belly button

n. a person or unit in charge of, or the source of information for, a task or operation. Subjects: English, Military, Slang

Editorial Note: The “belly button” in the 1987 and 1994 citations is variably given in press reports as the name of a secret trust fund and as the designation for the person in charge of it; it is probably unrelated to the “belly button” defined here. Thanks to Rasa Silenas for suggesting this entry. Rasa writes, “I suspect this is military usage because it has been common in the Air Force since at least the mid-1990s but civilians seem unfamiliar with the term. A Belly Button is the person designated to be in charge of a task or as the source of info about it, as in ‘Who’s the Belly Button for installing the new radios?’ The connotation includes clarity of responsibility and accountability, as well as the image of the Commander poking a subordinate near the belt buckle when he needs something done.”

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Citations: [1987 Jacob V. Lamar Jr. Time (June 15) “A Big Bonus for ‘Belly Button’”: But the most significant, and bizarre, could turn out to be “Belly Button.” That improbable monicker was the name for a Swiss bank account containing $200,000 in Iran-arms profits that were set aside for the former National Security Council aide and his family.…The name Belly Button, Hakim said, was the result of a joke about North. He did not elaborate.] [1994 NPR (Jan. 18) “All Things Considered: Where Are They Now—The Iran Contra Cast”: Hakim was a negotiator for the arms for hostages deal and as his embarrassed testimony revealed, he also had a hand in setting up a secret account to provide for the family of the ring leader of the operation, an account with a code name. ALBERT HAKIM, Arms Dealer: Actually the complete name is belly button. UNIDENTIFIED CONGRESSMAN: Does it refer to a person? Mr. HAKIM: Yes it does. CONGRESSMAN: Who? Mr. HAKIM: Lt. Colonel North.] [1998 John W. Smith Military Intelligence Professional Bulletin (Jan. 1) “USAIC&FH; restructure” vol. 24, no. 1, p. 2: The advanced collective skills organization will focus on the needs of Ml units in the field. It will develop and export common scenarios, lead the Intelligence Center’s distance learning development, and develop and export tools (like the Combat Synthetic Training Assessment Range and Military Intelligence Combat Assessment Tables) to facilitate collective training and evaluation by unit commanders. In a nutshell, you may think of Continuous Learning as the single “belly button” to push if you are in the field and need training help.] 1998 Keith Balts @ Defense Department (Political Transcripts by Federal Document Clearing House) (Feb. 17) “Defense Department Spokesman Gives Briefing On Space Operations Speakers”: We also have reach-back capability when we go to the field, since we’re the space belly button for whoever’s in the field—reach back to the SOC as it stands up and other space units. 2001 Daryn Kagan, Don Shepperd (CNN) (Nov. 27) “Live Today: America’s New War: What is Central Command?”: The CinC comes up with a warplane. He briefs the secretary and also the president, and then he supplies them daily with updates, as well as normal briefing periodically on how it’s going. If they’re not satisfied, they know where the belly button is, they know where to come, they know who to fire. 2004 Alex Caldiero Hearing Voices (Apr. 27) “Profile: One artist’s effort to define himself and his work”: “Belly Button” is the US military code name for the one who makes the decisions. Hence, the phrases, “He can’t find his belly button’”We don’t know the belly button’”There is no belly button’”Where is my belly button?” etc. 2004 Adam Putnam @ House Committee On Government Reform Political Transcripts by Federal Document Clearing House (June 2) “U.S. Representative Adam Putnam (R-FL) Holds Hearing On Cyber Security”: One is that we have put in place a clear chain of command. There is a single belly button now that is responsible for the status of the I.T. infrastructure in the department—the four-star. 2004 Richard Armitage @ United States Department of Defense DefenseLINK News (June 25) “Testimony as Delivered to the Senate Armed Services Committee on the Transition in Iraq”: We’re putting a 10-day time period on any changes we want from the time—the ambassador wants to reallocate money, put it toward a project. The turn-around for our entire bureacracy is 10 days. I’m the belly button in charge, so you’ll have somebody to point to. 2006 Pierre A. Chao @ United States House of Representatives Testimony before the Committee on Armed Services (Mar. 29): So while some may say that the service chiefs do participate in the acquisition process, the study focuses on the fact that is indirectly through budgeting and requirements determination. As such, the current system creates a deep fault line. A central belly-button that can be pushed for accountability in acquisition must be created. Service chiefs need to be held accountable for the whole supply function and need the authority to carry it out.

Posted 31 Oct 06 | Permalink | Tell a Friend