This is the place to look to figure out what in the *!@# they're talking about! Please email me with suggestions, additions, and corrections. Your input is *greatly* appreciated!

The sources of the information below are your fellow FSAers. Space is too limited to give everyone credit for their individual contributions, but you know who you are and the rest of us appreciate your efforts!

(Sometimes, you just have to sit back and wonder...)

Remember, no classified!

Quick Find (*=New since last edit):

05D Also see "duffy" 
version 1. Army MOS for radio direction finding. Prerequisite was 05H MOS. Some were qualified in signal identification, radio fingerprinting, electronic counter / counter-counter measures and foreign language.

verson 2. When I went through Devens in '83-'84 (another great time and story) we trained side-by-side with the Hogs but split off after getting to 18 GPM. After that, we went to Sending and then Tech Phase, located down by Robin's Pond. Our training usually lasted longer and involved an FTX out at Buzzard's Bluff, Mass. I don't know if anything changed after i reclassed in '89, but we weren't required to pick up 05H first.

05G
The Signal Security MOS (the buddy f--kers). There were very few G's compared to the rest of the ASA MOS's. Most were assigned to tactical units and did a lot of telephone monitoring.. Perhaps by radio or your local land-line pizza order. Many specialized in monitoring more than one friendly radio transmission at the same time.

05H Also see "hogs"
Electronic Warfare, Signals Intelligence Intercept Operator, Morse Code. The Army's MOS code for those who transcribed Morse signals of national security interest. Many could ask for a beer in several languages, albeit usually the wrong one. Reclassified 98H in the 1990s.

05K Also See "Kilo"
Non-Morse Cryptologic Intercept Technician; called "Kilo's." Still had to learn 25 GPM code to graduate from AIT. Primarily intercepts teletype and performs signal search and development. Swallowed up by 98K in the late eighties.

1D10T
(one Dee one zero T, another way of writing "idiot").... you sent a NUG on "fishing trip" telling him/her to go get a 1D10T, each section they arrived at were fresh out of them, but delightfully recommended another section that was sure to have them. Upon arrival in a section, the NUG would be asked to write on a piece of paper what he was looking for....the ones with good eyesight caught on early.... (7/21/99, Ed Sterling)

26V
(micro-wave repair) maintained the micro-wave link (7/2/02, Dave Perata)

31J
Teletypewriter repairman, the true grunges of FSA, keeping 1940s technology alive into the 80s, we oiled, greased hammered and welded that crap that provided the musical background of FSA, ensuring that everytime we hear the sound effects of an oldtimey newspaper it takes us back to FSA! (5/31/01, Stephen Phillips)

32D
Tech Controllers both on the Red and Black side (7/2/02, Dave Perata)

33C
Radio (R-390) Repair (general) (8/15/99, Tasker Brush)

33D
Tape Recorder Repair (general) (8/15/99, Tasker Brush)

33F
Digital Electronic Repair (Tebo predominantly) (8/15/99, Tasker Brush)

33G
Electronic Countermeasures and Direction Finding Repair at FS Augsburg 33G's worked on Direction Finding equipment, we did not have any jammers there. (8/15/99, Tasker Brush)

33S
Electronic equipment repair. Some of these people could repair a radio in a ditch during a rain storm!

40 Mark Park
Hangout for the local hookers, where 40 DM (about $20) could get a guy a "good time". When new guys got on Trick, the group collected money for an initiation visit, usually following a bottle of Asbach or a visit to Herb's.

6 & 2
Referred to the work schedule of most operators at Gab, meaning 6
days ON and 2 days of BREAK

98B
Cryptananlyst or code breaker. MOS retired in 02/77.

98C
Traffic analyst. Responsible for helping identify origination of traffic. (One fellow remarked, "I never did figure out what these guys did except read the paper and take breaks..."!)

98G
A Golf. Voice Communications Intercept, further classified by specific language, i.e. 98G3LRU (for Russian Language proficient(?)). Also, in distant times, an 057.

(addition) the L means language certified and 

RU - Russian
GM - German
CZ (or CX, I forget) - Czech
PL - Polish

98H
The new nomenclature for an 05H.

98K
See 05K.

AFN
Armed Forces Network. Your local hometown American broadcaster, AM/FM/TV. Augsburg's AM outlet was on 1485 kHz, and shut down at night (which was distressing to the midz workers!). The FM station was monoaural, not stereo! And the TV played months-old soaps and the like, but with no advertisements!

