The emphasis of this educational reference is on words and phrases that appear in published works about war and military service; and amongst this jargon and slang, there is no pretense of objectivity or completeness, which may be readily found in official documents or government resources. This fragmentary opus is a work in progress ....

Caveat Lector: Vulgar, profane, and obscene dysphemisms, which have been used for every part of speech and rhetorical form, have not been Bowdlerized nor expurgated from this glossary, to the undoubted dismay of purists and the evident enrichment of our mother-tongue; so immature or hypersensitive persons should refrain from perusing this indubitably eclectic and contingently egregious compendium. Swearing is usually either juvenile or crass, but military personnel admire talent and respect skill, so the ability to create imaginative expletives and to craft uncommon scurrility is often appreciated.

YACHT CLUB :

see TONKIN GULF YACHT CLUB, PERSIAN GULF YACHT CLUB; compare SPORT HUNTING CLUB, 72 VIRGINS DATING SERVICE.

YANK :

Yank correspondent

the world's first international news and entertainment magazine, subtitled "the voice of the enlisted man"; being staffed by and published for U.S. Army EMs and NCOs, as endorsed by Chief of Staff George C. Marshall. Printed (1942-46) rotogravure 24-page 11" X 14" saddlestitch format that sold for five-cents a copy; featuring articles, letters, stories, poems, cartoons, photos, and a full-page pin-up picture. Although edited and censored for wartime distribution, it was considered a necessary "safety valve" against combat tensions and the PARTY LINE of officialdom; hence some images and expressions from YANK were used by the enemy to demonstrate American decadence. YANK often shared resources with STARS AND STRIPES, but they weren't in competition ... YANK published more features and less news in 21 theater editions. See SAD SACK, OVERSEXED WEEKLY, JOURNAL. [nb: "Army Times", "Navy Times", "Air Force Times", "Marine Gazette", "Early Bird Brief", "Daily News Roundup", and other service-oriented newspapers are proprietary publications, just as "Army", "Leatherneck", "Sea Power", "Air Power", "National Guard", "Legion", "VFW", and other quasi-military magazines are proprietary publications of their respective professional or veteran associations, which are neither endorsed nor sponsored by the military]

YANK 'n' BANK :

aviator's rhyming slang for the hard maneuvering of an aircraft; see BANK, JINK, ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT, ACM, FUR BALL, DOGFIGHT, AEROBATICS; compare ANGLES 'n' DANGLES. [v: Plane Language]

YANKEE :

slang for a native or citizen of the USA, being any American, especially a soldier (eg: "Billy Yank") or other national representative; see GI JOE, DOUGHBOY, GRUNT, UGLY AMERICAN, POLITICIAN, PORK BARREL, BELTWAY BANDIT, CIVILIAN [nb: non-Dutch YANKEEs were identified as "John Cheese" in early America; compare UNCLE SAM]. [nb: American YANKEEs have been characterized in the past as being "Overpaid, over-sexed, and over here!", but are more recently being described as "Overpaid, over-equipped, and over-confident!"] Also, the nickname of the 26th Infantry Division. Also, the word assigned to represent the letter "Y" in the international phonetic alphabet; at various times in different spelling schemes, it has also been acrophonetically represented as Yoke. See ALPHABET SOUP, PHONETIC ALPHABET. [v: Alphabet Codes & Signal Flags]

YANKEE SAMURAI :

nickname for members of the 306th Language Detachment; composed of Nisei and Sansei, who underwent MILS training, and who then served as translators in the Southwest Pacific and CBI theaters during WWII. See SACO, OSS.

YANKEE STATION :

designation for the Carrier Task Force situated north of the DMZ off-shore of Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin. See DIXIE STATION, TONKIN GULF YACHT CLUB, FLOAT.

YARD :

affectionate slang for MONTAGNARD (mountain people), who are the non-Chinese ethnic peoples inhabiting the CENTRAL HIGHLANDS of INDOCHINA, they primarily comprised the STRIKERs of the Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG); see BODE, HMONG, NUNG, RF/PF, LITTLE BROWN BROTHER, LITTLE PEOPLE, INDIG, BAJARHAKO, FULRO, DEGA, WHITE ELEPHANT.

