call sign
[a combination of letters and numbers used to represent certain
persons, teams, operations or organizations, used in radio
communications]
see also: net(work) control station; out station
camouflage netting
[nets with a woodland pattern. Those nets are used to
camouflage positions and vehicles against reconaissance;
especially against aerial reconaissance. ]
camp
[unit which includes dormitories, ablution units, laundries,
recreation halls, power supply, drainage, waste, venting and
water distribution systems; can be soft-walled or hard-walled; for
5, 50 or 150 persons]
cannibalization
[removing serviceable parts and assemblies from an
unrepairable vehicle or item of equipment, to be used to repair
others; in an extended usage: using personnel of one or more
units to complete the authorized strength of another unit]
see also: salvage
cantonment/barracks area
[used alone, "cantonment area" can be used with respect to
troops or to heavy weapons, as in the case of the
implementation of the Dayton Agreement]
cargo manifest
see: load manifest (cargo)
cargo waybill
see: load manifest (cargo)
casualties; cas
[ The total losses of personnel and/ or equipment in an
operation. ]
casualty collection; casualty pick-up
see also: point of wounding
casualty evacuation; CASEVAC
[evacuation from the point of injury to the next suitable level of
care]
see also: medical evacuation; forward aeromedical evacuation; helicopter
evacuation
catalogue of medical items for peace-keeping operations
[lists drugs, consumables and equipment available in the central
UN Medical Depot in Oslo]
cease fire line; CFL
[forward limit of the positions occupied by the troops of the
opposing sides at the suspension of hostilities]
see also: forward defended locations
cease-fire violation; CFV
[involves the firing of weapons by either party]
chain of command
[The succsesion of commanding officers from a supewrior to a
subordinate through which command is execised. Also called
command channel.]
checkpoint; CP; CHP
['checkpoint' can be 3 things: 1. predetermined point along a
route of march where troops or convoys on the move 'check in'
in person at a manned 'control post' and are given further
instructions on the route ahead (synonym of "control post" or
"control point"); 2. predetermined position along a route where
foot, vehicle (or sometimes air) patrols call in their coordinates to
headquarters on the radio net, and report on their progress and
fulfillement of their mission (synonym of "report point" or "report
line"); 3. (the most frequent in a PKO context) a permanent or
temporary, self contained, post, e.g. at an entry point to a BZ,
where troops or MPs stop vehicular and pedestrian traffic
(including civilian) to check documents, frisk passengers, search
cars etc., in order to stop the smuggling of arms, ammunition
and explosives; checkpoints can be static ('fixes') or mobile
('mobiles'); if they are 'closed checkpoints, they are called road
blocks]
see also: vehicle checkpoint; control post; vehicle report(ing) point; closed
checkpoint; snap checkpoint;
static checkpoint; mobile checkpoint; report line
chemical incident report; NBC Chem 1; NBC1
[first report filed in by military observers immediately after a
chemical attack: gives time and place; is followed by further,
more detailed reports]
chicane
[barrels to form a chicane to slow down approaching vehicles at
a checkpoint]
see also: zig-zagged entrance gate
chief administrative (or administration) officer; CAO
[civilian; seconded from NY UN headquarter, and heads the
civilian administrative component; responsible for all
administrative functions (finance and personnel) and technical
services relative to the mission activities; is a D-2 or D-1]
chief, Budget and Administrative Unit; CB/AU
[civilian]
chief, Buildings Management Section; CBMS
[civilian; responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of official
premises and associated equipment and appliances as well as
furniture]
chief communications officer; civilian communication officer;
CCO
[the civilian counterpart to the (military) chief signal officer;
responsible for the civilian-pattern communications equipment;
manages the mission's communications network (radio, satellite,
cryptography equipment and telephones, within mission area
and between it and UNNY; is usually a P-5]
see also: chief signal officer; senior signal officer
chief engineering officer; CEO
[a civilian staff member of the UN who heads the civilian
engineering component of a mission, and who, working in
conjunction with the force engineer officer, is responsible for
field engineer support, accomodation and construction services,
power supply, geopgraphic support (map services), etc.]