Alcoholing chairs
Another endearing quality of those fun-loving 05D's. Soak a grey, wheeled chair seat with rubbing alcohol (taking care to apply it uniformly, so that the victim won't see a stain and be warned). Upon sitting down, the victim doesn't feel anything... until it's too late!!! Most unpleasant! (7/29/97, John Feamster)

Armed Forces Network
The distributor of American non-print media to overseas installations. "From AP, UPI, and the major American networks, the News is next - on AFN." See AFN.

Asteroid Bandits
any of those involved with the “burglary” of quarters from the change box in the Second OPS recreation room’s “Asteroids” electronic game @ 1980. (2/19/05, William Kay)

ATO
Authorized Time Off. One could never get enough of these free days off. (11/28/00, Calvin Fernstrum)

Badge
The magnetic-coded, must-wear security card enabling access into the work areas at Gab. It was not a good idea to modify it in any way! Came in two flavors, original and contractor.

Barf House
See Bavaria House.

Bavaria House
That crappy chow hall on Sheridan Kaserne. When they were trying to name it, in late '81 I believe, other ideas suggested included: Omar's (after Omar M. Bradley), the Sh*t Pit, the Choke and Puke, and Mom's Emporium of Gastronomical Delights.

The Berlin Drop
Usually done on a mid shift. A Nug is sent out to stand by the railroad tracks until a satchel is thown from a speeding train. Extra points are scored if the weather is cold and drizzling. Scoring is the number of minutes it takes the Nug to realize he, or she of course, has been had. (11/28/98, Larry Lehman)

Berliner Weizen
A delightful drink my friends and I used to drink at Tommy's, a local place off the beaten path. It was served in a large, bowl-shaped glass. It consisted of German wheat beer and white wine with a shot of cognac. (2/18/00, Tom Sweeney)

BFO grease
A favorite thing to send nugs chasing after.

bleeding
Back in the days when we had 2-2-2-80, we had a term for that constant state of borderline exhaustion "bleeding."  It refers to the color of your eyes, after working a swing watch, going to the fest, then coming in on a day watch...... (9/15/97, Mike Grojean)

Blue Nurse
A ghostly nurse reported to haunt certain areas in Building 156.

BMI
(ver.1) Acronym for Break Makes It. The last working day before a break.

(ver. 2) BMI always stood for "Break Means Intoxication." I never heard of "Break Makes It" in the two years I was there. Anyway, I just figured that this oversight should be addressed ASAP. (2/25/05, Andy Smith)

BMI Light
The light covers over the rack (O5H's) had BMI written in china marker on the inside. If it was your BMI, you got to turn on your BMI light, so everyone knew it was your "Friday."(1/10/00, Martina Breuer)

BMI pool
(ver. 1) A custom among 05Hs around 1987, at least. A designated extrovert would visit all the Morse bays with a specially-marked burn bag, into which each co-worker would place a dollar bill containing his or her name. A "winning" dollar bill would be drawn, and the person whose name appeared on the bill would receive all the cash in the bag.

(ver. 2) The O5K's had as many "BMI Pools" as the O5H's. I don't think that the BMI pool was MOS specific, as the glossary would suggest. (2/25/05, Andy Smith)

box of lobes
A favorite thing to send nugs chasing after.

BOHICA
"Bend Over, Here It Comes Again". Often stated when facing assignments for flag detail, post police call, barracks cleanup, etc. (7/29/97, John Feamster)

Bread-Bun Buddy
The Turkish worker at the mess hall on Sheridan Kaserne in the late 70's who greeted everyone requesting a burger with the ritual cry of "Bread, Bun, buddy?" (7/29/97, John Feamster)

Brotchen Run
the day trick on a Saturday would take up a collection and send two-three volunteers (one fluent in German) to the local stores for bread, cheese, meat, butter, pastries, Nutella, jam. They would return and folks would pig out on the food, washing it down with high-octane coffee or Mountain Dew. (2/29/00, Robert Starr)

burn bag
A $5 grocery sack used for the disposal of paper containing classified information. All burn bags were incinerated in a timely fashion.

busting bauds
Manually breaking down a teletype transmission using the Visicorder or 3 x 5 cards. Finding the narrowest bit and then using that to decode the rest of the traffic.

Cafe Bayern
Original Xerox Sigma3/Sigma5 computer system used to run DF operations among other functions. (11/28/98, Larry Lehman)

Call Chow
Arriving to work at Gab, and upon entering your work area, you
screamed "First Chow" at the top of your lungs to put dibs on going to eat
first, particularly when there were "special meals" like steak, lobster, etc.

Catfish
a pet name we adopted for the 1st Sgt or other higher up NCO's of the 204th from 93-94...you know how catfish like to murk around in the sludge. (6/9/97, Brandon Kutka)

CDAAC
The Community Drug and Alcohol Center. Later called CCC. Very many of us became CDAAC Rangers at least once during our tour!

