What is the Bravo Six Going Dark Meme? Meaning & Origin

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Learn where the popular Call of Duty meme got its start

Co-authored by Luke Smith, MFA

Last Updated: September 17, 2025 Fact Checked

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Meaning & Origin

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How to Use It

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You’re saying goodbye to your friend via text when they sign off with, “Bravo Six, going dark,” and apparently you’re just supposed to understand whatever that means. Well, we’re here to explain what the meme phrase means, where it comes from, and how to use it, so that you’re no longer in the dark.

Bravo Six Going Dark Explained

“Bravo Six going dark” is a popular meme template featuring the phrase and a soldier putting on night vision goggles. It’s from a trailer for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, and it mostly used to mean that you can’t talk at the moment, that you’re starting a task that will keep you busy, or to reference the literal dark.

Section 1 of 2:

What is “Bravo Six going dark”?

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The phrase is a line from the game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. The game features a cutscene, used in a 2019 trailer for the game, of soldiers sneaking through a dark forest. One of the soldiers, Captain Price, gets a radio update saying they’ve located the target and that he’s good to start the operation, to which Price says, “Bravo Six, going dark,” before he dons his night-vision goggles and readies his rifle. Fans online quickly latched onto the phrase and began making memes and parodies of it.
- “Bravo Six” is the codename of Captain Price, and “going dark” means to cut off communication.
- Many users joke that, when the character in the trailer tosses his cigar after saying the line, he inadvertently starts a forest fire, which is where some of the humor of the line originated.
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“Bravo Six going dark” has also become a popular meme. The phrase itself means that the speaker isn’t available to talk—they’re “going dark.” But mostly, people have been making memes that twist the meaning of the phrase in fun ways, like when you turn on night mode on a website, or when laser tag starts and the lights go off.^{[1]
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- When someone texts you “Bravo Six going dark,” it might mean that they won’t be able to talk for a while, or that they’re about to start a task that’ll make them unavailable, like a soldier starting a mission.

Section 2 of 2:

Using “Bravo Six Going Dark”

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Use “Bravo Six going dark” to say you can’t talk for a while. “Going dark” is military jargon that means you can’t talk for a little while, usually because there are enemies around and you want to be sneaky. You don’t have to be on a special ops mission to say it, though. Use it (or send the gif version) when you’re locking in on some homework, clocking in to work, or just whenever you don’t want to use your phone.
- Example: “I’ll talk to you later. Bravo six going dark.”
- Example: “Ugh, hold on. My little brother is calling. Bravo six going dark.”
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Make your own funny meme remixes for “Bravo Six going dark.” The phrase is mostly a meme format that can be used in countless fun and creative ways. Download this template and some puns on the phrase, or relate it to any situation where you need to disappear, or just when the lights go off. The fun of making a meme is in your imagination! Take a look at some examples from other users for inspiration!
- Example: When it’s past your bedtime and your mom threatens to take away your PS5 if you don’t sleep.
- Example: When you’re up late reading and the sun is setting but you don’t want to leave your chair to turn on a light.