Given nicknames.

[RogueLeader]

As with the military, people earn nicknames.  I am curious if anyone here is willing to tell the story on how you earned yours.

I don't have a CAP one yet, but I got my first Army nickname in BCT.  Because my eyes always move on their own, the reason it took me so long to get in, it always freaked people out.  They assumed that I was about to pull a Gommer Pyle on somebody. 
I've become attached to it, and wear it as a badge of pride.  It looks like I might be picking up Skibo- pronounced sky-bo.  more on that later.

[Stonewall]

On active duty my roommate and I were called the Cheese Twins for a couple of reasons.  #1 he was from Wisconsin.  #2 we looked alike and did averything together. #3 we mocked a few guys who would "cheese up" to senior leaders in the company.  By "mock" we would overly exagerate things to a point that was obvious to MOST, not all.  It was funny if you got it, but if you didn't, you were a dork.

In the Army Guard I was often called "Colonel" because many thought I looked, acted and should be an officer.

[Eclipse]

Down at Katrina, the last day there was particularly hot, and we were all pretty busted from breaking down camp.
The plan was to do one more morning of sorties, then head up to Jackson.

While getting our briefing, one of the team came up behind me, soaked with sweat and looking knackered.  As it turned out, I was providing the only shade in the near area, and he said, "let me just take a minute here, out of the heat..."

My response was "Oh great, I'm so big I eclipse the sun...", which was overheard by another teammate known for hanging handles.

Thus...

[hatentx]

Haha wow no mine is odd.  When I was a new guy in my first shop there was a large group of us and the older guys were asking us questions about what we did before the military and such.  Mine got brought up and I mentioned that I use to be a minister before i joined and this very "high speed" soldier turns and says to another guy "He was a Rabbi?"  He didn't understand that as a Baptist minister I was not called a Rabbi but some how the idea of me being Jewish stuck.  I am not by the way it just stuck, I became the Token Jew of the shop.  Later that evening we were watching Robin Williams live on broad way.  There is a part in there where he is telling the story about Mary coming to Joseph telling him about the immaculate conception and such.  Joseph's reply was "Jesus Christ!!!"  Mary say "that is such a better name I was going to name him Schmule"  So Schmule (Shhh-mule) was then my nickname for a very long time.  After awhile it got shorten to just Jew, or Heb.  As later times went on someone was placing my name on the board and use the Star of David being funny and it then changed from a name to a symbol.  I figured that it would all be over once I left that unit but some how it followed me and I became Sgt Jew or Sgt Kosher.  I found out later that after that gunnery some people didnt get the joke and really thought I was Jewish and to this day that is the mystery is that is Sgt Curtis really Jewish or not....  I just dont answer and ask what they think. 

I know right talk about an EO complaint but it never died and the more I tried to ignore it the worse it got somethings you just have to deal with.  I got it easy we had a guy who was very southern and we all believed to be a little racist so he was dubs the Token Black guy for the shop just cause they knew it would make him mad. 

[Major Carrales]

I have various nicknames...Some have called me "El Mariachi Loco" since I play violin in a Mariachi band to finance my CAP addiction.  However, the one that I recieved in CAP is "Sparky."

It all goes back to the long standing service cap issue.  A certain member made a comment and ended it with the phrase "OK...SPARKY?," referring to the "farts and darts ( )"  Being who I am, I adpoted the insult and it has been their since.

It was my inspiration to become an MRO and will push me to someday be a CUL!!! 

[James Shaw]

I have two that stuck with me.

I was called "spook" and "casper", spook most of the time. I was a Navy Cryptologist and we dealt with codes and such and worked...if I told you more than you know..id have to!

I am called Professor at work because I always have a text book with me at break time and teach adjunct on the side every once and a while.

[Fifinella]

Call sign "Parachick".  Bestowed on me at an Encampment by a guest speaker who is a retired SAS Colonel, call sign "Jumper".  It came about as I was escorting the VIPs: the WG/CC, the Colonel, and the WC/DCP.  Pretty straight-forward.  The Colonel thought it was cool that I had more jumps than he did, and I didn't have a CAP call sign yet.

[maverik]

I have several but I'll start with a few.

One day during a rigourus airsof tgame one of my teamates radios went down for some unknown reason, under a hail of BB's I ran with his radio from our trench all the way to my pack 50 yards away to get an extra antenna. After a radio check I dash back to the trench and he says " Thanks FREQY (emphasis added) you fixed my squawk box" (he was a vet btw) and the name stuck.

My second one is da jew and this happened at NESA.  I had the pleasure of leading my ground team to the MRE box first in the field, I reached in and grabbed a MRE I go to sit with my squad and start eating it saying ." Dang this is better than your average MRE!" a smart-aleck airman just smiled and said "You da Jew?" "What? I said thoruoghly confused, " Sergeant look at your MRE." he replies I look down and wouldn't you know... a Kosher MRE I smile and say "I guess I am da Jew" and it stuck.