YARDARM :

either end of a center-mounted SPAR or yard. In modern vessels, the place where flags and pennants are often attached. See STICK; compare BOOM. Also, slang for penis, phallus, PRICK / CU, SHORT ARM, JOYSTICK, STICK, SPAR, HOT DOG, HOSE, BAYONET, BIRD, DIPPER, POGY BAIT, POGUE, and the like; compare LITTLE PRICK, ONIONS, DEAD-SOLDIER.

YARDBIRD :

informal designation for a recruit or trainee; see CRUIT, BOOT, MAGGOT, SLICK SLEEVE, EM [nb: it's a well established fact that a good Drill Sergeant will take the raw material of a civilian and turn him into a soldier in the same way that he would take a tangled mess of steel wool and knit it into a tank!]. Also, any incompetent or fumbling person; see DUD, TURD, DEADHEAD, GOLDBRICK, POGUE, HORSE MARINE. Also, any convict detained in a military STOCKADE or prison; a jailbird, con, or prisoner [nb: persons incarcerated for violations of the UCMJ are regulated by military law and custom, but are denied the privileges thereof, such as saluting]. Also, slang for a civilian employed by government contract in the construction or repair of military vehicles, containers, shelters, or other materiel, especially shipyards, where they must intermittently interact with the MIL-PERS who will use whatever they're manufacturing; this term probably derives by association with its other definitions (ie: someone ignorant of military protocol, and a criminal pilferer or swindler) together with the enclosure where they're working, as used since WWII; see BELTWAY BANDIT, SAND CRAB, BELTWAY CLERK, PORK BARREL, THE G, MILITARY-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX.

YAW :

the rotation of a ship, aircraft, or missile about its vertical axis so as to cause its longitudinal axis to deviate from the heading or flight line in its horizontal plane; the existence of an Angle between the longitudinal axis of a projectile at any moment and the tangent to the trajectory in the corresponding point of flight of the projectile. The deviating motion or axial oscillation of a vessel or projectile from its straight course or stable attitude; see PITCH, ROLL, HEAVE, ATHWART, CRAB, ATTITUDE ADJUSTMENT. Also, one of the lesions or eruptions of the infectious tropical disease "yaws", being a singular back-formation from the plural; also called "frambesia". See JUNGLE ROT.

YEAR ZERO :

sociopolitical objective of revolutionary Khmer, denoting messianic movements rather than retrograde; that instead of a reversion to the beginning of time, the new beginning at YEAR ZERO was like the communist paradise, with only the perfect true-believers advancing into the Promised Land. The movements had isolation and purity in common, but one was regressive and the other was progressive. Neither one was a fit habitat for imperfect people, hence the Cambodian holocaust! See ANGKOR WAT, KHMER ROUGE.

YELLOW BIRD :

operational name of a clandestine "underground railroad" rescue network established to evacuate Mainland Chinese dissidents seeking escape from Red China (PRC) after the 1989 Tiananmen Square MASSACRE, by a cooperative arrangement of CIA-supplied disguises with Tong smuggling practices, which spared thousands of lives, resettling these refugees outside the communist bloc. See E&E, BRIGHT LIGHT, SAFE, BLOOD CHIT, IRC, DP, BOAT PEOPLE. [nb: "triad" is the British designation, meaning 'three closely related things' (ie: heaven, earth, man), of the criminal gang elements within the social group of each Chinese name (tong) society; compare 'trigram'] [nb: the Japanese "yakuza" is a secret society of racketeers, equivalent to the Italian mafia/maffia and Chinese tong/triad, meaning 'good-for-nothing', as derived from the losing hand (ie: 8,9,3) in a card game; cf: "dead man's hand" of aces and eights, held by James Butler "Wild Bill" Hickok (2 Aug 1876)]

YELLOW BRICK ROAD :

slang reference for the prominent spur of the HO CHI MINH TRAIL network that delivered PAVN soldiers and materiel to the DaNang area of ICTZ, the most northerly zone in South Vietnam.

