From CHUville to REMFland: Iraq War Slang

Posting on ADS-L, the listserv of the American Dialect Society, Bill Mullins linked to this lexicon of slang from Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Some choice bits:

• Battle rattle: "Full battle rattle is close to 50 pounds worth of gear, including a flak vest, Kevlar helmet, gas mask, ammunition, weapons, and other basic military equipment."
• CHU : Containerized Housing Unit (pronounced “choo”) - An aluminum box slightly larger [22'x8'] than a commercial shipping container, with linoleum floors and cots or beds inside. A "wet CHU" contains a shower and a toilet; a "CHUville" is a base consisting of a large number of CHUs.
• Frankenstein: "A Marine Corps monster truck, bulging and rippling with spot-welded seams of add on armor."
• POG: People Other than Grunts [pronounced "pogue"] = rear-echelon support troops.
• Remfland: "the rear-echelon areas where support personnel live and work in relative safety -- the paradox being that in the Sandbox, unlike Vietnam, REMFland is more a state of mind than a physical location."
• Sandbox: Iraq
• Sandpit: Iraq

I wrote about other warrior slang back in March.