_STRAC_ "gung-ho, 'GI,' 'SOP,' soldierly, in a military manner," etc.

[Darla Wells]

When I was in, in the late 70's, strac(k) meant to have your stuff in good
military order and to be squared away and ready to go.
Darla

2011/12/22 Wilson Gray <hwgray at gmail.com>

> ---------------------- Information from the mail header
> -----------------------
> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Wilson Gray <hwgray at GMAIL.COM>
> Subject:      _STRAC_ "gung-ho, 'GI,' 'SOP,' soldierly, in a military
> manner,"
>              etc.
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strategic_Army_Corps
>
> which is about the STR[ategic]A[rmy]C[orps], mere slang to those of us
> not involved with it.
>
> For a while, the equipment usually carried on your back - backpack,
> shelter-half, sleeping-bag, etc. - was replaced by the same equipment
> redesigned to be attached to your pistol belt. Naturally, with all of
> this junk hanging from your waist, together with grenades, flares, a
> bandoleer of ammo, etc., the command, "Hit the dirt!", was rendered
> essentially meaningless. It was almost impossible merely to *sit* on
> the dirt.
>
> For some reason, this form of field gear was also referred to as
> "STRAC" - often hypercorrected to "STRIKE" - among us non-STRAC
> troops. I have no idea whether this temporary,
> at-great-taxpayer-expense redesign truly had anything to do with the
> STRAC concept.
>
> When I was in basic, there were posters everywhere extolling STRAC.
> It's easy to understand how those who had only heard the word would
> think that they were hearing "STRIKE."
>
> --
> -Wilson
> -----
> All say, "How hard it is that we have to die!"---a strange complaint
> to come from the mouths of people who have had to live.
> -Mark Twain
>
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>



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If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible
warning. -Catherine Aird

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