Starlight == Medic to the Brits?
November 29, 2005 6:19 AM Subscribe
Is "Starlight" some form of British slang for "Medic"?
This is a bit of a weird one, but in playing Battlefield 2's Special Forces, you can play as a British SAS Officer. When "critically wounded," you yell our "starlight," or something close to that, just as the US soldiers yell out "medic!" in a similar situation.
Also, the medics yell out "starlight here" when handing out medic packs, again relating directly towards the US soldier's declaration of "medic here."
I've found some reference to a "starlight pack," which includes medical supplies, but I have no earthly clue where this phrase comes from, and I cannot find any other mention of the phrase as a euphemism for medic or doctor anywhere else. Since Battlefield tends to keep their respective languages relatively straight, (as best I can tell—they nail "thank you" in Mandarin) I have no reason to believe this is entirely without basis, so do any Brits or cunning linguists care to help?
Thanks!
This is a bit of a weird one, but in playing Battlefield 2's Special Forces, you can play as a British SAS Officer. When "critically wounded," you yell our "starlight," or something close to that, just as the US soldiers yell out "medic!" in a similar situation.
Also, the medics yell out "starlight here" when handing out medic packs, again relating directly towards the US soldier's declaration of "medic here."
I've found some reference to a "starlight pack," which includes medical supplies, but I have no earthly clue where this phrase comes from, and I cannot find any other mention of the phrase as a euphemism for medic or doctor anywhere else. Since Battlefield tends to keep their respective languages relatively straight, (as best I can tell—they nail "thank you" in Mandarin) I have no reason to believe this is entirely without basis, so do any Brits or cunning linguists care to help?
Thanks!
Just a very random guess... could it be a reference to morphine in the starlight pack? The only reason I say this is that I made a recent trip to a children's hospital that had the "Starlight Room", where the kids were sedated before surgery.
posted by shinynewnick at 6:49 AM on November 29, 2005
posted by shinynewnick at 6:49 AM on November 29, 2005
I had a little search and found some references to a 'starlight' night scope
posted by lunkfish at 6:51 AM on November 29, 2005
posted by lunkfish at 6:51 AM on November 29, 2005
It could very well be a codename for a medic. My memory is very, very hazy on this right now, but in the Canadian Forces the codename for the commander of a unit was Sunray. There was a whole list of these names that represented some functionary in the unit (or other units).
I also seem to vaguely remember that starlight was one of the codenames.
I'll have to mull this over and see if I can remember any of it.
posted by smcniven at 6:58 AM on November 29, 2005
I also seem to vaguely remember that starlight was one of the codenames.
I'll have to mull this over and see if I can remember any of it.
posted by smcniven at 6:58 AM on November 29, 2005
A bit of googling with 'medic' and 'starlight' leads to results that suggests this is more likely to be an Australian term rather than British - the first results are from .au domains.
posted by viama at 7:03 AM on November 29, 2005
posted by viama at 7:03 AM on November 29, 2005
While the link I provided refers to WWII comm procedures, I was taught these as last as 1992. Some I remember (Sunray, Bluebell, Sheldrake and Starlight) but others don't seem familiar (Pronto, Holdfast, Rickshaw).
posted by smcniven at 7:11 AM on November 29, 2005
posted by smcniven at 7:11 AM on November 29, 2005
A couple of more:
An aide memoire from a CF Exercise
Another one from some Canadian Military Forum
And a reference from alt.folklore.military
The aide-memoire one is my favourite as it dredges up arcane procedures from the deep recesses of my memory. All I need is the startup drill for a Cougar ("Master Switch On ..."
posted by smcniven at 7:33 AM on November 29, 2005
An aide memoire from a CF Exercise
Another one from some Canadian Military Forum
And a reference from alt.folklore.military
The aide-memoire one is my favourite as it dredges up arcane procedures from the deep recesses of my memory. All I need is the startup drill for a Cougar ("Master Switch On ..."
posted by smcniven at 7:33 AM on November 29, 2005
I'll bet the game designers looked at the same web pages above.
posted by atchafalaya at 8:59 AM on November 29, 2005
posted by atchafalaya at 8:59 AM on November 29, 2005
In other words, while radio procedure calls for code names, actual on-the-ground talking does not. The game designers probably saw the radio page and went with it.
posted by atchafalaya at 9:00 AM on November 29, 2005
posted by atchafalaya at 9:00 AM on November 29, 2005
smcniven:
Don't you mean "Turret on, Sight on, Selector switch off..."
It is amazing the people you find lurking on MeFi.
I assume that you are of the old guard, given that the BP in the initial document you reference has COPPED in it, and we have not used that in a long time.
Ahoy fellow cougar jockey!
posted by TheFeatheredMullet at 9:33 AM on November 29, 2005
Don't you mean "Turret on, Sight on, Selector switch off..."
It is amazing the people you find lurking on MeFi.
I assume that you are of the old guard, given that the BP in the initial document you reference has COPPED in it, and we have not used that in a long time.
Ahoy fellow cougar jockey!
posted by TheFeatheredMullet at 9:33 AM on November 29, 2005
My Grandpa was Royal Signals (as was I, briefly) and I've never heard or used the term.
posted by longbaugh at 9:37 AM on November 29, 2005
posted by longbaugh at 9:37 AM on November 29, 2005
TheFeatheredMullet: I learnt the craft in the early 90's, so that COPPED appreciation doesn't seem familiar. I believe I was taught another method. Too bad I through out my aide-memoire a long time ago!
I was with the Sherbrooke Hussars. Yourself?
posted by smcniven at 10:24 AM on November 29, 2005
I was with the Sherbrooke Hussars. Yourself?
posted by smcniven at 10:24 AM on November 29, 2005
smcniven:
SALH. We were Recce in the early 90s and went cougar in about 96. I got involved in 97. Funny thing is, we are back to Recce again. What was old is new again.
posted by TheFeatheredMullet at 11:41 AM on November 29, 2005
SALH. We were Recce in the early 90s and went cougar in about 96. I got involved in 97. Funny thing is, we are back to Recce again. What was old is new again.
posted by TheFeatheredMullet at 11:41 AM on November 29, 2005
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by maxmix at 6:40 AM on November 29, 2005