P

• palletized load system; PLS [a materials handling equipment, with a hydraulic loading system and a demountable flatrack body, used to transport cargo such as fuel, water, containers, hospital shelters, MLRS pods, missiles and launchers, construction materials and command/control shelters, pallets of ammunition, bridging components; originally 'PLS' referred to a US equipment; a similar equipment is called 'Demountable Rack Off-loading and Pick-up System' (DROPS) in the UK, and, in France, 'systŠme ampliroll' et 'moyen de transport et de manutention' (MTM)] see also: materials handling system; demountable flatrack

• participating state agreement; PSA [agreement between the United Nations and Member States contributing personnel and equipement to a peace-keeping operation; text of model agreement is in: A/46/185] see also: peace-keeping services agreement; model services agreement

• Partnership for Peace; PFP [transitional association status offering to former members of the Warsaw Pact and non-aligned nations the opportunity to cooperate with NATO in peacekeeping, search and rescue, humanitarian and other agreed-to operations]

• patrol [in the context of peace-keeping operations, patrols, mounted and dismounted, are only carried out in an overt, high-profile manner; in a military context, one traditionally distinguishes between "combat patrols", "escort patrols", "reconnaissance patrols", "reconnoitering patrol", "ambush patrols", "standing patrols"]

• payload capacity [ The sum of the weight of passengers and cargo that an aircraft can carry. ] see: external stores load capacity

• peace operations; peace support operations [includes preventive deployments, peacekeeping and peace-enforcement operations, diplomatic activities such as preventive diplomacy, peacemaking and peace building, as well as humanitarian assistance, good offices, fact-finding, electoral assistance]

• peace-building [in the aftermath of conflict; it means identifying and supporting measures and structures which will solidify peace and build trust and interaction among former enemies, in order to avoid a relapse into conflict; often involves elections organized, supervised or conducted by the United Nations, the rebuilding of civil physical infrastructures and institutions such as schools and hospitals, and economic reconstruction] see also: post-conflict peace-building

• peace-keeper; peace-keeping soldier [strictly speaking 'peace-keepers' can include civilian staff (whereas 'peace-keeping soldiers' doesn't); in practice however, the term usually refers to the military component of a peace-keeping operation] see also: civilian peace-keeper

• peace-keeping; PK [hybrid politico-military activity aimed at conflict control, which involves a United Nations presence in the field (usually involving military and civilian personnel), with the consent of the parties, to implement or monitor the implementation of arrangements relating to the control of conflicts (cease-fires, separation of forces etc.), and their resolution (partial or comprehensive settlements) and/or to protect the delivery of humanitarian relief] see also: Chapter VI operation

• peace-keeping operation; PKO [noncombat military operations undertaken by outside forces with the consent of all major belligerent parties and designed to monitor and facilitate the implementation of an existing truce agreement in support of diplomatic efforts to reach a political settlement; 'PKOs' covers: peace-keeping forces, observer missions and mixed operations] see also: observer mission

• Peace-keeping Reserve Fund [used for the start-up phase of new missions]

• peace-keeping services agreement; PSA [Canadian initiative, undertaken to streamline and improve the UN system funding of peace-keeping, under which a contractual arrangement would be established, using standard costs for the provision of military personnel and equipment to peacekeeping missions; the concept was trialed during the UNMIH and should serve as a model agreement for other member nations; the outlines the personnel, materiel or equipment to be provided by the contributing nation, as well as the administrative, logistics and financial responsibilities of both the UN and the Member State regarding the establishment, deployment, support and redeployment of a contingent, detailing reimbursement arrangements so that both parties can predict expenditures against agreed standard costs and can expedite reimbursement through a submission procedure based on the PSA]

• peace-making [diplomatic process of brokering an end to conflict, principally through mediation and negociation, as foreseen under Chapter VI of the UN Charter; military activities contributing to peacemaking include military-to-military contacts, security assistance, shows of force and preventive deployments]

• peace-restoration and conflict-mitigation operation [new and tentative concept applying to the multidimensional operations which, while originally mandated under chapter VI, are forced by realities in the field to turn into a chapter VII operations, as when humanitarian convoys need to be defended by force of arms, or exclusion zone enforced by air strikes] see also: multidimensional peace-keeping; peace-making; peace-enforcement; peace-building; grey area operation; Chapter VI 1/2 operation; robust peace-keeping

• perimeter defences [obstacles and fortifications around a compound, position, observation post, checkpoint etc]

• periodic summary; PERSUM [operational and administrative summary of the major events over the reporting period (usually monthly)]

• petroleum, oil and lubricants (service); POL (service) [ A board term which includes all petroleum and associated products used by the armed forces. ]

