Curs de LB ENGLEZA Leadership
Curs de LB ENGLEZA Leadership
GEORGETA OBILITEANU
Refereni tiinifici:
Lect.univ.drd. CLEMENTINA ALEXANDRA MIHESCU Universitatea Lucian Blaga-Sibiu, Facultatea de litere, istorie i jurnalistic Lect.univ.drd. SORIN TEFNESCU Universitatea Lucian Blaga-Sibiu, Facultatea de litere, istorie i jurnalistic
ISBN 973-8088-69-0
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A leader is a man who has the ability to get other people to do what they don't want to do, and like it Harry Truman
Contents
5 8 11 14 18 22 26 32 84
Unit III: The Factors and Principles of Leadership Unit IV: What a Leader Must Be Unit V: What a Leader Must Know Unit VI: What a Leader Must Do Unit VII: Leadership Styles Annex A: Typical American Expressions BIBLIOGRAPHY
Leadership
Leadership is essential to a successful officer. Leadership is defined as follows: the art of imposing one's will upon others in such a manner as to command their respect, their confidence, and their whole-hearted cooperation. The meat of the definition is that you must impose your will on others; they must do what you direct them to do. What makes leadership? The young officer is constantly told: You must learn to be a leader. Too often no one tells him how. But let's look at the definition of a leader: one fitted by force of ideas, character or genius or by strength of will or administrative ability to arouse, incite and direct individuals in conduct and achievement. There are many facets of a person's outward bearing which influence his or her ability to lead. At the core of leadership there are three fundamentals and on these three the young officer must work with all his or her might. They are: 1. Character 2. Knowledge 3. Power of decision By character is meant integrity, courage, morality, humility and determination. Character is a spiritual force. It is a reflection of a person's grip upon himself or herself. The masses look to a man of character to lead them. For the young officer, the job is: know your own weaknesses and conquer them. Knowledge is power. People will seek a leader who knows what to do. For the young officer the job is: learn what to do and how to do it with respect to each position you hold. And last but not least the power of decision. It is actually an outgrowth of character. If you would be a leader, learn to make up your mind, though it be between the devil and the deep blue sea. For the young officer the job is: drill yourself in small, routine decisions
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to make an unqualified decision. Watch yourself about hedging your decisions. Then follow your decisions through and make them stick.
Mechanism of Leadership
The leader must see and be seen. The officer who would lead people must be close to them. The door of his or her office must be literally and figuratively open to any person who may wish to talk. Of more importance, however, is the habit of getting out of the office and observing your people at their work. Make it a matter of practice to find out by first hand observation the one who does his work well, who does it badly and why. About the finest reputation an officer can build, is to have it said of him or her that he gets things done. Such individuals are always sought, they are so few and so highly appreciated. Ability to organise men and means so as to accomplish a mission in the most efficient manner, with genuine economy in manpower and equipment can be developed by study, planning, application and continued practice. Success in organisation requires the vision to see that which is to be done; the wisdom to plan and order the steps in execution and the courage to act to gain the end sought. Ability to organise is a very important part of leadership. If the civilian leader has at least some degrees of choice of hiring and firing the men he leads, the military leader has to work with individuals assigned to him. Therefore he must get the maximum of accomplishment from each person. A leader must be the example in whatever he does. Exercises: I. Answer these questions: 1. How will you define a leader? 2. What does it mean to know your own weaknesses and conquer them?
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3. What do you consider to be the most important quality in a leader. Explain. II. Write down a paragraph using these words : leader, best, to impose on, weaknesses, lead, conquer, ability. III. Read and Comment: It is vital to good organisational practices that the relationships between superiors and subordinates, between peers and between departments be wisely defined and clearly understood. When these relationships are fuzzy there is a great potential for confusion, conflicts and neglect within the organisation. Confusion and conflicts arise when the authority and responsibility of two or more individuals or groups overlap. IV. Find the meaning of the underlined expressions: 1. This is a good plan and I'm all for it. 2. Please help me boil down this question to a form in which it can be answered. 3. Search there with a fine tooth comb for the missing report. 4. The meat of the matter is contained in the second paragraph. 5. Here are some factors to help, which I'll give you off the cuff.
