What Does Chalk Mean in Black Hawk Down? Explained - #shorts #short

[Eagle_-]

Almost. 101st Airborne and 327th Infantry veteran here. Each aircraft in a flight or a serial has a designated number which is where they fly in the formation. Each soldier is assigned to a group who will board the aircraft together and is commonly called a “chalk”.

The chalk could be single unit or a cross loaded mixed unit for example a mortar team flying with an infantry team. Or in my case, as the Company Commander, RTOs and FSO flying with an infantry team from one of the infantry platoons.

For D-Day the number of the aircraft was literally chalked onto the side near the door. That is where the name “chalk” comes from. The chalk leader had a sign of some sort with the same number so that everyone knew which aircraft to board as part of the air landing plan.

You can see this is D-Day photos most notably where General Eisenhower is talking to members of the 101st and the chalk leader has the number 23 on a sign hanging around his neck. He is in chalk 23 going aboard aircraft number 23.

[marcoeugenio]

It's true from WWII to the Vietnam War. The military term Chalk meaning The aircraft flight number was placed on the troops' backs with chalk and it was common practice to number with chalk the sides of the helicopters involved in an operation. Then after Vietnam, from the Invasion of Grenada to the War on Terror, the 75th Ranger Regiment they use the term chalk. A chalk can be made of a Company or as small as a four man fire team. It takes at least four men to make a fire team so that is the smallest number of men that can be called a chalk.

[jasonauger]

What an absolute epic cast of stars in this movie.