Actual

A scene from Full Metal Jacket where the man on the radio was calling for “Hotel One Actual.”

It means the commander or officer-in-charge of the unit.

Each combat unit has a radioman (who is not the commander). That unit also has a call sign – for example, “Unit Bravo.” That call sign refers to the unit in aggregate, not any one person. The radioman would say, “This is Unit Bravo,” effectively meaning this is the radioman for the unit.

If the commander of Unit Bravo got on the radio, he would say, “This is Unit Bravo Actual.” Meaning, not just Unit Bravo, but the actual commander – or “the actual owner of the call sign.”

If you wanted to speak to the commander of that unit, you would ask for “Unit Bravo Actual.”

Why I Looked It Up

I saw it in a clip from Full Metal Jacket. I vaguely remembered it from various other military movies.