I was reiterating to Girlie Bear that she was to go nowhere at JROTC camp without her battle buddy. For those of you who are unfamiliar with the term, a ‘battle buddy’ is a fellow soldier, usually of the same sex and approximate rank, who you look out for and who looks out for you. Normally where one battle buddy goes, the other goes too.
Anyway, we move on to other subjects, and she sits there quietly for a while. After a few moments, she asks “Dad, what is a ‘battle bunny’?”
Apparently my darling girl has let me go through a conversation or two without understanding what I was saying and thought that I was talking about a mythical creature, with a scar on one of his floppy ears where a bullet went through it in Fallujah. His grizzled fur was once soft, but has coarsened over decades of combat and harsh conditions. He has a chip in his front teeth where he defended his platoon leader against a knife wielding NVA sapper at Khe Sang in ’68. He is a hard bunny, but he is fair, and he always looks out for his fellow warriors. A nobler or more loyal comrade than the battle bunny cannot be found in the animal kingdom.
After Irish Woman and I stopped laughing, I explained myself and all was well.
DaddyBear’s Den 
MSgt B
/ June 4, 2013and I thought I was the only one who knew the Battle Bunny.
If you look closely, the hair only grows on on side of his bushy little tail.
IED – Helmand Province
LikeLike
daddybear71
/ June 4, 2013Never forget.
LikeLike
AndyN
/ June 4, 2013Instead of trying to explain, you should have just showed her this…
We actually used to call our TOW gunners TOW bunnies. Not sure how that started. One of the motor pool guys had a stuffed rabbit he’d drag around on a leash to mock them.
LikeLike
auntiejl
/ June 6, 2013YESSSSS!
LikeLike
jon spencer
/ June 4, 2013Maybe Sluggy Freelance’s Bun-Bun.
LikeLike
GunDiva
/ June 4, 2013Love it!
LikeLike
TinCan Assassin
/ June 4, 2013Related: http://ninepoundsledge.blogspot.com/2013/03/bring-forth-holy-hand-grenade-of-antioch.html
LikeLike
ZerCool
/ June 5, 2013Thank God I wasn’t the only one thinking, “Tha’s noo ordinary rabbit!”
LikeLike
Old NFO
/ June 5, 2013LOL, I immediately knew what you were talking about, and it’s VERY relevant.
LikeLike
Jennifer Oclaray Hast
/ June 6, 2013I see you’ve encountered the phenomenon of adolescent deafness.
LikeLike
daddybear71
/ June 6, 2013Yep
LikeLike