A Concept of Leadership
The competence of our future leaders and their leadership abilities are determined by our ability to educate and train them using the three pillars of leader development: institutional training, operational assignments, and self-development.
General Carl E. Vuono Chief-of-staff
The most essential element of combat power is competent and confident leadership. Leadership provides purpose, direction and motivation in combat. Quality leadership must exist throughout the force if the nation is to have an army ready for combat. Just as successful armies train as they intend to fight, successful leaders lead in peace to be prepared for war. Although some people seem to have a natural ability to lead others, most leadership skills do not come naturally. They are learned through hard work and study. To make good decisions and take the right actions under the stress of battle, you must understand the demands that will be placed on you, your superiors and your subordinates. Once you have a clear picture of the battlefield challenges, you can set goals for yourself, your subordinates and your unit to prepare for combat. Without actually being in combat, you must get a realistic picture of what battle is like. Studying military history can give you insight into what combat has been like for past leaders and troops and help you relate the leadership challenges of the past to those of today. The armies of some of our potential enemies outnumber us. They might possess large numbers of excellent tanks, personnel
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carriers, artillery pieces, airplanes and chemical and nuclear weapons. Our army needs competent and confident leaders who are bold, innovative and willing to take well-calculated risks within the commander's intent. Human nature has not changed since man first engaged in war; leaders and soldiers in future battles will experience the same fears and emotions felt in past battles. Leadership will continue to be the most essential element of combat power, providing the key to mission accomplishment, winning battles and protecting the ideals of our nation. A simple question may occur: what is leadership after all? We can define leadership as being the process of influencing others to accomplish the mission by providing purpose, direction and motivation. Purpose gives soldiers a reason why they should do difficult things under dangerous stressful circumstances. You must establish priorities, explain the importance of missions, and focus soldiers on the task so that they will function in an efficient and a disciplined manner. Direction gives soldiers an orientation of tasks to be accomplished based on the priorities set by the leader. The standards you establish and enforce will give your soldiers order; tough training will give them confidence in themselves, their leaders, each other and their equipment. Motivation gives soldiers the will to do everything they are capable of doing to accomplish a mission; it causes soldiers to use their initiative when they see the need for action. Motivate your soldiers by caring for them, challenging them with interesting training, developing them into cohesive team, rewarding successes and giving them all the responsibility they can handle. Effective leaders use both direct and indirect influence to lead. Exercises: I. Answer these questions: 1. What is the most essential element of combat power? 2. What does leadership provide? 3. What does propose /direction/ motivation give soldiers?
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4. Is leadership a born ability? 5. Why is the study of military history important? 6. How should a military leader be? II. Make up sentences of your own using these words and phrases: leadership, to accomplish a mission, to handle responsibility, to make a decision, challenge, confident. III. Find the meaning of the underlined expressions: 1. The captain had to make an about face in orders because of the sudden enemy attack. 2. The reserve force is the General's ace in the hole. 3. The attack jumps off at 0430 hours. 4. He is AWOL for 9 days; he will be court martialed. 5. It is not always wise to bawl out subordinates for every mistake. IV. Imagine a difficult situation. What would you do in such a situation? Imagine yourself in the role of a leader.
