Posted on Mar 17, 2017
What catch-phrase used by veterans instantly identifies in which branch of service they serve(d)?
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Branch
Military Life
Pride
Posted 9 y ago
Responses: 303
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MSgt Ken "Airsoldier" Collins-Hardy
Sgt David L. Slagle – Don't forget the Mongolian version. Thanks for responding!
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We say, yes Jim ah I mean Captain. We also like to use the word "NO" instead of "negative". "Nah" works too.
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SFC William H.
My daughter speaks like you (AF, Whiteman AFB & Dover AFB).....Its no wonder you guys needed your own branch of service..........Hooah..........I would say we kicked you out of the army, but that would be too brash.........love that A10
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SrA Tony Schamberger
I dunno, being post air force (granted air traffic control was my language) I still use Afirm, affirmative and negative.
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MSgt Sandra McKinney Dent
So long as nothing is TANGO UNIFORM, let's kick the tires and light the fires.
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LT (Join to see)
Hmmm as a nav arch I am going to point out that they are their to slow progressive flooding and for structural strength of the ship . . .but then again I am rather short and can avoid them.
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Are special weapons, NRAS, PRP, and Tech Ops universal among the services or just Army? Also for you old timers, John Wayne bars, Cookie, Gun Bunny, Black Hat, and Hump (as in, shit, my turn to hump the 60). If you're going to be one, be a big red one!
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CPT Geoffrey Lea
SPC John Parmenter - Wow. If I remember correctly, Forsyth was where they housed ROTC for the summer, and Funston was the correctional barracks when I was there in the early to mid 80's.
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CSM Charles Hayden Passed 7/29/2025
CPT Geoffrey Lea One brother was a life-long Cannon Cocker. He resented being called a Gun Bunny!
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CPT Geoffrey Lea
CSM Charles Hayden Passed 7/29/2025 - Never heard Gun Bunny as being a negative. All the soldiers assigned to the guns referred to themselves as Gun Bunnies. All positions within a unit are critical to it's overall mission performance, but there always was an emphasis on the guns, so identifying yourself as part of the firing battery was good thing.
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MAJ Pete Joplin
CPT Geoffrey Lea - As Engineers at Ft. Sill (home of the Artillery), we would have our weekly officer-call every Thursday afternoon at the O-club, and we opened every "meeting" with the "How'd Ya" anthem:
How'd Ya! How'd Ya! How'd ya like to kiss my ass, Cannon Cockers!
How'd Ya! How'd Ya! How'd ya like to kiss my ass, Tube suckers!
How'd Ya! How'd Ya! How'd ya like to kiss my ass, Gun Bunnies!
How'd Ya! How'd Ya! How'd ya like to kiss my ass, Cannon Cockers!
How'd Ya! How'd Ya! How'd ya like to kiss my ass, Tube suckers!
How'd Ya! How'd Ya! How'd ya like to kiss my ass, Gun Bunnies!
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MSgt Ken "Airsoldier" Collins-Hardy
SSG Trevor Smith – Thanks for responding...please be sure to connect!
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SPC Douglas Eldredge
Soup sandwich was big for us in the army but I have also heard a seal friend of mine use it
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GySgt (Join to see)
Oh that's a pretty common one in the suck...my drill instructors were using that day one of boot
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FTA That was just about the first thing our drill sergeant told us in basic "Don't let me catch you saying FTA."
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SGT Charles Guey
There was a guy at Ft Hood in the 70's that had a personalized license plate FTA. Needless to say he got stopped and ticketed a lot.
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Sgt Joseph Baker
My son, having grown up with a Marine father, joined the Army, and made the slip of addressing one of his drill sergeants as 'drill-instructor'. I asked how that went... Fortunately getting 'smoked' at Fort Jackson is nothing like getting 'thrashed' at MCRD San Diego. I witnessed a guy call a DI drill sergeant, and they thrashed him for an hour.
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Having been in both the Navy and Army and son of a WWII Merchant Marine Master Mariner, I have fun observing this one. I've enjoyed reading the responses. Most of the "good ones" are taken. But I still use, "AJ Square Away"—a phrase that I picked up from an old submariner CPO in San Diego—to concisely describe a service-member who has his or her gear (or required military education, or uniform, or medical records, etc.) all in order! Anyone else use that one? My phrase invariably has to be explained to my Army comrades (which is like telling a joke and having to explain it). Thanks to RP for an enjoyable read to a great question!
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MSgt Ken "Airsoldier" Collins-Hardy
CH (COL) Michael A. Milton – Thanks for sharing, Chaplain! Does the "AJ" mean anything, or is it just for stylistic rhyming? The reason I ask is because I've heard a truncated version from Army colleagues, i.e., "That Soldier is squared away," which could be interpreted 4 ways: (i) the Soldier's performance has been exemplary over the past .... (historical); (ii) the Soldier is blessed or going to heaven (anagogical); (iii) the Soldier is a member of a Masonic Lodge (allegory); (iv) the Soldier's gear (military education, uniform, medical records, etc.) is all in order (tropological).
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CH (COL) Michael A. Milton
MSG Hardy, thanks for your reply. It is just for rhyming. You are right I've heard" squared away" in the Army, but never "AJ Square-Away."
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"Scouts out" is one I use to this day. Very rarely does a person understand the reference.
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MSgt Ken "Airsoldier" Collins-Hardy
Why "scout mindset" is crucial to good judgment | Julia Galef | TEDxPSU
Julia introduces a metaphor of soldiers and scouts to describe two very different approaches to thinking. To illustrate these two mindsets in action, I tell ...
PV2 David Mangold – Thanks for responding! I happened upon the below TEDx Talk recently that addresses the "Scout Mindset". In your opinion, is the presenter's metaphor 'spot on', or what?
TEDx Talks. (2016, Apr. 4). Why "Scout Mindset" Is Crucial To Good Judgment. Presenter: Julia Galef. TEDxPSU. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MYEtQ5Zdn8
TEDx Talks. (2016, Apr. 4). Why "Scout Mindset" Is Crucial To Good Judgment. Presenter: Julia Galef. TEDxPSU. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3MYEtQ5Zdn8
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