back-up supply [to plan (beyond and above the initial supply) a back-up supply to last for the duration of the mission as a shipment to be sent later] see also: initial supply
backchannel diplomacy [secret lines of communication held open between two adversaries, often through an informal (non-diplomatic) intermediary or through a third party]
backstopping function [refers essentially to the overall direction, assistance and guidance given by various departments and offices at Headquarters to peace-keeping operations (including administrative, personnel and logistic support, purchasing and accounting, etc.)]
ballistic protection [techniques for the protection of personnel (and materiel) against projectiles of all kinds, such as protective blankets for vehicles or a deminer's protective gear (jackets, helmets, trousers etc)]
barrier [ Any object used to stop the movement of vehicles. ]
barrier pole [used at permanent vehicle checkpoints to stop traffic]
battalion; BATT; BAT; bn a unit composed of a headquarters and 2 or more companies or batteries (artillery), of anywhere from 300 to 1000 soldiers, and commanded by a lieutenant colonel; it may be part of a regiment or of a brigade); within PKOs, infantry battalions normally contain a headquarter, at least 3 rifle companies, a headquarters company reinforced to provide second-line support, a maintenance platoon (field repairs of vehicle, and equipment, including generators and refrigerators), an assault pioneers platoon (engineers and tradesmen), a medical unit, a signals unit, a transport unit; on UN PKO deployment maps, battalion is denoted with the acronym BATT (traditional, formal military usage in UK and UN) or BAT (used by NATO, US and Canadian army, and often preferred by officers in the field); it is preceded by letters indicating its country of origin: AUSBATT (Austrian Battalion) POLBAT (Polish bn), DANBAT (Danish bn), BELBAT (Belgian bn), ARGBAT (Argentinian bn), BRIBAT or BRITBAT (British bn), JORBAT (Jordanian bn), KENBAT (Kenyan bn), FRENCHBAT (French bn), CZECHBAT (Czech bn), EGYBAT (Egyptian bn), RUSBAT (Russian bn), NEPBAT (Nepalese bn), NIBAT (Nigerian bn), UKRBAT (Ukrainian bn) etc., and/or its role, e.g. LOGBAT (logistic bn), TRANSBAT (transport bn), CANENGBAT (canadian engineer bn), FINCONSTRBAT (Finnish construction bn), FRELOGBAT (French logistics bn.), (NL)UNSIGBAT (Dutch Signals bn.), BRITMEDBAT (UK medical bn).
battalion commanding officer ; battalion CO see also: commanding officer
battalion mobile reserve; BMR [ Mobile portion of a body of troops of a battallion which is kept in the rear, or withheld from action at the beginning of an engagement, available for a decisive moment. ]
battalion net [ The organization of the frequencies, a battalion is using for its radio operations. ] see: radio net
battle stress reaction; battle fatigue; battle shock reaction; combat stress [ The reactions to situations that place extraordinary pressure upon a soldier with stress symptoms. Symptoms are for example: burn out; flame out; personnel exhaustion; lethargic behaviour. Peace keepers are exposed regulary to both minor and major incidents which can result in battle stress reaction. ]
berm [can be an anti-tank obstacle and an entrenchment for tanks]
biological and chemical warfare; BCW [in the case of PKOs, concerns mostly chemical warfare]
bivouac (to) [to be encamped in tents, or other soft- walled camps temporary. ]
bladder tank; collapsible bladder; bladder; flexible tank; flexitank [rectangular]; collapsible drum [cylindrical and towable] [they are used for transport and for storage of water, fuel and chemicals and come in various sizes and capacities (e.g. 50,000 or 20,000, or 1,000 gallons, down to jerrican-sized flexible containers); some are rectangular and can be transported on trucks, some are drum shaped and are helitransportable (slung from a helicopter) and towable]
blast-wall [a generic term which can refer to: thick concrete walls, sandbag walls, earth mounds, and, more rarely, trenches (in this case the surrounding ground is used as a natural barrier)] see also: revetment; Hesco Bastion; traverse
blockade [procedure whereby a belligerent nation prevents the access of its enemy's coast to vital shipping of foodstuffs and war materials (maritime blockade, "blocus maritime"); in peacetime, can be used as a means of pressure by one power against another (pacific blockade, "blocus pacifique"): it leaves the door open for negociations] see also: sanctions
booby trap [A device to kill or maim an unsuspecting personwho disturbs an apparently harmless object or performs a normally safe act. ]
