Oscar Mike to the glossary. Copy that.
Coordinated military aircraft and support units designed for a specific bombing or attack mission. A delicately balanced collection of ordnance, pilots, and support that's surprisingly fragile once airborne.
Techniques to minimize a vehicle's radar, thermal, visual, or acoustic detection signatures. Making military equipment harder to spot like a ninja in camo.
A tactical underwater vessel designed for covert operations, reconnaissance, and strategic deployment—or a genuinely delicious sandwich served on a long roll. Both require stealth to prevent detection by coworkers.
A retreat that sounds classy and planned, as opposed to just running away from losing because that's what it definitely is.
A precision optical instrument used for measuring angles, particularly the angle between the sun or moon and the horizon, essential for celestial navigation and determining latitude and longitude at sea. The sextant measures up to 120 degrees and uses mirrors and telescopes to achieve high accuracy.
A brief, small-scale armed conflict or fight between a small number of combatants, typically occurring as a minor engagement in a larger war.
A laborer who loads and unloads cargo from ships at a port or dock. Stevedores traditionally performed physically demanding work organizing shipments and securing goods.
A weapon designed so you can attack something from a really safe distance, which is either brilliant strategic thinking or an admission that you don't trust your aim. A weapon system that allows engagement from beyond effective range of enemy fire.
Removing classified information from documents before public release—essentially redacting classified stuff so aggressively that nothing interesting remains.
A concise summary of current military situation—basically a status update, but significantly more likely to involve explosions.
Temporarily halting military operations to regroup, resupply, or avoid making things worse—the military's version of calling timeout.
Destroying important infrastructure instead of just killing soldiers. It's genocide with better intentions.
The military art of parking people in specific places so they're ready to do military things on command. Basically, organized waiting with a purpose. Example: The stationing of troops along the border was a show of force.
The chaotic pieces of exploded shells that go flying in all directions, named after a British general who invented the shell that creates it. Fragments of a bursting shell or explosive, scattered by the blast.
A prototype assault rifle developed by Mauser in 1945 that arrived fashionably late to WWII. Using a roller-delayed blowback system and firing 7.92×33mm rounds, it was too experimental to see combat but influential enough to inspire later European rifle designs like the G3.
A darkly humorous military reference for mustard gas—one of the most horrific chemical weapons used in warfare, rebranded with intentional absurdity.
The route by which supplies reach the front lines—cut this and your enemy runs out of food, ammunition, and morale all at once.
The right side of a vessel when you're facing forward, because naming it 'right' would make navigation way too intuitive. Nautical jargon for people who enjoy making tourists ask twice.
Military personnel kept in reserve who can be activated quickly if needed. They're basically the military equivalent of having a spare tire in your trunk.
Combining data from multiple sensors to get a better picture of what's happening. It's like having multiple people describe a situation and taking the average to get closer to the truth.
Design features that reduce a military platform's detectability by radar, infrared, or other sensors. It's basically the military equivalent of becoming invisible, except not actually invisible.