I'm going to start on a new story soon, one that will involve a lot of military stuff. So I was hoping someone on here could give me some information on military lingo, or direct me to a place where I could learn more about it. I'm just trying to find out as much as I can so I'm properly prepared to write my story, if anyone can tell me anything I'd really appreciate it.

A simple Google search on "Military lingo" turns up a wealth of sites and references for words, alphabets, slang, etc, etc. Google search is your friend.

Maybe this will help: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR4JGJPCeCjhLt53uV3AGVw

7903949

7903950
Thanks for the suggestions

7903944
This isn't something I can help directly on, but maybe worth bearing in mind that most of the stuff you'll get via Google etc is likely to be American military lingo. That probably works fine for Pony , but it might be handy if you want something like an allied though foreign character and plan to use that as a plot point. Where I live (the UK) for example, there's no such thing as an Air Force colonel, since the RAF has its own ranks (Squadron Leader, etc).

7903991
Okay, thanks.

Depending on how thorough you want to be, it's also worth considering the whys and wherefores of the paradigm and figuring out how Equestria in paticular (if that's who you're modeling) would organize things. As an alternative to simply copy pasting the American military code in or what have you.

7903944
Just play a few Call of Duty games, for what they worth, they will get you up to speed pretty quickly on military lingo.
But also, as it was noted earlier, this is also only good for American military lingo.

7903944

Everything will depend on the era, the plot of which will be present in your story. There really are a lot of subtleties here.

However, we are writing about another world that has its own laws. There is no complete similarity with the human world.

A lot of military lingo is branch specific. Which branch will you be writing about mostly?

7904123
Probably mostly the army, I think.

7903944
Ask
https://www.fimfiction.net/user/5679/Jake+The+Army+Guy

7903944

What do you want to know?

7904833
A few things really. General military lingo. What daily army life is like. The standard weapons and vehicles they use. How they act when responding to a threat. The differences between different branches. That kind of thing.

-PS, thanks to suggestions from others on this thread, I've looked up military lingo on google and have been reading up on it, so you don't have to worry too much about that.

7904843

Honestly, that's a lot of info. Like, Daily life changes, well, daily. Typically Physical training, PT, in the mornings, then we work 9-5 doing whatever our job is, Monday through Friday. Standard issue rifle is the M-16, though the shorter M-4 is also widely used. Vehicles can range from Humvees, armored personnel carriers like the M2 Bradley, a tank like the M1 Abrams, mobile artillery platforms like the M109 Paladin or MLRS, or helicopters like the AH-64 Apache attack helicopter or the UH-60 Black Hawk utility helicopter. Officers are referred to as Sir or Ma'am, Non-Commissioned Officers, NCOs, are addressed as either Sergeant, First Sergeant, or Sergeant Major, depending on the ranks, Warrant Officers are referred to as either sir/ma'am, or Chief:

This is an extremely gross simplification, but the branches typically operate in war like this:

Marines - Initial attack
Army - initial attack/occupation
Air Force - Air support
Navy - Naval warfare
Coast Guard - Guards the US coastal waters

In each branch, there are countless specialties, AKA jobs. Infantry, Artillery, Armor, cooks, mechanics, Military Police, Public Affairs. Outside of the combat jobs, pretty much every job in the civilian sector you can do in the military, but for way less pay usually.

Other than that, you'll have to be more specific.

7905091

Daily life changes, well, daily. Typically Physical training, PT, in the mornings, then we work 9-5 doing whatever our job is, Monday through Friday.

Did you ever go on training exercises or patrols, and what were they like if you did? And are there any specific jobs you remember doing a lot when you were serving?

This is an extremely gross simplification, but the branches typically operate in war like this:

Marines - Initial attack
Army - initial attack/occupation
Air Force - Air support
Navy - Naval warfare
Coast Guard - Guards the US coastal waters

So if I've got it right, wartime efforts look something like this. The Marines are the first wave sent in, followed by the army and air support, is that right?

In each branch, there are countless specialties, AKA jobs. Infantry, Artillery, Armor, cooks, mechanics, Military Police, Public Affairs.

So I think I understand what most of these are supposed to be, but could you possibly describe each occupation in greater detail so I could have a better understanding of them?

7905109

Will reply tomorrow.

7905158
Okay, I'll be waiting.

7905109

Did you ever go on training exercises or patrols, and what were they like if you did? And are there any specific jobs you remember doing a lot when you were serving?

Combat MOS, Military Occupational Specialties, typically do one or two big field exercises a year. A whole company will spend a week or so out in the woods or wherever playing war games, practicing their specific jobs. For example, I was a tanker, and twice a year we would do Gunnery, where we spend two weeks out at huge firing ranges shooting training rounds at targets in various scenarios. Other than that, training is what we do all the time. Also, twice a year every soldier regardless of MOS has to qualify with their M16/M4 at shooting ranges. If we're not out at some field op, we're doing maintenance on our tanks, weapons, equipment, rehearsing safety drills or reading manuals. LOTS of weapon maintenance.

So if I've got it right, wartime efforts look something like this. The Marines are the first wave sent in, followed by the army and air support, is that right?

Sort of? Like I said, I gave a very generic overview. When we invade Iraq in 2003, all the branches moved at once, though IIRC the Marines were at the very front, and air support is a constant.

