Whiskey Tango Foxtrot does that mean?

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BLUF: Complex attack IVO PB ECP: SVBIED, SAF, and IDF. BDA: 1x CF(US) WIA, 2x IA KIA, 2x LN INJ, 2x AQI/ISI Killed, 1x CHU FUBAR. POO: Sadr City.
Military acronyms sound like an unfathomable foreign language to civilian bystanders.
As a journalist, I spend a fair amount of time asking someone to translate into real English (or at least real American English) what is being said when on an embed with soldiers.
The multi-letter formations also have a way of sterilizing the most horrific of occurrences. For example, KIA makes me think of a South Korean car manufacturer, whereas on the battlefield it means shot dead or blown up (Killed in Action).
On occasion, acronyms dreamt up to describe something really serious, sound to the (admittedly slightly immature) outsider quite funny.
I thought someone was having a laugh when they stuck a bunch of brown-coloured pins on a map in the TOC (Tactical Operations Centre) of a COP (Combat Outpost) with the letters “POO” on them. It turns out this means Point of Origin and is used to pin-point where IDF (Indirect Fire – namely rockets or mortars) came from.
Over the past few embeds, I started to compile a list of acronyms that are frequently used. You should be able to decipher what is going on in the first paragraph of this blog post by referring to the table below.
Also, feel free to suggest your own. There are literally thousands of them.
TTFN

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admin @ June 11, 2008