Strack

[Dave Wilton]

> Here is a word which is missing from my dictionaries. I
> suppose it is slang or jargon or both. I think anybody
> who was in the US military in recent decades (that's a
> lot of people) would recognize this adjective. I'm not
> sure there's an exact synonym. I don't know what the
> etymology is: perhaps an alteration of "strict" to rhyme
> with its antonym "slack"? This refers to a person or unit
> exhibiting good discipline and high standards of dress
> etc.: immaculately shined boots, immaculately bloused
> trousers, never a sloppy salute, etc. ... at least as I
> understand it (I'm not a very strack person myself). One
> can see a few examples by googling with "strack outfit",
> "strack troops", etc.

It's "STRAC." Originally an 1950s acronym for Strategic Army Corps, a group
of four, elite divisions maintained at a high readiness for overseas
deployment. It began to be used as an adjective, to be "STRAC" was to be
prepared (which as Doug notes in the peacetime army usually means shined
boots, bloused trousers, and a crisp salute). After the demise of the Corps,
the adjectival use hung on. A new, unofficial backronym was formed for it,
"Skilled, Tough, Ready, Around the Clock." It was very common in the US Army
of the 1980s. I can't vouch for current use of this sense, although I'd
imagine it's still in use.

"STRAC" is currently used in the US Army as an official acronym for
"Standards in Training Commission," which was almost certainly chosen
because of its association with readiness and the earlier, unofficial sense.
You'll see this one in a lot of official army web publications and web
sites.