Nicknames! Who had them, what were they, and how'd you get them?

2015-06-01T18:22:53-04:00

Nicknames are fairly commonplace for the military and are often fondly bestowed on you by your colleagues, reflecting your character and actions.

Who here has some good ones and what were the stories behind them? I was called Juno through Jump School. I wasn't pregnant, but I was pretty snarky and well- Short. I've been called Peperann throughout my career though due to red hair and glasses.

Response by Cpl Andrew Tucker made Jun 1 at 2015 6:24 PM

2015-06-01T18:24:50-04:00

Well my last name is Tucker, so.... yeah.

Response by SGT Kevin Brown made Jun 1 at 2015 6:26 PM

2015-06-01T18:26:43-04:00

Brownie was my nickname until I became an NCO. Some old buddies still call me that though.

Response by SGT Kristin Wiley made Jun 1 at 2015 6:28 PM

2015-06-01T18:28:15-04:00

Wiley Coyote (Wile E. Coyote)
and Kiley in basic (because we had two Wiley's, so K. Wiley became Kiley)

Response by SSG Paul Setterholm made Jun 1 at 2015 6:28 PM

2015-06-01T18:28:53-04:00

"GruntBunny " I started in the infantry (grunt) then went into artillery (gun bunnies) it was 2 years before they sent me to artillery school, so when they finally did the guys were going to "Pop my cherry" and afterwards the sgt in charge said,"ok, you're no longer a grunt. You are a GruntBunny!" He meant to say gun bunny but the name stuck.

Response by Sgt David G Duchesneau made Jun 1 at 2015 6:41 PM

2015-06-01T18:41:34-04:00

I was called Frenchy and also DUKE. I should of been called F--K It because that's what I always said!

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 1 at 2015 6:50 PM

2015-06-01T18:50:11-04:00

Punk. Because I listened to punk rock and drove this car around Fort Riley until it died.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 1 at 2015 6:53 PM

2015-06-01T18:53:09-04:00

Mine was "Crash" because I use to hit everything that was in my way in Iraq... I put a few new bumpers on my 5tons

Response by SSG Paul Setterholm made Jun 1 at 2015 7:01 PM

2015-06-01T19:01:25-04:00

When I was in the infantry, the guys called me "set" apparently setterholm is too hard to pronounce. (It's exactly as it's spelled.)

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 1 at 2015 7:04 PM

2015-06-01T19:04:11-04:00

Poindexter, because I read ahead and knew the answers ahead of time. My callsign for the rest of Tech School was "Dexter".

Response by Capt Mark Strobl made Jun 1 at 2015 7:12 PM

2015-06-01T19:12:53-04:00

"Rawk" As a Midn 4/C, my GPA wasn't too strong. My shipmates changed the spelling of "Rock" in effort to exemplify & exaggerate my academic feat. Glad I pulled out of that proverbial tailspin! Unfortunately, you can't shake some things.

Response by LCpl Chris Azary made Jun 1 at 2015 7:31 PM

2015-06-01T19:31:52-04:00

MOTORMOUTH. Cause you couldn't get me to STFU sometimes. Lmao

Response by SPC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 1 at 2015 7:51 PM

2015-06-01T19:51:15-04:00

I have had several in my lifetime. For the last two years I have been Momma Haynes. I got the nickname at BCT and AIT as I was 30 and one of the older females. All the young soldiers cried to me. They would run out of basic needs...they of course came to me. I had a huge support system and my family kept me supplied in deo, soap, and everything you can imagine. I ended up taking care of all the soldiers and breaking up their so often catty fights. I still talk to most of them and they tell me I am the reason they got through training, my support and continual encouraging. That makes me proud to know I pushed them through, so I'll take Momma Haynes.

Response by SPC David S. made Jun 1 at 2015 8:31 PM

2015-06-01T20:31:57-04:00

Mouse, cause I didn't speak much and had a low voice.

