Tidbits Gets the Lowdown on Military Jargon

• During the Spanish-American War, American marines fighting Filipino guerrillas heard them talking about being in the “bundok,” meaning a hill or mountain, and also denoting any remote location. We now call it “the boondocks” or “the boonies.”

• When armies were preparing for battle, they would dig a series of ditches where they could retreat if they needed to regroup. If they found themselves in the final trench, then they needed to make “a last ditch effort” to stand and fight, or die.

• There was a certain protocol involved in delivering a dishonorable discharge to an officer: He was ordered to face the drum squad while the charges against him were read aloud. While the drums beat, his sword would be broken and the buttons ripped from his uniform. Then the musicians would play a song called “The Rogue’s March” as the disgraced officer was forced to walk the length of the parade ground with his head hung in shame in front of the assembled troops. This is the origin of two phrases: “Face the music” and “being drummed out.”

• An A-team is an advance team, and the term is short for the full name of Operational Detachment Alpha, a set of U.S. Special Forces operatives deployed behind enemy lines. The A-team would consist of 12 men: two officers, two experts in weapons, two skilled in engineering and demolition, two in intelligence and operations, two in communications, and two in medicine.

• When British army officers were calling troops for a short day trip, soldiers would be asked to carry a bag with them containing what they would need for the day. If the entire encampment was to be moved, they’d be told to carry “bag and baggage.”

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