
How the Pentagon Comes Up with Code Words and Secret Project Nicknames - jonbaer
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/29353/how-the-pentagon-comes-up-with-all-those-secret-project-nicknames-and-crazy-code-words
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anigbrowl
_" Llama Fury" was a week-long Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) training
exercise_

It's notable that the more obscure/technical the task, the more likely it is
that amusing random combinations will apply. For more politicized things it's
always names that 'just happen' sound super-patriotic like 'Valiant Shield' or
'Enduring Freedom'. I guarantee that if the invasion of Iraq had been called
'Llama Fury' there would have been a proper exit plan on a sensible timeframe.

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ape4
Its smart to automate this. So all meaning is removed and you avoid leaking
intelligence. You don't want to call your operation to invade Kuwait DESERT
STORM or something.

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blaser-waffle
I thought of a book like that. Foreign spies try to figure out who is running
a sensitive operation by running a Leadership/Targeting operation to figure
out who is running the show. It means they need to find out who decided to
name the operation "OP SUPER SAIYIN" and "OP BRIGHT BLOTTER" or something.

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FillardMillmore
I wonder if other governments have similar methods for their secretive code
names or different methods entirely? The one that popped into my head (perhaps
only because it sounds so whimsical, but yet the goals were so completely
contemptible) was 'Operation Cherry Blossoms At Night' \- a plan that was
formulated by Imperial Japan during WWII (but never acted upon) to perform
attacks of biological warfare on southern California.

EDIT: For those interested -
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Cherry_Blossoms_at_N...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Cherry_Blossoms_at_Night)

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ajxs
I have always wondered this. I've always been somewhat enamoured with the
stern and mysterious two-word nicknames of classified programs, such as the
ones listed: 'HAVE BLUE', 'ACID GAMBIT', 'AUTUMN RETURN', 'SENIOR TREND'...
Maybe I'll write my own generator for these.

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synack
I did this in bash a while ago.
[https://github.com/JeremyGrosser/codenames](https://github.com/JeremyGrosser/codenames)

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ajxs
Very cool.

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killjoywashere
My favorite, relayed to me by an ops planner in the business of such things,
which I'm told was briefed up to the president, was Operation Double Dutch
Rudder. The content I cannot discuss, but at one point said ops planner found
himself low-crawling in-country to deliver a projector on his back to the HQ
tent. Can't make this stuff it up. By the name, you can estimate the year of
action.

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blaser-waffle
Dutch... so Reagan?

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tomjen3
Probably not good for the government, but I always thought you should use porn
terms -- that way if your project leaks, nobody can talk about it in public,
and you will never, never, never rank for it if somebody does.

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knolax
Reminds me of Rainbow Codes[0].

[0]
[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Rainbow_Codes](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Rainbow_Codes)

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dba7dba
One code word I heard that is as plain as it can be is "Point Luck" used in
Midway Battle.

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myrandomcomment
I have heard some pretty amazing nick names in my previous life, but I cannot
share them. Oh well.

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saagarjha
In the government or at a technology company?

