A portion of the cover of a purported “Gen Alpha Slang Edition” of an Army doctrinal publication on operations, posted on the X and Facebook pages of the Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate on April Fools’ Day. The post was quickly taken down Wednesday over concerns that it was unprofessional. (U.S. Army Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate via social media)
It may have been “straight fire,” but an April Fools’ Day post on an official Army account was quickly extinguished Wednesday over concerns that it was unprofessional.
A post on the X and Facebook pages of the Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate shared a purported “Gen Alpha Slang Edition” of an Army doctrinal publication on operations, complete with loads of digital-age vernacular and several internet memes illustrating key concepts.
For example, an epigraph quoting 19th-century military strategist Carl von Clausewitz calls him “Dead Carl the GOAT,” using a popular acronym for “greatest of all time.” A quote attributed to 20th-century U.S. President Ronald Reagan dubs him “POTUS Ronnie ‘The Rizzler’ Reagan,” using a nickname for individuals having great charisma.
Generation Alpha consists of those born between about 2010 and 2025, who grew up fully in the internet era, many of whom spent some grade school years learning remotely during the coronavirus pandemic. Their peculiar vocabulary — a patois influenced and proliferated by social media — has been the subject of various articles, posts, and even whole social media accounts offering translations.
The fake Army publication uses terms such as “slaps,” meaning something is very good; “big brain,” meaning intellectually advanced; “sus,” meaning sketchy or suspicious; and “vibe,” meaning a feeling or atmosphere. Deep in the document is a glossary of many other popular online idioms, though not all are used in the actual text of the document.
The publication’s cover is emblazoned with a fire emoji touting it as “straight fire” (really good) with three exclamation points, and states that it supersedes Army field manual FM 3-0 “if reader is born after 2005.” A caveat at the bottom states that it was approved for public release “but probably shouldn’t be.”
That may have been more accurate than the author realized.
Shortly after the tongue-in-cheek FM 3-0 for youngsters was shared on its official social media pages, the Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate deleted it, attributing it to the Mission Command Center of Excellence public affairs, or MCCoE PAO, and saying it was out of line with the professional guidelines of the Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., to which both are subordinate.
“We have removed this content and are reviewing these guidelines with MCCoE PAO to ensure compliance moving forward,” it said in posts on X and Facebook.
But the deletion of the original post left many in the Facebook comments section and on X.com reacting like “bruh,” a term defined in the fake Army publication as an expression of disbelief or annoyance.
A portion of a purported “Gen Alpha Slang Edition” of an Army doctrinal publication on operations, posted on the X and Facebook pages of the Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate on April Fools’ Day. The post was quickly removed. (U.S. Army Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate via social media)
A portion of a purported “Gen Alpha Slang Edition” of an Army doctrinal publication on operations, posted on the X and Facebook pages of the Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate on April Fools’ Day. The post was quickly removed. (U.S. Army Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate via social media)
A portion of a purported “Gen Alpha Slang Edition” of an Army doctrinal publication on operations, posted on the X and Facebook pages of the Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate on April Fools’ Day. The post was quickly removed. (U.S. Army Combined Arms Doctrine Directorate via social media)
The audience for U.S. Army W.T.F. moments! loved the joke post, said the website’s managing director, Kenneth Ramos, on the X account @theIOguy, adding that it “generated the most inbox traffic today (lighthearted).”
In another post, retired Army officer Crispin Burke highlighted much bigger Army efforts that many consider sus, including a “failed” $11 million marketing deal the Army made with the United Football League and Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson in 2024.
“I guess April Fools’ jokes are where we draw the line,” Burke said.
It was not the only April Fools’ Day joke from an official Army account, however. Alongside an apparently AI-generated image of various military hats made out of tinfoil, Army Counterintelligence Command shared mock guidance about “new Frequency Obstructing Interception Layer (FOIL)“ headwear to protect soldiers’ thoughts from signals intelligence interception.
In an X post commenting on the slang doctrine translation, a moderator of the Army’s subreddit community referred to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s show of mercy for Apache helicopter crew members who made a fly-by of musician Kid Rock’s Tennessee mansion last week.
“So the CAB can go fly treetops and hover at kid rocks house and that’s just good fun but a fake FM is TOO [expletive] FAR,” the post said. “Someone get Pete to intervene.”
The Combined Arms Center public affairs office did not immediately respond to a Stars and Stripes inquiry.
Army Counterintelligence Command shared mock guidance about “new Frequency Obstructing Interception Layer (FOIL)“ headwear on social media on April Fools’ Day. (Army Counterintelligence Command via X)
