October 16th, 2024
5minute read
Ever wonder what the phrase stay frosty means?
So, what does stay frosty mean and is the slang term used still by military personnel?
Dr. Will Dabbs, a former U.S. Army pilot, gives us his take in todays article.
What does stay frosty mean? Fundamentally, it is a directive or warning to stay alert during a time of stress or danger.
Ireally, really likeAliens.
Stan Winston did the creature effects when he was at the top of his game.Alienswas arguably Hollywoods greatest sequel.
Remember when Corporal Hicks said, Were all in strung out shape, but stay frosty, and alert.
The fictitious (but utterly awesome) M41A Pulse Rifle carried by the U.S. Colonial Marines in the movieAliensis the author’s dream gun. He advised he would willingly trade a kidney for a live version.
We cant afford to let one of those things in here.?
Use stuff like that when youre young, and it sticks with you forever.
So it is with the term, Stay Frosty.
You will not typically be called upon to defend yourself or your family while being well-rested and enjoying plenty of warning.
As you likely guessed, Stay Frosty indeed has martial origins.
Distilled to its essence, this means to remain ever vigilant and to assiduously avoid panic.
Maybe it can be further reduced to the definition of stay alert.
“Stay Frosty” suggests that you should work on being cool, calm and prepared at all times. Should bad things happen, you will be ready to address any threats.
High-Dose Reality
Ill let you in on a little secret.
When deep in the suck, it helps to have somebody who is reliably not freaking out.
Thats what Stay Frosty really means.
Staying frosty means to be calm, cool and decisive in a crisis. A crisis could be virtually anything — not just a home invasion.
No matter what you do, dont lose your cool and make things worse.
The term also concerns alertness and attention to detail.
This requirement is beaten into new recruits in the military.
Thriving in the face of adversity is equal parts attitude and tools. A proper tool could be this superlative Springfield Armory Hellcat.
Guard duty is reliably tedious.
However, stop paying attention at a critical moment, and your entire unit pays the price.
Live long enough, and those numbers start to catch up to you.
Under those circumstances, it behooves us to keep our heads.
However, there are things that normal people can do to prepare themselves for decidedly abnormal circumstances.
Most of it is actually pretty easy.
First, keep yourself in good shape.
Dont eat garbage, and get some exercise.
Thats the easy stuff.
When you shoot, try shooting against a timer.
That heartless little rascal can become your best and worst friend.
However, actually quantifying performance does help us improve.
It is also a safe stress analog.
Its typically not too difficult for a serious gun nerd to shoot fairly well when theyre comfortable.
The goal is to shoot well when stressed.
If your range space allows, move while you shoot (but do it safely!).
Train as you fight.
That means moving while assiduously maintaining muzzle discipline and trying to add a little pressure to the equation.
Incorporate friendlies targets into the target mix to help hold yourself accountable for every round fired.
Doing so requires repetitive training, personal discipline, and a survivors mindset.
Keep your head on a swivel, and watch out for trouble.
Pay attention to those Spidey senses that still, small voice that lets you know somethings not right.
Theres usually a reason for that.
Then if something does go sideways, approach the problem as calmly and rationally as possible.
In short, stay frosty, my friends.
