hall walker n.— «The departure of Adm. William J. (“Fox”) Fallon gives us a rare insight into a secret world of relationships between the highest-ranking general officers and their civilian masters.…Eventually, in the words of one Pentagon...
half-tour Harry n.— «They’ve got a difficult decision to make. But if he does come home, he’s only three months in to a sixth-month tour. There is that term for someone who doesn’t last his full time—‘half-tour Harry”—and if he does come back I’m...
repple depple n.—Gloss: in military slang, a replacement depot. «He talked to DDIL yesterday he is still in repple depple (VeetNam era slang, I don’t know the new slang).» —“Need Source for pocket KJV Bible” by Grandmotherbear in...
speed bump n.— «So he began looking down a series of alleys perpendicular to a main road. Turning down one of them, his driver struck a roadway bomb, the kind soldiers call “speed bumps” or “stop-and drop” bombs because they’re laid down in the...
shock and hee-haw n.— «The surge really has accomplished a reduction in the violence, and things are safer. But convoys are still being hit by the IEDs and the vehicle-borne IEDs. They’re even putting explosive devices under satchels on donkeys...
Grant recommends two books that are great for giving as gifts. FUBAR: Soldier Sland of World War II by Gordon Rottman looks at the language of soldiers from different armies. Also, Ad Infinitum: A Biography of Latin by Nicholas Ostler, which looks...