Chad
any paper or mylar particle punched out of teletype [ mostly], or
computer programing [rare] tape. Made when holes are punched to
repressent 5-level TTY or 8-level ASCII figures, letters, or control
codes. (12/28/00, Neil P. Johnson)

Chad and Feathering
A quart of motor oil is dumped on someone, and then all the teletype chad (the little "holes", chaff, and dust from the paper) is thrown on them. Quite the mess.

Chadded
An operator who was the recipient of a box of computer confetti. Took weeks to find and remove all those small pieces of paper from all the nooks and cranies. (11/28/00, Calvin Fernstrum)

Chained To Your Rack
O5H's who were busy copying code were "chained to the rack" by the headphones. (1/10/00, Martina Breuer)

Charge of Quarters
One or two persons whose duty was to man the entrance to the barracks. This job was usually rotated among the building's occupants. The "CQ" was responsible for logging suspicious activity, taking messages, receiving bomb threats, forbidding entrance to undesired personnel, and delivering opinions on the movies being played in the break room opposite the desk. He or she was also often required to clean up the kitchen area, hallways, and stairwells of several floors of the building while performing the above duties! Some found that the requisite sweeping and mopping job (to be performed before the morning arrival of the commander) could be simulated by using a wet broom.

Chicken Man
The goofy serial adventures of Chiiiiccckkkennn Mannnnn!!! (He's Everywhere! He's Everywhere!) on AFN. Definite aid to surviving the near-death experiences at 0300 on Midz... (7/29/97, John Feamster)

Commie Bar
The Alt Stadt Stuberei (a bar) run by an outspoken right-wing character named Riner. He didn't speak much English so we didn't always know what he was talking about, but he was always worked up about something. Frequent hangout by Trick 3 33S's because of good Geiss, Gulash, and the absence of operators.

Commissary Run
Our favorite local blackmarketeer would arrive at the buildings and collect those who did not have cars for a free run to the PX/Commissary, in exchange for their unused ration stamps for coffee/cigarettes, and rarely their Class VI stamps.

Conduit Check
A practice at GAB of sended a weed/nug out through the hallways to check electrical conduit for any 'breaches, openings or leaks'. Known to have been successfully pulled on a newly assigned WAC 2LT in one of the computer sections in the mid 70's.

Cooder Commandoes
nickname for a group of mostly Trick 4 Second OPS enlisteds who frequented the seedier sides of downtown Augsburg. (2/19/05, William Kay)

Copper Magnet
Was said to lessen static shock when touching the equipment. And make it less likely for a spark to be generated on your ear lobe when an old guy drags his feet on the carpet before sneaking up behind you.

CQ
See Charge of Quarters.

cream
We also would 'cream' the phone, usually with shaving cream, but sometimes with vaseline. Makes for a messy ear. How about the Watch Office at Gab? (9/16/97, Michael DeLeon)

Crow’s Nest
the second floor rec room area and bar over the Air Force barracks building near Sheriden’s Mess Hall. Later occupied by Trick 1 of Second OPS. (2/19/05, William Kay)

Cryppies
A nickname for 98Bs. This MOS was merged into 98C in 1977.

Dawg trick
Trick 4, A Co 712th - the name says it all. I was a proud member. (2/29/00, Robert Starr)

day beggar
Straight day worker. Also called Day Pukes and Day Whores.

Day Lady
Same as a Day Beggar. (11/28/00, Calvin Fernstrum)

day puke
Someone whose work schedule was Monday thru Friday, 8 AM to 5 PM or similar. Often times a derogatory remark spoken about a desk clerk believed responsible for a delay in paperwork or some such.

DILIGAF
Do I Look Like I Give A F@#%? (7/29/97, John Feamster)

ditty bop
Terminology for a Morse Code interceptor.

Doctor Doom
One of the drivers of the Domberger Deathmobiles (which we used to ride to Gab) who always wore a green suit and had a disposition similar to that of a pit bull.

duffy
An 05D (see 05D). Sat around on their duffs all day. Name originates from HFDF (High Frequency Direction Finding), pronounced "huff-duff."

E5
Buck sergeant, three striper; main qualification was the ability to memorize military lore, count to three and irritate Spec 5's.

elephant cage
The huge, round antenna structure, so-called due to its appearance. See "Home Page" if you're interested.

EMHO Report
This one is best left alone! :)

ERF
Emergency Reactionary Force. A bunch of you were given empty M-16s and sent on the roof to hunker down behind exhaust pipes and defend the station against an imaginary enemy. Usually occurred when you were sick or very tired -- without fail.

