A while ago we published a list of badass sounding military mottos giving both some background information on the unit they belonged to and our reasoning for why their motto was cooler than the underside of Sub Zero’s pillow. Today we have another 10 mottos belonging to a wide variety of military units that we think can compete with that original 10, starting with…
10. The Wild Weasels
A name given to a specialized group of US Air Force fighter planes tasked with a goal so ridiculous their (un)official motto is supposedly the reaction a seasoned pilot had to being told what he had to do.
The motto: You gotta be sh*tt*n’ me
This motto was first uttered by one Jack Donovan upon being told about the official task of the Wild Weasels: attacking anti-aircraft batteries and surface to air missile sites with aircraft. Yes, there is a subsection of the Air Force tasked with attacking the things literally designed to blow planes out of the sky in the most efficient manner possible. Officially, the motto of the Wild Weasels is “first in, last out” but that’s nowhere near as hilarious as its unofficial one. A motto born out of a genuine moment of incredulity from a man who just learned he was being tasked with trying to explode anti-aircraft missile launchers by headbutting them from the air, with planes.
9. The US 442nd Infantry Regiment
The 442nd Infantry Regiment is regarded as being, for it’s size, the statistically most decorated unit of World War II. It was comprised nearly exclusively of about 14,000 soldiers of Japanese descent who served at a time when Japanese people in the US were literally being rounded up and put into internment camps.
The motto: Go for broke
The stack of medals and citations the 442nd Infantry Regiment earned during WWII is rivaled perhaps only by the size of the empty sack of giveable craps they left in their wake. Earning 21 Medals of Honor, 9,000 purple hearts, and eight nods from the President of the United States himself, every soldier in the 442nd Infantry Regiment knew for a fact that their countless commendations would be for nought at the climax of the war. The amount of ass they kicked would be swept under the rug because of anti-Japanese sentiment in the US, but they pushed forward anyway, not because they wanted to but because they had to.
All in all, around three quarters of the regiment would be injured helping crush the Axis war machine, fighting against their ancestral home for the glory of the adopted one currently treating their families like war criminals. Each man in the regiment knew they had one choice in every engagement, and it was the first thing they said right before their boots hit the ground: “Go for broke.”
8. The Hunter Corps
The Jægerkorpset, literally “hunter corps” (or sometimes “huntsmen corps”) in English, is an elite Danish special forces unit consisting of 150 men and women trained to covertly murder terrorists using a baffling array of weaponry who are considered experts in both unconventional warfare and combat swimming. They also train extensively with better known foreign special forces units like the SAS, teaching them how to better stab people to death underwater.
The motto: Rather to be, than to seem
The motto of the Jægerkorpset is a nod to the fact the unit is well aware of the fact that despite its skills and capabilities, it is relatively unknown on the world stage. The Jægerkorpset, far from being upset about this, actively embrace it because they understand that having so few people aware of what they’re capable of only makes them more dangerous. Which is pretty genius if you think about it. Nobody messes with the weird, quiet kid who likes to play with knives.
7. The Greek IV Army Corps
The IV Army Corps is the singular most powerful force in the Greek army. Comprised of artillery units, mechanized infantry, and a crap-ton of highly trained soldiers, the IV Army Corps has the firepower to level a small continent.
The motto: Solve the knot with the sword
Like the mottos of nearly every unit in the Greek military, the IV Army Corps motto is taken from Greek myth. In this case, the story of how Alexander the Great “solved” the Gordian Knot, a supposedly impossible tangle legend claimed could only be solved by a man destined to rule Asia. According to the legend, Alexander, upon being confronted with the Gordian Knot, simply cut it half with a single stroke of his sword. In the context of the IV Army Corps motto, “solving the knot with the sword” basically means solving a difficult problem with violence, which is hilariously terrifying.
6. The Corazzieri
The Corazzieri are a hyper-elite honor guard tasked with protecting the President of the Italian Republic and visiting heads of state. Consisting of hand-picked volunteers trained in everything from killing men with elbow drops to shooting people between the eyes from a quarter mile away, the Corazzieri are both exceptionally skilled and highly respected despite their largely ceremonial role. In addition to their training, to even become a Corazzieri, along with having a flawless military record, the ability to ride a horse, and an unblemished personal life, you also have to be over 6-foot-2. For the curious, the horses the Corazzieri ride also have to be a specific height.
The motto: Courage becomes stronger in danger
The motto of the Corazzieri is basically a boast that, should they ever be challenged or tasked with facing down any threat, it would only increase their power. Like Obi-Wan Kenobi, the Corazzieri know that should a member of their ranks be cut down by a terrorist or similar threat, they’d individually become more powerful than anyone could imagine. This, we imagine, would happen shortly before they charged the threat screaming from the top of a white stallion in gleaming silver armor as a tiny Italian man they’re honor-bound to protect gave them a great big thumbs up.
