15 Clever (and Witty!) Military Gear Nicknames You Should Know

Auto-Dog or just Dog Military installations and ships at sea often feature a soft-serve ice cream machine.  The term Auto-Dog refers to the appearance of the ice cream resembling dog-poop as it comes out.  The term is used as in, “What’s in the Auto-Dog today?” Answered by, ” It’s Chocolate Dog.”   MRE An acronym for Meal Ready to Eat. As the name suggests, these are ready-to-eat meals for soldiers packed in brown waterproof bags. The troops refer to MREs as, “Three Lies In One” and, “Meals Rejected by the Enemy.” A pair of MREs. ©Ashley Pomeroy / Wikimedia Commons   30 mike-mike “Mike” is part of the phonetic alphabet in common use in the military.  Its purpose is to reduce confusion in the way letters are pronounced differently by English speakers from different parts of the U.S.  The words chosen to represent the letters leave no room for doubt as to the letter being referred to as no words rhyming with “Mike” begin with another letter. So you know that “Mike” means “M” as “Romeo” refers to “R.” ” Mike” also extends to weapons specifications like the 30mm grenade launcher, which has been called the “Thirty Mike.”  The word “Mike” is also a stand-in for saying minutes, miles or meters as in, “I’m thirty mikes out” which could be minutes or miles. Builder 3rd Class Katherine Gardour, assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 74, Bravo Company, fires 40 mm. rounds from an MK-19 automatic grenade launcher at the Sierra del Retin, Spain weapons range. NMCB 74 recently completed a three-day live-fire exercise using M-2HB, and M-240B machine guns, and MK-19 automatic grenade launchers at the Sierra del Retin weapons range near Barbate, Spain. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Ryan G. Wilber/Released) Birth Control Glasses Let’s be honest, the glasses given out in basic training do not make you look attractive. The frames are thick are not stylish at all. Thankfully, they were updated with slimmer 5A frames in 2012. In the wake of the DoD’s announcement of new standard-issue military glasses, a new study found that one out of five Marines is distraught over the loss of Birth Control Glasses. ©Mark Fayloga / Wikimedia Commons Cammies Refer to the ubiquitous camouflage uniform that the soldiers wear.   E-tool Sounds like some advanced electronic tool, right? However, an e-tool is simply a shovel. The official term was “entrenching tool,” thus, the nickname.   Green Ivan These are the green pop-up targets shaped like a soldier silhouette used to test marksmanship. Who is Ivan? Well, he’s Russian of course since this pop-up targeting system was adopted during the Cold War.   Cigarette Roll Pertains to parachutes that malfunctioned and were not inflated with air.  This is very bad news for anyone wearing that parachute of course.   Canopy On the other hand, a canopy refers to an open parachute. This is a very good thing, which is probably why it doesn’t get a funny or ironic nickname. A member of the Wings of Blue parachuting with an American flag during the Opening Ceremony at Aviation Nation 2017. ©Noah Wulf / Wikimedia Commons   Water Buffalo The term is most commonly used for large water containers on trailers pulled behind military trucks. Why call it container when you can call it buffalo, right?  In the Marine Corps, the Military Occupational Specialty(MOS1171) that includes operation and maintenance of these waters systems will get you labeled as a “Water Dog.”   Willy Pete The nickname is far cuter than what it’s really used for. It refers to white phosphorous, which can either be used as a smokescreen or a weapon to destroy enemy equipment and even kill mass troops. White phosphorous is highly flammable, so when dropped in the target area followed by explosives, it can cause massive destruction. This tactic is called “Willy Pete plus H.E.” We can offer no explanation as to why High Explosive(HE) doesn’t get its own nickname. Three 81mm white phosphorus mortar rounds fill the air with smoke and dirt on impact after being fired by Soldiers from Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 2nd Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment, 1st Brigade Combat Team, 101st Airborne Division, during a mortar live-fire exercise outside Forward Operating Base Warrior. (Photo By: Spc. Barbara Ospina, 1st BCT Public Affairs.) If you have any favorites, mention them in the comments below You might also enjoy this throwback from 2013 by Editor In Chief Sean Spoonts, as he delicately tries to explain what a “Pucker Factor” is in military aviation.