European Out
End of your tour of duty, but instead of flying back to the States, you walked out the front gate and spent a few weeks/months bumming around Europe, crashing with friends, or staying in Hostels.

Face
slang for oral sex (11/8/98,, Norse84@aol.com)

Face Book
Comments in the log (pass on) book in A1 were getting too crude for the ncoic of A1mm. So the face book was created among it's contents was a collection of pubic hairs so Sgt. Tate could cover his bald spot and various pictures of livestock with stories about what certain hogs, kilos and charlies had done to them. (11/8/98, Norse84@aol.com)

filter detail
You had to take all the air filters out of the equipment in your area and take them down to maintenance and blow the dust out of them. No joke!

FIIGMO
"F@#% It, I Got My Orders!!" Short timers were especially fond of this one. (7/29/97, John Feamster)

FIO
Fart It Off. It was never pronounced but often written over instructions left by any of the pukes.

fish
Version 1. This was an ongoing game that the operators played in the late 70s. Someone, usually while conversing with another, would form a circle ("fish") with their index finger and thumb, and was allowed to hit (on the shoulder) anyone who looked at it. On "look Wednesday," though, the rules changed so that those who did NOT look at the fish were hit. To the analysts, who generally did not play it, this game was a great mystery as well as a source of physical pain if they happened to wander into one of the manual Morse bays.

Version 2. Any joke played on your unsuspecting fellows -- as in, "I fished him and he fell for it hook, line and sinker" (accompanied by reeling-in gesture, which was also used to signify to your victim that he had just been "had".) One of the best fishes ever played was on Chris Malcheski, 05H...(7/29/97, John Feamster)

flip flops
An alternative schedule to trick work used in the late 70s in some sections. One team would work straight days while another worked straight swings. The two teams would then switch shifts or "flip flop" on the 15th and last day of the month. Midz was covered by volunteers.
Also, rotating through all three shifts, six on, two off. Deadly to your sleep patterns!

FM
Freaking Magic (7/2/02, Dave Perata)

FOAD
F**K OFF AND DIE (3/25/01, Terry Auld) <Click here for details>

Fred's out
a.k.a. "Frederico se escapado"-anytime you "farted" it was common courtesy in the "bay" to alert your comrades to the event if they did not already hear the noise by signaling with your right hand ---thumb on the forehead and pinkie finger raised high in the air!~!!!! of course this is as opposed to passing wind with a "classroom creaper" whereby you wished to surprise your comrades with a deadly fart concocted on a graveyard shift after partying at a local fest and imbibing several liters of brew.!!!! (6/20/97, Andy Kovach)

Freq Check
Extra duty for a weed. He / she would go to each poz and write down each freq on the receivers. These would then have to be averaged so the watch officer could be informed on the average frequency for the day. A very valuable piece of information! We had a very cool watch officer that would partake in nug games with us. (9/10/98, Curtis Nugent)

Freq. Grease
would help get that signal through a dirty path. (7/2/02, Dave Perata)

Fruit
Name used by MP's for anyone that worked in the SCIF. (8/12/97, John Craig)

FTA
Ah yes, "F&*% THE ARMY", often said with Short, ala "SHORT! FTA!" occasionally said as "Fun, Travel, and Adventure" (tongue in cheek, of course)

FTFO
Just add an explative to FTO. (12/26/00, Jeff Grisham)

FTO
An acronym, usually scrawled across written orders, expressing disbelief and/or refusal to follow the command: Figure the Odds!

FUBAR
F&*# up beyond all recognition. New Lt's had a handle on this. Sometimes used for an outgoing hog who just carboned, dyed, chadded, and taped over with 100 mile an hour tape. (11/28/00, Calvin Fernstrum)

GAF
Give a Fu#k. A GAF soldier had an extremely poor attitude.

Gasoline Lady
The lady that walked around at bier fests carring shot glasses and bottles of Steinhager, Dornkatt, Apfelkorn, Jagermeister and other assorted spirits. (7/15/99, Steve Davis)

geiss
a potent mixture of dark beer, Coca-cola, and brandy. Best consumed ice cold with plenty of easy down, easy up food. (11/24/97, Jeff Hellen)

getting your lips beat
As a former O5H copying code on a manual (typewriter), some of those Commie targets could really work their traffic speed. If a Nug was getting beat, we refered to it as "Getting his/her lips beat". So if its of any interest to those none Tactical Hogs you could add "Getting your lips beat." (8/29/97, Thomas C. Borklund)

ghoul pool
This was run by the Air Force people. You'd basically bet on the next famous personality who would croak. Some guy actually won on John Belushi!

hair farmer
fsa member in obvious need of haircut. many a male op would use dippity-doo, mousse, butch wax, and hair gel to keep hair within standards during shifts. (7/10/02, Jesse X)

Half & Half
A combination of Asbach-Uralt (cognac) and coke, usually taken as a shot. Guaranteed to get you in a party frame-of-mind.