see also: force engineer(ing officer)
chief finance officer; CFO
[civilian; exercises delegated authority from the controller for
approving mission payments and maintaining mission accounts;
supervises the Finance Section staff and the preparation of
annual cost estimates and semi-annual programme budget
performance reports; is usually a P-5]
chief General Service (Section)(officer); CGSO; CGS
[civilian; under direction of CAO, manages the administrative
services: offices (incl. ground maintenance), housing
accomodations (incl. mess halls and kitchens); is usually a P-5
or a P-4]
chief humanitarian officer; CHO
[civilian]
chief information coordinating officer; CICO
[UNIFIL; civilian]
chief integrated support services; CISS
[the CISS and the COS exercise joint operational control over
the entire mission logistic support system]
chief logistics officer; CLOGO; CLO
[military staff officer or civilian on the force headquarters staff;
manages planning and liaison services between military and
civilian agencies in the mission area and is the deputy to the
CISS; in UNPROFOR, heads the Supply Office, Food Office,
Maintenance Office, Transportation Office and Medical Office]
chief medical officer; CMO; CmedO
see also: force medical officer; FMO, to avoid confusion with the
acronym CMO (Chief Military Observer)
chief military liaison officer; CMLO
[military officer]
chief military observer; CMO
[military officer]
chief military personnel (administrative) officer; CMPAO; CMPO
[military officer]
chief military public (or press) information officer; CMPIO
[military officer]
see also: chief public information officer
chief military transport officer; CMTO
[military officer]
chief movement control officer; CMCO
[civilian or military officer; responsible for the transportation of
personnel (UNMOs, civpol, and UNVs), the control of hired and
chartered aircraft and ships, for bills of lading, customs
documentation and freight forwarding]
chief of mission; COM
[military personnel appointed by the SG as either as force
commander or chief military observer or civilian UN staff
member appointed by the SG as his Special Representative]
chief of personnel and logistics; CPL
[UNCIVPOL; police officer; aka: chief personnel and logistics
officer (CPLO); the responsibility may sometimes be divided
between a chief personnel officer (CPO) and a chief logistics
officer (CLO)]
chief of staff; COS
[military officer; the commander of UNTSO, alone of all PKOs, is
still termed 'Chief of Staff' (COS); otherwise the term is reserved
for national military]
see also: deputy chief of staff; assistant chief of staff
chief operations officer; COO
[military officer; heads the operations staff]
chief procurement officer; CPO; chief of procurement
[civilian; under the CAO, plans and budgets the procurement of
goods and servies, both locally and regionally, in coordination
with the Logistics Section, for the timely provision of rations,
equipment, stores, other supplies and contractual services;
controls bidding process; is usually a P-5]
chief signals officer
[military officer; responsible for the military-pattern
communications equipment; is the military counterpart to the
(civilian) CCO]
see also: chief communications officer
chief transport(ation) officer; CTO
[civilian; under the supervision of the chieff of ISS, is responsible
for the allocation of vehicle transport to staff; supervises local
mechanics and drivers; may run a motor pool of UN-owned and
rental (civilian-pattern) vehicles; is usually a P-5]
choke point; defile
[a passage through which military forces and mat‚riel must
transit because of geographic or infrastructure constraints, and
where they become vulnerable to interdiction]
civil affairs; CA
[US army; e.g., CA officer, specialist, personnel, unit, battalion,
assets, operation]
civil-military operation center; CMOC
[in a PKO which contains substantial civilian elements, a civilian-military structure of integrated support services may be
established to perform liaison and coordination between the
military support structure, NGOs, PVOs and local authorities;
e.g. the CMOC was opened by US Joint Task Force Support
Hope in Entebbe (Uganda) and Kigali (Rwanda); in Haiti, UNMIH
has an integrated civilian/military headquarters]
see also: civil-military cooperation
Civilian Police Unit; CPU
[Planning Division/Office of Planning and Support/DPKO]
Claims Administration Unit; CAU
[Claims and Information Management Section, Finance
Management and Support Service, Field Administration and
Logistics Division, Office of Planning and Support, Department
of Peace-keeping Operations; the unit processes claims for
reimbursement from troop-contributing countries, and as of
1996, deals with COE backlog, death and disability, wet/dry
leases, LOAs, third party claims and commercial disputes]
Claims and Information Management Section
