G.I. ( Military ) - wikipedia G.I. ( Military ) G.I.s from the 25th Infantry Division in the jungle of Vella Lavella during Operation Cartwheel ( 13 September 1943 ). G.I. is a noun used to describe the soldiers of the United States Army and airmen of the United States Army Air Forces and also for general items of their equipment. The term G.I. has been used as an initialism of `` Government Issue '' or `` General Issue '', but it originally referred to `` galvanized iron '', as used by the logistics services of the United States Armed Forces. The letters `` G.I. '' were used to denote equipment made from galvanized iron, such as metal trash cans, in U.S. Army inventories and supply records. In British military parlance and in armed forces modelled on British military traditions, G.I. refers to a Gunnery Instructor ( generally an NCO responsible for inducting and training recruits ). During World War I, American soldiers sardonically referred to incoming German artillery shells as `` G.I. cans ''. Also during that war, `` G.I. '' started being interpreted as `` Government Issue '' or `` General Issue '' for the general items of equipment of soldiers and airmen. The term `` G.I. '' came into widespread use in the United States with the start of the Selective Service System ( `` the draft '' ) in 1940, extending into 1941. Next, the use of `` G.I. '' expanded from 1942 through 1945. The American five - star General Dwight D. Eisenhower said in 1945 that `` the truly heroic figure of this war ( is ) G.I. Joe and his counterpart in the air, the navy, and the Merchant Marine of every one of the United Nations. '' `` G.I. '' was also used as an adjective for anything having to do with the US Army or Army Air Force. See also Digger ( soldier ) -- A similar term used in Australia Dogface ( military ) Doughboy Folk etymology G.I. Bill G.I. Blues ( film ) G.I. Generation G.I. Jane ( film ) G.I. Joe -- a line of action figures produced and owned by the toy company Hasbro. G.I. Joe disambiguation G - Man Tommy ( soldier ) -- British slang for a common soldier References Jump up ^ Rawson, Hugh ( April -- May 2006 ). `` Why do we say `` G.I. '' ? ``. American Heritage. Archived from the original on 29 August 2008. ^ Jump up to : Wilton, Dave ( 2 February 2009 ). `` G.I. - Wordorigins.org ''. Wordorigins.org. Jump up ^ `` GI -- Definitions from Dictionary.com ''. Dictionary.com Unabridged. Random House, Inc. Jump up ^ Eisenhower, Dwight D. ( 10 May 1945 ). Funeral Pyres of Nazidom. Universal Newsreel. External links Look up GI in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=G.I._(military)&oldid=792673177 '' Categories : Initialisms Military terminology of the United States Hidden categories : Use dmy dates from May 2013 Talk About Wikipedia Brezhoneg Čeština Dansk Deutsch Ελληνικά Español Français Italiano עברית Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Simple English Svenska Türkçe Edit links This page was last edited on 27 July 2017, at 22 : 32. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution - ShareAlike License ; additional terms may apply. By using this site, you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Wikipedia ® is a registered trademark of the Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., a non-profit organization. About Wikipedia

Question: where did the term g.i. come from
Answer: originally referred to "galvanized iron", as used by the logistics services of the United States Armed Forces.[2] The letters "G.I." were used to denote equipment made from galvanized iron, such as metal trash cans, in U.S. Army inventories and supply records