World War I brought about with it a lot of new things into the military, new methods of fighting, new technologies, new vehicles, new weapons, new horrors, and new ways to die on the battlefield. The soldiers down at the front had to find new words to describe their new found reality. From the World War I Gallery are some of the words used by our fighting men defending life and liberty:

• Ammo for ammunition, usually refers to rifles, and occasionally refers to artillery
• Big boys, for the big artillery guns or the shells they fire.
• Bleeder or blighter is Cockney slang for a fellow; roughly similar to “guy”
• Blighty for England
• Blighty one refers to the wound that will take a soldier to Blighty.
• Carry on, is to go ahead with the matter at hand.
• Click, used with a variety of meanings, which could be: to die, to be killed, to kill, or to draw some disagreeable job.
• Cushy, is easy or soft.
• Devil Cogs, the nickname given by the Germans to American soldiers they fought with at the Beaulieu Wood.
• Diggers, is the name Australian soldiers gave themselves. It derives from the Australian slang for gold prospectors.
• Doss, for sleep.
• Dud is an unexploded shell.
• Fritz is an affectionate term for the German soldiers.
• Night ops, short for night operations.
• No Man’s Land refers to the area between the trenches.
• Out or Over There (for somewhere in France)
• Over the Top, is to go over the top of one’s own trenches and into No Man’s Land in order to attack the opposing forces’ trenches. The chances of surviving such an attack were very slim since most attackers die or sustain injuries from machine gun fire.

More slang words from other participating nations (Australia and New Zealand) in World War I available at Digger History.

Headlines from Military World bring us military news of the First UK soldiers to join the US Marines’ Female Engagement Team. The all-female course focuses on interacting with the local female population of Afghanistan. Their interactions are to help foster relationships and to gain the trust and support of the Afghans, while at the same time, patrolling with infantry soldiers.

The British soldiers have fully integrated into their environment; they are already working, living, and eating with 50 female Marines from across Hemland province. The all-female course has cultural important to the operations in Afghanistan. Afghan law prohibits women from speaking to or greeting males outside of their own families.

This law affects, in turn, how military men interact with the local population. The male members of the military are unable to access approximately 51 percent of the Afghan population. The influence of Afghan women in the society often shows in the behavior of their children and husbands. As women have a significant influence on not only their families, but their communities as well, this valuable resource remains largely untapped.

Meanwhile, headlines from Military.com bring military news of the British troops in Afghanistan put under US command. As part of a move to restructure NATO forces in Afghanistan, the United States forces took about 8,000 British troops under its wing. A United States Marine Corps Major General commands NATO forces in Helmand province, which most of the British troops were located in Afghanistan.

The change in command is part of a decision made by NATO to split its Regional Command South. The command oversees a combined force of 50,000 American, British Canadian, and other troops, which consists of two separate commands.

The US Command Regional Command-Southwest will be in charge of the operations in the Nimroz and Helmand provinces while a British commander will be in command of forces in Kandahar, Uruzgan, Zabul, and Daikundi provinces.

The Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) is one of the three primary sources of commissioned officers for the United States Air Force. The other two are the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA) and the Air Force Officer Training School (OTS). The Air Force ROTC is a subordinate command of the Air University, which is the Intellectual and Leadership Center of the Air Force.

The Air Force ROTC is not only the largest but also the oldest source of commissioned officers for the US Air Force. The Air Force ROTC’s stated mission is to produce quality leaders for the US Air Force, and through its core values of integrity, service, and excellence, the Air Force ROTC will fulfill its mission. The Air Force ROTC offers two educational programs to aspiring officers. One is the Air Force Senior ROTC Program, and the other, Air Force Junior ROTC Program.

The Air Force Senior ROTC Program recruits, educates and commissions officer candidates through college campus programs based on requirements given by the Air Force. These units at colleges are called “detachments.”

An active duty US Air Force officer with the rank of colonel or lieutenant colonel typically heads these detachments. The US Air Force officer functions as both the Detachment Commander for USAF purposes and with the nominal title of Professor of Aerospace Studies (PAS) within the institution’s academic community. On the other hand, the Air Force Junior ROTC Program provides citizenship training and an aerospace science program at the high school level.

Air Force ROTC offers more than just military training and more than just a military career in the future. As an officer, trainees train to lead future personnel. Along with the training comes management experience, which can be useful for an Air Force officer or for a manager in a civilian profession. If you think you are up to the challenge of the Air Force ROTC, the rewards of the training will last you a lifetime even if you do not pursue a military career.

