| Naval aviators often give up their given name for a
contrived, loving or humorous nickname. My staff (me--with a little
help from the Mech guy...OK, Dan...a lot of help) has come up with a list of our top-ten
favorite call signs. I hope you will
enjoy the list and will take time to submit your favorites. Please
send your inputs to jack.stewart@navy.mil.
Please keep 'em clean, and check this site often because we will change
the list from time to time.
To read more about the history of call signs, click here
for an excerpt from "Fighter Country - The F-14 Tomcats of NAS
Oceana" by LCdr. Dave Parson (Ret.) and Derek Nelson.
Top-Ten
Call Sign List
New Additions
Navy Marine Corps Contributions
Air Force Contributions
Army Contibutions
Coast Guard Contributions
International Contributions
- Capt. Jerry "Pagan" Temple
- Capt. Walter "Numb" Scull
- Lt. Shane "Wasted" Tallant
- Cdr. (then Ltjg.) Paul "Water" Mallon (VF-151, mid-'70s)
- Lt. Pete "Rebel" Yelle
- LCdr. Dan "Undra" Cheever
- LCdr. Tom "Goat" Huerter (Tie with Lt. Ken
"Goat" Farmer)
- LCdr. Chris "Tread" Saufley
- Lt. Mark "Mutha" Hubbard
- Lt. Tom "Butts" Tench
- Lt. Leahy, went by Yodel, was in VF-21 in Japan in late '90s.
- CDR James "Marvin" Haigler
- Lt. R.A. "Mandrake" Thorson (RVAH12,late 60's) "I never had to go back... always got the photos on the first pass...it's all in the magic."
- CDR Erik "Rock" Etz, Commanding Officer, VFA-113.
- Lt. Rick Shay--callsign "O," as in Rick "O" Shay. He instructed in VT-23 in the mid-80s.
- John "Tail Gunner" Gettle, as a Marine Staff NCO he always took care of VMA and MAW Marines six o'clock, on and off-duty (mostly off-duty -- got to protect the Corps Values).
- Lt. Steve “GEO” Smith – A-6 BN who asked (while sitting on the beach in Tel Aviv) “What do you suppose the ocean looks like on the other side of Israel?”
- One un-named LCdr in VA-85 earned “Kelvin,” as in Lord Kelvin, the man who discovered absolute zero.
- CDR Scott "Fuzz" McClure--Short for fuzzhead, after I lost my hair on a bet.
- LT Chris "DUMONE" Rodestvedt (Prounounced Doo-moan-ay)--Dirtied Up Mach ONE - Gear unexplicably came down with a bag o knots on a fighter hop.
- LT Jason "SUMMP" Berwanger--Someone Uncover My Missile Please, taxied and launched on det with the AIM-9 seeker cover on.
- Cdr. Mike "Boomer" Driscoll
- Birth of a Call Sign
- CDR (ret) Steve "Grinch" Adams
(I got mine the old fashioned way -- I earned it!)
- Lt. Chuck "Dingle" Berry, VA-155 from '89-'93
- AK3 Paul "George" Karlin
- AQ3 Jon "Lator" Nihill
- Lcdr. Benedict D. Clark answers to “Eggs.”
- Lt. Dave "88" Jarrett, clearly a NASCAR link.
- CAPT. Bill "Whiteshoes" Johnson. My callsign was given to me after hearing that Billy "Whiteshoes" Johnson of the Atlanta Falcons had just made a 103 yard punt return for a TD. I was a stash FNG in VA-46…but it stuck. Usually shortened to "Shoes." Yes, it is all one word because I was told by a Masterchief that your callsign was supposed to be one word, two syllables, so if it got cut out on the radio you still knew who was talking. I took him literally, as any good ensign should!
- Lt. Robert Sean "Linus" Miller, F18 pilot with VFA 195. In flight school he would roll up his flight jacket and put it between his head and the classroom wall. It looked like a security blanket. Also, married a girl named LUCY.
- Lt. Dupin des Saint Cyr, known as, Lt. 'French Guy"
Next page >>
- Ken "Sleaze" Bettam (Norway -- known to frequent the seedy
part of any town)
- Dave "Smurf" Knight (Norway -- his face always turns blue
in the low pressure/high-alt chamber)
- Carsten "Cables" Hagen (Norway -- once flew through some
powerlines...by accident)
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