Hooah is a

battle cry A battle cry or war cry is a yell or chant taken up in battle, usually by members of the same combatant group. Battle cries are not necessarily articulate (e.g. "Eulaliaaaa!", "Alala"..), although they often aim to invoke patriotic or religious ...

used by members of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, ...

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

, and

U.S. Space Force The United States Space Force (USSF) is the space service branch of the U.S. Armed Forces, one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and the world's only independent space force. Along with its sister branch, the U.S. Air Force, the Space ...

. Originally spelled "Hough", the battle cry was first used by members of the 2nd Cavalry Regiment during the

Second Seminole War The Second Seminole War, also known as the Florida War, was a conflict from 1835 to 1842 in Florida between the United States and groups collectively known as Seminoles, consisting of Native Americans and Black Indians. It was part of a ser ...

in 1841, after

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, ...

chief

Coacoochee Wild Cat, also known as ''Coacoochee'' or ''Cowacoochee ''(from Creek ''Kowakkuce "''bobcat, wildcat''"') ''(c. 1807/1810–1857) was a leading Seminole chieftain during the later stages of the Second Seminole War and the nephew of Micanopy. Back ...

toasted officers of the regiment with a loud "Hough!", apparently a corruption of "How d'ye do!" Since

WWII 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 opposin ...

, the word has been widely used throughout the U.S. Army and gained a more general meaning of "anything and everything except 'no'. It is comparable to Oorah which the

United States Marine Corps 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 c ...

uses. The

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

and the

United States Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, m ...

use hooyah. The phrase originated with the

U.S. Army Rangers United States Army Rangers, according to the US Army's definition, are personnel, past or present, in any unit that has the official designation "Ranger". The term is commonly used to include graduates of the US Army Ranger School, even if t ...

and in the early 1980s was considered a trait of Ranger battalions, spreading locally through Fort Lewis, Washington and Fort Benning, Georgia, home of the three Ranger battalions at the time. By the late Eighties, it had spread through the majority of the Army's major and subordinate commands, quickly through leadership development schools and the more challenging courses such as Airborne, Air Assault, and Pathfinder. The speed with which it caught on is attributed to the rotation/Permanent Change of Station (PCS) of Rangers being reassigned from the "Bats" to one of the divisional units. On reassignment, their training could be put to use filling cadre slots as instructors or Black Hats by the divisions' G3 Training. As explained by senior instructor for Primary Leadership Development Course (PLDC) at Fort Ord, California in 1986, "Hooah" is always affirmative and used in various circumstances defined by the user's enthusiasm. Examples: upper case "HOOAH": "I totally agree, that's badass!"; or lower case "hooah", "yea got it, I'll get it done". Or it can be used as a question showing concern or need for clarification of intent: "Hooah?"

Possible meanings

Some popular usages of ''hooah'' include: * HUA means: "Heard, understood, and acknowledged"

References

External links

About.com article with ideas about Hooah's etymology
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304192209/http://usmilitary.about.com/od/jointservices/a/hooah.htm , date=2016-03-04

Hooah uttered at the end of the re-enlistment oath, Baghdad, July 4th, 2008: at time 1:08 on the video clip
Battle cries Interjections Military slang and jargon United States Army traditions English words

Possible meanings

See also

References

External links