Oscar Mike to the glossary. Copy that.
A group that simulates enemy tactics, techniques, and procedures to test security measures and identify vulnerabilities. Essentially, these are the people paid to think like terrorists and break into your base.
The process of rapidly preparing personnel, equipment, or operations for deployment or mission execution. Like cramming for a final exam, but with higher stakes and more weapons maintenance.
Grimly descriptive term for the aerosolized blood cloud created by a high-velocity impact or explosion hitting a human target. Military gallows humor at its most viscerally efficient.
To fail a qualification or test, particularly marksmanship qualification. From the lowest badge tier 'marksman' once resembling a bolo tie, though etymology debates rage on.
Firing an entire magazine of ammunition in rapid succession, either in combat or as stress relief. The firearms equivalent of rage-quitting, but louder and more expensive.
Radio call indicating failure to acquire a target, make contact, or achieve desired result. Aviation terminology that's spread across all military operations as the professional way to say 'I got nothing.'
A dignified transfer of fallen service members' remains, typically at the aircraft ramp. One of the few moments when military formality serves pure purpose rather than bureaucratic theater.
Infantry soldier or anyone who serves primarily on foot in combat. Self-deprecating term embraced by grunts who carry everything on their backs and consider suffering a competitive sport.
Phonetic alphabet for 'M,' commonly used to mean minute or meter in military communications. As in 'five mikes' equals five minutes of your life you'll never get back.
Command to immediately cease firing weapons, often issued to prevent fratricide or civilian casualties. The phrase that turns chaos into silence faster than anything else in combat.
A bolt-action sniper rifle favored by U.S. Navy SEALs and other military sharpshooters who need to reach out and touch someone from very, very far away. This .308 Winchester chambered weapon is the professional's choice for long-range precision work, often confused with civilian hunting rifles by people who get their gun knowledge from video games. It's what you use when "spray and pray" isn't in your vocabulary.
A military operation or situation so disorganized and chaotic that it resembles the impossible task of herding or roping goats. Often used to describe exercises or missions that have gone spectacularly wrong due to poor planning or execution.
The excruciating experience of sitting through endless, poorly designed slide presentations that drain the will to live. A modern form of torture perfected in military briefing rooms.
Attack passes by aircraft firing guns, rockets, or missiles at ground targets. The aerial equivalent of a drive-by shooting, but legal and with explosives.
Collecting spent ammunition casings from a firing range or training area. A tedious, mandatory task that somehow always falls to the lowest-ranking personnel present.
Specially designated parking spaces reserved for service members who have been wounded in action and received the Purple Heart medal. Recognition through convenient parking spots.
Radio call sign suffix indicating the commander themselves rather than their radioman or staff. 'Six' designates the commander's station, 'actual' means the boss is personally on the radio.
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.
A Navy and Coast Guard tradition where newly promoted officers host a party to celebrate their advancement, traditionally 'wetting down' their new rank insignia with alcohol. An excuse for a party with historical roots.
A formal request for artillery or mortar fire on a specific target, complete with coordinates and desired effect. It's ordering destruction by mail, military style.
A medical condition where negative G-forces cause blood to rush to the head, making everything appear red and potentially causing unconsciousness. It's significantly less fun than it sounds and tends to happen when pulling up from dives too aggressively.
Signals Intelligence—the military's polite term for eavesdropping on enemy communications and intercepted transmissions. It's essentially high-tech spying where you intercept, decode, and analyze radio signals, emails, and other electronic chatter to figure out what your adversaries are planning. Turns out the NSA didn't invent mass surveillance; they just perfected it.
The skeleton crew of leaders and specialists who form the core of an organization, ready to bulk up into a full unit when needed. In military contexts, it's the officers and key personnel around whom a new regiment gets built; in revolutionary contexts, it's your dedicated true believers. Basically, it's your starting lineup of people who actually know what they're doing.
The process of equipping military units with tanks, armored vehicles, and other machinery that makes them faster and more lethal than foot soldiers. It transformed warfare from guys walking around to guys driving around with bigger guns. Also applies to making any process more automated and less dependent on human muscle power.