Military traditions are a topic of great fascination (especially to service members and veterans). Most rituals started as a means of helping members of the armed forces acknowledge important milestones or achieve goals. Over time, they have become part of the fabric of military culture.
Some of these traditions may not make much sense to people outside the military. Others may seem strange even to current service members. However, many of them have a rich backstory. Learn more about four of the most interesting military traditions from around the world.
Black Tot Day
Black Tot Day commemorates the end of the military tradition of giving sailors in the Royal Navy a daily portion of rum.
Sailors receiving a certain amount of alcohol per day dates back to the 17th century. At that time, English sailors in the Royal Navy each received a daily ration of a gallon of beer, although it had an extremely low alcohol content.
It wasn’t easy to carry and store this much beer on ships. Eventually, in the mid-17th century, the ration changed to a half pint of rum, called the tot. A half pint is 0.075 gallons, making it far easier to transport and store as rum than the larger amount of beer.
Because of problems with drunkenness on board, the Royal Navy steadily watered down the rum and reduced the portion over the next 300 years.
In 1969, the Royal Navy decided to put an end to the tradition of the tot. The final day of the awarding of the tot, July 31, 1970, became known as Black Tot Day. Some sailors held mock funeral processions or wore black armbands to commemorate the end of the tot.
Line-Crossing Ceremony
Line-crossing ceremonies are military traditions common in the navies of English-speaking countries. Some civilian ships also follow this tradition.
When the naval ship crosses the Equator, any sailors on board who are crossing the Equator for the first time participate in the ceremony.
To this day, the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, and Marines all perform line-crossing ceremonies. Sailors who are making their first trip across the Equator receive nicknames like pollywogs, slimy pollywogs, or slimy wogs.
A few hundred years ago, line-crossing ceremonies could involve violent hazing. Some of the military rituals ended with throwing the pollywog overboard. Ceremonies with limited physical hazing continued on American naval ships through the 1980s. These days, line-crossing ceremonies are far tamer than they used to be.
Spur Ride
The Spur Ride is a military tradition that dates back to the days of the U.S. Cavalry, when horses were the primary means of transportation. Even as the U.S. Army has transitioned from horses to helicopters, tanks, and transport vehicles, it still has cavalry divisions. These continue to maintain their designations as such and have detachments that ride horses for ceremonial purposes. They also maintain the tradition of the Spur Ride.
In the past, a trooper completed the Spur Ride to enter the Order of the Spur. Spur Ride activities showed that the trooper had the required physical and technical skills with horses to be one of the unit’s leaders.
Over time, the Spur Ride and the awarding of the Spurs became part of a tradition to honor the best soldiers in the modern cavalry unit. Only a few members of the cavalry receive the Spurs.
The modern tradition attempts to honor the past traditions of the Spur Ride by continuing to identify the best members of the unit while modernizing the testing process. Currently, the ceremony attempts to identify cavalry members who possess and show leadership skills greater than those of the common soldier.
Those who are able to participate in this military tradition and wear Spurs must be:
- Officers or troopers who passed a Spur Ride
- Officers or troopers who served in combat with a cavalry unit and received a qualifying certificate
Tiger Cruise
The Tiger Cruise is one of the most beloved naval customs, as it allows friends and family of deployed service people to spend time on a U.S. Navy ship. The family members can experience how the ship operates on a day-to-day basis.
Deployed sailors and Marines use the Tiger Cruise to better explain their daily duties to friends and family. During the Tiger Cruise, family members may:
- Participate in drills
- Tour the ship
- Follow the sailor during daily duties
- Eat in the mess
The Tiger Cruise often boosts the morale of the sailors.
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