The two which come immediately to mind are "Tango Sierra" and "Foxtrot Oscar".

 

[AngelicAssassin]

But I want it to feel real. As for Logistics, no offence ment - I wanted to name some rear echelon "unit", where the job would be boring...

i believe the term you want is REMF. Combat arms and combat support like to needle those in combat service support (for no other reason than the further back you go, the less "perceived" mobility required / danger endured allowing for greater creature comforts) but they do understand sharp and pointy teeth need a long logistics tail. Another commonly used teasing phrase is "in the rear with the gear."

 

[Weird Harold]

- how do you call basic training camp? Is "boot camp" accurate?
- how do you name the square where troop meet every morning? (gathering point ?)

As others have pointed out, the terms are different for different services.

US Sailors and Marines go to "Boot Camp," but Air Force and Army go to "Basic Training," which is shortened to just "Basic" in general conversation.

The place where everyone falls in for morning "Roll Call" or "Muster" aslo varies, not only between services, but from installation to installation within services.

Various places where troops might "muster for roll call" are the "Drill Pad," The "Parade Ground," the "Squadron/Company Area," "The Quad," "in front of the barracks," or "the Assembly Point."

In actual practice, it is seldom necessary to specify where to "Fall Out for Roll Call!" unless it's is somewhere other than the normal place. Even when the normal spot isn't used or a unit is somewhere unfamiliar, the order to "Fall Out for Roll Call" sends people outside to "Fall In" on the NCOIC (Non-Commisioned Officer In Charge) -- The "guide" positions himself (or herself) ten feet forward and offset to the NCOIC's left so that the center of the formation is directly in front of the NCOIC -- whereever the NCOIC is standing. That might be in the street outside of a barracks, or it might be on the lawn or in a parking lot, or it might be an area specifically set aside for "morning formations."

Different levels of organizations use different places for "mustering" -- a platoon would generally form up outside of their barracks and march in formation to the Company assembly area where the assembled company might march in formation to the battalion area to join a larger formation that marches to the formal parade ground for a division or brigade formation.

In practical terms, if you're writing a story from the POV of a recruit, the recruit is not going to know all of the proper terms until late in the training cycle. A recruit in formation often only knows to follow the person in front of them and the commands of the person in charge of their part of the larger formations and the recruit will seldom be in any formation larger than a Platoon or Company until they get close to graduation.

A good source of generic military terms is Military SF -- authors like David Weber, David Drake, Robert Asprin, David Sherman, Dan Cragg, Elizabeth Moon, Lois McMaster-Bujold, Robert A. Heinlein and many others. R.A.H's Starship Troopers has a good section covering enlisted basic training.

 

[snooper]

Just to add to the general confusion, here are the German WWII ranks and their US equivalents:


Noncommissioned Officers:
Rottenführer Private First Class
Unterscharführer Corporal
Scharführer Sergeant
Oberscharführer Staff Sergeant
Hauptscharführer Technical Sergeant
Sturmscharführer Master Sergeant

Commissioned Officers:
Untersturmführer Second Lieutenant
Obersturmführer First Lieutenant
Hauptsturmführer Captain
Sturmbannführer Major
Obersturmbannführer Lieutenant Colonel
Standartenführer Colonel
Oberführer Senior Colonel

General Officers:
Brigadeführer Brigadier General
Gruppenführer Major General
Obergruppenführer Lieutenant General
Oberstgruppenführer General (Four Star)

 

[Windblown]

This is coming from the perspective of a US Army light infantryman, so your mileage may vary.

We had two morning formations, one for PT (physical training, but physical torture would be just as good a description) at 0630, and then morning formation at 0800. Morning formation was a brief inspection, and announcements. At least in an infantry unit the inspection was the dreaded part of any formation, especially if your platoon sergeant was an absolute bastard for details. This is why you see comabt arms soldiers with spit-shined boots that are blacker than night, and creases in their highly-starched camouflage fatigues.

We referred to the REMF's as "pogues", a very derogatory term. Pogey bait was any food item much adored by the pogues, like donuts or candy. My father was a full colonel in the medical service corps; I called him a pogue every time we talked on the phone. He even mentioned it in his retirement speech.

Good pogue jobs in the Army would be Finance, MPs, Engineers (not always, but sometimes), soldiers in the medical corps assigned to the hospitals (which is very different from the field medics - those guys went everywhere we did, carried rifles, and about 40 extra pounds of medical supplies), and the brigade and division staff.

Good luck with your story.

 

[Weird Harold]

Hi -
I'm currently writing a story that takes place in the Army (well, a "special" army, as you can guess...) - but I've trouble with the precise vocabulary.

If you're still in need of some military jargon, you might want to check out A Dictionary of Soldier Speak by Dan Cragg. (Del Rey/Ballantine books)

I haven't read it myself, but if the military jargon sprinkled through Dan's fiction is any indication, this non-fiction work should be useful to anyone writing in a military setting.

 

[chauderlos]

Who cares?

 

[geronimo_appleby]

Your comments are very accurate and useful. Actually, I do not want the story to feel too american, or Marines, or what ever (the reason why I mix ranks names, for instance...)
But I want it to feel real.
As for Logistics, no offence ment - I wanted to name some rear echelon "unit", where the job would be boring...

Good luck to your son in Irak
cp

which country are you interested in? i can help with british army phrases. oh, and about the 'rear echelon' thing, there isn't such a thing these days, certainly not in iraq!! anyway, whatever help you need, if i can help, just IM.

 

[Weird Harold]

Edited: Onde question, please: how would a soldier adress a female officer?
" Sir " doesn't sound right, so?

In the USAF and most other modern military forces, the proper form of address for a female officer is "ma'am" although most military SF authors predict there will be a change to a generic "Sir" in future militaries.

The Regulations on forms of address ar generally outdated and "by the book" there is no distinction between male and female officers -- primarily because a female officer was unthinkable when they were written -- so a BTB answer is always "Yes, Sir," "No, Sir," or "No excuse, Sir." (Which are as anyone who has been through military training can tell you, the only things you're authorized to say to an officer.)

 

[Arnobi]

military jargon expression meaning "surveyed the surrounding area, looking for someth

Just joined the list...I have a related question. I hope I am not violating some rule by adding it to this thread.

I need a military jargon expression meaning "surveyed the surrounding area, looking for something specific." The guy is a military type scanning a crowd, checking to see if a individual to whom he is hostile is present. The person is not present, so the character relaxes.

The character is from a country that is a former client state of a power country, so a Brit expression might be more appropriate than an American one.

Second, I would be grateful if someone could direct me to a site where I can find a list of such expressions. I want to use 2-3 in the novel, just reinforce hints at the character's mysterious past or connections.

Thanks so much!

 

[AngelicAssassin]

I need a military jargon expression meaning "surveyed the surrounding area, looking for something specific." The guy is a military type scanning a crowd, checking to see if a individual to whom he is hostile is present. The person is not present, so the character relaxes ... Thanks so much!

reconnoiter, or recon for short, target scan and acquisition, and perhaps a few others that may be service specific.

Sorry, i developed my background as a "brat" and through service over a 34 year period.

 

[Weird Harold]

reconnoiter, or recon for short, target scan and acquisition, and perhaps a few others that may be service specific.

Sorry, i developed my background as a "brat" and through service over a 34 year period.

"Recce" is also used for "reconaisance" or "reconoiter" but I think "Scope" is better for the specific situation Arnoldi described.

It isn't currently an exclusively military term, but it is derived from military jargon and widely used by military personnel. I means "to visually check closely for a target, as with a rifle scope."