List of United States Marine Corps Acronyms and Expressions - C

C

• C & S – "Clean & Sober" notation formerly entered on the liberty list beside the names of Marines returning from liberty in that condition.

• CACO – Casualty Assistance Calls/Counseling Officer, a Marine detailed to help the family of a Marine killed, wounded, or captured in the line of duty.

• call out – to challenge, often by announcing incriminating information about a person. See also drop a dime.

• cammies – camouflage utility uniform.

• Camp Living Room – Duty station after discharge. Civilian life. 1980s usage.

• campaign cover – official term for the green campaign hat worn by drill instructors. See also field hat, hat, & smokey bear/brown.

• cannon cocker – artilleryman. See also gun bunny and red leg.

• Canoe U. – nickname for United States Naval Academy at Annapolis, Maryland. See also South Maryland Small Boat & Barge Institute.

• CAR - Short for Combat Action Ribbon

• Captain's Mast – office hours afloat. The term "Captain's Mast" is almost universally negative, implying non-judicial punishment. The modern Navy and Marine Corps use the term "Meritorious Mast" to announce any ceremony involving the meritorious award of a higher rank or of a particular recognition or honor.

• carry on – order to continue after being interrupted.

• CAS – Close Air Support, aircraft fire on ground troops in support of nearby friendly troops.

• CASEVAC – CASualty EVACuation, emergency evacuation of injured personnel from combat zone by any modes of transport available, as opposed to a MEDEVAC carried out by ambulance equipment designed solely for the purpose. See also MEDEVAC.

• Casual Company or CasCo – a holding unit/formation of Marines awaiting one of the following: discharge from the Corps, training (usually at a formal school), or deployment to a unit.

• CAX – Combined Arms eXercise.

• CBRN – Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear. See also NBC.

• CCU – Correctional Custody Unit, a hard-labor and heavy discipline unit overseen by MPs or Navy Masters-at-Arms to which Marines and Sailors found guilty of minor UCMJ offenses through NJP are sent for up to 30 days in lieu of confinement in the brig.

• Chair Force – derogatory term for the US Air Force.

• chairborne or chairborne ranger – someone who works in an office environment, a play on airborne.

• chalk – squad of servicemembers in an aircraft that will or have been deployed to the ground (rappelling or parachuting).

• charlies or chucks – The service "C" uniform, consisting of the short-sleeve khaki shirt and green trousers.

• chaser – shortened form of prisoner-chaser or brig chaser, an escort for a prisoner or detail of prisoners.

• check fire – order to stop firing due to a safety condition, possible error or mistarget.

• Chesty Puller – used in reference to Marines that have been awarded many ribbons and medals.

• chevron – symbols of enlisted ranks above private, usually not acceptably called "stripes" unless describing the rank insignia itself.

• China Marines – those United States Marines from the 4th Marine Regiment who were stationed in Shanghai, China during 1927–1941

• Chinese field day – a form of field day where every item from a room is removed for cleaning; when tending to last much longer than necessary, it is used as a punishment, typically for unsatisfactory performance in routine field day.

• chit – voucher, receipt, letter, or note, entitling the bearer to special treatment, such as medical restrictions from duty; derived from Hindi word for "letter", "chitti".

• CIF – Consolidated Issue Facility, a place on a station where all personal equipment is stored and issued, often contracted to civilians.

• CID – Criminal Investigation Division, is an accredited Federal law enforcement agency of the U.S. Marine Corps whose mission it is to conduct official criminal investigations into misdemeanor and felony offenses committed on Marine Corps installations as may directed and not under the primary jurisdiction of the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). Accredited Marine Corps CID agents may be assigned to NCIS as special agents in accordance with a memorandum of understanding.

• Cinderella liberty – liberty expiring at midnight.

• civ div – civilian life after leaving service.

• civvies – civilian clothing or mufti.

• CLP – Cleaner, Lubricant, Preservative, teflon-based cleaning and lubricating fluid used for maintaining small arms. Also slang for coffee.

• clusterfuck – chaotic and messy situation from multiple mistakes or problems happening in rapid succession. See also goat rope / goat rodeo / goat screw.

• CMC – acronym for Commandant of the Marine Corps.

• COB – Close Of Business, the end of working hours; or Close Order Battle, a synonym for CQB. See also beer-thirty.

• COC – Combat Operations Center, the command post for a combat arms unit, usually of battalion-size or larger; personnel assigned to the COC may derisively refer to such duty as "coc-watch" or "working the coc".
• COG - Corporal Of the Guard, The acting corporal, (or near rank) that acts under the SOG Sgt. of the Guard on watch, radio watch, or post.
• Colonel – proper means of addressing lieutenant colonels and colonels.

• CONUS – CONtinental United States (48 states excluding Alaska and Hawaii), as opposed to OCONUS.

• corfams or corframs – uniform dress shoes made from poromeric imitation leather.

• corpsman – Navy hospital corpsman attached to a Marine unit; also known as "doc"; inappropriate to address as "medic" or "aid man". See also boxsee.

• cover – headgear; protection from enemy fire.

• cover and alignment – when in a formation, this refers to the proper distance between those next to, in front of, and behind a person; to seek the proper interval.

• covered and uncovered – when wearing and not wearing headgear, respectively.

• CQB or CQC – Close Quarters Battle/Combat, combat within a confined space, such as urban warfare. See also MOUT.

• crew-served – short for crew-served weapon; also large and very powerful, based on a crew-served weapon being such.

• cruise – deployment aboard ship; or enlistment period, inappropriately called a stint.

• CS – tear gas or 2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile, a white solid powder commonly used for CBRN defense training.

• cumshaw – something extra or free, given as a favor or gift; pidgin expression using the Chinese word for "grateful thanks", "kamsia".