YELLOWCAKE :

a processed oxide of uranium #U3O8, being the raw material for fuel elements in nuclear reactors; see CBR, HAZMAT, COCKTAIL, SOUP, HOT GREASE, HEAVY WATER, SCRAM, TOMB, NUKE, GROUND ZERO.

YELLOW DEVIL :

compare YELLOW DOG; see YELLOW PERIL.

YELLOW DOG :

any craven, contemptible, or despicable person, race, or nation, especially the American assessment of Asian troops, which stereotype was disproven, and disbelieved by ADVISORs. See WHITE MICE, PAPER TIGER, RICE CHRISTIAN, WHITE ELEPHANT, ARMY CHRISTIAN.

YELLOW FEVER :

an acute, often fatal, infectious febrile disease of warm climates, caused by a togavirus transmitted by a mosquito, that's characterized by liver damage and jaundice; also called YELLOW JACK. Also, slang reference to the feverish enthusiasm expressed by a Western convert to the enthralling exoticism of Asian customs and peoples; such a passionately proselytizing aficionado is also mockingly identified as an "Oriental fan"; this partisan Orientalist, who has "gone bamboo" in his sympathetic affinity, has not only adopted new folkways and mores but has typically rejected his old ones, a birthright deemed inadequate or inferior to the new; see GONE NATIVE, EXILE, WANNABE, BAMBOO ENGLISH, SLEEPING DICTIONARY, POINTIE TALKIE, BRACELET, JOSS STICK, SPIRIT MONEY, RICE BALL, BUSH HANKY; compare RICE CHRISTIAN, YELLOW PERIL. [cf: "root-digger" geneologist]

YELLOW JACK :

slang for Yellow Fever; see FOUO, BONE BREAK FEVER, CHIKUNGUNYA, MALARIA, CORK. [nb: yellow fever conquered the French army under Charles Leclerc that had been sent (1801-4) to Hispaniola to punish the guerrilla bands led by Toussaint L'Ouverture, resulting in the independence of Haiti ("land of mountains"), and foiling the invasion of Louisiana by Napoleon Bonaparte] Also, a yellow flag signaling quarantine. Also, a yellow flag or marker used as a warning or caution, since displaced by a (Zebra-) striped panel or red marker; see RED FLAG, BLACK FLAG, WHITE FLAG. [v: Flag Terms]

YELLOWLEG :

air or armored cavalryman or TANKER, from the old cavalry branch yellow-colored stripe running down the outside of pant legs; the mounted rifles (designated green) and dragoons (designated orange) are historically distinct but have merged in the modern army. See ARM, TRACK, TANK, ACR, CAV, AIR CAV, AM, AMBL, AIRMOBILE, HELIBORNE, AIR ASSAULT, AA, SLICK, MECH, PONY SOLDIER, DRAGOON, DOG SOLDIER, LONG KNIFE, TOAD, KILL RING, ORDER OF THE SPUR, SPUR RIDE, CAVALRY WHISKERS, CAMPAIGN HAT, STIRRUP CUP, YELLOW RIBBON. [nb: the last U.S. Army horse-mounted cavalry attack was not the 1916 Pershing campaign into Mexico, but the 1942 defense of Manilla against Imperial Japanese occupation] [nb: a scrap of largely blue and red tartan, with the thread count falling in sevens, entitled "The 7th Cavalry Tartan", appears in a Scottish pattern book of the 19th century, which researchers now conclude was a design commissioned by George Armstrong Custer for outfitting a regimental marching band of pipers and drummers, which order was interrupted by the 1876 Battle of the Little Bighorn]

YELLOW PERIL :

the implied threat of being overwhelmed by an Oriental horde constituting almost a third of the world's population, as exacerbated by xenophobic scare-mongers and other sociopolitical propagandists for Western civilizations; Asian peoples (also known as "yellow devil" or "yellow monkey") regarded as posing such a danger, which has been propounded since the late 19th century.