Herb
Herr Herb Glaser, proprieter of Herb's. Red, white, and blue-suspendered operator of one of Augsburg's finest Gasthauses. A real gentleman.

Herborough
Nickname for the German Marlboroughs, which were said to be nasty beyond belief! (That's why they would always beg for yours.)

Herm
Short name for Herman the German (slang).

hogs
An affectionate term for those lovable 05Hs. "Never try to teach a hog to sing. It wastes your time, and annoys the hog."

hose
That's when someone has real baggy BDU pants and you gently mist their behind with a water squirt bottle until you have soaked them. They don't feel it until they sit down, hopefully
far away from us. (9/16/97, Michael DeLeon)

IF
Interference Filter. A filter specially designed for new operators, used during thunderstorms over Moscow. It consisted of a huge metal cabinet with a jack on one side and a patch cable on the other. When the op complained of static, he was sent to the equipment section for the filter. The techs would quietly hand the op a two-wheeled cart and point to the filter. The filter was actually a cabinet weighted with about two hundred pounds of rocks.

Inking the Headset
Almost the same as M&M, but with indelible ink (one wonders if their ears are still black after 20 years).

Iron Cross
Version 1. The memory core for the PIG. A cross-shaped room in which resided hundreds of memory circuit cards, each the size of a modern laptop. The memory capacity of the whole room was less than the tiniest computers of the late 80's.

Version 2. The Iron Cross was actually a *BIG* RF switch matrix. The thing about it being memory is some old operator legend that never died. Unknown to many is that there was (is still?) a mattress, alarm clock, and telephone up on top of one of the quadrants of the cross. There was all sorts of warm air blowing around up there, and enough noise to drown out most snoring. The loft was usually occupied by a 33S who had spent the evening at the commie bar before a mid. If someone was looking for the person recovering up there, they would receive a phone call and then they could (by walking around above the ceiling on cable trays) appear from another part of the building, acting as if they had been off doing work.

Jet Fumes
Someone so new you can still smell the fumes from the jet airplane that brought them in. (11/28/98, Larry Lehman)

Jewel
Usually a new transfer or traded inferior NCO, who would love to change how smooth things are running for everyone...so these people spend all day making pretty SOP's and signs to place up around everyones work station to impress the officers just long enough for a higher ranking Jewel to come around and rain on their parade right as they are about to finish..and yes I have seen this happen. (6/9/97, Brandon Kutka)

Joe want pizza?
apparently the only three words spoken by the local barracks-to-barracks pizza delivery guy. The pizzas were often cold and had a cardboard-texture with red grease sauce covered by burnt cheese. (2/19/05, William Kay)

JUFOAD
JUMP UP AND F**K OFF AND DIE, USUALLY ACCOMPANIED BY RAISING THE ARM AT LEAST SHOULDER HIGH OR HIGHER AND ADDING "THAT HIGH" AFTERWARDS. (3/27/01, Terry Auld)

KBC
Stood for "Kill Before Capture". The MP's at Gab were quick to tell
the "fruits" that they were waiting for an opportunity to enforce this
policy to protect national security should we suddenly be overrun by
Russians, terrorists, etc.

Kilo
The nickname for an 05K / 98K.

kluge
wall of r-390's in a4mm that was supposed to help recoveries. tube technology kept the section warm until early 80's, when it was replaced by gadge. see "pos heater." (7/10/02, Jesse X)

knobbing
Searching the dial for targets.

KSR
Monstrous, hulking (60 pound!) electromechanical teletypewriters upon which the hogs copied their code. The were wonderfully durable machines; you could dump a cup of coffee in one, wait for the smoke to clear, change the paper, and drive on! It took 5-10 pounds of force to depress a key, so the Hotels tended to have gorilla hands from punching the keyboards. (7/14/98, Jeff Hellen)

KSR Bomb Bomb Bomb Bomb
While a fellow op was on a break, you'd lift the front edge of the KSR and balance it on a penny (or, if you were brave, a dime). Slip a package of your favorite condiment under the machine, and wait for the unsuspecting soul to start working again. Ketchup looked remarkably like a sucking chest wound. (7/14/98, Jeff Hellen)

"Land of the Round Doorknobs"
A term to describe the United States. At the time virtually every German door had a handle as opposed to a round knob. (12/12/97, Drew Wesche)

lifer
One who remains in the military until retirement. Also, an enlisted person of low rank who is believed to worry too much about Army regulations.