border control [full border control requires a capability to deny passage and to act where borders had already been closed, whereas border monitoring involves observing and reporting on movements only] see also: border monitoring
border crossing point; BCP see also: controlled crossing point; uncontrolled crossing point
border monitoring [international observers only observe and report and are not in a position to check the nature of goods crossing the border] see also: border control
boundary disclaimer [a statement on a map or chart that the status or alignment of international or administrative boundaries is not necessarily recognized by the government of the publishing nation]
brassard; armband; armlet [UN issue brassard is blue wool; but tan brassards are also used, to which the UN shoulder sleeve insigna is fixed]
break bulk; load splitting; transfer of cargo [the act of unloading and distributing a portion or all of the content of a cargo-carrying vehicle] see also: transshipment; aerial port
brevity code [a code which provides no security but which has as its sole purpose the shortening to messages rather than concealment of their content]
bridge [military bridges are of 3 main types : 1. scissor-type launched bridges (foldable and often laid by an armoured vehicle); 2. floating (or pontoon or ribbon) bridges (several flotation units are assembled side by side to span a river, but are transported folded); 3. dry support bridges (e.g. Bailey bridges), built of standardized panels and used for lines of communication (highways and railways)] see also: scissor assault bridge; dry support bridge; pontoon bridge; expedient bridge
briefback; briefing [ before an operation begins, the involved units are informed about operation goals, the situation, special orders, etc.] see also: briefing; debriefing
brigade [an army formation including usually three battalions, that may be independent or subordinate to a division, and is normally organized on combined-arms principles]
Brigade Commander [of the proposed Multinational UN Stand-by Forces High-Readiness Brigade; would be appointed for 2 years]
Brigade Pool [set of military units under UNSAS, whose number exceeds the force requirement for the Brigade when it is deployed so that the deployment of the Brigade is not compromised if a State participating int the pool decides to abstain from providing troops for a specific mission; the requirement for individual Participating Nations to be able to decide on a case-by-case basis whether to participate in an actual peace-keeping mission makes it necessary to have access to a Brigade Pool containing duplicates of the various units which make up the Brigade, allowing for a certain degree of interchangeability between units of identical types assigned to the Brigade by different Participating Nations; besides, this makes it posible to tailor parts of the Brigade to the requirement of a specific mission, where an enhanced capacity is required in special functional areas] see also: affiliation; Multinational UN Stand-by Forces High-Readiness Brigade.
Brigade Staff [of the proposed Multinational UN Stand-by Forces High-Readiness Brigade]
brown-water operations [ Patrol operations in rivermouthes, or rivers (for example to monitor a border). Not to be confused with blue- or green water operations. ] see also: blue-water operations; green-water operations.
buddy system organisation en bin mes [a system that requires two (or more) persons to work together and give each other mutual protection and assistance]
budget officer [of a PKO's finance section; civilian; usually a P-3]
buffer zone; BZ; UNBZ [also known as area of separation; neutral space created by withdrawal of both hostile parties; a demilitarized zone where the parties have agreed not to deploy military forces; the cease-fire lines, marked and often fenced or wired on either side of the buffer zone, indicate the agreed forward limits of the contending forces; the cease-fire lines are observed, patrolled and perhaps occupied by the peace-keeping force; the buffer zone itself may be placed under the control of a PKO] see also: cease-fire line; area of separation; area of limitation in armaments; demilitarized zone; security zone
building management officer [of a PKO's engineering and maintenance section; civilian; responsible for the management (contractual arrangements, provision of utilities and waste management) of all premises; is a FS]
bypass Manouvering around an obstacle, position, or troops to maintain the momentum of advavantage.
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