From Defense to Your Desk
Before it became the World Wide Web we use today, the early foundation of the internet was developed by DARPA under this name.
What is ARPANET?
Commonly used by the Secret Service and media, this five-letter acronym refers to the Commander in Chief.
What is POTUS (President of the United States)?
This 1986 blockbuster starring Tom Cruise made the Navy's real-life Fighter Weapons School globally famous.
What is Top Gun?
Located in Nevada within the Nellis Test and Training Range, this highly classified Air Force facility is famously associated with UFO conspiracy theories.
What is Area 51 (or Groom Lake)?
Chosen in 1782, this majestic bird of prey serves as the national bird of the United States and is heavily featured on the Great Seal.
What is the Bald Eagle?
Originally developed by the DoD to track submarines and guide missiles, this satellite-based navigation system now helps you avoid traffic on your phone.
What is GPS (Global Positioning System)?
In military logistics, a deployment location is often categorized as OCONUS or this, which stands for the Continental United States.
What is CONUS?
In a famous 1992 courtroom scene set at Guantanamo Bay, Jack Nicholson's Marine Colonel tells Tom Cruise's Navy JAG lawyer, "You can't handle the truth!" in this film.
What is A Few Good Men?
Situated in Kentucky, this heavily guarded Army post is most famous for housing a large portion of the United States' official gold bullion reserves.
What is Fort Knox?
Adopted in 1883, this Latin phrase meaning "Always Faithful" serves as the official motto of the United States Marine Corps.
What is Semper Fidelis (or Semper Fi)?
In 1945, a Raytheon engineer working on military radar magnetrons noticed a candy bar melting in his pocket, leading to the invention of this kitchen appliance.
What is the microwave oven?
Created in 1958 in response to the Soviet launch of Sputnik, this DoD agency is responsible for the development of emerging technologies for use by the military.
What is DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency)?
This long-running sci-fi television series was famously set deep inside the real-life Cheyenne Mountain Complex, where the Air Force operated a portal to other planets.
What is Stargate SG-1?
Located on the Hudson River in New York, this prestigious military academy was originally established as a fort by George Washington during the Revolutionary War.
What is West Point (or the U.S. Military Academy)?
The U.S. Coast Guard's motto is "Semper Paratus," which translates to this two-word English phrase of constant readiness.
What is Always Ready?
Originally developed by Johnson & Johnson during WWII to seal ammunition cases against moisture, this highly versatile adhesive was initially nicknamed "duck" tape.
What is duct tape?
This five-level alert state system dictates the military's readiness posture, with Level 1 signaling maximum readiness or nuclear war.
What is DEFCON (Defense Readiness Condition)?
In this 1983 film, a young hacker accidentally accesses a military supercomputer named WOPR and nearly starts World War III by playing "Global Thermonuclear War."
What is WarGames?
Every enlisted recruit east of the Mississippi River who joins the U.S. Marine Corps attends boot camp at this famous installation in South Carolina.
What is Parris Island?
When this military branch unveiled its official seal, featuring a silver delta symbol, many pop-culture fans immediately compared it to the Star Trek logo.
What is the U.S. Space Force?
Before she was answering trivia on your iPhone, this famous voice assistant was originally born out of a massive artificial intelligence project funded by DARPA called CALO.
Who is Siri?
Used heavily in the intelligence community, this four-letter acronym refers to a secure room or facility designed to prevent electronic eavesdropping and protect classified information.
What is a SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility)?
Before he was played by Harrison Ford, Ben Affleck, and John Krasinski, CIA analyst Jack Ryan made his on-screen debut trying to find a Soviet submarine in this 1990 film.
What is The Hunt for Red October?
This highly strategic, joint U.S.-U.K. military footprint is located on a remote, footprint-shaped atoll in the middle of the Indian Ocean.
What is Diego Garcia?
On the Great Seal of the United States, the eagle holds an olive branch in its right talon and arrows in its left. How many arrows does it hold?
What is 13 arrows?