Pogue is American

pejorative A pejorative or slur is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or a disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility, or disregard. Sometimes, a ...

military slang Military slang is an array of colloquial terminology used commonly by military personnel, including slang which is unique to or originates with the armed forces. In English-speaking countries, it often takes the form of abbreviations/acronyms or d ...

for non-infantry

MOS MOS or Mos may refer to: Technology * MOSFET (metal–oxide–semiconductor field-effect transistor), also known as the MOS transistor * Mathematical Optimization Society * Model output statistics, a weather-forecasting technique * MOS (filmm ...

(military occupational specialty) staff, and other rear-echelon or support units.

History and etymology

The term was used as early as the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

US Marines The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through combi ...

to refer to a

male homosexual Gay men are male homosexuals. Some bisexual and homoromantic men may also dually identify as gay, and a number of young gay men also identify as queer. Historically, gay men have been referred to by a number of different terms, including '' ...

. At the beginning of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, "pogue" was used by Marine drill instructors to refer to trainees believed not to meet the expected standards or failing to display the appropriate ''esprit de corps''. Linda Reinberg includes it as being in general use in

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

to refer to rear echelon support personnel. This meaning, as well as the "substandard performance" connotation, continued into the beginning of the Global War on Terror. During

Desert Storm The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

in Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, "pog" referred to anyone who arrived in

theater Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

after the speaker. "Pogey bait" is a reference to sweets or candy, which was in usage in the military as early as 1918. The term alludes to food (and other luxuries) rarely afforded to grunts in the field. To an infantry soldier, the term "pogey bait", when used in the possessive sense (i.e. "''my'' pogey bait", "''his'' pogey bait", etc.), refers to a personally acquired (not issued) stash of snacks and food. Common items found in a bag of "pogey bait" include

ramen noodles is a Japanese noodle dish. It consists of served in a broth; common flavors are soy sauce and miso, with typical toppings including , nori (dried seaweed), menma (bamboo shoots), and scallions. Ramen has its roots in Chinese noodle dishes ...

hard candies A hard candy (American English), or boiled sweet (British English), is a sugar candy prepared from one or more sugar-based syrups that is heated to a temperature of 160 °C (320 °F) to make candy. Among the many hard candy varieti ...

(e.g., Werther's Originals, Jolly Ranchers, Dum Dums, etc.),

beef jerky Jerky is lean trimmed meat cut into strips and dried (dehydrated) to prevent spoilage. Normally, this drying includes the addition of salt to prevent bacteria growth before the meat has finished the dehydrating process. The word "jerky" derive ...

Easy Cheese Easy Cheese is the trademark for a processed cheese spread product distributed by Mondelēz International. It is also referred to as "spray cheese", "cheese wizz", "cheese whiz" or simply "cheese in a can", and is similar to "squeeze cheese" (a se ...

, and

Vienna sausages A Vienna sausage (german: Wiener Würstchen, Wiener; Viennese/Austrian German: ''Frankfurter Würstel'' or ''Würstl''; Swiss German: ''Wienerli''; Swabian: ''Wienerle'' or ''Saitenwurst'') is a thin parboiled sausage traditionally made of por ...

(among other things). "Pogey bait" was/is used "in the field" not only as snacks and meal supplements, but also for

bartering In trade, barter (derived from ''baretor'') is a system of exchange in which participants in a transaction directly exchange goods or services for other goods or services without using a medium of exchange, such as money. Economists disti ...

(commonly either for other food or for tobacco products). "Pogey-bait run" was used as early as the 1960s to refer to any unauthorized violation of restrictions with the purpose of meeting a wife or girlfriend.

Origin

Although more than one theory exists for "pogue", the current term "POG" is a retcon of the older term. POG is an acronym to be "Person Other than Grunt", with "grunt" no longer meaning "ground combat soldier" but specifically "infantry". The connotation changed with the spelling. While "pogue" was an insult, "POG" simply means "not infantry". Current usage is POG and has been for the entire career of most of the currently serving military, to the point that any use of the 20th century term is "to be corrected".

Gay culture

Among early 20th century gay men, "pogie" was a term for man who enjoys receptive anal sex.

Related terms

The terms REMF (Standing for "Rear Echelon Mother Fucker") and "Fobbit" (from

forward operating base A forward operating base (FOB) is any secured forward operational level military position, commonly a military base, that is used to support strategic goals and tactical objectives. A FOB may or may not contain an airfield, hospital, machine ...

(FOB) and ''

The Hobbit ''The Hobbit, or There and Back Again'' is a children's fantasy novel by English author J. R. R. Tolkien. It was published in 1937 to wide critical acclaim, being nominated for the Carnegie Medal and awarded a prize from the ''N ...

'') are closely related terms, in that they are frequently intended as insults (although "fobbit" seems to be taken as less a term of direct abuse and more a descriptive one). Among other services, other terms include "nonner" and "shoe clerk".

References

External links