Oscar Mike to the glossary. Copy that.
Military slang for helicopters or other aircraft. Because 'rotary-wing aircraft' takes too long when you're requesting emergency extraction.
A group of vehicles traveling together under protective escort, turning a road trip into a tactical operation. Military convoys move personnel and supplies through potentially hostile territory, relying on numbers, coordination, and armed protection. It's carpooling, but with armor plating and much stricter formation rules.
Elite naval infantry trained to fight from ships, conduct amphibious assaults, and generally be the military's first responders to global crises. They're the branch that emphasizes being tougher than everyone else while maintaining an institutional rivalry with every other service. Essentially sailors who decided they wanted to do the hard parts of being soldiers too.
Short for 'situation report,' a concise update on current operational status, position, and conditions. The military version of 'what's your status?' but with the expectation of actual useful information.
To seize property or people for official use, typically military, often without asking nicely first. The government's version of 'borrowing' your stuff, except there's no intention of returning it and you don't get a choice. Originally about forcing people into military service, now applies to anyone with authority taking what they need because they can.
Movement or progression backward, which in military terms means strategic withdrawal and in everyday terms means things are getting worse. In astronomy, describes planets appearing to move backward in the sky, which astrology enthusiasts blame for everything. Generally indicates reversal, regression, or the tactical retreat your manager calls 'pivoting.'
A specially trained unit that deliberately remains in territory about to be overrun by enemy forces, operating covertly to gather intelligence and conduct sabotage. Volunteering to be surrounded is somehow considered a career enhancement.
Israeli military slang for a soldier who's accumulated enough service time to shed their rookie status and earn the right to look down on the newbies. These battle-tested veterans have survived long enough to become cynical about army life while simultaneously feeling superior to anyone with less 'pazam' (time in service). It's the IDF version of workplace seniority, but with more artillery.
Numerical location reference using the military grid reference system (MGRS) to pinpoint positions on a map to within meters. The difference between artillery hitting the target and hitting you.
The act of exposing your silhouette against the horizon, making yourself an obvious target. A fundamental tactical error taught on day one but somehow still happens.
The recurring cycle of meetings, briefings, and operational activities that structures a military headquarters' workday. Think of it as the military's version of Outlook calendar hell, but with more PowerPoint slides about killing people.
A card carried by troops listing restrictions on rules of engagement, often limiting when they can fire. The military equivalent of your mom saying 'don't start fights' before sending you to school.
Authorization to engage any target that meets rules of engagement criteria without requesting permission. The green light for 'shoot first, ask questions later'—within legal boundaries, of course.
Helicopter aircraft, distinguished from fixed-wing planes. The preferred transportation method when you absolutely need to arrive somewhere while making maximum noise.
Covert operations not attributable to the sponsoring organization or nation, typically involving intelligence agencies or special forces. What happens in the black stays in the classified files.
In military aviation, a single combat mission flown by one aircraft, or a sudden attack launched by troops from a defensive position. Essentially, it's when you stop sitting around and actually do something aggressive. Modern air forces track sorties obsessively because counting how many times planes take off is apparently easier than measuring whether they accomplished anything useful.
A remark that appears to be praise but contains an insult or criticism. The officer evaluation report specialty, where 'performs adequately' means 'please never promote this person.'
Military-approved vacation time, because apparently 'vacation' sounds too leisurely for people trained to jump out of airplanes. Earned through service and granted at command's discretion, it's the carrot that keeps soldiers from going AWOL. Comes in various flavors including emergency leave, convalescent leave, and the mythical 'approved leave' that somehow never gets approved before holidays.
Extremely disorganized or incompetent, to an almost impressively dysfunctional degree. The ultimate descriptor for something that shouldn't exist but somehow does.
Communications Security—the art and science of keeping your radio chatter from being intercepted, decoded, and used to ruin your whole day. Loose lips sink ships, encrypted lips just confuse everyone.
To deploy a smoke grenade, typically to mark a position for extraction, conceal movement, or signal aircraft. Also used colloquially to mean departing quickly from any situation.
A five-sided polygon that geometry teachers love and students tolerate, but more importantly, the nickname for the massive five-sided building that houses the U.S. Department of Defense. When someone says "the Pentagon decided," they mean the military brass made a call, not that a geometric shape achieved sentience. It's the ultimate example of form following function, or maybe just a really committed geometry flex.
The collective noun for all the expensive ways humans have invented to hurt each other, from bullets to battleships. It's the military's shopping list—cannon, small arms, missiles, and whatever else makes defense contractors salivate. Basically, everything that goes 'boom' or 'bang' in a military context, neatly categorized for budgetary purposes.
Emergency transportation of troops, civilians, or supplies by aircraft when ground routes are compromised, destroyed, or simply too slow. Think of it as Amazon Prime for war zones and disaster areas, except the delivery drones are C-130 cargo planes. The Berlin Airlift made it famous; humanitarian crises keep it relevant.