Vocab time, HOOAH!

If you want to better understand the military and those who serve in it, it is important to get a grasp on military jargon. Because of this fact I've decided to post a weekly vocab word to help the layperson understand what the heck we're talking about. I'll do my best to keep it clean, but keep in mind that a time tested army skill is the ability to construct an entire sentence using only four-letter-words.

Today's word is HOOAH. You'll hear it across all branches of service (though the Marines pronounce it wrong), in meetings, ceremonies, in chow halls, in the field, in the latrine, and any and everywhere you find soldiers. Below is a definition I found on a military website that does a decent job of conveying the essence of this important though complicated word.

"hooah (hoo ah) adj., adv., conj., interj., excla. [Orig. unknown] Slang. 1. Referring to or meaning anything and everything except "no". 2. What to say when at a loss for words. 3.a. Good. b. Great. c. Message received. d. Understood. e. Acknowledged. 4.a. Glad to meet you. b. Welcome. 5. "All right!" 6.a. I don't know the answer, but I'll check on it. b. I haven't the foggiest idea. 7. I am not listening. 8. "That is enough of your drivel; sit down!" 9. Yes. 10. "You've got to be kidding me!" 11. Thank you. 12. Go to the next slide. 13. You've taken the correct action. 14. I don't know what that means, but I'm too embarrassed to ask for clarification. 15. Squared away (He's pretty hooah.) 16. Amen!"

Feel free to experiment with the word’s usage. It is nearly impossible to use it improperly since it means EVERYTHING (except "no" of course). Beware, however. Often a person's reliance on the word is directly proportional to their intelligence. In other words, the Captain who used it 130 times in a half hour lecture was not a brilliant man. Use judiciously people.