YELLOW RAIN :

powdery yellow deposits containing a fungal toxin (tricothecene) identified in SouthEast Asia; alleged by some to be a chemical weapon, and by others to be contaminated bee excrement. See CBR, COCKTAIL, HAZMAT.

YELLOW RIBBON :

yellow ribbon Gadsden snake as yellow ribbon

a yellow-colored ribbon displayed by veterans and civilians as a symbol of solidarity with troops serving in a combat zone, with political hostages, and other patriotic expressions; probably derived from 19th century marching song: "She Wore A Yellow Ribbon". See SHOW THE FLAG, COLORS, LITMUS TEST, V-CAMPAIGN, WINTER SOLDIER, HALF-MAST, MOURNING BAND. [nb: "A yellow ribbon, Miss Dandridge. You know what that means in the cavalry – a sweetheart." by Frank S. Nugent, Laurence Stallings, and John Ford in She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949; based on the story "War Party" by James Warner Bellah)] [nb: one etymologist claims that Union soldiers wore yellow scarves during the American CIVIL WAR, so their wives and sweethearts wore yellow ribbons out of remembrance and solidarity, in the same way that medieval ladies of the court displayed the colors of favored knights; this assertion is revisionistic, since the federal uniform at the time did not include a scarf, and yellow is only a traditional color of the cavalry; although the post-WWII John Ford film, She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949), featured the folksong and the theme, it did not spawn a national fashion of wearing yellow ribbons, as would later occur with a popular song] [nb: the popular song, "Tie a Yellow Ribbon 'Round the Ole Oak Tree", written by L. Russell Brown and Irwin Levine (1973), and variously performed by Brenda Lee, Dolly Parton, Harry Connick, and other singers, is about an ex-convict who's released from prison in hopes of returning home ... although it has absolutely nothing to do with honorable servicemembers returning home from a combat zone, nor with POWs released from illegal captivity, this song (together with the associated yellow ribbons) was used by Penne Laingen (the wife of one of the American hostages) as the foci for a campaign (1979-81) to remind the public of the captives in Teheran, Iran. Ironically, this song was again widely played after the 1990-91 GULF WAR to show "support for the troops"; perhaps because traditional songs were too patriotic, and no new patriotic songs were written (and released) until after the 9/11 2001 TERRORIST incident]

YELLOW SHEET :

a docket of particular criminal investigations or accusations, arrests and convictions, a "rap sheet" or booking docket; being prosecutorial background material for extenuation or mitigation in sentencing [v: mittimus] during a court martial. Compare ARTICLE 15; see UCMJ, BOARD OF INQUIRY, CAPTAIN'S MAST, ROCKS 'n' SHOALS, DRUMHEAD.

YEN :

the basic monetary unit of currency in Japan, as originally derived from Chinese YUAN (circular / round); see LEGAL TENDER. Also, an Americanism for desire, want, fancy, appetite, urge, yearning, longing, hankering, pining, aching; adapted from Chinese dialect for craving or addiction.

YIPPIE :

politically active HIPPIEs who attempted to impose the countercultural tenets of the 1962 "Port Huron Statement" upon the greater society, along with other radical groups, like the Action Faction, Student Non-violent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), Weatherman ("You Don't Need A Weatherman to Know Which Way the Wind Blows"), Angry Brigade, and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS); the acronym derived from Youth International Party. See NEW MOBE, NCC, FIFTH COLUMN, RUNNING DOG, BLACK BLOC, BULLSHITVIK, BY ANY MEANS NECESSARY, DAYS OF RAGE, PROTESTOR, SILVER-TAIL, TRIPPIE, APOCALYPSE. [cf: yuppie (young urban professional); yeppie (young educated professional); buppie (black upwardly-mobile professional); fuppie (female upwardly-mobile professional); guppie (gay urban professional)]

YO-HO POLE :

a flexible bamboo carrying yoke, sized about 5' long with a diameter from 3" to 1", as used to transport heavy loads by human labor in Burma (Myanmar); so-called by Allied prisoners in POW camps during WWII. See DUMMY STICK.

