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9 Hilarious Military Code Names You Won’t Believe Were Actually Used

Jimmy Fallon told his audience, "The Pentagon just announced that its fight against ISIS will be called 'Operation Inherent Resolve.' They came up with that name using 'Operation Random Thesaurus.'" The weird operation names don’t stop there.

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operation argument
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Operation Argument

World War II plan for attacking German factories by air.

Or: The unpleasant exchange that occurred between the Americans and Germans after we bombed their factories, and which prompted Operation I’m Not Talking to You. Here are some words and phrases you had no idea originated in the military. 

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operation brewer
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Operation Brewer

World War II plan for operations in the Admiralty Islands.

Or: The operation to create a beachhead for the first Budweiser delivery truck in the Pacific Islands.

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operation zipper
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Operation Zipper

A World War II plan for an assault on Malaya.

Or: What the Colonel needs to be extracted from every time he dresses in the dark following Operation Brewer.

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operation toenails
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Operation Toenails

World War II operation to capture New Georgia.

Or: What results when all the cool Operation Code Names are taken. Here are some phrases we use all the time that actually make no sense.

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operation larry
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Operation Larry

Gulf War Forward Assembly Area used by the 1st Armored Division.

Or: The guy who was brought in to come up with new Operation Code Names following Operation Toenails. Looking for more? Find out the funny code names that the American military used seriously.

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operation slapstick
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Operation Slapstick

World War II British Airborne landing at Taranto, Italy.

Or: What happened at Taranto, Italy, when Operation Larry was joined by Operation Moe and Operation Curly. Think that’s funny? You’ll get a kick out of our hilarious military jokes.

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operation casanova
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Operation Casanova

A World War II diversionary operation.

Or: Why that one soldier always stayed behind.

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operation magneto
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Operation Magneto

World War II code name for the Yalta conference between Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Winston Churchill, and Joseph Stalin.

Or: The X-Men’s mortal enemy takes on the WW II Men. 

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operation dracula
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Operation Dracula

World War II plan for an attack on Rangoon, Burma.

Or: A military operation that by all accounts sucked. 

Andy Simmons
Andy is a longtime editor at Reader’s Digest, where he’s edited and reported on national interest, dramas and humor. He is the author of Now That’s Funny! featuring his most popular, funniest writings on all things America, some exclusive and all-new, some taken from the award-winning pages of Reader’s Digest. He also wrote That Reminds Me of a Joke ..., a collection of gags and hilarious true stories taken from the news. In a past life, Andy graduated from Kenyon College and was an editor at National Lampoon Magazine.