19 of the coolest military unit mottos

Paul Szoldra
Updated onNov 22, 2022 6:31 AM PST
5 minute read
Army photo

SUMMARY

Just about every military unit has a motto of sorts, but some are way cooler than others. From “get some” to “fire from the clouds,” we looked around the world for some of the military’s best mottos. Here’s what we found: 1.…

Just about every military unit has a motto of sorts, but some are way cooler than others. From "get some" to "fire from the clouds," we looked around the world for some of the military's best unit mottos.

Here's are the coolest military unit mottos we found:

1. "Whatever It Takes"

1st Battalion, 4th Marines: Stationed at Camp Pendleton, California, 1/4 is an infantry battalion that has been fighting battles since its first combat operation in the Dominican Republic in 1916. That's also where 1st Lt. Ernest Williams earned the Medal of Honor — the first for the battalion.

2. "Get Some"

3rd Battalion, 5th Marines: Based at the northern edge of Camp Pendleton, California, the "Dark Horse" battalion is one of the most-decorated battalions in the Marine Corps.

3. "The Only Easy Day Was Yesterday"

US Navy SEALs: SEAL training isn't easy, and neither is the day-to-day job. While individual SEAL Teams, stationed in Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Coronado, Calif., and Little Creek, Va., have their own mottos and phrases, the community's feeling about hard work is summed up in this motto.

Photo: US Navy

4. "Balls of the Corps"

3rd Battalion, 1st Marines: "The Thundering Third" is stationed at Camp Pendleton, California, and has a notable former member in Gen. Joseph Dunford, the current commandant of the Marine Corps.

5. "Peace Through Strength"

USS Ronald Reagan (CVN-76): Commissioned in 2003, the Ronald Reagan is a nuclear-powered supercarrier homeported in Coronado, Calif. Named after the 40th president, the "Gipper" takes its motto from a mantra Reagan adopted while countering the Soviet Union.

6. "We Quell the Storm, and Ride the Thunder"

3rd Battalion, 2nd Marines: "The Betio Bastards" of 3/2 are based at Camp Lejeune, and have been heavily involved in combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. The battalion is perhaps best known for its fight on Tarawa in 1943.

U.S. Marines with India Company, Battalion Landing Team, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit run on the beach during an amphibious assault demonstration conducted as part of Exercise Bright Star 2009 in Alexandria, Egypt, on Oct. 12, 2009. DoD photo by Cpl. Theodore W. Ritchie, U.S. Marine Corps. (Released)

7. "Retreat Hell"

2nd Battalion, 5th Marines: It was in the trenches of World War I where 2/5 got its motto. When told by a French officer that his unit should retreat from the defensive line, Capt. Lloyd Williams replied, "Retreat? Hell, we just got here!" With combat service going back to 1914, 2/5 is the most decorated battalion in Marine history.

8. "Molon Labe" (Greek for "Come and take them")

I Army Corps (Greece): This former Greek Army unit (disbanded in 2013) had the Spartans' King Leonidas to thank for its awesome motto. When the Persians told them to lay down their weapons at the Battle of Thermopylae, Leonidas defiantly responded in the most badass way possible.

9. "Better to die than to be a coward"

The Royal Gurkha Rifles (United Kingdom): The Gurkha Rifles are a very unique regiment of the British Army, since its members are recruited from Nepal. Known as the "bravest of the brave," the battlefield heroics of the Gurkhas made international headlines in 2010, with the actions of Cpl. Dipprasad Pun.

While alone at a Helmand checkpoint that became surrounded by 12 to 30 Taliban fighters, Pun shot more than 400 rounds, chucked 17 grenades, set off a Claymore mine, and even threw his tripod from his machine gun at a bad guy. He received the second highest military award for his heroics, The Daily Mail reported.

10. "Facta Non Verba" (Latin for "Deeds, Not Words")

Joint Task Force 2 (Canada): Based out of Ottawa, Canada, JTF 2 is an elite special operations force. It's basically Canada's version of Navy SEAL Team 6. The unit has deployed all over the world, although most of its actions remain secret.

11. "Mors Ab Alto" (Latin for "Death from Above")

7th Bomb Wing: Stationed at Dyess Air Force Base, Texas, it's one of only two B-1B Lancer bomber wings in the Air Force.

A B-1B Lancer drops cluster munitions. (U.S. Air Force photo)

12. "Ready for All, Yielding to None"

2nd Battalion, 7th Marines: Stationed at Twentynine Palms, California, the battalion's current motto is a slight variation on its Vietnam-era one: "Ready for Anything, Counting on Nothing."

13. "Si vis pacem, para bellum" (Latin for "If you wish for peace, prepare for war.")

Royal Navy (United Kingdom): The Royal Navy's motto is a lot like the USS Ronald Reagan's "peace through strength," except a bit more badass. The latin phrase comes from Publius Flavius Vegetius Renatus, a Roman author who penned the Iron Age version of a military technical manual.

HMS Vanguard (Photo: Defence Imagery)

14. "Lerne leiden ohne zu klagen!" (German for "learn to suffer without complaining!")

Kampfschwimmer (Germany): This elite unit from Germany wants its members to know they should just suck it up. Which makes sense, since the Kampfschwimmers of the German Navy are that country's version of US Navy SEALs. Like most other special operations forces, its size and operations are classified.

15. "De Oppresso Liber" (Latin for "To liberate the oppressed")

U.S. Army Special Forces: Created in 1952, Special Forces is known for producing elite warriors, with a primary focus on unconventional warfare and foreign internal defense. With those tasks, many soldiers have lived up to the motto, by going to both friendly and un-friendly nations to train and support militaries, rebel groups, and engaged in combat around the world.

ODA 525 team picture taken shortly before infiltration in Iraq, February 1991 (Photo: Wikimedia Commons)

16. "Semper Malus" (Latin for "Always Ugly")

Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 362 (HMH-362): This helicopter unit nicknamed "Ugly Angels," is stationed at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii and holds the proud distinction of being the first aircraft unit ashore in Vietnam.

17. "Fire From The Clouds"

33rd Fighter Wing: Stationed at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, the wing's mission is to train F-35 pilots and maintainers.

18. "Swift, Silent, Deadly"

1st, 2nd, and 3rd Recon Battalions: Reconnaissance Marines are trained for special missions, raids, and you guessed it: reconnaissance. For these three battalions, stationed at Camps Lejeune, Pendleton, and Schwab, the motto pretty much sums up what they can do.

Photo: Lance Cpl Asia J. Sorenson/USMC

19. "Make Peace or Die"

1st Battalion, 5th Marines: Nicknamed "Geronimo," the Camp Pendleton based 1/5 has been involved in every major U.S. engagement since World War I. Most recently, the battalion has been deployed to Darwin, Australia as the Corps tries to "pivot to the Pacific."

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