During every pilot and naval flight officer’s career they get to experience one of the Navy’s lighter traditions, the giving and receiving
of call signs. According to tradition, only pilots and other officers within their squadron can give someone a call sign, and are thereafter
known throughout that community by that name.
Lt. Michael “Pony Boy” Apone assigned to the “Fighting Vigilantes” of Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 151, which is part of Carrier Air
Wing 2 and embarked aboard USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN 72), said there are several factors that can lead to a naming, the most common
method being a play on the person’s name.
“My last name is Apone, and if you pronounce it the wrong way it sounds like ‘a pony,’ which brought up Pony Boy,” Apone said.
“It’s usually something you’ve screwed up, or it could be something based off your name, or even a physical characteristic.”
Apone said call signs are probably the best way for others to know who each person is, rather than using their real names.
“I don’t even think half the guys here know what my real name is,” Apone said. “Even out in town they call each other by their call
signs. It’s just too complicated to keep track of everyone’s real name, so it’s easier to just keep track of their call sign.”
Like nicknames, call signs tend to change as the person does over time or remains the same for various reasons, such as some
name-based call signs. 
While many are based on the person’s name, many are ways of remembering humorous or even embarrassing moments in their
careers.
Lt. David “Snatch” Johnson assigned to the “Kestrels” VFA-137 said he was once the victim of humor relating to his name for his
call sign.  His call sign is based on something he did at the Hornet Ball in Lemoore, Calif.
“All the squadrons have a flag, which we hang up at social gatherings to represent our squadron,” Johnson said. “They were all
up at the Hornet Ball and as the night was going on, I ended up stealing all the other squadron’s flags, so I got the name ‘Snatch.’”
Lt. Kristen “Dragon” Hansen of VFA 151 said that call signs are used so often between pilots that they often replace their given
names even in casual conversation out on liberty.
“I’ve had a lot of people I don’t even know their first names, but I know their call signs, so out in town that’s what I’d call them,”
Hansen said.  “I think a lot of people are like that.  When you meet people, you meet them by their call sign, so unless you see
them every day, that’s what you use.”
Trying to put in your own two cents on your call sign is generally not going to happen, said Lt. Philip Keever of the “Blue Blasters” VFA-34.
“You can always try and sneak your own call sign idea on the board, but we just might catch you at it. You don’t want to try that.”
“In our squadron, after a month or two in the squadron, we get together as junior officers and put together a list on the board of
prospective call signs and we vote on them,” Johnson said.  “Once they get that call sign that’s it; they don’t get a choice—Until
they do something stupid later on.”
Many pilots agree that the worst thing someone receiving a call sign can do is complain about the name they’re getting.  This will
often lead to ensuring that name sticks with them longer or potentially getting an even more embarrassing name.
“If it’s going to be based off of something, it’s usually going to be something you screwed up,” Apone said.  “And if someone has a
really cool-sounding name, there’s a bad reason behind it.”
Although the origins of when and where pilots began using call signs is a mystery even to some that use them, there is one common
idea for the reason behind them, the aviator’s security.  Not only does it make things easier for them to communicate while in flight,
it ensures that their identity is safeguarded from those that don’t need to know, Keever said.
“We use radio frequencies and those aren’t always secure. We really don’t want to use names up there for the pilots’ own safety,”
Keever said.
Regardless, whether a name has special meaning or if it’s just to poke fun at someone for standing out in their own unique way, call
signs are a big part of history and tradition in Naval aviation.
Lincoln is deployed to the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations to support Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom. Operations in
the 5th Fleet area of responsibility are focused on reassuring regional partners of the United States commitment to security, which
promotes stability and global prosperity.