Response by PO2 Josh Rymer made Jun 1 at 2015 8:40 PM

2015-06-01T20:40:14-04:00

Some people called me mumbles, eminem, chicken little these are just a few I got mumbles because well self explanatory, and I don't see it but a lot of people tell me I look like slim shady, and chicken little was when I tried out a Mohawk and with the size of my legs it stuck haha

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 1 at 2015 9:26 PM

2015-06-01T21:26:56-04:00

Picture it....FT Leonard Wood, MO.....June....1993. We just got picked up from Reception, dropped off for shakedown, then split into platoons for further paperwork. Once piece of document (out of how many I lost complete count), had a block that asked for ambitions. My young dumb butt wrote "Drill Sergeant." So, naturally later that evening I was called to the DS office where my DS, SSG Murphy, asked me for clarification as to why I would want that. The only answer I had was that "SSG, it seems like a fun job." He said he was just curious and sent me on my way. From that point on, throughout BCT, I was Drill Sergeant.

Response by SGT Richard H. made Jun 1 at 2015 10:04 PM

2015-06-01T22:04:55-04:00

I picked up "sledge" for a while after winning about $120 off of my buddies in my squad at a carnival by ringing the bell over and over. They kept thinking I would get tired and betting double or nothing that I couldn't do it again. After I PCS'd I never had another one.

Response by PFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 1 at 2015 10:18 PM

2015-06-01T22:18:33-04:00

Mine is "Tyson" short stocky and lisp when I talk

Response by SGT Alicia Brenneis made Jun 1 at 2015 11:11 PM

2015-06-01T23:11:10-04:00

Doc Nae Nae because my cousins were visiting and they have always called me Nae Nae. I think it was meant to be a joke at first but actually caught on.

Response by SPC Carson S. made Jun 2 at 2015 7:13 AM

2015-06-02T07:13:59-04:00

During my first deployment, my SFC gave me the nickname Mouse. In Kuwait, we were downloading our connexes and getting ready to cross over into Iraq when I noticed that one of the boxes we had downloaded had crushed a desert rat/mouse of some kind. I took the critter away off to the side and buried it in the sand. After that, he called me Mouse for the rest of the deployment.

On my second deployment, which was with a different unit, one of the SGTs started calling me Lunchbox (not exactly sure why), and the name stuck. The name became such piece of my identity then that when my chief signed up for the squad to be adopted by a stateside family for the holidays that year, they sent a gift package to that contained a G.I. Joe lunchbox for me. I still have it!

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 2 at 2015 7:35 AM

2015-06-02T07:35:23-04:00

"Milo". No one in this planet seems to spell my name right.

Response by SGT LeTerrence Johnson made Jun 2 at 2015 7:35 AM

2015-06-02T07:35:53-04:00

In basic I was nicknamed little kid by my DS because I was 5'4 and 110lb so they put me on double rations (I caught my growth spurt there as well). On my first deployment I had 2 nicknames. The first was Big Swole because during mobilization, me and another guy were the smallest there and we were in the barracks at Polk and he came out flexing. I took my shirt off and started flexing and had more definition and said I was Swole. Me being small, every from that point on started calling me Big Swole and they still do. The other was J-Rock since my last name is Johnson and on the basketball court during tournaments overseas, I would make all my shots or J the Rock.

Response by SrA Jeanne Sosnowski made Jun 2 at 2015 7:39 AM

2015-06-02T07:39:22-04:00

went by Sno after I got to my duty station when a fellow airman took one look at my last name and told me he did not want to screw it up; so he asked if he could call me "Sno" since it was in the middle of my last name (Sosnowski).

Response by CH (MAJ) William Beaver made Jun 2 at 2015 9:49 AM

2015-06-02T09:49:30-04:00

'Billy Boobahead'. And if you ask, a hex on you.

