What does POS mean on a dog tag?
132-12-0999AF. O POS. (open line) NO PREF.
But it wouldn’t be put in the mouth of the deceased. Instead, it was used as a toe tag. In the Vietnam era, combat troops started to lace their second tag in their boots, the way United States Marines wear them today.
The military agreed, noting that their regulations disallow any official military emblems alongside anything that explicitly “promotes religion.” Yet Shields of Strength continued producing such dog tags with the Army and Air Force logos in deliberate defiance of the order, in a dispute that may likely head to court.
But last July, the nonprofit organization Military Religious Freedom Foundation (MRFF) requested the military cease permitting the use of official logos on the company’s dog tags that feature both Bible verses or religious symbols in addition to official military logos.
(Rep. Steube’s statement incorrectly implied that, due to the license withdrawal, service members were no longer allowed to wear unofficial dog tags containing bible verses. This is false: they cannot purchase unofficial tags that combine bible verses and official service logos.)
March 12, 2020: This article has been updated to clarify that official military identification tags and their content are not what is at issue.
The Religious Insignia on Dog Tags Act would force the Secretary of Defense to allow the military to license their official military logos to private companies for the production of items that also contain religious insignia.
Origins of the “Dog Tag” Nickname
According to the Army Historical Foundation, the term “dog tag” was first coined by newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst. In 1936, Hearst wanted to undermine support for President Franklin D. Roosevelts New Deal. He had heard the newly formed Social Security Administration was considering giving out nameplates for personal identification. According to the SSA, Hearst referred to them as “dog tags” similar to those used in the military.
Other rumored origins of the nickname include World War II draftees calling them dog tags because they claimed they were treated like dogs. Another rumor said it was because the tags looked similar to the metal tag on a dogs collar.
Regardless of where the nickname started, the concept of an identification tag originated long before that.