skin area n.— «It was more than 40 miles to the destroyed zone by ruck march, a forced troop march carrying gear and armaments which can weigh in excess of 100 pounds. The term used to describe the region of the country is the “skin...
draw-down n.— «The mission’s boss further stated that the draw-down of the troops would be done in three phases beginning December 2008 to December 2010. He said that the draw-down in its troop doesn’t mean that they are in a hurry to...
dabbing n.— «A veteran of the Balkans, this general recalled that his troops had a term for routine, pointless patrols. “Dabbing,” they called it, from the caustic acronym for “driving around Bosnia.”...
synchronizer n.— «From crating up the bombs and bullets, to shrink-wrapping the helicopters, to counting up the endless tiers of port-a-potties, the pullout of U.S. combat forces from Iraq, when it inevitably comes, will rank as the...
box n.— «Capt. Corbett Bufton had figured it was going to be just another hot day in the desert. The Charleston-based airman’s C-17 was scheduled to make four stops around Iraq—”the box,” as they call it—to fly in cargo for...
meat tag n.— «A few blocks down Lejeune Boulevard, Josef McDonald’s tattoo parlor had one customer. The business slowdown followed a flurry earlier in the week from departing Marines wanting “meat tags”—tattoos of their names...