"Most popular derogatory term for the Army used by the RAF?" Topic

I've heard all sorts of insulting names for the RAF that the Army has come up with but how about the other way round? Anything from WW2 to present day is of interest.

Doug

Pongos ?

Brown jobs

Join and post it here:

link

I am sure you will receive some rather colourful replies!

And don't forget to start with a line like " I have heard that the RAF Regt are real soldiers"!!

Tally Ho!

Join and post it here:

That's a bit drastic and anyway, I'm much too old to join up now…

Now you mention it, Jeff965 and Aliosborne, I've heard those two. Anything more colourful/scurrilous?

Doug

That's about it really. We saved all our spite for the RAF Regiment and RAF Police. ;o)

I think a 'Cowey' AKA 'Cowie' is quite bad….

:P

Doug I meant join the site at the link!!

Tally Ho

Yeah, I remember "Pongos". I don't remember where and why it come from.

Doug; Why do you need to know?

'Targets'

I think a 'Cowey' AKA 'Cowie' is quite bad….

Michael, as always, I forgive you because of your extreme youth

nickinsomerset – yeah, I knew that – I was just being silly..

Cheers,

Doug

Doug; Why do you need to know?

Just to add a bit of colour to an AAR.

Doug

Pongo, wherever the pongoes the pongoes! From the fact that whilst the Crabs are in their 5 star hotels we are living in the mud, not washing and getting generally smelly! Difficult not to be after weeks on exercise, in the jungle, desert, or on ops where water is a scarce commodity! One of the worst cases of personal hygiene was a crab attached to us for a while who over a few weeks did not take his shirt off for a strip wash because it was too cold!

Tally Ho!

I have two sons, one in the RAF and one in the parachute regiment. The terms in which they address each other do not bear repeating, would get me banned from this site I suspect, and are wholly inappropriate for gentlemanly gamers of more senior years.

If I remember correctly Pongos was slang for the Pom Pom infantry wore on their Shakos.

I thought Pongoes was used by the Andrew?…

non-Crabs?

At Lyneham the C-130 crews referred to them as 'Self Loading Freight' ;)

"Self Loading Freight" I almost fell out of my chair after reading this one. Excellent, it made my day.

Ruperts – but thats' more navalese

Ruperts are officers

Wupets and Wodneys!

Tally Ho!

@ sjwalker38 – any truth to the rumour that only fairies have wings? (runs for cover. To be fair, the Signals regiment I was in had a defined parachute role, so about 30-40% had their wings).

I can't recall nicknames for other services, but I do remember ARABs and STABs in the army. Oh, not to forget, Lerts and Wares.

Never heard Ruperts used in the RAF. Rodneys, Zobs and 'That Twat' were the usual terms of endearment.

This reminds me of a cheery story told me by a former RAF fixer. The OC of his squadron was apparently a horrible man, and the men referred to him invariably as "TC". He thought it was tremendously cool that his men should refer to him as "Top Cat". The illusion was shattered when he discovered that his 2-i-c was referred to as "TOC", and, further, that this stood for "That Other C**t".

As to the original question, I thought that members of the Kate were referred to as Pongoes in the Andrew, Brown Jobs in the Crabs.

All the best,

John.

Hmm, 'Rocks' has been used occasionally by RAF members at the rugby club (though that may be wider than the army as the regiment boy reacted to it to). I can ask our coach once full training starts in a week or so, he's current serving RAF and I'll ask the wife since she is ex-RAF – though mostly she goes on about pro-volleyball players in the RAF rather than slagging the army. We're also due to play a RAF regiment team some time soon I hope (good fun bunch of lads they are), so I might be able to gather some.

I do remember one argument between my mum's cousin who did 31 years in the RAF by the end and my cousin's soon to be husband (who was TA) which kicked off over the phrase 'temporary landmarks'

John,

Pongoes or Brown Jobs, we're not fussy. ;o)

Myrm,

'Rocks' is short for 'Rockapes' – i.e. the RAF Regiment. I'm particularly fond of the term 'Dancing Crabs' for the Queen's Colour Sqn, RAF Regt. :)

'The Army'

Of course to really upset a soldier one could ask if they are a member of the RAF Regt/SRDG!!

Tally Ho!

When I worked at BAe, one of the Harrier/Hawk sales team was ex-FAA (and still a deep-diver/instructor in the RNR). During his regular service days, he was a guest at a dinner at one of the Welsh RAF stations, and was invited, at very short notice, to speak. He chose as his subject: "Is the RAF really necessary?" presenting a series of arguments that the FAA and AAC could fulfill any and every role the RAF had. Obviously it was very "tongue-in-cheek" and was seen as such by everyone except the station commander, who was notoriously humourless. He was ordered to present himself in the station commander's office the next morning for a dressing down, "sword and medals to be worn" (which I gather is rather serious, career wise).

The Army is "Ballast" when loaded onto RAF choppers.

Jumbo,
Surely you know of some more 'colourful' terms for them as well?
:)

I'm an ex-RAF airman so when I worked at Chertsey as a Scientist on Challenger 2 I took great delight at referring to the Major I shared a desk with as "Oi Squaddie!", but usually with at least 10 feet head start! ;)

I must point out that they are some of the best people I've ever worked with and I miss working with them loads. I still laugh at all the things they got up to. Them's was the days…

The army sneer at the soft life of the RAF. One wonders why. You have a choice- up to your neck in , or up to your neck in clean clothes, with running water, flushing toilets and a bar. Where would you rather be?

If you are feeling REALLY suicidal, in the unlikely event that someone admits to being in 'The Regiment'* say 'Oh, you guard the airplanes then. Then Run. RUN REALLY FAST.

(*not a wannabe, usually if someone boasts they are, they were not even close)

In the RAF we saved all the interesting nicknames for the other trades and squadrons.

The USAF refers to them as "Meat Bombs" and cargo aircraft as meat bombers.

Yeah the CRABS insulting the PONGO's is a bit rich.

Especially when you consider the Royal Air Farce is the worlds longest Running April Fools joke being they were founded 1st April 1918.

Lucky they aren't expeditionary otherwise all the Pilots in Libya the other year might have to lived in Field Conditions in Sicily. As it was the local hoteliers benefited from the fall of Gaddafi.

link

A green-eyed Brown-Job? ;)

Compared to the Senior Service -- the Crabs are very much the junior. Plus the Fleet Air Arm have got better pilots! Stand well away and stick my fingers in my ears!

Mind you don't stub your fingers when they meet! :)

I used to wonder why the RAF was referred to as the "Cinderella" of the three services, then I of course I realised Cinders had two ugly old hags for sisters