[Finance Management and Support Service, Field Administration
and Logistics Division, Office of Planning and Support,
Department of Peace-keeping Operations; as of 1996, replaces
the Review and Analysis Section]
Claymore mine
[antipersonnel mine used for area protection: e.g. used by foot
patrols as perimeter defence overnight]
close fire report
see: firing close (to a position) report
close protection
[the use of cover camouflage, obstacles, antitank weapons,
sentinels and patrols for protection of a unit against attack at
close range]
cluster bomb (unit); CBU
[an aircraft store (a thin-walled canister) containing and
dispersing submunitions, which can be (anti-personnel or anti-tank) mines, penetration (runway cratering) bomblets,
fragmentation bomblets etc.; a burster charge splits open the
canister after release to disperse the bomblets over a wide area;
some submunitions are fitted with delay or pressure fuzes, to act
as mines (called "minelets"); the CBU itself however should not
be confused with a fragmentation bomb]
see also: munition dispenser
code of conduct
[1. set of principles to be followed by peace-keeping forces,
such as avoidance of force, impartiality, transparency and clarity
of purpose, firmness, reliability, anticipation of situations leading
to violence, integration of different nationalities; 2. the ICRC and
NGO associations have also promulgated one, to regulate the
performance of organizations involved in emergency relief]
collateral damage
[unintended damages, beyond the destruction of the enemy
forces or installations specifically targeted, to surrounding
human and non human resources, either military or nonmilitary,
caused by the spillover of weapons effect (as opposed to the
damage caused by aiming errors)]
collective peace-keeping forces; CPF
[generic term applied to any temporary coalition fomation
mandated as peace-keeping forces by the Council of Heads of
State of CIS; such forces have already been deployed in
Abkhazia (Georgia), concurrently with UNOMIG, and in
Tajikistan, concurrently with UNMOT; statute of CPF in the CIS
was adopted on 19 Jnauary 1996; text in A/51/62, annex V]
column
[a group of vehicles moving under a single commander over the
same route, in the same direction]
see also: packet
combat engineer vehicle; CEV; armoured engineer vehicle; AEV
[a modified main battle tank, with a demolition gun (to reduce
obstacles), a bulldozer blade (to clear debris), an A frame
derrick, a boom and winch assembly, etc.]
combat rations; field rations; composite rations; compo-rations; bulk
rations
[long life reserve ration packs; aka: 'meals ready to eat', or
'MREs' in the US; C rations = canned field rations of US army]
see also: rations; pack rations; ration scale
combat service support; CSS
[generic term used to designate the elements of transport,
maintenance, supply, construction, map services, as well as
medical support, MP, chaplaincy, legal and financial services,
physical education, and recreation and civil affairs; sometimes
seen as 'combat support service]
see also: combat support
combat service support brigade
[ A brigade whose primary mission is to provide service support
to combat forces and which is is part, or prepared to become a
part, of a theater, command, or task force formed for PKO's. ]
combat support; CS
[fire support and other types of operational assistance provided
to combat elements; it may include support from artillery, air
defense, aviation, engineering, signals, electronic warfare units]
see also: combat service support; support; service support;
combined; allied; interallied
see also: combined arms; joint
Combined Air Operations Center; CAOC
[tactical integration of infantry, armor and artillery, as well as
supporting arms such as engineer, anti-tank, reconnaissance and
air defence units (helicopters)]
combined joint task force; CJTF
[concept approved by NATO leaders in January 1994, under
which US materiel and forces designated for NATO operations
can now be made available for non-NATO activities in out-of-(NATO)area operations, such as those humanitarian relief or
peacekeeping operations initiated by WEU to deal with regional
instabilities and ethnic conflicts]
see also: building-block approach
Combined Rescue Coordination Center; CRCC
[US-French center to coordinate operations of Combat Search
and Rescue (of downed pilots) in the former Yugoslavia; based
in Brindisi (Italy)]
command
[ 1. The authority that a commander in the military Service
lawfully exercises over subordinates by virtue of rank or
assignment. Command includes the authority and responsibility for
effectively using available resources and for planning the
employment of, organizing, directing, coordinating, and controlling
military or other peace keeping forces for the accomplishment of
assigned missions. It also includes responsibility for health, welfare,
morale, and discipline of assigned personnel.
