When we read the news, we can find articles related to armed conflicts or military actions which have a specific vocabulary that we are not familiar with.This list compiles some terms that appear in these articles.
- Aircraft carrier
- Military ship designed so aircraft can land on and take off from it.
- Ammunition dump
- Location where ammunition and explosives are stored.
- Anti-guerrilla operation
- Operations conducted against guerrilla forces.
- Area defense
- Type of defense that is oriented toward retaining a particular terrain; relies mainly on the deployed forces that fire to repulse and stop attackers.
- Assault
- Last step of an attack phase; rushing to close combat to drive the enemy out for hand-to-hand combat using hand grenades and bayonets.
- Attack
- Form of offensive combat action; directed against the enemy to drive the enemy from position in order to kill or capture.
- Barrage
- Protective firing of indirect firing weapons.
- Battalion
- A ground force unit composed of a headquarters and two or more companies or similar units.
- Battlefield
- The place where a battle is fought; an area of conflict.
- Besiege
- To surround (a fortified area, esp a city) with military forces to bring about its surrender.
- Boundaries
- Company and battalion defense areas; limited due to terrain and means of approach.
- Booby-traps
- A hidden bomb or mine so placed that it will be set off by an unsuspecting person through such means as moving an apparently harmless object.
- Bullet A small piece of metal fired from a gun.
- Caliber
- Diameter of a bullet or bore of a gun; expressed in millimeters or inch fractions (hundredths or thousandths of an inch).
- Camouflage fatigues
- Camouflage military clothing worn for routine work or in battle.
- Casualty
- Someone who dies, is wounded or becomes ill as a result of military action; can be military or civilian personnel.
- Charge
- Part of a fire command; establishes the amount of propellant in a shell.
- Checkpoint
- Easy-to-identify point on terrain; used for controlling movement or identifying locations.
- Chemical warfare
- Military operations involving the use of chemical agents designed to kill or incapacitate the enemy.
- Civic action
- Using military forces on projects beneficial to a civilian population or economic development of a particular area; often are agriculture, education, public works, communications, sanitation, or health projects.
- Clandestine
- Military activities intended to be kept secret or concealed.
- Close combat
- Hand-to-hand combat or fighting; involves the use of weapons such as pistols, bayonets, rifles, and hand grenades.
- Constraint
- A requirement that restricts the strategies or tactics that can be used.
- Counterattack
- Attack made in response to attackers; may be made by a portion or the entire defensive force (The main purpose of such an attack is usually to regain ground that has been lost, to destroy the enemy's advance units, or to deny the enemy of friendly territory.)
- D-day
- It refers to the day in which an operation (such as a field operation) will commence; also used to refer to the day Allied troops invaded Normandy (D-Day, June 6, 1944).
- Debarkation
- Process of unloading equipment, supplies or troops from an aircraft or ship.
- Decontamination
- the process of removing traces of chemical or biological agents from a person, object or area for safety purposes.
- Defeat
- To overcome in a contest;beat:
- Deployment
- Troop movement to position forces in a specific location; positioning troops for rapid action.
- Direct fire
- Fire that is delivered by a weapon aimed directly at its target.
- Dog tags
- Placas de identificación.
- Draft
- A selection of persons, as by lot, for military service, an athletic team, etc.
- Dump
- Location where military supplies are stored.
- Ejection
- Escaping from a military aircraft via a capsule or propelled set; separation of weaponry or cargo from a military aircraft while it’s in flight.
- Ensign
- Flag or banner, as a military or naval standard used to indicate nationality.
- Epaulet
- An ornamental shoulder piece worn on uniforms, chiefly by military officers.
- Evacuation
- Clearance (removal) of personnel or noncombatants from an area; recovering military materials left behind for shipment to appropriate locations.
- Evasion
- Avoiding capture by the enemy in non-friendly territory.
- Expectant
- Someone who has been wounded or made ill as a result of military action who is not expected to survive.
- Extraction
- Immediate removal of personnel from hostile territory.
- Field hospital
- A temporary hospital set up near a battlefield equipped to provide remedial surgery and post-operative care.
- Field marshal
- An officer of the highest military rank in the British and certain other armies, and of the second highest rank in the French army.
- Fleet
- Collection of forces under a commander’s control; may include forces, ships and aircraft.
- Furlough
- Leave of absence from military duty.
- Garrison
- A body of troops stationed in a fortified place.
- Ground zero
- Point of origin for violent activity (such as where a bomb hits); specific point directly below explosion of a nuclear weapon.
- Guerilla combatants
- Relatively small group of combatants fighting against an organized military force.
- Guerilla warfare
- Small scale, fast-paced actions by guerilla combatants attempting to disrupt much larger opposing forces or competing groups of guerilla combatants.
