What Branch Of The Service Are Jarheads

The Biggest Theories On Why We Telephone call Marines Jarheads

John Lamparski/Getty Images

Militaries throughout history have relied on speaking in codes to protect their secrets from eavesdroppers, or to make sure the right message gets across. Specialized lingo is part of the job. But that doesn't cease at but armed services procedures, at least not for the U.S. armed forces. Every co-operative of the military has its preferred slang terms and nicknames for the members within it.

The U.Southward. Marines in particular have gone by a number of names in their history. From "gyrenes" to "grunts," the Marine Corps take earned plenty of nicknames from other troops (via National Museum of the Marine Corps). Probably the nearly recognized nickname is "jarhead," co-ordinate to the museum. Similar many other terms, it was coined equally an insult before it was taken by the Marines and turned into a source of pride. But what was the basis of the insult in the first place, and what has made it and then pop?

Rivalries in the U.South. Military

Michael Half dozen/Shutterstock

The U.S. Marine Corps is one of the oldest branches of the war machine, alongside the U.Due south. Navy. The 2 accept coexisted since the Revolutionary State of war, and with that tenured service came a lot of time to interact with each other. Because the Marine Corps work in areas that overlap with the Navy pretty often, the ii have developed quite the rivalry (via National Museum of the Marine Corps). Similar many rivalries, theirs comes with insults and name calling.

Sailors in the U.Due south. Navy are actually suspected to be the originators of the nickname "jarhead" around World War Two. But the Marines take a history of taking those insults in stride, according to the National Museum of the Marine Corps, and typically voluntarily adopted a lot of their assigned nicknames. That's what happened with jarhead, which members of the Marine Corps now use as a badge of accolade.

A regimented pilus routine

AUZIAK PRODUCTION/Shutterstock

"Jarhead" could come from a few dissimilar places. Nicknames for the Marines have been around for decades, and the exact origin of many of them — such every bit "grunt" or "gyrene" — aren't exactly clear (via National Museum of the Marine Corps). Merely there'south ane possibility that stands out: the haircut. Marines frequently opt for the "high and tight" haircut, shaving off their hair at the sides and cropping it shut and square on elevation. The mode has been pop among Marines for decades, and many were frequenting barbershops for a bear on-up even at the height of the pandemic (via My Stateline).

But the haircut could have been a source of ridicule from other branches who weren't every bit compatible in their hairstyles, according to Mental Floss. You could argue the "high and tight" either makes a Marine's caput look like a jar, or at least similar it's sticking out of 1.

It's all about the compatible

Alexi Rosenfeld/Getty Images

Another theory on the origin of "jarhead" says that the Marines' uniforms played a part. The uniform has been a source of mockery throughout history, according to Mental Floss. Because it was originally fabricated primarily of leather, Marines were dubbed "leathernecks" by their brothers-in-arms.

The strong neck, while no longer made of leather, might take contributed to the "jarhead" moniker. Co-ordinate to the National Museum of the Marine Corps, the name came in function from the way Marines look in their clothes uniforms, because their heads announced to exist poking out of a jar.

The resemblance to a jar wasn't just physical, either. Another theory documented past Mental Floss claims the term "jarhead" was chosen because Marines are trained to exist tough on the outside, and go along whatever thoughts or emotions bottled up inside, like a jar full of jam.

Stubborn as a mule

Korawat photo shoot/Shutterstock

The term "jarhead" wasn't created to mock Marines, though. Co-ordinate to Desert News, the term existed well before that. At first, it actually described mules. The term "jarhead" was meant to correspond the fauna's power to complete hard labor and difficult tasks without much thought. That is to say, a mule's head is "empty as a jar." Information technology also could come from the mule's stubbornness. Over time, "jarhead" came to reference mules specifically used by the military for transportation of goods.

Information technology'due south not that much of a leap, then, to use the term for members of the armed forces themselves. As an insult, the proper noun has a pretty clear significant: thickheaded and impaired. It's pretty surprising, then, that the proper noun has come to exist a source of pride for Marines themselves. But maybe for them the term takes on a different interpretation — someone strong and willing to put in the piece of work.

Popularity amidst Marine Corps members

Grindstone Media Grouping/Shutterstock

The term "jarhead" might have started off as an insult, but it's come to be a source of pride for members of the Marine Corps (via Desert News). Information technology took off in popular culture, too. There's a movie chosen "Jarhead" starring Jake Gyllenhaal, according to IMDb, and it shows up in a number of books written past and nearly members of the Marine Corps. It's articulate that "jarheads" don't meet the term as an insult, at to the lowest degree not when they use information technology for themselves or for each other.

It might not seem like much compared to some of the other terms used in the armed services. Other branches go to claim nicknames similar jackals, jaguars or wasps, which seem more aggressive and appealing than being called a stubborn mule (via Maritime Quest). But regardless of where it came from, Marines seem to be content with keeping the "jarhead" proper noun around.