• picket screen [in ground combat, a line of outposts positioned ahead of the main force, to provide warning and prevent enemy scouts or reconnaissance forces from determining the location and composition of the main body]

• pillbox [small, low fortification that houses machine guns, antitank weapons, etc., and usually made of concrete, steel, or filled sandbags]

• platoon [an army unit subordinate to the company or battalions, usually grouping four squads (or sometimes sections) under a lieutenant, it varies in size from 24 to 50 men for infantry platoons]

• plot [1. map, chart or graph representing data of any sort; 2. representation on a diagram or chart of the position or course of a target in terms of angles and distances from positions; location of a position on a map or a chart; 3. visual display of a single location of an airborne object at a particular instant in time]

• (civilian) police adviser [police officer; assists the SRSG in the preparation of cooperation agreements with the National Police, and in the supervision of civilian police monitors; advises on human rights verification; is a D-1 or P-5]

• position [a tactically sited location, permanently occupied by armed troops, from where are carried out various operational tasks, such as checkpoints, roadblocks, observation and patrols]

• precision guided munitions; PGM [PGM refers to bombs, missiles and artillery projectiles with a single-shot kill probabilities from ten to one hundred times greater than unguided munitions; this increase in accuracy is made possible by new guidance technologies that reduce the circular error probability of delivery vehicles to twenty meters or less]

• prefabricated accomodation; prefabricated hut; prefabricated unit; Porta Cabin [can be hard-walled or soft-walled] [see also: container accomodation; soft-walled camp; hard-walled camp]

• pre - positioned supplies [supplies located at or near the point of planned use or at other designated locations to reduce reaction time and to ensure resupply.]

• prepositioning [ To place military units, equipment, or supplies at or near the point of planned use or at a designated location to reduce reaction time, and ro insure timely support of a specific force during initial phases of an operation. ] see also: projection

• preventive deployment [of an interpositional force to deter violence in a zone of potential conflict where tension is rising among parties]

• preventive diplomacy [action to prevent disputes from arising between parties, prevent existing disputes from escalating into conflicts and to limit the spread of the latter when they occur]

• prisoner of war; POW [ A detained person as defined in Articles 4 and 5 of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War of August 12,1949. IN vparticular, one, who while engaged in combat under orders of his government, is captured by the armed forces of the enemy. As such, he is entitled to the combatant's privilege of immunity from the municipal law of the capturing state for warlike acts which do not amount to breaches of the law of armed conflict. For example, a prisoner of war may be, but is not limited to, any person belonging to one of the following categories who hws fallen into the power of the enemy: a member of the armed forces, organized militia or volunteer corps; a person who accompanies the armed forces without actually being a member thereof; a member of a merchant marine or civilian aircraft crew not qualifying for more favorable treatment; or individuals who on the approach of the enemy, spontanousley take up arms to resists the invading force. ]

• prisoners-of-war camp; POW camp [ A camp of semi- permanent nature established in the communication zone or zone of interior (home country) for the internment and complete administration of prisoners of war. It may located on, or independent of, other military installations. ]

• private voluntary organization; PVO

• privately owned vehicle; POV

• psychological operations; PSYOPS [ planned psychological operations activities in peace and war directed to enemy, friendly, and neutral audiences in order to influence attitudes and behavior affecting the achievement of political and military objectives. They include strategic psychological activities, psychological consolidation activities, and battlefield psychological activities. ]

• public information officer; press information officer; PIO [1. the title most commonly refers to a UN civilian staff member, seconded from DPI in UN secretariat in NY and assigned to the force commander, who coordinates the activities of public relations officers of national contingents, who serves as liaison between the peace-keeping force and the media and serves in an advisory capacity to the force commander or the special representative of the Secretary-General regarding external relations with the local communities and the media, and who sometimes takes on the functions of spokesperson also; is usually a P-5 or P-4; 2. the title may sometimes refer to the information officer of a contingent, who is only responsible for informing the public of his home country on the activities of his particular contingent and for providing members of his contingent with news from the home country and from within the contingent] see also: military press (or public) information officer; public relations officer

• public relations officer; PRO [military officer (of a contingent); only responsible for informing the public of his home country on the activities of his particular contingent and for providing members of his contingent with news from the home country and from within the contingent; synonym with "contingent public information officer"] see also: public information officer

• purchasing and processing officer [of a PKO's procurement section; civilian]

• pyrotechnics; pyrotechny [ Ammunition containing chemicals that produce a smoke or brilliant light in burning, used for signaling or for lighting up an area at night. Includes explosives and launching gas, as well as signal and smoke ammunition, alarm flares etc. ]

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