Can you define Hooah, Hoorah, Oorah, and Hooyah?

2015-05-08T05:54:22-04:00

Can you put in your own words what 'Hooah!' 'Hoorah!' 'Oorah!' and 'Hooyah!' really mean? Which does the Air Force use? When and how did these words get started?

Response by GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad made May 8 at 2015 6:01 AM

2015-05-08T06:01:44-04:00

Trust me, "hoorah" is NOT a Marine thing ...

"Oorah" is a battle cry common in the United States Marine Corps since the mid-20th century. It is somewhat comparable to "hooah" in the US Army and "hooyah" in the US Navy and US Coast Guard. It is most commonly used to respond to a verbal greeting or as an expression of enthusiasm

Response by CH (MAJ) William Beaver made May 8 at 2015 6:31 AM

2015-05-08T06:31:36-04:00

I wondered that too. Someone thought they were hearing 'hoorah' and made the bumpersticker

Response by MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca made May 8 at 2015 6:35 AM

2015-05-08T06:35:10-04:00

It's actual self-defining. When you shout it out, its all in the moment - "Yes", "I agree", "Way to go", "Yeah"...

That and what GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad said.

Response by MSgt Brian Welch made May 8 at 2015 6:38 AM

2015-05-08T06:38:42-04:00

I the AF we used the golf clap.

Response by PO1 John Miller made May 8 at 2015 8:13 AM

2015-05-08T08:13:11-04:00

The only time I ever heard "Hoorah" was from Navy SEABEE's. Apparently they think they're Marines and would hate it when I would correct them and say, "Marines say Oorah not Hoorah. Also, regardless of how you feel you can't forget the fact that it says US NAVY on your uniform!"

Response by PO1 John Miller made May 8 at 2015 8:22 AM

2015-05-08T08:22:04-04:00

As far as Hooyah is concerned, I was actually tasked with finding out its origins once by my Command Master Chief.

It originated in the days of UDT (Underwater Demolition Team) Frogmen, the predecessors to Navy SEALs as a way of motivating themselves prior to a mission, training, etc.

Its use carried over to the first SEAL teams where it has remained since.

Sometime in the 1960's, Navy EOD and Divers (basically all members of Navy Special Warfare/Special Operations) started using it also to self-motivate.

Fast-forward to the 2000's. Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Rick West, a submariner, started using it and it has since been an all-Navy war cry/motivator.

Response by PO1 John Miller made May 8 at 2015 8:23 AM

2015-05-08T08:23:38-04:00

As for the Air Force, I think their war cry is "Hurry up! I have a 1200 tee time!"

Sorry Air Force, I couldn't resist taking a friendly jab at you!

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made May 8 at 2015 8:33 AM

2015-05-08T08:33:37-04:00

Easy Sir, the Army implemented the others just added a letter where it seemed fit and ran with it. It's all cool as long as everyone knows who really runs this partnership. LOL but with all seriousness HOOAH means anything positive and everything negative depending on the way it was used or what was said before you shouted HOOAH.

Response by SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. made May 8 at 2015 9:24 AM

2015-05-08T09:24:15-04:00

To paraphrase United States Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart..
"I know it when I see it"

Response by SrA Johnathan Kropke made May 8 at 2015 9:26 AM

2015-05-08T09:26:14-04:00

I always hear Air Force top going Huah.......a lot of the times it almost sounds like a question though :)

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made May 11 at 2015 8:21 AM

2015-05-11T08:21:10-04:00

CH (MAJ) William Beaver , Hooah: (insert whatever you want to convey to someone with only one word).

It's becoming more and more unacceptable these days due to the sarcasm it allows from some.

This has been a difficult word for me to drop from my vocabulary.

Response by SSgt Chris Lambert made May 11 at 2015 8:32 AM

2015-05-11T08:32:57-04:00

The official battle cry for the AF is "keep it down, it's only 10 am I'm trying to sleep."

Response by PO2 Krista Farrar made Nov 8 at 2017 2:20 PM

2017-11-08T14:20:46-05:00

So was there an answer for this?

Response by SrA Sara Brewer made Dec 21 at 2017 9:51 AM

2017-12-21T09:51:43-05:00

I thought ONE was H.U.A for Heard Understood Acknowledged.

Response by SPC Brooke Lysne Carlson made Jan 31 at 2018 4:49 AM

2018-01-31T04:49:08-05:00

Heard, understood and agreed. Or an adjective describing the motivation of the individual. Are you hoooah? Or you went full hooah, never go full hooah.

Response by CW5 John M. made Jan 31 at 2018 11:55 AM

2018-01-31T11:55:09-05:00

I always thought it originally tied in with a sort of "grunt" expressed with picking up your heavy load to "move out", or perform a strenuous job as a group that required a unison of effort. Infantry have been (sometimes critically, but more often favorably ) nicknamed Grunts, for example. The "Hoooah" (or variant) would have served a similar purpose, but has "morphed" into other activities and uses. to me, it displays a certain "camaraderie and cohesion"; perhaps a "brotherhood" of sorts. Not a bad thing, overall.

Response by PO2 Corbin Douthitt made Jul 30 at 2018 4:35 PM

2018-07-30T16:35:22-04:00

OOrah- Marines, hooyah-Navy, hhoah- Army and Why yah?- USAF

Response by SrA Andrew Moore made Oct 6 at 2018 5:44 PM

2018-10-06T17:44:02-04:00

THE AIR FORCE BATTLE CRY HAS ALWAYS BEEN "BOMBS AWAY".

Response by Sgt Al Williams made Oct 17 at 2018 4:21 PM

2018-10-17T16:21:01-04:00

I thought that the Navy used "Prius"

Response by SFC Ralph E Kelley made Oct 17 at 2018 4:48 PM

2018-10-17T16:48:16-04:00

When I was in the main shout was FIDO!

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Oct 17 at 2018 6:28 PM

2018-10-17T18:28:33-04:00

It means yes, next slide, I don't know the answer, good job.

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 17 at 2018 9:51 PM

2018-10-17T21:51:32-04:00

It is a way to tap into your Ki. (Oohrah is the Marine term.)

"Perhaps the most important of the many meanings of ki is what is often translated as spirit, or energy. It is this sense that we can focus on to begin, for it is the meaning of the word that brought the concept to Japan more than a millennium ago."

http://japanology.org/2016/05/what-is-ki/

What is Ki? - Japanology

Ki is possibly the most powerful, useful and even quintessentially Japanese word in the Japanese language. Familiar to everyone from fans of modern manga to practitioners of ancient Aikido, alone or in combination with other syllables, ki can mean many things. Among the words and concepts incorporating that one sound are the words for feelings …

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 17 at 2018 9:54 PM

2018-10-17T21:54:25-04:00

Hooah can mean "Hell yeah!" or it can mean "Okay/Got it/I understand" or it can mean "acknowledge that you heard me/understood me." All of this is determined by context and how it is said.