POG is a pejorative military slang term used to describe non-infantry, staff, and other rear-echelon or support units.[1] "POG" frequently describes those who don't have to undergo the stresses that the infantry does, and is generally used as a diminutive for any non-infantry personnel who disagrees or impedes the wants of a "grunt."
This term is thematically analogous to the newer words Fobbit and Tockroach. "Fobbit" refers to non-combat arms soldiers who never leave their Forward Operating Base. Fobbit is a portmanteau of the acronym FOB and the fictional humanoid Hobbits from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings series. In the Tolkien mythology, Hobbits rarely leave the relative safety of their homeland, the Shire, while Fobbits correspondingly rarely leave the FOB. A "Tockroach" is a non-combat arms soldier who works solely in the FOB's Tactical Operations Center (TOC). The word is, similarly, a portmanteau of TOC and cockroach. However, the terms are not synonymous because a functionary at the Pentagon might be termed a POG or REMF but could never be termed a Fobbit. Conversely, a Tockroach is almost invariably a Fobbit, but a Fobbit may or may not be a Tockroach.
It has been used in the United States Navy and Marine Corps since before World War II, entering Army usage around the time of the Vietnam War.[2]In the Canadian Forces a POG is referred to as a WOG, short for "without guns" or "without guts".
Originally, the term was a sexual insult in early twentieth century gay culture, as "POG" was slang for a young male who submitted to sexual advances.[3] This led to the related term "pogey bait", meaning candy or sweets.
Another source to which the term is attributed is the Gaelic and Irish language phrase "póg mo thóin" pronounced [POG mahone] (literally 'kiss my arse'), applied to sycophants, suck-ups and others engaging in behaviors or practices commonly viewed by their peers to be beneath the expected degree of military bearing.
Due to having lost contact with its linguistic source, the modern military vernacular has turned "POG" into a retronym/backronym. "Pogue" is now sometimes incorrectly described as the pronunciation of the acronym POG, or Person Other than Grunt, or Posted On Garrison.[2] It is also sometimes retronymed out to "Person On Ground with Unused Equipment" (hence the spelling). Sometimes used as People Of Good Use Elsewhere.
POG (various spellings) comes from the term "pogey-bait". In the days of the British Empire, many of the sailors aboard British naval vessels were Gaelic speakers from Ireland or Scotland. When these sailors arrived at various ports, they would purchase bags of candy to give to girls as "kiss bait", but using the Gaelic word for kiss, "póg", which can sound like "pogey" in some accents. Over time, the original reason for the term was not passed on, and soldiers would reason that if candy or other junk food was used to catch a "POG", then it stood to reason that a "POG" must be a fat, lazy person.
Another possible etymological source may be from South Korea, where the word for a woman's sexual organ is pronounced, "Pogee" or "Pojee" [Korean text needed]. Written versions may have spawned the "pogie/POG" spelling, eventually morphing into the common usage. This feeds back to attacking a man's masculinity with the common practice of denigrating other males by equating them with being/acting like females. The "worst" denigration is to be called a, "pussy" - ergo, "pogie/POG".