Response by CW5 Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 2 at 2015 10:48 AM

2015-06-02T10:48:42-04:00

"Sponge" in AIT because I remembered everything they taught. What most didn't know was that I worked for a telecommunications company prior to joining up so I did have an advantage in a digital switchboard MOS. It went away because I was the only one in my class that went to Ft. Stewart afterwards. After that, my ex-wife had a plethora of names for me that I will keep to myself.

One of my GTE instructors actually recognized me years later when I was a SGT getting coffee at the Shoppette. He actually called out "Sponge" from across the room.

Response by Cpl Anthony Pearson made Jun 2 at 2015 12:46 PM

2015-06-02T12:46:47-04:00

In boot camp, I was Private Joker (ya, very original).

Later on, I became Corporal Casanova. HAHAHAH! They even bought a Kabar, engraved, with that on it.

Response by SGT Toby Vado made Jun 2 at 2015 1:16 PM

2015-06-02T13:16:46-04:00

Voodoo because no one could pronounce my last name and I am from New Orleans.

Response by SCPO David Lockwood made Jun 2 at 2015 1:18 PM

2015-06-02T13:18:39-04:00

BC, when I first joined in 1982.

Response by PFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 2 at 2015 1:49 PM

2015-06-02T13:49:14-04:00

Tony, Ironman, Mr. Stark are usually the one's I get. Drill Sergeants in BCT desperately wanted me to get a 300 on the APFT to further cement the idea.

Just a few days ago, a random A1C walked by me and said something along the lines of "Good evening Lord Eddard Stark" Made me chuckle.

Response by MSG Greg Kelly made Jun 2 at 2015 7:08 PM

2015-06-02T19:08:20-04:00

I was called Lightning and not because I was fast. I was struck by lightning on a FTX along with 2 other soldiers I was the 3rd one hit by the bolt it went down a pine tree hit an E5 in the Ass and blew him through the air continued through the ground went in another E5s ass and came out his eyes. Continued through the ground where I was kneeling down hit me in the groin and came out my left Arm. BTW it was not raining. Lots of jokes about that one. Still no nickname yet. Later I was NCOIC of a range on a wooden tower one of my SSG said “Hey SFC Kelly you might want to get out that tower that storm will be here in an hour or so” Me being an ASSHOLE said “No worries SSG God doesn’t have the balls to hit me with lightening a 2nd time”, next thing I knew I was on the ground with a dislocated shoulder with my SSG laughing at me saying “What Had Happened Was God just F-ed you up Lightening” the name stuck

Response by SSgt Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 2 at 2015 7:44 PM

2015-06-02T19:44:27-04:00

Smartest-Dumb Guy id have the brilliant solution during the 11th or catch the obvious stuff that other missed, while also missing some of the obvious stuff everyone else saw lol

Martha Stewart of PowerPoint- if the front office needed stuff with a finished touch or some slides thrown together or anything that can be done with PowerPoint or SharePoint I'm the guy

Response by Sgt Ted Daw made Jun 2 at 2015 7:52 PM

2015-06-02T19:52:04-04:00

Mine was Nuge because my name is Ted and so is Ted Nugent's.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 15 at 2015 8:13 AM

2015-06-15T08:13:12-04:00

Mine is : hot stuff.

Got this lovely nickname during NTC. I was changing my shirt and I have tribal tattoos on my hips. My NCO saw them and immediately called it a "tramp stamp" and thus, I am now hot stuff. Whenever we do call for fire simulations my call sign is hot stuff 6. And I love every second of it lol.

Response by CW3 Kevin Storm made Jun 28 at 2015 8:06 PM

2015-06-28T20:06:50-04:00

My last name is "Storm" almost anything to do weather was a nickname. Worst of the all started after "desert Storm" people would read my name tape and ask if my first name was "Desert." First time was funny, a million time later...it got old.

Response by MSG Alfred Aguilar made Oct 17 at 2015 2:23 AM

2015-10-17T02:23:23-04:00

Cool Hand Luke, I took a lot of punishment.