D

• daily allowance to troops see: United Nations daily allowance for troops

• danger area (UXO/UXB) [ A specified area above , below, or within which there may be potential danger. ]

• Database Collection Unit [Mission Planning Service, DPKO]

• date departed mission; DDM [date when departed from mission area]

• date of arrival; DOA [in mission area]

• datum [the datum includes both a reference system (a mathematical assumption regarding the shape of the earth, or spheroid), such as the WGS 84, and a projection (usually UTM for low and middle latitudes, and Lambert for very high (polar) latitudes); the military grid reference system is based on the WGS 84 reference system and the UTM projection]

• de-facto forces; DFF [unofficial armed groups; paramilitary organizations or independent partisan groups which disown any allegiance to host governements and have no legal or officially recognized status, are commonly called de-facto forces; in UNIFIL, the term refers to Christian and associated militias supported and supplied by Israel]

• debriefing; after-action review; AAR [the procedure of extracting from a serviceman facts, comments, or recommendations concerning his previous assignment or experience; also found: "after-action reports"] see also: briefing; briefback

• decontamination [ The process of making any person, object, or area safe by absorbing, destroying, neuralizing, making harmless, or removing chemical or biological agents, or by removing radioactive material clinging or to around it. ]

• degrade (to) (someone's ability or efficiency) [falling short of complete and outright destruction, some military actions aim at making the other side less able to perform its mission, i.e. degrading its combat effectiveness, weapons' performance, fighting ability, etc.]

• delineation [of boundary lines and zones of separation on a map, as opposed to physical demarcation] see also: marking; physical demarcation

• demarcation line; DL; D/L see also: armistice demarcation line (ADL)

• demilitarized zone; DMZ; DZ [area between the forward line of the parties, into which they have agreed not to deploy military forces and which may be placed under the control of a PKO] see also: buffer zone; area of separation

• demurrage [logistics; a charge allowed in freight tariffs or by contract, assessed against a consignor, consignee or other responsible person for delays to transportation in excess of time for loading, unloading, reconsigning, or stopping in transit]

• Department of Peace-keeping Operations; DPKO

• Department of Political Affairs; DPA [one of its functions is in preventive diplomacy]

• deployment phase [logistics; third phase in a peace-keeping operation, during which personnel and equipment are transported to the area of operation] see also: stand-by phase; mounting phase; sustainment phase; redeployment phase

• deputy chief of mission; DCM [military officer or civilian; ASG; oversees refugee management, infrastructure rebuilding etc; in the absence of the SRSG, is responsible for the operation of the mission]

• deputy chief of staff; DCOS see also: assistant chief of staff

• deputy chief, press and information; DCPI [civilian]

• deputy commanding officer; DCO

• deputy director civil affairs; DDCA [civilian]

• deputy director of operations; DDO [UNCIVPOL; police officer]

• deputy police commissioner; DPC [UNCIVPOL; police officer]

• deputy special representative; DSRSG; resident special representative; RSRSG [civilian; ASG or D-2; acts on behalf of the SRSG during his absence; is usually also the Head of Civil Affairs]

• desk officer [military officer or civilian; within each division of DPKO, responsibility for a peace-keeping operation is assigned to a 'desk', comprising one or more political affairs officers, supported by one or more military officers; a desk can also mean responsibility for a specific region]

• detachment; DET; det [a part of a unit separated from its main organization for duty elsewhere]

• died of battle wound; DOW [medical support; patient reporting; NATO uses "died of wounds received in action"]

• died of non-battle wound; DNBW [medical support; patient reporting]

• died of wounds received in action see: died of battle wound

• direct support [1. support given by a member State from its own integral logistic unit directly to its contingent deployed on a UN operation; 2. stocks held or obtained within the mission area, to replenish first line holdings as they are consumed] see also: organizational support; general support; second-line stocks

• directive [military communications in which policy is established or a specific action is ordered governing conduct or procedure; normally issued and signed by the highest military authority in the operation] see also: instruction

• director (of) civil affairs; DCA [civilian]

• director of administration; DOA [civilian; aka: chief administrative officer (CAO)]

• director of operations; DO [UNCIVPOL; police officer]

• disease and non-battle injury casualty; DNBI casualty [medical support; patient reporting]

• disease and non-battle injury rate; DNBI rate [expressed as a daily percentage rate or as 2 separate rates (one for diseases and one for non-battle injuries); the rate is used for medical support planning purposes]

• displaced person; DP

• disposition; layout; deployment [the distribution of the elements of a command within an area, incl. usually the exact location of each unit headquarters and the deployment of the forces subordinate to it] see also: force package; task force

• distribution point [logistics; point of issue of materiel to units] see also: point of reception; distribution system

• distribution system [system of facilities, installations, methods and procedures designed to receive, store, maintain, distribute and control the flow of military materiel between the point of reception into mission area and the point of issue to using units] see also: distribution point; point of reception

• division [a major administrative and tactical unit in which is combined the necessary arms and services required to operate independently and for sustained combat; larger than a regiment or brigade and smaller than a corps; a division may have 3 regiments plus supporting units and is commanded by a major (two star) general]

• Doctors without Borders; M‚decins sans frontiŠres; MSF [humanitarian NGO]

• doctrine of operations [a broad statement of policy that incorporates acceptable techniques, procedures and methodologies to guide operations and resolve issues likely to be encountered in the field]

• down time [1. interval between the receipt of a request for supplies at a depot and their delivery to the troops (syn. of "lead time"); 2. the time during which an equipment is not available because of maintenance] see also: vehicle off the road days

• dragon teeth [wedge-shaped concrete anti-tank obstacles laid in multiple rows] see also: tank stop

• driver's accident report [form detailing the date, place, circumstances of the accident, the vehicle and persons involved etc.]

• drop zone; dropping zone; DZ [area designated for the parachute insertion of airborne forces or stores] see also: airdrops

• drop-off point; DOP [coordinates on a map and place where troops are dropped by helicopter (e.g. behind enemy lines)] see also: helisite; helicopter drop point

• dry lease (arrangements) (or system) [a contingent-owned equipment reimbursement system whereby the troop-contributing country provides equipment to a peace-keeping mission and the UN assumes responsibility for maintaining; the equipment may be operated either by the equipment-owning country or by another country] see also: wet lease (arrangements)

• dump [ A temporary storage area for logistics; fuel or ammunition]

• Duty Room; Joint Operations Centre; JOC [part of the Situation Centre; it serves as the UNHQ point of contact for field missions and for permanent missions of Member States and prepares daily Situation Centre reports] see also: duty desk officer

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