Tagmilitary jargon

air breather

air breather  n.— «Hundreds of American support personnel members on the ground in Colombia complemented these elite forces, in addition to a frenzied intelligence-gathering operation located in the United States Embassy here, drawing on...

combat shower

combat shower  n.— «”Combat showers” are four minutes or less to conserve water, barely enough time to wash off all the sand and dust.» —“A Long Way From The Sea” by Jennifer Grogan in Camp Bucca, Iraq  TheDay...

suspense

suspense  adj.— «Perhaps it is no coincidence that the Army’s term for a deadline is a “suspense,” sometimes abbreviated simply “S:” and followed by a date. The first time I was told that I had to “meet a suspense,” I didn’t know where to...

Indian country

Indian country  n.— «As an embeded journalist in Afghanistan last winter, I traveled hundreds of miles with soldiers through what they refer to as “indian country”—hostile regions teeming with Taliban sympathizers in black...

Willy Pete

Willy Pete  n.— «I heard the order to pay attention because they were going to use white phosphorus on Fallujah. In military jargon it’s known as Willy Pete.» —“US forces ‘used chemical weapons’ during assault on city of...