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Showing posts with the label military terms

What is mission creep? Where does the phrase come from?

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Mission creep is when an original plan or objective is progressively widened by events on the ground. Significantly the phrase has military origin Originating in Somalia in 1993, the modern term “mission creep” became part of official U.S. Army vocabulary a decade late r. Field Manual 3-07,  Stability Operations and Support Operations  (February 2003) acknowledges two types of mission creep. The first occurs when “the unit receives shifting guidance or a change in mission for which the unit is not properly configured or resourced.”  Lewis and Clark In other words limited objective you start with expands to the point where it is no longer clear.  Mission creep has also been used to describe non-military matters - financial regulation  for example . The Dictionary of Military Terms English Language 100 FAQ Teaching Pack     -  only £1.99 using discount code  CQDWKF0

When do we give a 'heads up' to someone? Why?

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When we wish to inform someone about the details of a particular theme, topic, item or person - I'll give you the heads up about the new policy. The idiom   appears to have a military origin -  a heads up indicating that an important announcement was pending. An early citation for the contemporary use of 'heads up from 1977 Early use in the late 1970s stressed the importance of the information supplied: "In a message characterized as a 'heads up alert', intelligence officials warned ... that Arab diplomats had suggested that Ambassador Andrew Young meet with a Palestine Liberation Organization official."  The Washington Post , August 1979 In recent years, however, 'to give a heads-up' has become synonymous with the less glamorous 'inform' English Language 100 FAQ Teaching Pack     -  only £1.99 using discount code  CQDWKF0