- Gunnery
- The art and science of the efficient design and use of ordnance, esp artillery.
- Gunpowder
- An explosive mixture, as one made of potassium nitrate, sulfur, and charcoal, used in shells and cartridges, in fireworks, and for blasting.
- Helmet
- Any of various forms of protective head covering worn by soldiers, firefighters, divers, cyclists, etc.
- Howitzer
- A cannon having a comparatively short barrel, used esp. for firing shells at a high angle of elevation, as for reaching a target behind cover or in a trench.
- Hostile act
- An attack or show of force against the homeland.
- Infantry
- Soldiers or military units that fight on foot.
- Infiltrate
- To penetrate enemy lines by military forces in order to attack enemies from inside their own territory.
- Injury
- Harm, damage, or wrong done or suffered.
- Insurgency
- Rebellious political activity, revolt or rebellion designed to overthrow or weaken a government (or other authority) by its own people.
- Insurrection
- The process of rising up to challenge one’s own government.
- Killing zone
- Area within which military forces seek to force the enemy into for destruction.
- Lieutenant
- A rank in the armed forces above a sergeant and below a captain.
- Logistics
- Process of planning and carrying out troop movements.
- Marksman
- One who is skilled in shooting at a target.
- Mess hall
- A dining hall, esp. at a military base.
- Midshipman
- A student, as at the U.S. Naval Academy, in training for commission.
- Mine
- An explosive device placed in the ground or in the water that is designed to blow up when enemy troops, vehicles, or ships pass near it.
- Missile
- an object or weapon propelled at a target, as a stone, bullet, etc.
- Mortar
- A very short cannon for throwing shells at high angles.Ex:Shells from the enemy mortars.
- Musket
- A heavy, large-caliber gun with a long barrel, once used by infantry soldiers.
- Night-vision goggles
- Special lenses to see in darkness.
- Obstacle
- Natural or artificial barrier that impedes or stops a military unit’s movement.
- Occupation
- Situation in which a particular area is being controlled by a foreign force; typically occurs as a result of armed force and continued threat.
- Parachute
- A folding, circular, fabric device with cords to attach to a person or thing in order to allow it to descend slowly from a height, esp. from an aircraft:
- Paratrooper
- A member of a military unit who is trained to land in combat areas by parachute.
- Penetration
- Breaching and moving through an enemy line or into enemy territory.
- Platoon
- A military unit consisting of two or more squads or sections and a headquarters.
- Political warfare
- Using political means other than direct military action to accomplish objectives.
- POW
- Prisoner of war.
- Raid
- Small scale operation to quickly penetrate hostile territory and accomplish a specific mission before withdrawing; often used to destroy enemy installations or rattle the enemy.
- Rebellion
- Open, usually armed resistance to an established government or recognized authority.
- Reconnoiter
- To inspect, observe, or survey (an enemy position, strength, etc.) in order to gain information for military purposes.
- Retreat
- The withdrawal of a military force before an enemy.
- Revolt
- Renouncing allegiance to or taking action against a government or other authority forces.
- Revolution
- Sudden change in political power brought on by toppling the government to establish a new authority.
- Ribbon
- A strip of material, as satin or rayon, being or representing a medal or similar decoration, esp. a military one.
- Sabotage
- Any underhand interference with production, work, etc., in a plant, factory, etc., as by enemy agents during wartime or by employees during a trade dispute
- Salute
- A gesture of respect, given to a person of higher military rank.
- Security
- Actions taken by a certain command in order to protect its group from sabotage, espionage or observation.
- Shell
- a hollow container filled with explosive and fired from a gun, etc.
- Siege
- The act or process of surrounding and attacking a fortified place in such a way as to force the surrender of the defenders, such as by blocking the delivery of supplies.
- Sniper
- A rifleman who fires from a concealed place, esp a military marksman who fires from cover usually at long ranges at individual enemy soldiers.
- Soldier
- One who works or has worked in military service.
- Special forces
- Highly trained elite military personnel that complete special operations missions via unconventional strategies.
- Stockade
- A defensive wall made from stakes driven upright into the ground. A prison for military personnel.
- Surrender
- To give oneself up, as into the power of another, as by agreeing to stop fighting because of defeat.
- Tank
- An armored combat vehicle, moving on a belt of treads and usually armed with a cannon.
- Truce
- A stopping of hostilities for a certain period of time by agreement of all the warring parties.
- Warfare
- Armed conflict between enemies;the activity of war.
- Weapon
- Any instrument or device for use in attack or defense in combat, fighting, or war, as a sword, rifle, or cannon.
- Withdrawal
- Pulling back military forces; a gradual removal of military presence.
- Zone of fire
- A particular area where a unit delivers or is about to deliver fire.