5 Military Operations With Extremely Weird Names

1. Operation Paul Bunyan

In 1976, this joint operation between South Korea and the U.S. had a very important goal. To remove a tree in the demilitarized zone between North and South Korea. Seems like a simple mission. Not every operation is a global offensive. Not every mission goes down in history as courageous victory in the eyes of defeat. Sometimes, you just have to take follow orders. Well after two American officers were killed escorting South Korean workers to cut the tree down, Henry Kissinger wanted a full scale bombing of North Korea. Operation Paul Bunyan was President Ford’s response, which consisted of troops armed with chainsaws sent to cut the tree down, covered by heavily armed troops, 27 attack helicopters and a wing of B-52 bombers. Birds fly in the sky, fish swim in the sea, and if the U.S. Military wants to cut down a tree, you bet your ass that tree will be a heap of sawdust before you can say “George Washington.”

2. Operation Magic Carpet

The end of World War II meant there were over 8 million American military personnel members stuck in Europe, Asia and the Pacific. Operation Magic Carpet was the magical journey they embarked on to return home. Dorothy would be so proud.

3. Operation Rainbow

The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) carried out this mission in May 2004 at the Gaza Strip. It was in response to a Palestinian attack claiming the lives of 5 Israeli soldiers. Though it seems as if an elite force, armed with Skittles and Crayola colored pencils was lead by the Lucky Charms Leprechaun to fight terror with color and imagination, the operation resulted in the invasion and siege of Rafah. At the end of every rainbow is a pot of gold...and sometimes death and destruction.

4. Operation Mustang Flex

The goal of this 2004 Iraq mission was to deny insurgents sanctuary. Maybe the name was given to inflict fear into insurgents. Their search for sanctuary would be met with a fleet of jacked horses on steroids, violently trampling in their way, or a classic American car, fit with enough weapons to put a Mad Max post-apocalyptic vehicle to shame.

5. Operation Toenails

And now, to the weirdest of the bunch: Operation Toenails. You may think, “there must be some funny, ironic reason behind this World War II operation name (where the Allied Forces planned to capture New Georgia). There must have been a piece of artillery named ‘the toe’, and maybe ‘nailing’ New Georgia with shells lead to a funny nickname. Who in their right minds would name the Allies’ first major offensive in the Solomon Islands ‘Operation Toenails’ for no apparent reason?” Well, believe it or not, that’s exactly what happened. There was absolutely no apparent reason behind the name. Sometimes it’s late at night and there are other pressing matters more important than naming military operations.

“Jim, put those toenail clippers down. We have to name this mission before we leave! You know what, f*ck it, we’ll call it...Operation Toenails. I’m starving.”

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