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The Factors and Principles of Leadership
Leadership is intangible and therefore no weapon ever designed can replace it
General Omar N Bradley Commander, W. W. II
The four major factors of leadership are always present and affect the actions you should take and when you should take them. They are the led, the leader, the situation and communications. The first major factor of leadership is those soldiers you are responsible for leading. All soldiers should not be led in the same way. For example a soldier with a new job or task normally needs closer supervision than a soldier who is experienced at that same job or task. A soldier with low confidence needs your support and encouragement. A soldier who works hard deserves your praise, a soldier who intentionally fails to follow your guidance must be punished. You must correctly assess your soldiers' competence, motivation and commitment so that you can take the proper leadership actions at the correct time. You must create a climate that encourages your subordinates to actively participate and want to help you accomplish the mission. The second major leadership factor is you, the leader. You must have an honest understanding of who you are, what you know and what you can do. You must know your strength, weaknesses, capabilities and limitations so that you can control and discipline yourself and lead your soldiers effectively. You must continuously ensure that each soldier is treated with dignity and respect. The situation is the third major leadership factor. All situations are different; leadership actions that work in one situation may not work in another. To determine the best leadership action to take,
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first consider the available resources and the factors of METT-T (mission, enemy, terrain, troops and time available) The situation also includes the timing of actions. For example, confronting a subordinate may be the correct decision, but if the confrontation occurs too soon or too late, the results may not be what you want. What if you take the wrong action? It happens. We all make mistakes. Analyse the situation again, take quick corrective action and move on. Learn from your mistakes and those of others. Communications, the forth-major leadership factor, is the exchange of information and ideas from one person to another. Effective communications occurs when others understand exactly what you are trying to tell them and when you understand precisely what they are trying to tell you. You may communicate what you want orally, or in writing, through physical actions or through a combination of all of these. The way you communicate in different situations is important. Your choice of words, tone of voice and physical actions all combine to affect soldiers. The ability to say the correct thing at the appropriate moment and in the right way is also an important part of leadership. The four major leadership factors are always present, but in every situation, they affect each other differently. Mistakes happen when leaders fail to consider all four leadership factors and see how they affect each other and mission accomplishment. The principles of leadership provide the cornerstone for action. They are universal and represent fundamental truths that have stood the test of time. Here are the principles of leadership in short: Know yourself and seek selfimprovement; Be technically and tactically proficient; Seek responsibility for your actions; Make sound and timely decisions; Set the example; Know your soldiers and look out for their wellbeing; Keep your subordinates informed;
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Develop a sense of responsibility in your subordinate; Ensure the task is understood, supervised and accomplished; Build the team; Employ your unit in accordance with its capabilities; The factors and principles of leadership will help you accomplish missions. They are the foundation for leadership. Exercises: I. Answer these questions: 1. What are the major leadership factors? 2. Name five of the principles of leadership. 3. Why is exchange of information important? 4. What do you do if you take a wrong action? 5. What do the principles of leadership represent? II. Make up sentences of your own using these words: commitment, motivation, fail, guidance, confidence, support, encouragement, strength, weakness, dignity. III. Translate into Romanian: In peacetime you must create the kinds of bonds that enable soldiers to follow you so that they will conduct themselves properly in combat. You must win their trust and confidence before, rather than after combat has commenced. Discipline and cohesion in units come from the relationship between the leader and the led. IV. Find the meaning of the underlined expression: 1. You are to be in charge of these men. 2. Be here at 0800 hours, the Commanding General will also be on tap. 3. All vehicles will be blacked out tonight. 4. With this plan, we hope to blitz the enemy. 5. The brass will inspect us today, so get everything ready.
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What a leader must be
Military leaders not only have to be skilled in the technical aspects of the profession of arms, but to be men of integrity. As a leader, you are responsible for understanding and directly transmitting the Army's values to your soldiers. The oath you took pledged you to support and defend the Constitution of the country. Taken without reservation and regardless of personal sacrifice, the oath is your commitment to a professional ethic. Ethics are principles or standards that guide professionals to do the moral or right thing what ought to be done. As a leader you have three general ethical responsibilities. First, you must be a good role model. Second, you must develop your subordinates ethically. Finally, you must lead in such a way that you avoid putting your subordinates into ethical dilemmas. Be a Role Model Whether you like it or not, you are on display at all times. Your actions say much more than your words. Subordinates will watch you carefully and imitate your behaviour. Your must accept the obligation to be a worthy role model and you cannot ignore the effect your behaviour has on others. You must be willing to do what your require of your soldiers and share the dangers and hardships. Develop Your Subordinates Ethically You must shape the values and beliefs of your soldiers to support the values of the nation, the Army, the unit. You develop your subordinates by personal contact and by teaching them how to reason clearly about ethical matters. You need to be honest with them and talk through possible solutions to difficult problems.
