FirstSpear TV

One More Time…It’s Pogue

Can we just cut it with the “POG” usage? The backronym “POG” was created by infantrymen who were Pogues, but didn’t want to be called Pogues anymore. You know it’s true, there are loads of Infantrymen who are Pogues.

This photo was taken during the Vietnam war and it clearly uses the term “Pogue” which dates back to World War I and possibly as far back as the Civil War.

Oddly enough, this “POG” nonsense seems to have started with the Marines during the GWOT which explains quite a bit since they were handing out ASVAB waivers like candy. If “POG” actually stood for “Persons Other Than Grunts” then where is the “T”? Wouldn’t it be “POTG”?

And another thing, who the hell wants to brag about being the “Queen of battle?” I realize it’s a chess reference but nobody plays chess anymore. They do however, know what a drag show is.

Either way my grunt friends, have fun cleaning the barracks while the REMFs do their day-to-day jobs.

11 Responses to “One More Time…It’s Pogue”

  1. Sapperldr35 says:

    when I see POG, I think of the decorated paper coins “POG’s” in lieu of hard change used by AAFES during my OIF-2 time at Speicher.

  2. ND says:

    Spoken like a true non-warfighter, that reaped the same benefits of those taking the fight to the enemy.

  3. Sunny says:

    Nobody plays chess anymore?
    Well, nowadays nobody is smart anymore…
    Maybe raise your bar, pawn.

  4. Seth says:

    This was such a subjective term during the GWOT. When I was in (0311) we used the term specifically for actual REMFs like IPAC, or some staffer that never went OCONUS, but for our attachments like combat engineers, Ground INTEL, Motor T, and even our UAS dudes we called them Enablers since they actually helped us do our jobs more effectively.

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