Nugget

Nugget is a Colonial military term to describe pilot trainees. Like many terms in the new Battlestar Galactica series, "nugget" is carried over from present day American military slang.

The first class of nuggets moments into their first day of training (Act of Contrition).

Please note that "nugget" should not be confused with "rook" or "rookie." The latter term applies to a person who has completed their training and qualifications, yet is still inexperienced.

Kara Thrace is assigned the task of flight instructor to train a batch of potential Viper pilots after 13 (including Flat Top) are killed in a freak accident (Act of Contrition). There are originially 8 nuggets, including Louanne "Kat" Katraine", Brendan "Hotdog" Constanza, and "Chuckles". Later, Chuckles dies attacking a Cylon tylium refinery (The Hand of God). According to the SciFi.com official website, after the events of "The Hand of God", there are 5 surviving nuggets. New groups of nuggets are in training in "The Hand of God", and by mid-season 2 many new pilots are trained using the flight simulators aboard battlestar Pegasus.

Curiously, when the first batch of "nuggets" arrive aboard Galactica, they wear the rank insignia of "Petty Officer, 1st Class".

Re-imagined Series definition: student pilot (TRS: "Act of Contrition", "Scar")

Re-imagined Series definition: "rookie," typically refers to those on their first tour of duty after initial training (TRS: "Miniseries"), q.v. nugget