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When you make a decision that has an ethical component, share your thought process with your subordinates when time permits. They will respect you for caring enough to discuss your personal thoughts with them, and they will learn from you. Your goal is to develop a shared ethical perspective so that your soldiers will act properly in the confusion and uncertainty of combat. Unless they have learnt how to think clearly through ethical situations, they may not have the moral strength to do what is right. Avoid Creating Ethical Dilemmas for Your Subordinates Since your soldiers will want to please you, do not ask them to do things that will cause them to behave unethically in order to please you. Here are some examples that can get you in trouble: I don't care how you get it done just do it! There is no excuse for failure! Can do! Zero defects. Covering up errors to look good. Telling superiors what they want to hear. Making reports say what your leader wants to see. Setting goals that are impossible to reach (missions without resources). Loyalty up not down. Learn to give orders and lead without creating these kinds of dilemmas for your soldiers. An Ethical Decision Making Process Regardless of the source of pressure to act unethically, you usually know in your heart the right thing to do. The real question is whether you have the character to live by sound professional values when under pressure. If you have the right beliefs and values, the thing to do in most situations will be clear and you will do it. Following are the steps of an ethical decision-making process to help you think through ethical dilemmas: Step 1: Interpret the situation. What is the ethical dilemma?
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Step 2: Analyse all the factors and forces that relate to the dilemma. Step 3: Choose the course of action you believe will best serve the nation. Step 4: Implement the course of action you have chosen. The ethical decision making process starts when you confront a problem and continues until you develop and implement a solution. The process helps you analyze the problem, identify influencing forces, develop possible courses of action, assess them, and decide on a course of action. Tough leadership decisions do not always have happy endings. Some may praise your decision while others find fault with your logic. You may not always be rewarded for integrity and candor. The point is that you have to live with yourself. Before you can gain the respect of others, you must respect yourself. You gain honor and keep it doing your duty in an ethical way. Exercises: I. Answer these questions: 1. What does the oath you took states? 2. Haw can you define ethics? 3. Name the general ethical responsibilities you, the leader, have. 4. How should you treat your subordinates? 5. What are the steps to be taken in an ethical decision-making process? II. Make up sentences of your own using these words and phrases: pledge, oath, dilemma, goal, strength, defect, loyalty, course of action. III. Read and comment: Beliefs, values and norms have great motivating power. Respected leaders of strong and honorable character are able to
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influence the beliefs, values and norms of their soldiers. As a professional, you are sworn to use your power for the good of your country, the Army and those who lead. As a leader you have ethical responsibilities. When faced with a situation where the right ethical choice is unclear, consider all the forces and factors that relate to the situation and then select a course of action that best serves the ideals of the nation: Fundamental to what leaders must BE are the moral strength and courage necessary to make hard decisions and to give soldiers the will to fight and the ability to win. IV. Find the meaning of the underlined expressions: 1. Try to cook up something new to surprise the enemy. 2. Can I transfer him? He's just dead wood in this section. 3. To take that hill, you'll have to fight hammer and tongs. 4. This reconnaissance may force his hand.
