The 3 s’s: Every trainee is expected to start every day with a shit, a shower, and a shave.

AIT: Advanced Individual Training conducted immediately after Basic. Each MOS had its own type of AIT. Mine was at Fort Gordon, GA. Each letter in the abbreviation is pronounced.

ASSUME: The favorite joke of Army instructors was that if you assume, you make an Ass out of U and Me.

AWOL: Absent without leave. An AWOL turned into a desertion after, as I recall, thirty days.

Basic: Short for Basic Training, which in the Army was almost never called Boot Camp.

Charlie or Mr. Charles: The Viet Cong. You never see the one who gets you.

Class A’s: The dress uniform. In summer it was khaki slacks and short-sleeve shirt, both starched and pressed. Winter was a dark green suit-coat with a tan shirt and a black tie. The hat was like a tent.

DILLIGAFF: Do I look like I give a flying fuck?

Duck: Member of the U.S. Navy.

EOD: Explosive ordnance disposal. The guys in these units searched for and disabled bombs and munitions.

ETS: Expiration of Term of Service: the date of one’s exit from the military. It can also be used as a verb, as in “I am ETSing next Thursday.” Each letter in the abbreviation is pronounced.

Fatigues: The olive drab denim work uniform. Pants were bloused above the boots. The hat was also OD. It was shaped like a baseball cap.

FUBAR or FUBB: Fucked up beyond all recognition or Fucked up beyond belief. Common conditions in the Army.

Hitch: The term of one’s commitment to stay in the military.

Jarhead: A member of the Marine Corps.

Jody: The guy who was hitting on everyone’s girlfriend at home and would inevitably seduce all of them.

Gig line:The edge of the left side of the shirt, the belt and the fly should always form one vertical line.

Guardmount: An inspection of equipment and uniforms before a duty shift.

Gung-ho: An adjective that describes someone who is unduly enthusiastic about things military.

Hospital corners: A way of making one’s bed so that the blanket is tucked in with folds at the feet of 45° angles and absolutely no bumps or wrinkles.

KP: Kitchen police. Some people in training are assigned to help the cooks, sometimes for punishment. I did this in both Basic and AIT. It is not the worst duty, but it is also no fun.

Latrine: Any place in which one is allowed to eject bodily waste. It could be a whole in the ground, a beautiful lounge, or anything in between. Bathrooms do not exist.

Lifer: Someone who intends to make a career out of the army. In 1970-71 this was a very pejorative term.

Light ’em up if you got ’em: The phrase used to announce a break in the field.

MOS: Military Occupational Specialty. Everyone gets assigned a particular role for training purposes. In the field you might get assigned to do something else. Each letter in the abbreviation is pronounced.

NCO: Non-commissioned officers are basically sergeants. Corporals may possibly qualify. SP4, SP5, and SP6 definitely do not.

OD: Olive drab was the color of fatigue pants and shirts as well as the field jackets. The summer dress uniforms were khaki. The winter dress shirts were khaki with dark green coats. We had no camouflage. I don’t know why the services shifted to all-camouflage uniforms.

Personal problem: Another favorite joke. If you complain about something to an NCO or officer, the reply is often, “That sounds like a personal problem. You should take to the chaplain.”

PMO: Provost Marshall’s Office. On Sandia Base this was police headquarters.

Reup: To enlist for another hitch.

RIF: The Reduction-in-Force policy (that almost no one has heard of) instituted in the early seventies that, among other things, chopped six months off of the active duty requirement for draftees. Each letter in the abbreviation is pronounced.

Rock and roll: The setting on an M16 that allowed it to fire a burst of bullets when the trigger was pressed and held.

Salad: Slang for the oak leaf clusters worn by majors and lieutenant colonels on their epaulets.

SBNM: Sandia Base, New Mexico in Albuquerque.

SEAD: Seneca Army Depot, Romulus, NY.

Shit: In addition to usual meanings “shit” can basically refer to any aspect of a person, including property, or to the totality of the person. “Getting shit together” means preparing for an eventuality. E.g., ‘You better get your shit together for the captain’s inspection, or your ass is grass, and I’m the lawnmower.”

To “jump in someone’s shit” means to reprove someone verbally and vehemently.

Short: Having few days left in one’s hitch in the military.

Slick-sleeve: A trainee in Basic is a private with a designation of E1. He has no sleeves on his shirt. If he gets promoted, he gets one stripe and his salary goes up to the E2 level.

Slopes/gooks: Pejorative designations of Asians.

Spec# SP4, SP5, and SP6 are ranks that allow the Army to pay some people higher salaries without becoming NCO’s. They are officially pronounced Specialist 4th Class, Specialist 5th Class, and Specialist 6th Class, but everyone calls them Spec 4, Spec 5, and Spec 6.

An SP5 and a “buck” sergeant are both in pay grade E5, but an SP5 cannot jump in your shit if your boots aren’t polished unless he/she is your direct boss.

Strack: Describes a person who always strives to have his shit together. This could be a compliment, but it usually is not.

Weapon v. gun: The purpose of a weapon is to inflict severe bodily harm on an enemy. The purpose of the gun is, among other things, to inflict severe bodily pleasure on a friend.

Zoomer: Member of the Air Force.