Talk:Dog tag (identifier)

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Im not sure about the US Army but in the Australian Army the pratice in the 60s and 70s. at least according the to Manual of Land Warefare (the MLW basically the Aussie verions of an FM) it was policy for an officer NCO or other person on finding a dead comrade to take one dog tag (the round one) and place the other (octagonal) in the corpse's mouth.

As for kicking the mouth shut, that was not in the published manuals, but it would nto surprise me if it was taught in the unnoffical teaching that goes on between offical instruction (called "a soldiers 5" in the Australian Army).

Contents

[edit] Gas mask size?

I served in the U.S. Army, and we didn't have a gas mask size - what would it matter if you're dead? Mine specifically had: last name, first name, social, DOB, blood type and religion (possibly not in that order). PennyGWoods 11:36, 17 April 2006 (UTC)

If someone just lobbed a mustard gas grendade into your trench, and you've lost your gasmask, I'm guessing you'd check nearby allies for a replacement - and seeing as a size difference of even one size could be fatal, it would be fairly important you get it right.
I'm an active duty U.S. Marine. We have our gas mask size stamped on our dog tags. Biggest myth amongst West Coast Marines (where females are not trained) is that the standard "M" means male. As for its purpose, I have no firsthand experience but have heard stories similar to what was above along with fitting incapacitated comrades and making issue easier.
A gas mask alone won't save you from mustard gas.. it's a blister agent. 84.173.129.246 10:59, 21 February 2007 (UTC)
I'm active duty U.S. Army.. M40 Protective Masks come in Small, Medium and Large. The only situation I can see the size of the soldier's mask being relevant on dog tags is if the soldier is wounded or incapacitated but not killed and an NBC/CBNRD attack occurs while the soldier is being evacuated.. would kinda suck to be on morphine and blazed outta your mind, on your way to a cozy rear-rear hospital bed, and then die because of a freak coincidence like that. I'm not really sure they'd have the time to go searching for a spare mask in such a situation anyway (usually you've got a few seconds to don and clear and then shimmy into your MOPP/JSLIST suits as fast as humanly possible - read: not typically fast enough to avoid nerve agent contamination - and they're issued out to soldiers individually), but I guess it's more of a just-in-case thing. That said, the U.S. Army doesn't put mask sizes on dog tags now. Don't know if they did in the past. 84.173.129.246 10:53, 21 February 2007 (UTC)
Marine checking in. It's gas mask size, and we still have it on our tags. The order is last name, break, first initial, middle initial, tab, blood type, break, social security number, break, branch, half-tab, gas mask size, break, religious preference. I'm reading this directly off the tag I'm wearing right now, so there you go. Also, confirming earlier comment by unsigned, we all assumed the "M" was for "male" until we were told otherwise. --Johnny (Cuervo) 06:11, 15 September 2007 (UTC)
Ever since I got out of the US Army in the early 70's I have kept one of my original dog tags on my key ring as an identifier. I came to this article because I could not remember what its material was or when the switch was made from serial number to Social Security Number. My 1967 US Army dog tag has
LastName, FirstName MI
Serial Number
Blood type
Religion
There is no notch and the hole is on the right.
JimCubb 23:47, 12 November 2007 (UTC)
Arent soldiers at risk of identity theft with the Soc.Security number on their dog tags.71.176.134.94 (talk) 18:02, 10 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Fashion

No mention of dogtags as a fashion device emplyed recently? For shame. I'm adding, . --Switch 12:59, 30 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Refuting Snopes?

About the notch: http://www.armydogtags.com/PurposeNotch.htm This site speaks of having actual WWII era stamping equipment, and not seeing any reason for the notch in the stamping process, however they positively describe a use for the notch in aligning the tags for use by a 'carbon copy' gun-thing that would attach the individual's information to their medical records. (See the page I cited for the verbage and pictures.)

[edit] Citation

This article has a lot of information which is probably correct but it remains mostly unsourced. Angrynight 16:47, 10 December 2006 (UTC)

Much of this article is copied verbatim from a Straight Dope article. http://www.straightdope.com/mailbag/mdogtags.html


[edit] 365 balls

Refute me if I'm wrong, but I believe the US Military issued chain that goes along with the dogtags specifically have 365 little ball links in the chain, so if the Soldier is ever taken prisoner, he can count off the days in captivity. (unsigned comment)

I've heard that, too -- the little chain where the second tag hangs down is supposedly 52 links, one for each week in a year. Nobody I know has ever bothered counting, and I have one I just replaced that is *definitely* shorter. --Johnny (Cuervo) 23:07, 6 June 2007 (UTC)
I got bored and started counting my dad's set. I may have mis counted a couple times, but by the time i got all the way around i only counted 285 balls. I also think that the 356 balls would be illogical because the chain would be huge and could quite easilly fall of in the heat of battle.--CrazyOmega (talk) 11:29, 30 April 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Religion

What about the refusal to put some religions on dog tags? // Liftarn

The U.S. Army typically only recognizes the same religions Republicans do.. i.e. all the flavors of Christianity. In basic training I was surprised to actually be able to get "Atheist" stamped on mine, when a buddy from another company there wasn't able to get what he wanted on his and had to settle for No Preference. Kinda funny when you think about all the religious observances they make us attend in permanent party.. always a mishmash of Christian services with a helping of Southern Baptist on the side. Do any other religions get any representation? Not really.
Same goes for the military chaplains.. they're Christian, Orthodox Jew and occasionally you might actually see a Muslim chaplain.. but that's about as far as representation goes. Not that I care, given my beliefs, but I think it's a little hypocritical of them to support only the belief systems that are compatible with theirs. 84.173.129.246 10:57, 21 February 2007 (UTC)
  • A section is needed on religious discrimination - especially the difficulty in getting 'atheist' catered for. See here for an amusing description of the problem by Daniel O’Neal from America's Humanist council.Malick78 10:01, 11 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Civilian dog tags

Swedish civilian dog tag (1970s).
Swedish civilian dog tag (1970s).

What about civilian dog tags? There is a brief mention about that all New York City public school pupils were issued dog tags in the 1950s. I'm a bit younger then that and is born in Sweden and both I and my younger brother got issued dog tags, probably quite soon after we was baorn altough they were of adult size. My kids never got them so there may be some cold war issue or something. There is a picture at http://www.deviantart.com/deviation/14054797/ and I'll try to find mine so I can make a free version of it. // Liftarn

[edit] the hole

today, where does the hole go on the real dog tags, the left or right side? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 63.215.27.201 (talk) 03:16, 11 March 2007 (UTC).

El lefto


[edit] Dog tags

What about real dog tags????

See dog tag. // Liftarn (talk)