So I think I understand what most of these are supposed to be, but could you possibly describe each occupation in greater detail so I could have a better understanding of them?

Infantry: ground troops
Artillery: fires big rounds from far away, offering support
Armor: tanks
Combat engineers: builds things and demolishing things

Here is a huge list of every MOS in the Army, with links to what they specifically do. I hope this helps!

7905264

Combat MOS, Military Occupational Specialties, typically do one or two big field exercises a year. A whole company will spend a week or so out in the woods or wherever playing war games, practicing their specific jobs. For example, I was a tanker, and twice a year we would do Gunnery, where we spend two weeks out at huge firing ranges shooting training rounds at targets in various scenarios. Other than that, training is what we do all the time. Also, twice a year every soldier regardless of MOS has to qualify with their M16/M4 at shooting ranges. If we're not out at some field op, we're doing maintenance on our tanks, weapons, equipment, rehearsing safety drills or reading manuals. LOTS of weapon maintenance.

How many people does a company usually consist of? And when you're out playing war games, do you go radio-silent, or are you in contact with people outside your company? And what kind of games do you play exactly?

The number of people depends on what type if unit it is. A typical tank company has about 64 or so. Not sure about the others.

No need for radio silence when we're out in the field. We're just doing drills, practicing combat maneuvers, mock engagements, things like that. "Train as you fight" is the typical motto.

To be honest, daily life in the military when not deployed is way more mundane than most people think. Like I said, outside of field exercises or deployments, it's just a 9-5 job.

7905418

No need for radio silence when we're out in the field. We're just doing drills, practicing combat maneuvers, mock engagements, things like that. "Train as you fight" is the typical motto.

So no radio silence, huh? Okay so answer me this? If a company were to go "missing" while on an exercise - say, I don't know, through a portal to a certain other world - how long would it be before anyone noticed they were gone?

7905488
Within a few hours, most likely. They do have to call in to let the higher ups in their chain of command what they're up to. Though be warned, most units out in a field exercise wouldn't be very combat effective, as they wouldn't have a lot of live rounds. Most ammo is held at what's called an AHA, ammo holding area, and is transported to the unit in the field the day they are gonna be shooting. And bigger weapon platforms like artillery, tanks, and what not wouldn't have actual rounds, but training rounds which fire accurately, but don't have any explosive payload.

If you're wanting this unit to be fit to fight, the better idea would them be being pulled from an active war zone.

7905491

Within a few hours, most likely. They do have to call in to let the higher ups in their chain of command what they're up to. Though be warned, most units out in a field exercise wouldn't be very combat effective, as they wouldn't have a lot of live rounds. Most ammo is held at what's called an AHA, ammo holding area, and is transported to the unit in the field the day they are gonna be shooting. And bigger weapon platforms like artillery, tanks, and what not wouldn't have actual rounds, but training rounds which fire accurately, but don't have any explosive payload.

If you're wanting this unit to be fit to fight, the better idea would them be being pulled from an active war zone.

Okay, let's shelve the combat effectiveness for a moment. If a company were to disappear, how soon would the higher-ups start looking for them, and would they know exactly where to look?

Would you mind if I explained in greater detail what I was hoping to have happen in this part of the story, so that way you could help me figure out the best way to start it?

If a whole unit in the field suddenly vanished, it would probably be a few hours, like I said. As for where to look for them, the higher ups know which range/field area the unit is at at all times. A unit has to reserve a range months ahead of time, so they know exactly where the unit would be.

7905689
Okay, so I had a scenario in my mind about the start of my story, but from what you've described, it wouldn't have really played out that way in real life. So I devised an alternative, and I would like your thoughts.

A company out on a training exercise finds a strange anomaly out in the jungle, and a team is sent to investigate, soon finding themselves in another world - it's this weird one with talking magical horses, you probably haven't heard of it - However, it's not long before all contact is lost with this team and a defensive perimeter is set up around the portal, with maybe another team going in after them. Does that sound plausible?

7905955

Very much so. If there was some visible anomaly, that is a very plausible scenario.

7906042

Okay, great, just a couple more questions. When it comes to the defensive perimeter around the portal, would it be set up after the team went missing, or before? Also, would any of the soldiers be carrying smartphones with them, or would they normally leave them behind? I'm asking because depending on your answer, it will change when something in my story happens.

In the field we always had our phones. We're not always in an exercise, so on down time we can use our phones like normal.

I would say that once it's been established that the portal is dangerous in some way, they would cordon it off.
7906294

7906587
Okay, thanks. Now I asked this before, but when the first team goes missing would they send in a second team to find them?

7906751

Like, through the portal? I have no idea. If you mean just missing in general, then yeah, they'd begin a search as soon as the team came up missing.

7906900
Alright, I think that answers all the questions I have. Thanks for the help, I really appreciate it.

7906903
No problem!

7907027
Hey, I'm starting to begin work on my story, and I have a couple questions, one of them being a new one that's come up, and one that I didn't think to ask before.

The first question is this, in my story, a character is about to go off with his company on a training exercise. But the day before, he takes the day to spend time with his family, like going to the beach or something. Would the soldier be able to do something like that in real life, or is what I'm describing unrealistic?

The second question is you said that you were part of a tank unit, but what kind of other units are there?