US Military question

[hackhelios]

Buzzcuts, standard issue for Marines. Has the unfortunate side effect of making their heads look like jars.

Navy folk were called squids. Squids come in two flavors--pollywogs, or sailors who hadn't sailed across the equator yet, and shellbacks, those who had. Crossing the equator used to be a lot of fun, before the navy cracked down on hazing (initiation rights, similar to pledge week for fraternities). There's be a full day of sailors proving themselves worthy of the Golden Order of Shellbacks--activities ranged from sitting in a dryer all day and saying "cuckoo" anytime someone opened it, to taping flipflops to your elbows and knees and crawling all over the ship, to being strung upside-down and serving as a drawing board for the ops room. The captain would don his King Triton outfit and lord about the place for the day. The ritual sounds brutal, but it was all about the camaraderie and sense of belonging that came after. You really get to know people when you go through hell together.

/unintentional-recruitment-rant

EDIT: Yeah, what monster said.