2. An order given by a commander, that is, the will of the
commander expressed for the purpose of bringing about a particular
action.
3. A unit or units, an organization, or an area under the
command of one individual.
4. To dominate by a field of weapon fire or by observation from a
superior position. ]
command and control
[The exercise of command that is the process through which the
activities of military forces are directed, coordinated, and controlled
to accomplish the mission. This process encompasses the personnel, equipment, communications, facilities, and proceduers
necessary to to gather and analyze information, to plan for what
is to be done, and to supervise the execution of operations. ]
command, control, communication, computer and intelligence;
C4I
command post;
[a unit's or subunit's headquarters where the commander and
his staff operate. A CP consists of those coordinating and
special staff activities and representatives from supporting Army
elements and other services that may be necessary to carry out
operations. ]
commanding officer; CO
[a commanding officer (CO) leads a larger unit than an officer
commanding (OC)]
see also: battalion commanding officer (note); officer commanding
commando
[e.g.: Navy SEAL (sea-air-land) commando [US]; special
(operations) forces; SOF]
commercial maintenance and repair unit
[standby forces standard component; undertakes second and
third line repairs of UN-owned fleet of vehicles up to three
regions or sectors]
commissioned officer
[officer appointed to the grade of lieutenant or higher (up to the
four-star general)]
communications and electronics operating instructions; CEOI
[standing operating procedures describing the communication
requirements and available facilities, the concept of operation for
satellite, radio, landline communications, etc.]
company; COY; coy
[the basic administrative and tactical unit in most arms and
services (in the US), which is subordinate to a battalion and
consists of several platoons (normally 3 or 4 rifle platoons and a
heavy weapons platoon)]
company net
[ the communication network on a company level. ]
see: radio net
complex emergency
[Department of Humanitarian Affairs; a humanitarian crisis of an
essentially political nature, i.e. which involves a complete
disruption of authority resulting from internal or external conflicts
and requires an international response beyond the mandate of a
single agency or country programme]
Complex Emergency Support Unit; CESU
[Department of Humantarian Affairs/United Nations Office in
Geneva]
composite supply unit
[standby forces standard component; provides second and third
line supply beyond the self-sufficiency of military units, receives
and issues all supplies, maintains general and technical stores,
controls inventory]
composite transport unit
[standby forces standard component; provides light, medium
and heavy cargo transport beyond the self-sufficiency of military
units, and maintenance to unit-owned vehicles]
concurrent jurisdiction
[with respect to serious violations committed in the territory of
the former Yugoslavia since 1991, there is concurrent
jurisdiction of the International Tribunal and national courts; this
concurrent jurisdiction, however, should be subject to the
primacy of the International Tribunal; at any stage of the
procedure, the International Tribunal may formally request the
national courts to defer to the competence of the International
Tribunal]
conflicting parties; parties-to-the-conflict
[ The parties involed in a conflict. This may two or more different
countries or two or more different parties in a countrie. ]
confrontation line; CL
[aka: line of contact, a general trace delineating the location
where two opposing forces are engaged]
consent mandate
[refers to operations mandated under Chapter VI of the Charter]
see also: enforcement mandate
constabulary function
[possible function of the military in the future: to prevent use of
the air, sea or land for proscribed activities, or to enforce
embargoes, no-fly-zones or civil order]
construction engineering officer; CEO
[CEO may also refer to a chief engineer officer]
consumable items; consumables