5. 5 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group
The 5 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group is a relatively small military fighting force consisting of about 5,000 military and civilian personnel. With everything from tanks to long-range artillery at their disposal, the 5 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group are involved in everything from peacekeeping missions abroad to defending Canadian citizens from floods and deadly, polar bear concealing ice storms.
The motto: Let’s go
Canadians aren’t often thought of being anything close to ‘badass’, which is kind of a shame, especially considering the official motto of the 5 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group is a declaration of the intent and eagerness to kick some ass. What makes this motto even cooler is that it’s actually in French, being stylized as “ALLONS-Y” on official 5 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group badges. So yeah, the 5 Canadian Mechanized Brigade Group actually smash two long held stereotypes, making both their fellow Canadians and French speakers look more badass by association.
4. Korps Commandotroepen
Fighting on behalf of the Netherlands, the Korps Commandotroepen are a ferociously adaptable special forces unit trained in all aspects of combat, and to deal with any conceivable threat in any conceivable location. They can snap necks and cash checks in environments ranging from the African savannah to the arctic tundra using a variety of weapons, including anti-material rifles that can punch a hole in a tank.
The motto: Now or never
Given that the Korps Commandotroepen are literally expected to respond to threats anywhere on the planet if the need arises, it’s fitting that their motto is succinct and to the point… that point being that there is nowhere on the planet the Korps Commandotroepen can’t get to you. Given the unit’s reputation for using high-caliber weaponry almost exclusively, them bragging about being able to reach out and touch you nearly anywhere on Earth is especially frightening.
3. Royal Malaysian Air Force
When judged by the standards of other countries, the Royal Malaysian Air Force is relatively unassuming and comprised almost entirely of aircraft sourced from friendly nations. That said, the Royal Malaysian Air Force has a rich and celebrated history it is fiercely proud of and its pilots are among the best trained in the world.
The motto: Always in the sky
It takes a lot of balls for any Air Force to make a claim as bold as “always in the sky”… even if it had, like, 20,000 planes and a handful of dementors at its disposal. So you have to hand it to the Royal Malaysian Air Force for being so cock-sure of it’s ability to constantly maintain a presence in the Malaysian skies that it literally brags that at least one of its aircraft is in the air at any point in time, waiting to shoot a hellfire missile into the butthole of anyone who’d dare challenge their sovereignty.
2. KOPASKA
The Komando Pasukan Katak is the name given to the elite frogmen of the Indonesian Navy. Usually known simply as KOPASKA, the unit is charged with, among other things, reconnaissance and counterterrorism and is so highly respected the President of Indonesia relies on the most decorated from amongst their ranks to serve as his personal security.
The motto: There is no obstacle that cannot be defeated
If it weren’t for the pedigree and reputation of the KOPASKA, this motto would come across as hyperbolic. Instead it seems more like a somber statement of fact. To the KOPASKA there is no obstacle than cannot be defeated if they shoot it hard enough. Note how the motto doesn’t specifically say that the obstacle has to be human, meaning the KOPASKA’s motto is also subtly bragging that they can defeat anything provided it’s stupid enough to be in their way.
1. 11th Artillery Regiment of France
The 11th Marine Artillery Regiment, as its name suggests, is tasked with two things: long range bombardment of France’s enemies and rapid amphibious deployment anywhere those enemies could potentially be found. Armed with enough firepower flatten a mid-sized city in one coordinated strike, the 11th Marine Artillery Regiment is a force to be reckoned with on the battlefield.
The motto: The other terror after bolts of lightning
We don’t really have much else to say other than this is just straight badass. This regiment openly brags that the only noise more terrifying to hear in combat, other than the sound of their guns, would be the thundering rage of Zeus himself. We mean, you have to admit it’s pretty amazing that these guys are so supremely confident in their ability to bombard a target from afar that they openly state in their own motto it’d be safer to wage war on the Thunder Plains from Final Fantasy X than anywhere near their artillery.
2 Comments
How symbolic:
The link to the Dutch Commandotroepen in No.4 leads to an empty page, while the link to their ‘high caliber weaponry’ only refers to standard M-16 clones. (5.56 mm/.223 isn’t really high cal guys…)
I also wonder how they even made it to this ‘Top 10’ list.
Having served with them several years ago, when we still had conscription over here in The Netherlands, I was astounded by their physical prowess,
combined with an absolute lack of intelligence and common sense.
A few years ago, the Defense Ministry put up a Commando-officer for the highest military medal in The Netherlands (Willemsorde), but ended up with a lot of egg on their face when he turned out to be a drugs- and illegal arms-dealer in his free time.
What I’m really missing in this list are the Cuban Tropas Especiales, who, inter alia, in Angola kicked the manure out of overwhelming forces of both the South African and Zairese armies in 1975, as well as in 1988.
The Cubans are the real hard asses. They are at least as good as any of the American Special Forces, and probably have better intelligence gathering abilities than any of them.