Glossary of Terms, Abbreviations, Acronyms, Placenames and Other Jargon Heard Once or Twice

A

arc light

B-52 strike.

AAA

Anti-aircraft artillery. 37mm, 57mm, 85mm, 105mm, etc.

B

Bill Rucker

Former RB-50 ball turret op who always flew with Charlie Flight so there would be extra lunches. Bill was not on separate rations.

C

Combat Apple

RC-135M missions in Viet Nam and Laos.

D

E

F

G

Grunt

Army or Marine enlisted man. Often used in language school.

H

I

J

Jarhead

Marine especially fits the 12-week Marine Vietnamese students who turned lockers in poor zoomies barracks and put pool balls in the Army's cannon for the 5 O'clock follies at DLIWC.

K

L

M

N

O

P

Q

R

rank

What Army enlisted made and others didn't.

S

SEA

Southeast Asia. For USAF generally Thailand and Vietnam assignments. But also Laos, Cambodia, etc.

sidesaddle

On-the-job training by sitting next to someone on position.

squid

Affectionate term for U.S. Navy personnel most often heard at language school and Goodfellow.

T

TDY

Temporary Duty. 6990th TDY's to Cam Ranh Bay, NKP, and Korat 6994th TDY's to NKP, etc.

U

V

W

X

Y

Z

Zoomie

Affectionate term for Air Force enlisted man used most often by grunts at language school. Responsible for most KP and Server Duty at DLIWC as lowest ranking students.