Tactical Lingo

I don't mind the terms being used correctly, that's just jargon. I do mind when they're misused or misunderstood to the point of stupidity, ignorance, or both.

Example: we were camping out meeting up with a bunch of strangers from a shooting forum for a 10 day fun gathering. One group arrived using FRS radios & constantly asked if "The freak was secure to maintain OpSec".

No, an FRS privacy code is not "secure" & frankly the freak had nothing to do with the radio.:o
 
RR said:
I hear braggarts blowing and going at family reunions and other venues trying to impress the rest... I keep quiet and know that they are full of it. Occasionally another vet will call them out

I keep my veteran status to myself... More often than you think, people don't like veterans or the military. There's many reasons for this.
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I do a far bit of pro bono work for veteran organisations, and offer my observation, though it may only be personal.

I think few people dislike veterans as a group, but they find it difficult to enjoy a fellow who just can't stop talking about it.

If I ask you how your legion post hires a canteen manager, I am not primarily interested in which truck you drove during the battle of the bulge. If I ask what you want in a non-compete, the answer isn't about how many rounds your helicopter took in Vietnam.
 
Personally I like listening to the Tacticool Tommy's, Counter Commandos, and Mall Ninjas. It can be fun listening to people proving they are dullards and also watching some proving thier gullability. When it hits the fan, I know who not tot listen to; these are the same folks who will try to be ComMAnders and bark stupid orders at you.
 
I always wonder where people get all this gun jargon from. I do my best to try and keep up with the different manufacturers and their various models of firearms - it's hard enough for me to even attempt to stay on top of this. Then, I try and educate myself on a variety of historical and antique firearms that I'm interested in.

It seems that quite a lot of this "tactical lingo" concerns AR style rifles. You don't seem to get much jargon when talking about revolvers; bolt action rifles; traditional semi-auto handguns (except maybe Glocks and HK's). I'm convinced that most of this must be coming from video games. I haven't played video games since my early 20's - they just don't hold any interest for me. When I hear this kind of stuff (not all that often that I do), I just think to myself "must be a gamer..." or "must be an AR thing".
 
Administration

Just my opinion, but I believe a lot of this increasing use of jargon comes from increased administration roles across the board. Too many committees being formed, useless meetings, presenters need a new "theme" or catchphrase to keep interest or fool superiors into thinking you've got something new. Repackaging. It permeates church culture too. Nobody calls, contacts, talks to anyone anymore, they "touch base" or "reach out". I hate it because it's an attempt to make it sound like you've done more than you actually have most of the time, and there is associated pressure to sound "in the know".
 
If I ask you how your legion post hires a canteen manager, I am not primarily interested in which truck you drove during the battle of the bulge. If I ask what you want in a non-compete, the answer isn't about how many rounds your helicopter took in Vietnam.
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Oh my goodness. This is pure poetry, sir. Thank you! I'm using this.

The jargon never bothered me until it became a marketing tool. Suddenly there's "Tactical toilet seats". YUCK !

Just like that song on the radio... play it too often and you'll turn it to poison.
 
Platform is a handy generic term that avoids having to get into the specifics of the particular item being referred to.

So when I talk about mounting a red dot sight and mention that one needs to insure that the proper adapter is available to mount the sight to the platform gun in question, I'm not trying to redefine the term "rifle", "handgun" or "shotgun", I'm just trying to be concise.
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Now, it's both more concise and more precise.

That said, that particular jargon doesn't terribly bother me.
 
Any group of people in a given situation, develop their own jargon. Its a mixture of the common language, and specialty terms, understood by the people involved. Every group does it, from sports fans to fighterpilots, hobbyist to industrial professional, etc.

Over time, and with repeated use, some jargon terms become mainstream, with little change to their original meaning. Other jargon terms become mainstream with altered meanings.

What bugs me about it today, is our virtual obsession with techno-babble, and the (perhaps inevitable "mission creep".

I do not (and never will), deploy through a car door. Many of my guns have front sights. None has a "muzzle reference indicator".

Incorrect, or inappropriate use of jargon is irritating, whether it is used by posers, wannabes, or just simply misguided folks who think they are being cool.

Sounding like a spec-ops novel character when doing ordinary things does not get you "street creds" with me. However, it is relatively harmless.

