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

[Dave Wilton]

That sense was still in use when I served in the late 80s.

On Fri, 23 Dec 2011 12:14:10 -0600
  Darla Wells <lethe9 at GMAIL.COM> wrote:
>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
>>
>
>
>
>--
>If you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a
>horrible
>warning. -Catherine Aird
>
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