Descriptionary

materiel all items, including ships, tanks, aircraft, weapons, repair parts, and equipment, but excluding real property (installations, utilities, etc.) necessary to equip, maintain, and support military activities.

mess dining facility.

military currency currency prepared by a power and declared by its military commander to be legal tender for use by civilian and military personnel in the areas occupied by its forces.

mopping up finishing off the last remnants of enemy resistance in an area.

mortar a muzzle-loading, high-trajectory cannon with a shorter range than a howitzer.

muzzle brake a device attached to the muzzle of a weapon that utilizes escaping gas to reduce recoil.

napalm powdered aluminum soap or similar com­pound used to gelatinize oil or gasoline for use in napalm bombs or flame throwers. Also, the gelatin substance itself.

NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization, an international military and peacekeeping alliance com­posed of 19 Western nations, including the United States and Canada, originally formed in 1949 for mutual protection against Soviet aggression.

nerve agent a potentially lethal chemical agent that interferes with the transmission of nerve impulses.

orange forces those forces used in an enemy role during NATO exercises.

ordnance explosives, chemicals, pyrotechnics, guns, ammunition, flares, napalm.

parlimentaire an agent or person sent behind enemy lines to communicate or negotiate openly with the enemy commander.

phonetic alphabet a list of standard words used to identify letters in a message transmitted by radio. The authorized words, in order: Alpha, Bravo, Char­lie, Delta, Echo, Foxtrot, Golf, Hotel, India, Juliet, Kilo, Lima, Mike, November, Oscar, Papa, Quebec, Romeo, Sierra, Tango, Uniform, Victor, Whiskey, X- ray, Yankee, and Zulu.

pillbox a small, low fortification that houses machine guns, antitank weapons, and other weapons. It is usually constructed of sandbags or concrete.

pressure mine a mine that responds to pressure.

pull rank

to use one's rank to force someone to do something.

purple forces those forces used to oppose both blue and orange forces in NATO exercises.

Px post exchange; a military store.

radar fire gunfire aimed at a target that is tracked by radar.

ratline an organized effort for moving personnel and/or materiel by clandestine means across a denied area or border.

recoilless rifle a weapon capable of being fired from either a ground mount or from a vehicle and capable of destroying tanks.

reconnaissance patrol a patrol used to gain tactical information concerning the enemy.

retrograde movement military doublespeak term for retreat.

rules of engagement

directives issued by military authority, that specify the circumstances and limita­tions under which forces shall engage in combat with the enemy.

sabotage deliberately damaging or destroying an object or facility to interfere with or obstruct the national defense of a country.

safing applying mechanisms, catches, and so on, and similar means to make weapons and ammunition safe to handle.

salvo the simultaneous firing of several weapons aimed at the same target.

sapper an engineer who is responsible for clearing minefields and roadside bombs and who also lays mines and repairs or builds bridges, roads, and air­fields. Also known as a combat engineer.

scopehead slang for radarman.

sheaf planned lines of fire that produce a desired pattern of bursts with rounds fired by two or more weapons.

sheet explosive plastic explosive in sheet form.

shelling report

any report of enemy shelling con­taining information on caliber, direction, time, den­sity, and area shelled.

sortie a sudden attack made from a defensive posi­tion. Also known as a sally.

sos chipped beef on toast; favored military meal.

splash in artillery support, the word transmitted to an observer or spotter five seconds before the esti­mated time of the impact of a salvo or round.

spoiling attack a tactical maneuvere employed to seriously impair a hostile attack while the enemy is in the process of forming or assembling for an attack.

spotting observing and reporting deviations of artil­lery fire to aid in homing in on a target.

strafing the firing of aircraft weapons upon ground units.

submunition any munition that is designed to sepa­rate from its parent munition to explode indepen­dently.

surprise dosage attack a chemical attack carried out too quickly for defending troops to mask or pro­tect themselves.

thermal imagery infrared imagery useful in reveal­ing camouflage and all object and personnel hidden behind camouflage.