A politician, working to ban something they don't even understand, based on the "evil" sound of jargon, is not.

I will simply ignore the tactical toilet seat, but one cannot ignore the "shoulder thing that goes up"....nor the attitude that produced it.
 
Now, it's both more concise and more precise.
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Only if one assumes that the list I provided is an exhaustive list of the items that a red dot sight could be mounted to. In fact, it's not. Red dot sights can be used not only on guns but also on non-firearm items such as crossbows.

Furthermore, some people object to the use of "gun" when "rifle" is intended, and there are arguments about whether or not it's kosher to use a generic term like "weapon" and even whether a revolver is really a pistol or not. Virtually any term one chooses can be the seed of a meaningless debate. The point is, sometimes it's nice to use a term that is truly completely generic, one that carries absolutely no implications/connotations/shades of meaning/etc.

Except that now it appears that not even "platform" fills that bill...as generic as it is, it has now been targeted by the anti-tactical crowd as somehow being offensive. It almost makes one think that no matter what one says or what words one uses, there is someone out there just waiting and hoping to be offended and/or irritated.
 
^^^^^^^^
Well put. But even when rationalized, my jaw still tightens and my teeth still grind when I hear and read it.
 
I think Rickyrick nailed it on what is really said when in the military.

And how a lot of us handle it when we got out.

Why not talk about your service? Because the guys who are willing to whip out the rulers will immediately rate your service by the tier system.

You stayed home? You get no respect.
You deployed and went somewhere overseas for a year. OK.
You went to A-stan or Iraq, Good to go.
You went to the above and worked with a rifle in your hands all day, you are the man.
You wore a beard doing it, top dawg.

Funny part is, the bearded top dawgs keep quiet about it. Lately what I here is the "Afghanistan" club, how they worked "counterinsurgency," etc. Seems to be the most vocal club at present.

Same on forums, we aren't hearing from the truly qualified as much as those who want others to think they are.

Discussing AR's as a "platform" might bother some, on the technical side, what has happened is that civilian guns rarely offer the opportunity. Ruger 10/22, 1911, Remington 700, one or two others, after that it's almost strictly proprietary. No platform at all for the lever guns, you bought it the way it came from the factory and live with it. Sure a few change things up but I've never seen a two page ad in Shotgun News with accessories for the Win 94 - 15-20 barrels, five or six levers, different stocks in multiple species or shapes with matching handguards, how about a spiral tube feed conversion for spire point 6.8 ammo?

We got ourselves a platform all right, and agreed, the term is used pretty much on the internet, not daily conversation. Unless you are trying to impress someone. Otherwise it's an "AR" and that is about as far as it goes.

Same as cars. There are those who discuss them with all the catch phrases - it's always a "Silverado Z71." No such thing in the books, it's a K1500. A Vortech over the counter, nope, it's a 5.7. What people seem to focus on is whatever it takes to impress the other guy that they are "in the know," and the harder they try with phrases and language, the more they out themselves as not knowing much at all.

Sadly counterproductive.
 
.. top dawgs keep quiet about it. Lately what I here is the "Afghanistan" club, how they worked "counterinsurgency," etc. Seems to be the most vocal club at present.

Same on forums, we aren't hearing from the truly qualified as much as those who want others to think they are.
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Every generation gets this. Mine has had more than its share (and well after the fact) posers and wannabe Vietnam vets, navy SEALS, etc. Sadly, some of them have even attained high political office.

I did rather enjoy the reporter who was shot down in a helicopter who never was shot down in a helicopter, getting caught out....

to paraphrase Bob Seger,
It went on yesterday, and its goin on tonight, somewhere there's somebody, ain't tellin it right..."

I think it is a moral imperative to publicly bust, or "out" these people when we can.

as to "platform" I recognize its use in engineering and other contexts, it just seems odd to use it in the firearms context.

one can stand (metaphorically) on a political platform. One can stand physically on a work platform. One can attach things to a platform, so using platform for a firearm would be technically accurate, when you are talking about things you are attaching to them.

Now, to further stir the pot, you can call it a receiver. Your platform receives the attachments/accessories, so that's accurate, too.

But wait, receiver has a definition already....

won't that be confusing?
:D
 
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