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What a Leader Must Know
A leader must learn before he leads. You need to KNOW (understand) standards, yourself, human nature, your job and your unit to be an effective leader. This knowledge will give you a strong foundation for what you must BE and what you must DO. Standards define acceptable performance, control behavior and influence actions. You must communicate standards clearly and ensure they are understood and attained. You must set and enforce high standards in all areas that relate to specific training missions and tasks critical to wartime mission accomplishment. If your soldiers do not meet your standards, analyze the situation and decide on a course of action for handling the situation. Decide if your standards are realistic. Adjust your standards, if necessary, but do not change them if they are correct. Ask yourself these questions: Did your subordinates understand what was expected? Did you provide the resources, authority, training and direction your subordinates needed? Did your subordinates know how to do what was expected? Were your subordinates motivated to do what was expected? The answers to these questions will guide your actions. Your subordinates may need more training, supervision or counseling. You may need to explain the standard better so that your subordinates understand it and its importance. If standards are not met, do not become arrogant or abusive. All leaders want their soldiers to do well. Soldiers also want to do well. Poor performance frustrates soldiers and leaders and may cause anger. In these situations, you may be tempted to work off your frustrations by yelling at soldiers, threatening them or otherwise verbally abusing them. You are in an official position of authority over soldiers and must keep yourself in
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check. You must maintain the right balance of military firmness and appreciation of human dignity. Know Yourself To lead others successfully, you must know about people and human nature. Before you can understand other people, however, you must know yourself. Everyone has preferences, strengths and weaknesses. Crucial to your development as a leader is knowing yourself so that you can maximize your strengths and work to improve your weaknesses. As a leader, you must realize you are three people: who you are, who you think you are and who others think you are. In some cases, there is a close relationship between and among the three you's. In other cases, the relationship is not close at all. Your seniors, peers and subordinates will give you honest feedback if you ask for it and are open to it. Know Human Nature To understand and motivate troops and to develop a cohesive, disciplined, well-trained unit, you must understand human nature. People behave according to certain principles of human nature that govern behavior in war just as in peace. The stress of war may unleash certain fears that have been suppressed in peace. War, however, does not change human nature. Since all humans react according to these principles, it is important that you understand the human dimension of warfighting. Human nature is the common set of qualities shared by all human beings. All people have the potential for good and bad behavior. One of the most important jobs is to suppress the bad, bring out the good and direct that good behavior toward accomplishing the unit's mission. Most people want to do the right thing, but unfortunately many lack the moral fiber or character to do the right thing under temptation or stress.
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You must realize this and know the conditions that bring out the good and the bad in people. You can then encourage the good and suppress the bad. War can bring out the worst in human nature. There are examples in war of people committing horrible atrocities, such as murdering disarmed prisoners and innocent civilians. Some people believe atrocities are inevitable in war and nothing can be done about them. It is true that human nature, allowed to run its course under certain conditions of war, can produce atrocities. However, it is also true that leaders can prevent atrocities. You must never forget that you are responsible for your subordinates' performance and accountable with them for their actions. Exercises: I. Answer these questions: 1. What must a leader know in order to learn how to lead? 2. How should the standards be and why? 3. Why is it vital for a leader to know as much as possible about human nature? 4. What does war bring about? 5. Is the doer of a bad thing the sole responsible? Comment. II. Make up sentences of your own using these words: leader, standards, human nature, reward, punishment, abuse, arrogant, fears. III. Read and Comment: An American infantry company moving at night in Vietnam had been taking casualties from booby-traps. As the soldiers neared a village, they were fired on by Vietcong snipers who quickly retreated after killing a private and a lieutenant. It was dark and the American soldiers were scared, anguished, resentful and frustrated. They urged the commander to let them go into that village and kill whoever had Killed their fellow soldiers. The commander was also
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anguished and frustrated, but he knew what could happen and controlled his emotions. He did not allow movement toward the village. He knew that if the soldiers went into the village in their emotional state they might lose control and cause inexcusable deaths and damage. IV. Find the meaning of the underlined expressions: 1. It is not always wise to bawl out subordinates for every mistake. 2. To carry out an order efficiently, one must first understand it. 3. Good staff officers check up on orders being carried out correctly. 4. Tomorrow he may decide to give the nod to your suggestion. 5. I don't go along with what you recommend, sir! 6. You'd better hash it over with the commanding officer. 7. My hands are tied; I can't disobey my superior's orders. 8. We must keep in mind our final objective and our mission. 9. What's the matter? You need a pep talk. 10. In giving your solution, don't use the shotgun method.