[such as food, POL, medical and defence stores, vehicle spare
parts, ammunition]
see also: non-expendable items
container accomodation (module)
[hard-walled prefabricated building, modular and based on 20'
ISO container configuration: the base and roof of these units are
completely pre-built, and walls are knocked-down and are
packed between the roof and floors of each unit; several such
modules can be interconnected]
see also: hard-walled camp; soft-walled camp
contingency operation plan; COP
[formal directive in the same format as operation orders
designed to meet a contingency which is expected but not yet
imminent]
see also: operations plan; operation orders
contingency package
[whereby "type" operations would be planned, utilizing
information based on the standby arrangements system]
contingency plan(ning)
[it involves preparing likely courses of action dealing with a
range of potential scenarios; and extends into preparatory
activities (preparation of maps, identification of sources of
equipment and supplies, prepositioning of communicaitons and
identification of possible troop contributing states)]
see also: mission-specific contingency planning; generic contingency
planning
contingent; CON
[mostly forming a blendword with the designation of the nation,
as in AUSCON(Austrian Contingent), BRITCON (British
Contingent), CANCON (Canadian Contingent), etc]
contingent base camp; base camp
[the battalion headquarters often serves as the contingent base
camp]
contingent commander; CCOMD
[ The officier in charge who commands the contingent. ]
contingent-owned equipment; COE
[military equipment brought to the mission area by infantry or
logistics contingents with prior agreement of the UN secretariat
becomes a UN responsibility, and governments are reimbursed
for its depreciation]
see also: letter of assist; United Nations owned equipment; national owned
equipment; host nation owned
equipment
contract maintenance
[the maintenance of material, performed under contract by
commercial organizations]
contracts and claims (unit)
[part of procurement services of the administrative division of
missions; is FS or GS]
controlled crossing point; CCP
see also: border crossing point; uncontrolled crossing point
convoy escort
[refers both
1. to the unit assigned to accompany and protect a convoy of
vehicle from being scattered, destroyed or captured, and
2. to the mission entrusted to the unit]
see also: refugee escort; POW escort; escort patrol
corpsman; medic
[member of medical corps, trained in combat first aid,
accompanying the foot patrols]
course of action; COA
[1. any sequence of activity that an individual member or a
military unit may follow; 2. in wargaming, the possible COAs
available to each warring party are explored along with their
respective consequences and the reactions of the other parties]
[2. A possible plan open to an individual or commander that
would accomplish or is related to accomplishment of the mission.
3. A feasible way to accomplish a task or mission which follows
the guidance given, will not result in undue damage/ risk to the
command, and is noticeably different from other actions being considered.]
covered route
[ A route which is secured by covering forces or other covering
measures. ]
crew-served weapon
[A weapon which has to be handled by more than one soldier.
the category includes machine guns, cannon, antitank weapons,
mortar and fire control]
see also: personal weapon
critical item
[logistics; an essential item which is in short supply or expected
to be in short supply for an extended period]
cross-servicing
[ That servicing performed by one service or national element for
other services or national elements and for which the othert services
or national elements may be charged. ]
crossing point; Xing Pt; XP
see also: border crossing point; controlled crossing point; uncontrolled
crossing point
Current Operations Unit; COU
[Logistics and Communications Service, Field Administration
and Logistics Division, Office of Planning and Support,
Department of Peacekeeping Operations]
FEEDBACK If you have some queries or updates for this page, you can e-mail to : peace-keeping-training@un.org or you may fax to us at New York (212)963 9061.