Land Shark!
Those little white sticky tape labels were put on collars or backs. and when the unsuspecting person went through everyone was saying "LAND SHARK". or saying "Hey Cowboy" or singing "I GOT SPURS THAT JINGLE JANGLE JINGLE" if it was on the heel of their boots. (11/20/00, Byran Roberts)

"Last Chance"
Appropriately named hang out. If you were too drunk to score anywhere else, but not drunk enough to not care, this is where you would go. Also a number 1 venue after german-american fest closed for the night (within stumbling distance on the way back to Sheridan). (7/24/98, Anonymous)

logbook
A register for keeping track of target activity in some bays. Was likely to be bounced off your head, as everyone seemed to need it at the same time and the only way to get it moved around efficiently was to throw the stupid thing.

M+M
Mickey Mouse. This was the result of your buddy rubbing ditto paper (carbon paper) on your headphones which gave you Mickey's black ears on the sides of your face.

MAC 16
The original computer that controlled the Iron Cross. It would route an antenna to an operator on the floor. The 16 referred to the memory capacity (16Kilobytes) in the computer. About the same amount of memory a late 1980's calculator had. I forget what the MAC stands for. Actually there were two of these computers and in theory one was keeping up with what function the main one was performing and if there was a failure in the main one the other would take over so there would be no "down time". To my recollection it never actually worked though. If one went down, they both went down.

Manual
For older 05H's and 05D's, you will (of course) remember copying code on one of the old manual typewriters ASA had modified for the pupose. It was usually an Underwood 88 or Royal. Ah, the "good" old days. (8/29/97, Thomas C. Borklund)

Meider-Bahnhoff Gang
Referred to the MP's at Gab. (A take-off on the
Baider-Manhoff gang of terrorists). Meant also that the MP's weren't
qualified to guard even the local train station.

Mid Flick
The local midnight movie on Sheridan Kaserne for swing-shift
workers. Cost was $1.

mid rats
Midz shift rations out at Gab. Usually left over from supper.

Midnight Sludge
Thick midz shift coffee.

Midz Kidz
Straight midz workers.

Mimhet Juice
Bad juice served at midnight chow, so named because it tasted like the Turk KP Mimhet had mixed it with his feet. (8/12/97, John Craig)

Mill Monkey
What the Analyst called Dit Boppers.

Mister Senkyu
The foreign national gate guard at Sheridan who, after seeing your ID card, would say "Senk you" (thank you).

Mom
A very disparaging term used in the late '80s for one of the battalion commanders. So called because of the box of condoms she hung in the vending machine room. (11/24/97, Jeff Hellen)

Morning People, ver. 1
Radio program on AFN that would come on at midnight. Always started with Jefferson Airplane singing "Volunteers of America". (9/10/98, Curtis Nugent)

Morning People, ver. 2
It was the live version of Volunteers from the Airplanes early morning appearance at Woodstock. (8/15/99, Tasker Brush)

Mud Pack or Pact
Covert Agreement by the powers to be to deceive whomever as to actual personnel strengths. Possibly as many as half the Ops personnel were switched over night from strategic billets to tactical billets and reassigned to various units in the 502nd ASA Group. Many persons remained in there same positions at Gab, some unfortunate soles went tactical. (11/28/00, Calvin Fernstrum)

Mud Packer
Name for people who got reassigned from the Ops BN's or Company's to the various tactical units. The term itself was most likey created by some clever person trying to put their perverted twist on the matter, basically referring to the poor soles who got stuck going to the tactical units as grunts/hogs who now waller around in the mud. (11/28/00, Calvin Fernstrum)

Nijmegen march
You got a AAM for marching and partying for four days in Holland with other soldiers and civilians from all over the world....I didn't even know Australia had an army. Of course, watching the Bridge to Far was mandatory before the actual marching event. (1/10/00, Martina Breuer)

nug
New Guy. Main purpose was to entertain the older ops, fetch copper magnets and IF's, cook a dozen eggs in the microwave for your fellow trick(sters?) and clean up vomit from you having a fifth of Old #7 in your field jacket all night. Note: Microwaves were not well known in the mid 70's. Once a nug cooked a dozen eggs in a microwave and blew the door off of it in the break area!

nug games
Tricks played on nugs.

New sherriff in town
what was tipped around the bays when someone had been successfully tagged with spurs (on the boots).

