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.