Military terminology refers to the
terms and language of
military organizations and
personnel
Employment is a relationship between two parties regulating the provision of paid labour services. Usually based on a contract, one party, the employer, which might be a corporation, a not-for-profit organization, a co-operative, or any othe ...
as belonging to a discrete category. As distinguishable by their usage in
military doctrine
Military doctrine is the expression of how military forces contribute to campaigns, major operations, battles, and engagements.
It is a guide to action, rather than being hard and fast rules. Doctrine provides a common frame of reference across ...
, they serve to
depoliticise,
dehumanise
Dehumanization is the denial of full humanness in others and the cruelty and suffering that accompanies it. A practical definition refers to it as the viewing and treatment of other persons as though they lack the mental capacities that are c ...
, or otherwise
abstract discussion about its
operations
Operation or Operations may refer to:
Arts, entertainment and media
* ''Operation'' (game), a battery-operated board game that challenges dexterity
* Operation (music), a term used in musical set theory
* ''Operations'' (magazine), Multi-Man ...
from an actual description thereof.
Common understanding
The operational pressure for uniform understanding has developed since the early 20th century with the importance of
joint operations Joint operations can mean:
* Joint warfare, the basis of modern military doctrine
**More loosely, Combined arms, an element of joint warfare
* Literal operations on joints of the body, see Orthopedic surgery
* '' Joint Operations: Typhoon Rising,'' ...
between different services (army, navy, air force) of the same country. International alliances and operations, including
peacekeeping
Peacekeeping comprises activities intended to create conditions that favour lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed warfare.
Within the United N ...
, have added additional complexity. For example, the
NATO alliance now maintains a large
dictionary
A dictionary is a listing of lexemes from the lexicon of one or more specific languages, often arranged alphabetically (or by radical and stroke for ideographic languages), which may include information on definitions, usage, etymologies ...
of common terms for use by member countries. Development work is also taking place between NATO and Russia on common terminology for extended air defence, in English, French and Russian.
Criticism
Some claim military terms serve to depoliticise, dehumanize, or otherwise abstract discussion about operations from an actual description thereof.
Similar to "
legal terminology
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its precise definition a matter of longstanding debate. It has been vario ...
" and related to "political terminology", military terms are known for an oblique tendency to incorporate
technical language. In many cases, it reflects a need to be precise. It can also reflect a perceived need for
operational security
Operations security (OPSEC) is a process that identifies critical information to determine if friendly actions can be observed by enemy intelligence, determines if information obtained by adversaries could be interpreted to be useful to them, a ...
, giving away no more information than needed. It can also serve to disguise or distort meaning as with
doublespeak. "Kinetic activity" as a
buzzword
A buzzword is a word or phrase, new or already existing, that becomes popular for a period of time. Buzzwords often derive from technical terms yet often have much of the original technical meaning removed through fashionable use, being simply used ...
for
combat
Combat ( French for ''fight'') is a purposeful violent conflict meant to physically harm or kill the opposition. Combat may be armed (using weapons) or unarmed ( not using weapons). Combat is sometimes resorted to as a method of self-defense, or ...
, in use since the inception of the
War on Terror, has been criticized as a
don’t-ask-don’t-tell policy for murder.
See also
*
:Military terminology
*
Glossary of German military terms
*
Glossary of military abbreviations
*
List of established military terms
This is a list of established military terms which have been in use for at least 50 years. Since technology and doctrine have changed over time, not all of them are in current use, or they may have been superseded by more modern terms. However, the ...
Notes
{{Reflist
External links
Glossary of Military Terms & Slang from the Vietnam War
Terminology
Warfare