OpStop
the ops-run bar in the basement of 154 (1st Ops/712th), the scene
of much partying and debauchery. (2/29/00, Robert Starr)

OST
Out Sipping Tea...it was used to
refer to the break the Brits would take like clockwork. When aske where
they were...they would reply with "OST"!! (10/22/00, David Hazelmyer)

Our Place or OP's
A great place to go hang out after a swing shift, or just before a day shift if you were so inclined (11/24/97, Jeff Hellen)

Oxygen Thief
Someone who doesn't know how to do your job exactly, and would come in when there was a problem..and act like they have the answers..which are almost always wrong..and when your working in a tight bay or communications van...they take up your oxygen which you need to think so you can get the job done. (usually E-5 to E-7's) (6/9/97, Brandon Kutka)

pap
Useless, without substance. Like most Army regulations. When we received a note concerning something to do with the Army, the appropriate response was, "What is this pap?"

pass-on book
A hard-cover notebook used for leaving messages for workers on other shifts. Although ostensibly serving to convey important information about target activity, equipment problems, etc. to co-workers, the book also was the vehicle by which artwork and poetry were shared by the entire crew, as well as jokes, threats, and general observations. The pass-on book was the forerunner of Internet news groups, complete with plenty of scathing "flames."

Patch Cord Stretcher
Man I wish they existed. There were those times when a patch cord would be short just enough to piss you off. (7/3/02, Dave Perata)

PFM
“Pure F---ing Magic” what a teletype or radio repairman would list in the “fixed by” field of his repair log whenever what was supposedly broken worked fine when tested. (2/25/05, William Kay)

pig (aka "LA FINE WINE", aka "LA FINE SWINE")
Nickname for the Sperry/Univac computer system used at FSA during the early 70's. It was the original MIKEY. It WOULD eat everything if you fed it! In the early 80s, it was the group of IBM 4341's (LA FINE WINE II), in a room next to DF. Also the name for the WANG system in use in the mid-80's.

Pig Alley (maybe pigalle)
(ver. 1) May have been another reference to 40 mark park. When I first started at Gab I took the bus. Going in for mids or returning from swings the "Trick Bus" went past a street that the hookers hung out on.

(ver. 2) pigalle is the name of the Moulin Rouge district and subway stop in NW Paris where the red light district is located. WW2 soldiers nicknamed it (and subsequently all red light districts) “Pig Alley”. (2/25/05, William Kay)

PIING
Acronymn for Put it in, new guy. This is what we would say to weeds who tried to tell us how to do our jobs. (9/10/98, Curtis Nugent)

Pinball
A big machine with flashing red, yellow and white lights, with loud buzzers. Could be hooked up so it could be run from within the same section. New operators then got a "Pinball Game," in which one started slowly, and then gathered speed, finally ending with buzzers honking, lights flashing and mad pandemonium reigning. The poor operator would be running with his/her tongue hanging out, trying to keep up with all this madness. Someone would laugh, and the new op would then turn around to see the entire section gathered around behind him in a semi-circle, watching the show. (Ask Paul Kallio, 05D, how much fun this is!!) (7/29/97, John Feamster)

Pink Panther
Nickname given to the equipment used to radio fingerprint signals. The name came from the pink light sensitive paper which shot out as fast as 100 inches a second! (see Visicorder.)

Pit (the) ver. 1
The Watch Office at Gab (9/10/98, Curtis Nugent)

Pit (the) ver. 2
also a reference by 33's to the entrance to the tunnel that went to the "Round House" in the center of the antenna field. (8/15/99, Tasker Brush)

pos heater (aka: hot air popcorn popper)
ingenious device that doubled as a foot warmer during those cold winter nights in gab's remote corners. 33s's disliked them because they would draw enough current to kick pos 
breakers. (7/10/02, Jesse X)

Poz party
Usually held on swings/mids, where everyone's soda cans were spiked with smuggled liquor. The booze was usually stored at one operators position, usually an 05H or 05K, and everyone went there to get refilled.

Pubing a badge
Midshift prank of lifting a security badge from an unsuspecting newby’s field jacket so as to return it with a naturally curly haired beard scotched taped to the picture. (2/25/05, William Kay)

pukes
NCOs, officers, etc... (we were young & immature!)

QRN Filter
A heavy, grey steel cylinder with several prongs sticking out of it. New O5H's were sent by their trick chiefs to get a QRN Filter to eliminate static from their radios (impossible, of course.) This entailed their trotting all over the field station, before finally being sent to A6. (Everyone knew we kept it there.) We had them sign a hand receipt for it. Upon returning back to their section the TC would then state, "What took you so long?? Now put it in your rack!!" (and, of course, there was no place to install it... but they didn't want to give up so would crawl around for 20 minutes or more before admitting defeat... and learning what that reeling gesture (see "fish") was all about...(7/29/97, John Feamster)

Rabbits
Slang term for certain targets which transmitted extremely fast signals. Tips on these "animals" were usually passed on to the newest person there, while everyone else watched them struggle to copy and laughed.

