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Old 08-19-2012, 08:55 PM   #1
Craig
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Default Nicknames we sailors call the different ratings...

In the Navy, the sailors call each other by different terms. Some are:
Submarine guys = "Bubbleheads"
Air ratings = "Airdales"
Engineers = "Snipes"
Cryptology = "Spooks"
Construction = "Seabee" or "bees"
Nuclear power = "Nukes"

However, within each group we also have names for the different ratings. You will hear some "colorful" words while in the Navy, especially from your RDC in boot camp. So you are aware of these terms, I will not sugarcoat it.
Some are:

ABF Aviation Boatswains Mate Fuels = "Grapes" or "Fuelies" - Because they wear purple jerseys and helmets.
AD Aviation Machinists Mate = "Nose Picker" - They pick apart the nose of the plane. They inspect, adjust, test, repair and overhaul aircraft engines and propellers maintenance of turbo-jet aircraft engines and associated equipment.
AG Aerographers Mate = "Weather Guesser" - They never get the weather right, just like the ones on tv.
AM Aviation Structural Mechanic = "Tin Benders" - They are responsible for maintenance on the aircraft fuselage (mainframe), wings, airfoils, and associated fixed and moveable surfaces and flight control
AO Aviation Ordinanceman = "BB Stacker" - They load the ammo like a BB gun. Motto: IYAOYAS "If You Ain’t Ordnance You Ain’t Sh*t"
BM Boatswains Mate = "Boats" or "Rope Dopes" -They work with rope all the time.
CS Culinary Specialists - "Chef" or "Cookie", "Rice Cooker" - They cook rice at EVERY meal.
DT (Now HM's) Dental Technician = "Tooth Fairy" - What can I say? self explanatory.
PACT - "Deck Ape" – Any member of the Deck Department except GM. While GMs were organizationally in the Deck Department, to call one a Deck Ape invited the loss of blood and/or teeth.
GM Gunners Mate = "Gun Monkey" - A monkey that works on guns.
MC Mass Communications Specialist = "Shutterbug" - This comes from the old days when they were photography mates.
EM Electricians Mate = "Sparky" - They mess up, they get sparkies everywhere. The sparks are actually blue in color.
ET Electronics Technician = "Twidget" - A sailor who works or maintains electronic equipment, always carrying a "tweeker" (an adjuster) in there breast pocket to adjust components.
HM Hospital Corpsman = "Penis Machinist" or "Pecker checkers" - This is an old term that is still around because they do all the medical stuff. Motto: "With Love from a rubber glove".
HT Hull Maintenance Technician = "Turd Chaser" - If the toilets get clogged, they are the ship's roto-rooter experts.
MM Machinist Mate = "Monkey's Mate" - They are the monkeys that do everything.
PR Aircrew Survival Equipmentman = "silk packers" - the Parachutes material appears like silk
QM Quartermaster = "Wheels" - They steer the ships wheel guiding the ship to where it needs to go.
STG Sonar Technician = "Ping Jockey" - The sonar makes a "pinging" sound when the sonar makes a hit.
YN Yeoman = "Yoyo's" or "Quills" - Yoyo's since yeoman sounds like it. The quills refererences the old days when you wrote with quills instead of pens and pencils.

There are many others, but I can't think of them all. So add the others you have heard.
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Last edited by Craig; 04-03-2014 at 05:46 PM.
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