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What a Leader Must Do
Leaders can lose battles but only soldiers can win them. Having the right values, beliefs, character, ethics and knowledge is necessary but does not ensure success on the battlefield. Soldiers must be properly trained, equipped and led by their leaders to enhance their probabilities of winning. Leaders must also provide purpose, directions and motivation to meet the demands of combat. The requirements are the same whether you lead a combat unit, a combat support unit or a combat service support unit. Purpose gives soldiers a reason why they should be in, dangerous situations under stressful circumstances. It focuses soldiers attention and effort on the task or mission at hand, enabling them to operate in a disciplined manner in your absence. Soldiers can best relate to a task or mission if they know the ultimate purpose of their actions. The likely violence of modern war could result in mass casualties. Small groups of soldiers are likely to be isolated from their units. They will experience great stress from continuous day and night operations and from violent engagements with enemy forces. More than ever, success on the battlefield will depend on initiative. You must teach your subordinates how to think creatively and solve problems while under stress. Don't forget that you must communicate your intent so that your soldiers are able to understand the desired outcome clearly. Keep in mind that this can only happen if you explain what you want to happen in clear, concise and complete terms. Communications are only effective if your soldiers listen and understand your intention. Your thinking skills are often referred to as directional skills because you set the directions or orientation of actions when you state what must be done in an established priority.
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The direction you give your soldiers is often based on guidance from your leader. The key point to remember is that you must listen to your leader, support your leader, and help your leader accomplish the mission, recognizing that your mission is normally a subset of your leader's mission. The Army has established standards for all military activities. You, as a leader, have two responsibilities: first, to know the standards; and second, to enforce the established standard. Goal setting is a critical part of leadership. The ultimate goal is to ensure that every soldier and unit is properly trained, motivated and prepared to win in war. Achieving this objective will normally require that you and your subordinates jointly establish and develop goals. When developing goals for your unit, remember several key points: Goals should be realistic and attainable. Goals should lead to improved combat readiness. Subordinates should be involved in the goal-setting process. You must develop a program to achieve each goal. Planning is as essential for success in peacetime training as it is for combat operations. Planning is usually based on guidance of a mission you receive from your leader or higher headquarters. When time allows, soliciting help from your subordinates is useful. If handled properly, you can accomplish several objectives simultaneously which can be beneficial in improving cohesion and discipline. Involving your subordinates in planning shows that you recognize and appreciate their abilities. Your subordinates' ideas can help you develop a better plan; their participation in the planning process gives them a personal interest in seeing the plan succeed. Motivation is the cause of action. It gives soldiers the will to do what you know must be done to accomplish the mission. Some people say behavior is believable: your behavior sets the example for your subordinates. Saying all the right words and having all the right values and knowledge will have no meaning to others if not reinforced by your actions. Your actions are what soldiers, peers and leaders see.
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Actions give life to purpose, direction and motivation to see units through the tough demands of combat. Exercises: I. Answer the following questions: 1. Why is purpose important? 2. What is direction based on? 3. What is your responsibility as a leader regarding Army standards? 4. What can you say about the ultimate goal? 5. Is motivation important and why? II. Make up sentences of your own using these words: battle, to enhance, purpose, motivation, goal, intent, to accomplish, behavior, trust and respect. III. Read and comment: Since the problem-solving process is a thought process, it is both rational and intuitive. However, do not make the mistake of making decisions guided totally by emotions or intuitions and immediately doing what feels right. This is a prescription for disaster. First, follow the problem-solving process as rationally and objectively as possible. Gather information, then develop, analyze and compare courses of action. Consider your intuition or hunches, your emotions and your values. Try to identify a best course of action that is logical and likely to succeed and that also feels right in terms of your intuition, values and character. IV. Find the meaning of the underlined expressions: 1. His yak yak caused misunderstanding in the interpretation of the orders. 2. The tendency to yak at length is not an asset to an officer. 3. You can't change that mistake, Jim; it's water under the bridge.