Being a soldier in the Army is tough. Being in the lower ranks of the military is even tougher. Enlisted personnel and non-commissioned officers make up the vast majority of the military personnel. Many of them serve as front liners during a war.

A non-commissioned officer has more experience than a junior officer does, but their rank is beneath the junior commissioned officer. They lack the requisites for rising up the ranks. One way to become a commissioned officer is to go back to school and finish the required ROTC courses.

The Reserve Officers Training Corps (ROTC) Green to Gold Division Commander’s Hip Pocket Scholarship Program provides selected non-commissioned officers and enlisted personnel in any military branch the chance to complete their baccalaureate degree requirements and obtain a commission through participation in the ROTC Scholarship program.

Each year, Division Commanders nominate deserving enlisted personnel for the two-year scholarship. Soldiers who exhibited exemplary leadership skills and have the desire to advance in their military careers are encouraged to apply for an ROTC Hip Pocket Scholarship.

According to the Hip Pocket Scholarship Guide, soldiers are not eligible for this scholarship if they:

• Are not on active duty on June 1 of the scholarship award year.
• Are ineligible for reenlistment.
• Are conscientious objectors as defined by AR 600-43. (http://www.apd.army.mil/pdffiles/r600_43.pdf)
• Are under suspension of favorable action due to unfavorable personnel action (AR 600-8-2).
• Have greater than 10 years active federal service as of the date of discharge. A waiver may be requested.
• Are under probation on a civil conviction or charges are pending at the time of application.
• Had an adverse juvenile adjudication or were arrested, indicted, or convicted by a civil court or military law (other than minor traffic offenses with a fine of $250 or less). A waiver may be requested.
• Are ineligible for re-enrollment in ROTC basic or advanced course (prior ROTC cadet).
• Are unmarried and have one or more dependents less than 18 years of age. A waiver may be requested.
• Have a spouse in the military and has one or more dependents less than 18 years of age. A waiver may be requested.
• Have been convicted of a domestic violence crime. A waiver cannot be requested for this.

This ROTC scholarship will pay the full tuition for the college degree as well as $1,200 annually for books and supplies. Aside from that, the cadet will also receive an allowance of up to $500 each month. Depending on their academic status, they can be contracted to receive the monthly stipend up to ten months per year.

Interested military personnel can go to the GoArmy.com website at http://www.goarmy.com/rotc/enlisted_soldiers.jsp and download the application forms. Under the Enlisted Soldiers section click on Green to Gold Scholarship Option and Application Download, then scroll down and click on Download Application for Scholarship Option Program.

Being part of the military is a challenge on its own with its demanding and rigorous trainings, rules, standards and guidelines making it unique as a profession. With it also comes an array of unique and imperceptible colloquial terms and jargon exclusively used by military officers.

These military terms all but originated from the armed forces derived from the NATO phonetic alphabet in an attempt to reflect and express military life in a humorous and friendly manner.

The Sixties Project webpage (www2.iath.virginia.edu/sixties) lists a number of interesting military slang terms and their definitions. Examples include:

201 file: a US army personnel
AR: army regulation
APL: barracks ship
AO: area of operations
ballgame: an operation or a contact
big boys: artillery; slang for tanks
bird: any aircraft, usually referring to helicopters
boom-boom: sex
bowl: pipe used for smoking dope
CC: company commander
chop chop: slang for food
Co: unmarried woman
CO: commanding officer
crispy critters: burned victims
dink: derogatory term for Asian
dust-off: medical evacuation by helicopter

Different groups from various countries have their own slang i.e. British army slang is different from that of the U.S. Army and the Australian Army. Wars from different times and eras also have their own slang and jargons.

The Sixties Project on a different page (http://www.iath.virginia.edu/sixties) gives a list of military slang from the Vietnam War. Some examples are:

AGL: above ground level
Bac bac: bastardized Vietnamese term that means “to shoot”
Chuck: the Vietnamese enemy
Dac Cong: Viet Kong special forces
Dai Uy: captain
In-country: Vietnam
Kool-aid: killed in action

The military has slang terms for such activities as rape, killing or shooting. Thus, military slang terms show the lifestyle of the people using it. The language of the country where military operations take place influences it. The slang adapts the native language terms. It also has terms for the activities that the soldiers engage in.