5 Weird Military Traditions You Might Not Have Known About

As 7% of the U.S. population has served in the military at some point or another, the number of people who have been enlisted is in the tens of millions.

With all of these diverse minds, cultures, and attitudes coming together, there are lots of strange traditions that have emerged over the years. Strange and exciting military traditions have arisen from this wide-ranging group of people.

Here are five traditions you may have never heard of happening in the military.

1. “Crossing The Line”

Before the U.S. had even been carved out as an actual country, the navy was creating its military traditions. While not in the books as anything official, this fun tradition has persisted for hundreds of years.

When the navy sets about “crossing the line,” they get dressed up in costumes as Neptune, pollywogs, and other characters in the traditional sea court.

At the start of this ceremony, the pollywogs, or recruits, set about entertaining the court with songs, poems, and little performances. The next morning, every pollywog gets a note telling them to appear in front of Neptune’s court to face charges against them.

The recruits are then forced to eat food that’s super spicy, perform stunts, and run pranks on each other. In the end, they all beg to be named a “shellback” by the court. They are then bathed in seawater and crowned “shellbacks.”

This naval tradition is a global phenomenon where many countries have not adopted this. Modern navy advocates don’t support the “hazing” parts of this tradition but support the entertainment aspects.

You won’t find this kind of tradition on a strict military base, but if there’s a group outing, it could happen.

2. The Sword Tap At a Wedding

If someone marries into a military family, there are all kinds of traditions and customs that they have to learn. One starts on the day of the wedding.

While a bit chauvinistic, there’s a tradition of a “booty tap” at uniform weddings.

This unspoken tradition has been going on for decades and applies specifically to inform weddings where there’s a sword detail included in the uniform. This simple tradition calls for a spouse to have their butt tapped by the sword on the uniform to welcome them to the family.

While this isn’t one that every family feels compelled to support or engage in, if you see it happen at a uniform wedding, know that it’s part of a tradition.

3. Head Shaving

Seen in every movie about the military from Forrest Gump to G.I. Jane, many military members are seen to shave their head when they join. Even Elvis Presley famously shaved his perfect head of hair when he was drafted into the army.

Marines put an additional layer of tradition on head shaving by including in what’s expected of first-time deployments. If a member of infantry is to be deployed for their first time, they’re going to be expected to shave their heads if they want to be embedded in the marine culture.

Infantry isn’t expected to keep this up after several or repeat deployments, but this is a tradition for newbies. It’s not enforced very strictly, but if a newbie refuses to shave their head, they end up with some pretty unfortunate chore assignments as a result.

4. Blood Pinning

While some military traditions are fun and fancy-free, others are a bit more aggressive. Much of the military culture is about an aggressive or even toxic level of masculinity that can go out of control. Years ago, blood pinning was the source of a political conversation about whether or not hazing had gone too far.

Blood pinning is an aggressive form of hazing and has been officially banned by the U.S. military. However, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t still happen. While officially prohibited, this act of literally forcing a military pin into the chest of a new member has been around for decades.

This is one strange military tradition that doesn’t need to persist but certainly one that has been associated with hazing for many years.

Many military pins have been replaced with custom challenge coins and another insignia for denoting who has been deployed to a given situation.

5. Military Balls

Because of the danger associated with enlisting and the long time apart between spouses, many of the most popular military traditions focus on marriage. Beyond simply bringing two spouses together, much of the aim of these traditions is to broaden the relationship to the wider military community. Civilian spouses can help to support one another while their partners are deployed or overseas.

Military balls, dining out events, and military spouse coffee events are a way for people to come together and realize their commonality.

Many events are a way for deployed troops to greet their partners in a grand and exciting way. However, events that allow spouses to be introduced to one another help people who live on a military base to get to meet.

The military also helps to build morale by providing events and services to spouses and their kids. Military balls are a long-standing tradition that allows everyone to celebrate, make memories, and make new friends along the way.

Military Traditions Serve Multiple Purposes

Along with building camaraderie and blowing off steam, there are some productive and practical reasons for the military traditions that exist. Military traditions are to excite members for the challenges of battle, remind them of the families they care about, and just to have fun with the strange circumstances.

For more facts about the interesting history of the military, check out our guide to forgotten facilities.

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