Richard Bowyer - Dictionary of Military Terms

DICTIONARY OF

MILITARY TERMS

THIRD EDITION

Easier English titles

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DICTIONARY OF MIL ITARY TERMS

THIRD EDITION

Richard Bowyer

A & C Black London

Originally published in 1999 by Peter Collin Publishing

Second edition published 2002 Third edition published 2004 by Bloomsbury Publishing Plc

Reprinted 2007 by A&C Black Publishers Ltd 38 Soho Square, London W1D 3HB

Copyright Richard Bowyer 1999, 2002, 2004 Copyright A&C Black and Richard Bowyer 2007

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publishers.

A CIP record for this book is available from the British Library eISBN-13: 978-1-4081-0210-7

Text Production and Proofreading Katy McAdam, Heather Bateman, Stephen Curtis, Emma Harris

This book is produced using paper that is made from wood grown in managed, sustainable forests. It is natural, renewable and recyclable. The logging and manufacturing processes conform to the environmental regulations of the country of origin.

Text processed and typeset by A&C Black Printed in Spain by GraphyCems

Preface

English is the language most frequently used in international military and peacekeeping operations. This dictionary aims to provide a basic vocabulary of British and American terms relating to the three services, and covers subjects such as rank, organization, training, operations in the field, logistics, radio communications, and some of the more common weapons and equipment currently in use. In addition, there are selected items of general vocabulary relating to geography, terrain, weather, medical treatment and other relevant matters. New terms used by the media in reporting on recent conflicts are also included, making this an ideal reference source for anyone involved in teaching English to the military or armed police forces.

Definitions are written in simple English, making them easily accessible to anyone with a basic knowledge of the language, and phonetic symbols are used to show the correct pronunciation. Encyclopedic comments are provided where necessary and most entries include example sentences, showing how the words and expressions are used in practice.

At the back of the book is a supplement of further useful information on topics such as ranks, the phonetic alphabet, formal orders, and military grouping symbols.

Pronunciation

The following symbols have been used to show the pronunciation of the main words in the dictionary.

Stress is indicated by a main stress mark ( 1 ) and a secondary stress mark (,). Note that these are only guides, as the stress of the word changes according to its position in the sentence.