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Not to intentionally sidetrack the conversation, but when did we start calling service members 'warfighters?' I've been seeing it a lot lately, but don't remem
by silisili 8mo ago
Not to intentionally sidetrack the conversation, but when did we start calling service members 'warfighters?'
I've been seeing it a lot lately, but don't remember ever really seeing it before. Do members of the military prefer this title?
- SanjayMehta 8mo agoAround the time Hegseth was appointed secretary of war. It's a trump thing. Edit: so it's been around for longer, but the Trump regime seems to love it bigly so I'm sticking with my observation. It's a trump regime thing.
- sixo 8mo agothis is false, it's been around for a while
- bigtex88 8mo agoNo it's 100% these idiots pushing their fascist propaganda just like they tried to "rename" the Department of Defense to the Department of War. Most members of the military never even see actual fighting.
- cowsandmilk 8mo agoIt is not a Trumpism. As an example, it has been on Wiktionary since 2008, well before Trump. https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=warfighter&action=history https://en.wiktionary.org/w/index.php?title=warfighter&actio...
- mikeyouse 8mo agoIt’s been a term in rare-to-moderate use since the 1990s — Trump/Hegseth ramped it up to 11 and it’s every 3rd word out of Hegseth’s mouth because he thinks it sounds tough.
- tokyobreakfast 8mo agoIf you think a gender-neutral term used for decades within their own circles as a form of inclusive corporate-speak is "fascist propaganda" then I'm sorry to say you have serious issues.
- SanjayMehta 8mo agoWhen Hogseth finds out it's gender neutral he'll stop using it.
- SilverElfin 8mo agoBeen around yes but the popularization of the term is entirely from low tier war hawks who think force and aggression and violence is a virtue.
- tokyobreakfast 8mo ago[flagged]
- biophysboy 8mo agoHow often was the term used before last year?
- tokyobreakfast 8mo agoI feel like regardless of what answer or proof anyone gives you, you'll still insist it was invented three weeks ago.
- biophysboy 8mo ago?? I am genuinely asking ... nevermind, another person answered
- tokyobreakfast 8mo agoYour response came off a bit aggressive. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, though. It's been in use a really long time.
- biophysboy 8mo agoThanks. I don't think this DoD invented the term. I was trying to verify my own impression that they use it more often in public comms.
- jefftk 8mo agoPretty often. When I was at a defense contractor it was the standard term for when you didn't want to say soldier/sailor/airman/marine/etc. https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?q=warfighter&date=all&geo=US&legacy&hl=en https://trends.google.com/trends/explore?q=warfighter&date=a... has videogame-related spikes, but doesn't show any recent increase.
- SoftTalker 8mo agoIt's a term that's been used at least back to the Bush 43 administration, probably older than that.
- youarentrightjr 8mo agoIt's a Hegseth malapropism, which is why it's slightly disturbing that Dario continues to use it. edit: To be clear, Hegseth didn't create it, merely has popularized its use recently. Eg his speech at Quantico last Sept
- tokyobreakfast 8mo ago"I learned the word a week ago therefore it is new." The term—and its use in the now-Department of War—dates back to the late 80s.
- yesimahuman 8mo agoIt is so clearly being used to a much greater and more deliberate degree during this administration. Pretending otherwise is foolish
- tokyobreakfast 8mo agoIt really isn't—it's all perception. Hegseth has a much more outgoing and public persona so it's more visible. Heck, can you even name the last 5 Secretaries that preceded him? I can't. The last one that was this widely known was probably Rumsfeld (Bush II) or Robert Gates during Obama I (bin Laden raid).
- concinds 8mo agoThe new term Hegseth is boosting is "warrior", not "warfighter".
- youarentrightjr 8mo ago> "I learned the word a week ago therefore it is new." This isn't true, and there's no need to flame and be disingenuous. > The term—and its use in the now-Department of War—dates back to the late 80s. Maybe you can provide evidence instead of restating the same claim that sibling comments to mine have made? I've already admitted that it wasn't invented by Hegseth. My claim is that he is popularizing it. In fact, your comment further down agrees with this: > It really isn't—it's all perception. Hegseth has a much more outgoing and public persona so it's more visible. Heck, can you even name the last 5 Secretaries that preceded him? I can't. As you say, he has a much more public persona - as does his jingoistic rhetoric.
- kibibu 8mo agoI always associate it with fighter aircraft
- Shawnj2 8mo agoI’ve always heard this term in use from a defense contractor
- fuzzfactor 8mo ago>in use from a defense contractor That's exactly it. It's trade jargon from those in the industry that make more money off of full-blown war than merely maintaining extreme readiness for a more secure defense.
- kristjansson 8mo agoThey want to make sure the whole Diversity of our armed forces (soldiers, sailors, marines, …) feel an Equitable and Inclusive share of the mention.
- Jtsummers 8mo ago"Warfighters" has been used for decades to describe service members, though usage picked up (in my experience) some time in the late 00s or 2010s. It's actually pretty common to describe "serving the warfighter" for all the all the missions that support combat roles but aren't combat roles themselves.
- BurningFrog 8mo agoIt's been controversial since 2002: https://bracingviews.com/2024/08/03/generation-warfighter-needs-to-end/ https://bracingviews.com/2024/08/03/generation-warfighter-ne...
- EFreethought 8mo agoIt has been in use for at least a decade, since the Obama administration if not earlier. We have soldiers, sailors, airman/women, Marines (who really do not like being called soldiers), Coast Guardsman/women, and now the Space Force. Granted, I do not know why "service member" did not catch on. Perhaps because "warfighter" is a bit shorter.
- mpyne 8mo ago> Granted, I do not know why "service member" did not catch on. Perhaps because "warfighter" is a bit shorter. Yeah, it's basically this. "service member" is clunky, like saying "person with enlistment". Warfighter has its own issues as a descriptor but it at least rolls off the tongue better and is easier to read through in policy and regulation to the millions in the DoD.
- hunter-gatherer 8mo agoIt isn't a new thing at all, and the term has been around for a while. I was an Infantryman from 05-08 and heard it back then. I have also more recently been a defense contractor. I don't think members of the military prefer any title, honestly. In the most broad sense, good terms are soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines. Defense Contractors constantly refer to the military as "warfighter" and have for a while. In short, nobody in the military is going to flinch one way or the other if you use either term. Just don't call marines anything but marines.
- tokyobreakfast 8mo agohttps://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=4339 https://languagelog.ldc.upenn.edu/nll/?p=4339 The reason that no one involved in the game's development objected to the word "warfighter" is that the U.S. Defense Department has used "warfighter" as a standard term for military personnel since the late 1980s or early 1990s: Thus Earl L. Wiener et al., Eds. Human Factors in Aviation, 1988 Warfighter is literally the Department of War's Amazonian or Googler or any other cringe term you'd see in company PR or recruiting material.
- silisili 8mo agoBased on this and several other of your responses below, would you say that it's fair to conclude that it's been a term for a long time, perhaps more in military/defense circles, but recently has gotten more mainstream media use? I find it otherwise peculiar some feel like it appeared out of thin air, while others feel like it's always been a thing.
- grosswait 8mo agoIn my experience, yes, has always been a thing.
- _djo_ 8mo agoDepartment of Defense*. ‘Department of War’ is merely an authorised second name for the department, but legally it remains the Department of Defense until/if Congress changes it.
- deleted 8mo ago[deleted]