Chalk (military)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

In military terminology, a chalk is a specific aircraft load, especially a group of airborne soldiers which deploy from a single aircraft. A chalk often corresponds to a platoon sized unit for air-assault operations, or a company-minus sized organization for airborne operations. For air-transport operations, it can consist of up to a company-plus sized unit.

The term was popularized during the Vietnam War when it was common practice to number with chalk the sides of the helicopters involved in an operation.