Crikey! Aussie Soldiers Banned from Using Slang Around U.S. Troops

Simon Kent

Australian soldiers working with their U.S. comrades Down Under have been told to stop using slang words in the interests of not confusing their allies.

RAAF Group Captain Stewart Dowrie told Ten Daily the use of colorful – and often ribald – Aussie colloquialisms could result in a communication breakdown, which might deliver fatal outcomes on the battlefield.

“We have lost-in-translation moments more than you would realise,” Group Capt Dowrie said. “The time to figure that out is not on the battlefield when the bullets are flying.”

Seventeen-hundred U.S. troops arrived in the northern city of Darwin in the past two weeks as part of a joint training rotation, with that number expected to grow to 2500.

Australian and U.S. troops are now due to practise high-end war fighting and disaster response activities as well as advanced jungle survival techniques. See below:

Group Capt. Dowrie explained a phrase or saying that Australians may not give a second thought about could cause major confusion for someone from another country.

“The danger in the Australia-U.S. relationship is that we actually assume we mean the same thing,” Group Capt Dowrie said. “In military training scenarios we use very prescriptive means of communication.”

The results of a study released by language app Babbel last year proved just how confusing Aussie slang could be to others.

full story at https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2019/05/01/crikey-aussie-soldiers-banned-from-using-slang-around-u-s-troops/