Rad version 1.
Short for Comrade. Slang for a German.

Rad version 2.
On your glossary of terms you refer to Rad as being short for "comrade, slang for a German". We (FSAers 77-80) always took it as short for "radfahren" (those #!%#!! bike riders) also slang for a German. (4/18/99, Mark D. Kotanchik)

Radborough
See Hermborough.

Radio Luxembourg
The radio station of choice (practically the ONLY station) for nighttime listening from Gab, operating on 1440 kHz at 290 to 310 degrees. Began operating 28 December, 1930. Radio Luxembourg was the first station to play the Beatles ("Love Me Do"), launching the unknown Four to stardom. The station was also England's only source of Elvis music (banned by the BBC) for some time. They played an eclectic mix; Van Halen might be followed by a polka tune, leading into Beethoven. The station had its own orchestra. But Radio Luxembourg played more than music; where else could you tune to hear the Slovak Lutheran Hour? The station sadly went off the air on 29 December, 1991, with the words: Good night, good listening, and goodbye.

rayday
(aka quad-zulu) 1200z (greenwich mean time) other than first chow,  probably the most exciting part of mid shift - that magical point when  electronic clocks in gab tripped from 235959 to 000000. otherwise  "bleeding" morse ops would come alive to vie for top honors and be the one who could get their ksr to print 000000 the most times. rumored record: 3 (7/10/02, Jesse X)

Ripping Off
On the final shift before PCSing/ETSing, some poor sods had all their clothes literally ripped off. They were then usually strapped onto a 33S's cart, or taped into their chair. A tour of the building usually followed.

"Roll Call"
Usually occuring on the first night of BMI, Roll Call was a mad gathering at any watering hole, preferably a beer fest such as the strong beer fest behind Flak, the Plaerrer Fest, or the German-American fest, where fellow trick workers would gather in mass and consume large quantities of beer, massive amounts of fest chicken, and share many humongous pretzels. All this and the chicken dance too! (5/9/97, MG Chipperini)

"Rotating Rag"
Name of the underground newspaper produced during Trick 4 "Rota" (rotating 2-2-2-80) on the Gadgeteer Pos in A4MM from 1981 to 1985. First "publisher" was Sgt Dan Cook, an O5H who expertly used profanity to weave serialized stories of the "Face Rangers", a group of Rota ops who would engage in all manner of unsavory behavior. When Dan ETS'ed, the "Rag" was carried on by SP4 Bret Harrison, an 05K on trick 4, and evolved into a parody of FSA life, featuring fake letters from real people, serialized stories, and the latest gossip. All told, the Rag published 52 issues, all somewhat illicitly, since we were using Government time and materials to do it! My most treasured issue is one autographed and then stuck into the Gatgeteer mailbox by FSA Commander Floyd Runyon, who was featured in an episode of "The Rota Hardcore" during 1984. Apparently somebody ratted me out, but Floyd stated above his signature that he was honored to be featured...apparently he'd been a fan of the Rag for some time! I'd treasure any scans/copies of any of the original Dan Cook Rags, I have only three of about 12 that were created.  (6/18/02, Bret Harrison)

round house
The shack in the center of the Elephant Cage.

search hit
A captured transmission of a target at a time or on a frequency unanticipated by the analysts. Often easy to find in the middle of the night, as few of your co-workers ever sat and spun while they were trying to sleep, and thus targets' nighttime schedules were not well-known.

separating chad
Another favorite nug game. Have them separate the different colors of chad.

short
A person who had very little time left before leaving. Some were said to be so short that they could do a back-flip off of a postage stamp.

short sheet
A posted list of names with the number of days to ETS. In the 1970s, in B-3, treads were not allowed on the short sheet.

sit and spin
To occupy a chair and spin the dial of the radio, ostensibly looking for targets. Often, when using the RACAL, an operator would have the VFO "locked", with the result being that he/she appeared to be "sitting and spinning" but was really tuned in to the Vikings game on AFN.

skate
A person who had so little time left before leaving his post or the military that they did virtually nothing. The uniform of the day included a pair of curtain bearings attached to you collar which looked like little skates.

Slag-Fussen
To beat feet, as in to leave quickly. (11/28/98, Larry Lehman)

Slice 2? Less Toe-may?
a name many of us had for a female Turkish sandwich maker in the Gab mess hall..."Less Toe-may" was "lettuce and tomato?"... but usually she didn't wait for the answer!