[Al Sayre]

Most folks call me Al, but I've also been called MacGyver since I have a reputation for being able to fix almost anything with my handy-dandy gerber tool and a couple of pieces of wire. 

[dwb]

When I was a wee cadet, my squadron commander's wife nicknamed me Generalito, for little general, because of my gung-ho attitude and small stature.

I interned at IBM when I was 18, and my co-workers took to calling me Boy Wonder, seeing as I was probably the youngest person at the plant.

There was a period in the mid-90s when I got called Lt. Dan, after Gary Sinise's character in Forrest Gump.  That never really stuck, although I did get a bunch of Lt. Dan fan mail one year at encampment.

And that's all I have to say about that.

[DogCollar]

Most nicknames that I got as a kid were, well...meanspirited.  As an adult, I have been called "Padre"(I'm Lutheran, not Catholic), "Big E" ( I still don't understand that one...I am pretty short and I don't have an E that is prominent in my name), "Orville" (because I were bow ties a lot, like Orville Reddenbacker), and my Wing Chaplain calls me "Baldy" and if you saw me the reason would be obvious

[JayT]

My last name is "Themann," which leads itself to a very obvious "The Man."

I picked up "Twitch" due to a minor case of Tourettes.

Some of my friends stated calling me "Rant" due my near obession with Chuck Palanihuk and that fact I'm predisposed to.......well.........rant.

Increaslying through, it's been 'Doc' from the guys in my AEMT-CC class, because once I finished a quiz in a few minutes, and one of the other techs in the class called out "He must be a friggain doctor." Ironically, I nearly failed that quiz, so the name sorta stuck.

[RickFranz]

When I was driving long haul trucks, I was asked what my handle was, I told them I did not have one.  One of the other drivers from my company said you handle is "Big Foot".  I said, Big Foot???  He said yea have you ever noticed how big your feet are? 

I guess it has to do with having a size 14 shoe.

[Hook]

I gained the name "Hook" at my first operational RF-4C squadron.  I had three total utility hydraulic failures in a week resulting in use of the arresting hook.  The last one also had a loss of the emergency blow down resulting in only the nose gear and the right main available for landing.  We made a flaming mess on the runway and the name "Hook" was bestowed.

[sarmed1]

With a last name like mine the options are endless:

a few that have stuck are:
the obvious:  Alphabet

Crabtrap: I had a chief nurse that couldnt remember my name everytime she tried she usually butchered it, that was the closest she every came in the staff meeting

K-12....also obvious ( its K and 12 other letters)

mk

[Walkman]

My last name is Walker. Somewhere between high school & college, I be came The Walkerman, then shortened to Walkman. I like it...

[JohnKachenmeister]

I got mine in 1992.

Our police department's SWAT team was going to make entry to serve a search warrant on some burglary suspects, and, as was the usual procedure, two patrol cops would cover the rear to make sure that the suspects stayed for the afternoon's festivities.

Myself and a female cop named Lisa were covering the back, and we saw the back door open.  Whoever was inside saw us, and closed the door.

Then the door opened again, and the meanest, biggest German Shepherd I have ever seen came running out, right toward Lisa.  She drew her pistol and fired one shot.  The dog stopped dead in its tracks, then turned and went for me.

I fired a shot, hit the dog and it momentarily stopped, then bared its teeth and lunged at me.  I yelled an expletive that described body excrement, and, while backing up, fired two more shots.

The dog then turned, ran back into the house, past the SWAT team, and out the front door that the SWAT team had knocked open.

Everybody who had seen my back-pedaling last two shots was amused, and was laughing at my reaction.  One of the black officers started calling me "Kachen-BLASTER," and the name stuck.  I was "Blaster" even after I retired.

Of course, now I run a firearms training school, so I guess the nickname works out OK.

[James Shaw]

I was called "Hong Kong Fuye" when I was in Japan studying Isshinryu by some of my aircrew friends.

[ThorntonOL]

I've been call various variations of Oliver Twist along with a few other nicknames.
My favorite Oliver Twist variation is Twistopher can't really think of any other ones that really peaked my interest. funny thing is growing up I use to hate any nicknames even related to the book, since 10th grade I've really started to like the names, what can I say? It grows on you.

[maverik]

Reminds me of what my airsoft and closet friends call me... Night Stalker.  This is Ironic since I have always wanted to fly in the 160th SOAR aka Night stalkers.  During another airsoft game at night I was sneaking around. When I heard something, I quickly readied my rifle and started following the sound and eventually I found out it was an animal but it lead me (no joke) to the "OPFOR's" base where I was able to call in back up and we ambushed them. (I stalked the animal for about 1.5 klicks)