YOU BET YOUR LIFE :

the informal name of the final test exercise in several military training courses, such as the MACV Recondo School and the USAF survival program; it was a sardonic adoption from the popular radio and television quiz show (1947-61) of the same name that was famously hosted by Groucho Marx.

YOU CAN RUN BUT ... :

a phrase expressing prowess and determination in the settlement of disputes, in the MIL-CRAFT conclusion of CONFLICT RESOLUTION, as in the SNIPER slogan: "You can run but you'll just die tired!", or the assault motto: "You can run but you cannot hide!"; a catch-phrase meaning that "We'll get you no matter what you do!". Seemingly derived from Joe ("the Brown Bomber") Louis when defending his championship title against Billy Conn in a rematch (June 1946), saying before the bout: "He can run but he can't hide." ... Conn was faster but Louis was stronger. President George W. Bush used this phrase about Saddam Hussein during Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), who was later captured by American troops, tried for WAR CRIMEs, and duly executed by the new government in Iraq.

YOUNG LIONS :

enthusiastic and fierce young servicemen who seek glory, by analogy with untested beasts, but probably related to lionize, for deserving accolades; the reference to a "pride of young lions" has the double meaning of a proud corps, also known as "New Breed", "New Centurions", or "Young Turks"; compare MOSSBACK, OLD BREED, MAVERICK, see BOOTSTRAP. Also, one of the many designations (eg: Tiger Battalion, Leopard Brigade, etc) for BABY BRIGADE units in foreign MILITIAs composed of male and female children or adolescents specifically recruited and trained for a suicidal zeitgeist or psychopathic nihilism. [nb: an objective of military indoctrination is to discern those trainees who are intuitively aggressive combatants; since anyone can be taught to shoot or swim or fly, it's crucial to identify those with inherent "fighting spirit", because nobody can teach "guts"!] [nb: "An army of asses led by a lion is preferable to an army of lions led by an ass."]

YOUR WISH IS MY COMMAND :

a leadership style that attempts to exemplify the suitability for command of lieutenants and other aspiring deputies for the edification of the chief or ultimate authority, who is often aloof or remote ... the high-handed practices of the Bataan Gang seeking to anticipate and appease the "genius" of General Douglas ("El Supremo") MacArthur is a case in point. The misfeasance or maladministration of henchmen or wheeler-dealers on behalf of vest-pocket despots and double-breasted tyrants is not new (eg: "Will no one rid me of this troublesome priest?" said of Thomas Becket by Henry II); it's seemingly endemic to the social dynamics of hierarchical associations, as evinced by military and religious organizations, academic and governmental institutions, all of which allege a higher calling to a nobler service. See BRASS-COLLAR, MARTINET, BRASS EAR, HIGHER, BROWN NOSER, KHAKI MAFIA, MILICRAT, LDR, NATIONAL SECURITY, PARTY LINE, POLITICIAN. [nb: the exact statement is disputed, and even the Latin quotation recorded by Edward Grim varies: "What sluggards, what cowards have I brought up in my court, who care nothing for their allegiance to their lord. Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest." or "What miserable drones and traitors have I nourished and brought up in my household, who let their lord be treated with such shameful contempt by a low-born cleric?"; however, the four knights (Reginald FitzUrse, Hugh de Moreville, William de Tracy, and Richard le Breton), who sought to curry favor with the king by assassinating the archbishop of Canterbury on 29 December 1170, fell into disgrace for their (mis)deed, but later, during the Revolt of 1173, the king performed a public act of penance, which absolved him of all responsibility]

Y SI :

MONTAGNARD term for a MEDIC, CORPSMAN, or physician. Compare Bac Si; see DOC, BABY DOC, BONE CUTTER, SAWBONES.

YUAN :

the basic monetary unit of currency in China, as derived from circular or round ("chin yuan"); compare YEN; see TAEL, SYCEE, RENMINBI, LEGAL TENDER.

YUT :

a motivational expression used by Marines (USMC), possibly acquired in Korea from the enthusiasm expressed over the playing of a traditional board game of the same name; see OORAH, HOISE, CHANTEY, GUNG-HO, ESPRIT DE CORPS, MORALE PATCH.