For you former/current military veterans--first, thank you. Two, my nine year old and I were watching a war movie and I have heard this all my life but I don't know what it means--what is a "klick" or a "click?" You know, "Lt. we are 10 clicks away?"

I actually Googled it and found different answers so I thought I would ask actual veterans.

John

'Klick' is GI speak for kilometer. For example, Frankfurt is about 40 klicks from Aschaffenburg. I believe it originated among the troops assigned to Germany in the 60s.

shaggist is spot-on, not too sure where it originated though. Klicks are about the only part of the metric system I can think in, if I'm driving it's still miles, walking I think in klicks.

1 klick is .62 miles. 100 kph is 62 mph. I don't know when they started doing it but most cars have both scales on the speedometer.

What's funny is i found a site saying it was never used until Viet Nam!? What the heck? Another that said it was click, another klick. Glad I don't fool with the internet much. That's what I thought I would ask you all. My dad was a pilot in Korea but he has been dead 30 years.

AND THANK YOU!

The military went 'all metric' several years before I retired. Just figure a "klick' is a little more then a half mile. And a 'meter' is so close to a yard that it doesn't matter much until you get out to 300 or so.

(unless of course you're calling in artillery fire close to you're position)

3/5 of a mile

Because of men like you as well as others on this forum, the extent of my military service was being sergeant-at-arms of my college fraternity! Thanks for the info!

I've been told that one click of elevation on (some artillery piece [been so long I don't recall which one]) would move the payload 1000 meters.

Any truth to that, or is that a Store High In Transit/For Unlicensed Carnal Knowledge story?

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I always take precautions

We used "klicks" in Vietnam. Taught in training.
Still used "yards" for weapons qualifying.

Alpo-
I was a grunt, like rimfired , so I don't know for sure, but I would say BS on that one. I certainly wouldn't want to be calling in anything that was only +/- 1000m. I know I've seen someone w/ the screen name of "redleg", he'd be able to give you the straight-skinny.

Click = 1000 meters which = one kilometer

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“Look life in its iron face”

I always thought it was the distance of one click on an 81mm mortar sight. (but what do I know, I was in the Navy)

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James L. "Jim" Rhiner

I was under the impression that we used the term in Vietnam because it was a former French colony and all the road signs (what was left of them ) were in kilometers. Got in the habit and it apparently stuck. (the number of troops in Germany could have something to do with it too, I spend a few years there as well, I can still do km-mile conversions in my head without thinking much)

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Minimize the variables

Bunk! Is that clear enough for you?

While firearms sights do adjust by "clicks", literally. that is not the case with artillery.

Adjustment of artillery fire is expressed in "Mils", 1/6400th of a circle. This corresponds to approximately 1/1000th the distance to the target. At 100 yds. a Mil would be ca. 3.6". Adjustments are usually expressed in tenths of Mils. Naturally 1/10th Mil at 100 yds. = ca. .36".

Klick = 1 kilometer
Pace count times ten beads = 1 klick of your Ranger Beads

Several others have covered the subject very well. A "click" is one kilometer, 1000 meters, 5/8 of a mile.

The only thing I will add is that on the way home the last click is always the longest click.

Agree that a click equals 1000 meters or one kilometer. I figured that the military uses the metric system to 1) better synch with our NATO allies, and 2) because military maps use the Military Grid Reference System which is based on meters. One grid square equals 1000 m squared.

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Proud anachronism

Here we are, a couple of medics teaching artillery stuff.
6400 mills in a circle
1 mill is 1 yard at 1000 yards or 1 meter at 1000 meters.

Simple stuff

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CSM, U S Army(Ret) 1963-1990

Klick is what a torque wrench does when the bolt is correcly tightened or 'torqued to specification'. But what do I know, I was in the Air Force, and there was no need to walk.

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S&WHF 366

Klick is where three are four others get together and leave me out!

I can recall hearing, and using the term, in the Korean War to indicate a distance of approx. 6/10ths of a US Mile. Calling in artillery fire was in yards, however. Remember: If the enemy is in range, so are you. Ed.