Oscar Mike to the glossary. Copy that.
An individual skilled in moving undetected through hostile or monitored environments, whether for reconnaissance, theft, or espionage. Essentially a professional ghost with dubious ethics.
A strategic series of interconnected entities, locations, or dependencies forming a supply line or operational network. Break one link and the whole operation crumbles—which is why adversaries love targeting them.
A rapid-response medical transport vehicle equipped to stabilize casualties in transit, originally adapted from mobile field hospital concepts during wartime. Modern variants blur the line between emergency response and tactical evacuation.
To position military or security personnel at a specific location for operational readiness, surveillance, or duty assignment. It's a fancy way of saying 'planted here until further notice.'
To execute a targeted elimination of a high-value target through covert means, typically for strategic, political, or ideological objectives. Remarkably efficient, ethically complicated, and wildly successful in spy fiction.
Information campaigns designed to influence enemy decision-making and demoralize forces—basically mind control with pamphlets and propaganda.
Affectionate (or not-so-affectionate) term for ground combat troops, particularly infantry or armor soldiers, as viewed by more technical military occupational specialties. Implies they're less evolved, ape-like.
Traditional cannon-based artillery systems as opposed to rockets or missiles, maintaining the ancient and honorable tradition of using controlled explosions to throw metal at distant enemies. Old school boom delivery.
A military operation to directly strike an objective, as opposed to indirect methods like prayers or strongly-worded letters.
A patch of land where aircraft land and take off without pretending to be fancy—no terminals, no paved runways, just raw ambition and a prayer. Think of it as the budget airline of landing zones.
A small cavalry or armored unit commanded by a captain, roughly equivalent to an infantry platoon. Also used collectively to describe any gathering of soldiers, though civilians insist on using it incorrectly as a singular noun for one soldier. Military folks cringe every time someone says "a troop" when they mean "a service member."
A deliberate halt in offensive operations to consolidate gains, resupply, or reassess strategy. When you need to admit that even armies need a breather sometimes.
Radio call indicating a large aircraft or formation, typically carrying enough ordnance to ruin someone's entire decade. When 'heavy' shows up, someone's day is about to get significantly worse.
A euphemism for 'violent' or 'involving active combat,' because apparently saying 'we're shooting at people' sounds unprofessional in briefings.
Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance—the military's obsessive need to know everything about everyone before doing anything.
The act of killing your own officer, historically done by soldiers who didn't appreciate the officer's leadership style—mutiny with grenades.
Cargo or goods in transit through supply chains, often under security protocols in military contexts to ensure safe delivery of sensitive materials. Sometimes the freight is more valuable than the vehicle carrying it.
Legal and tactical guidelines dictating when, where, and how military force can be applied—essentially permission slips for soldiers to shoot things.
Gunfire along the long axis of a target, maximizing casualties—basically the tactical equivalent of hitting a bowling pin with maximum precision.
A fortified medical facility designed for large-scale patient management, ranging from battlefield field hospitals to permanent installations. In military contexts, these double as strategic assets.
An improvised ambush set up quickly with minimal planning when opportunity presents itself, because sometimes the enemy walks into your lap and you'd be rude not to shoot them. Opportunistic violence at its finest.
The prescribed range at which enlisted personnel must render salutes to officers, theoretically six paces but practically 'close enough that ignoring them would be obvious.' The geometry of military courtesy.
An order to cease operations and stand by, often issued right after everyone has positioned themselves for the thing they were told to do.
Either a tall support structure for sails (the nautical kind) or military-speak for non-judicial punishment where a commanding officer decides your fate without a courtroom. Both are equally terrifying.