Huzzah to Hooah?

[william42]

I know lots of folks on the board have or have had military experience, and probably will know this. The following short article appeared in my local paper this morning and I wonder if I could get some clarification on the word "Hooah". The article suggests it's a variation of the original "Huzzah" used during the revolution, which possibly became "Hurrah" during the Civil War. I, being pretty ignorant about military terms, except for "fubar", and "snafu", thought that the word originated when Al Pacino yelled it in "Scent of a Woman". (Who can yell better than Al Pacino?). But evidently it's been in the military language before that. Any insight would be appreciated. Thanks
Terry

If you're a soldier at a loss for words, try a hearty 'hooah'

By NICK WADHAMS Associated Press writer
January 28, 2006
BAGHDAD, Iraq - In the U.S. Army, which has so many acronyms, expressions and opaque phrases that it seems to deserve its own language, there is one word that is quite possibly uttered more than any other.
That word is "hooah." Pronounced HOO-ah.
Attend a company command meeting and you'll hear hooah uttered as often as a 15-year-old says "like" or "you know." Head to the post exchange and buy a Hooah Energy Bar or Hoo-Ahhs wet wipes or HOOAH2O water.
"I believe it came from hurrah. It basically means everything from 'yes' and 'yes, sir,' to 'that's great,'" said Capt. James Lowe, public affairs officer for the 506th Regimental Combat Team. That doesn't even begin to cover it.
They shout hooah to get motivated, and they whisper it when they concur with something someone just said. Hooah means you understood something, or is the proper reply when someone says "thank you." On the other hand, it may also be used to say "thank you."

Hooah is a catchall phrase that will get you out of any situation, particularly when receiving a scolding from an officer.
"You use it when you've got a flame on your butt and you're just trying to extinguish it," said Capt. Brian Buckner, 30, of Sumter, S.C.
Sgt. Joe Carter, a 23-year-old from Kennett, Mo., recalls how, after arriving at basic training, he and other young Army recruits attended a motivational talk from their commander.
"When we first got there, the commander gave a speech, and at the end he told us, 'I want to hear a loud and thunderous hooah!"' Carter said. "We were real pumped and amped up."
Yet the use of hooah by the uninitiated is generally frowned on. Carter recounted that a drill sergeant barred him and his fellow recruits from saying hooah until they had finished the basic course and earned the right.
And civilians uttering hooah are generally looked upon with either disdain or the astonishment of a person who has just heard a koala bear recite lines from e.e. *******s.
As with any good word, the origins of hooah are highly disputed.
Some claim it derives from the military acronym HUA - Heard, Understood, Acknowledged.
Another tale: When Army Rangers landed at Omaha Beach on D-Day in 1944, a sergeant ordered them to scale the cliffs looming above them and neutralize the German pillboxes perched on top. One soldier, aghast at the idea, responded, "Who, us?" Soldiers ended up following the order, in what became one of the most celebrated acts of World War II.
Then there's the theory that hooah comes from hurrah and hooray, themselves believed to be bastardizations of the sailor's cry "huzzah," which dates back to the 16th century.
With the Internet widening the forum for debate, blog entries suggesting definitions of hooah have been met with dozens upon dozens of comments from those who think they know better.
With all the derivations that exist, a few souls have tried to come up with an official meaning. Lt. Col. Brian Winski, commander of the Army's 1st Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, who sometimes says "hooah" so often it seems to have entered into his subconscious, isn't entirely satisfied with that definition, but says it will have to suffice. "That's about right if you have to really box it in," he said. "I guess that's about as close as you could get."

[johan_steele]

As a child I knew a Ranger who went up that cliff at Normandy and he recounted the "Who Us?" story even though they had been trained for it...

Heard Understood & Acknowledged stands in my book.

[rivrrat]

I had always heard that it is a corruption of the Turkish word for kill.