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4. That question puts me out on a limb; frankly, I don't know the answer. 5. This question calls for a pat answer. 6. This is serious; don't jump to conclusions. 7. What's your opinion? I'm on the horns of a dilemma. 8. Your solution hits the nail on the head. 9. When morale is poor, the men are sure to gripe.
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Leadership Styles
Leadership styles refer to the way you handle a situation. There are probably as many leadership styles as there are personalities, yet there are four which stand out: directive, selling, participative and delegating. The style you adopt will depend on your analysis of the people, the mission, the environment and your confidence and comfort using various styles. Directive Style A leader is using directing leadership style when he tells subordinates what he wants to be done, how he wants it done, where he wants it done, and when he wants it done, and then supervises closely to ensure they follow his directions. For many, this is simply an autocratic power-based style of leadership in which you control and direct your subordinates' every action. It is an appropriate style when you require immediate action or your subordinates are not able to do the jobs without close direction. The directive style is what you would find at basic training with new recruits. You might also use it when someone is learning a new task. Selling Leadership Style This style is still directive in nature, with emphasis on the how of doing a job. At this point the subordinate has some knowledge of the job, and it is appropriate to explain why things are done. You should get feedback from your subordinate about the job and provide support and encouragement.
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Participative Leadership Style A leader is using the participating style when he involves subordinates in determining what to do and how to do it. The leader asks for information and recommendation; however, he still makes the decisions. He simply gets advice from subordinates before making the decision. This style is the most democratic as you allow your subordinates to assist in the organizing and planning of tasks. By doing so, you allow your followers to participate and control much of their work, while you retain overall responsibility. Do not be concerned that asking a subordinate for advice or using a subordinate's good plan or idea shows weakness. The opposite is true; it is a sign of strength that your subordinates will respect. On the other hand, you are responsible for the quality of your plans and decisions. Delegating Style A leader is using the delegating style when he delegates problem-solving and decision-making authority to a group of subordinates. This is the laissez-faire style. It is appropriate to use when working with highly qualified subordinates. They need little direction or personal support. While you are always accountable to your leader for the results of any task you delegate, you must hold your subordinates accountable to you for their actions and performance. Some things are appropriate to delegate, others are not. The key is to release your subordinates' problem-solving potential while you determine what problems they should solve and help them learn to solve them. For years, when people talked about leadership styles, they thought about two extremes an autocratic style and a democratic style. Autocratic leaders used their legitimate authority and the power of their position to get results while democratic leaders used their personality to persuade and involved subordinates in solving problems and making decisions. Thinking like this fails to consider
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the possibility of a leader using different styles and being flexible enough to be autocratic at times and democratic at other times, or to combine the two extreme styles at still other times. Do not confuse emotion or anger with styles of leadership. There is no one best leadership style. What works in one situation may not work in another. You must develop the flexibility to use all styles; further, you must develop the judgement to choose the style that best meets the situation and the needs of the subordinate. Exercises: I. 1. Name the leadership styles and describe each in a few words. 2. Which style is the best? Which suits you best and why? II. Make up sentences of your own using these words: complain, limits, solution, anger, directive, job, decisionmaking, mission, depend on. III. Read and comment: Managers who develop authority properly find that their organizations can run themselves with very little control. If key people know their jobs and are given the authority to make decisions in carrying out their duties and responsibilities, they manage to make the best of their abilities. Even when the boss is away for long periods of time, the ongoing operation of the organization does not suffer. Thus, through effective delegation, managers can create an atmosphere of mutual trust and confidence, which makes organizational control much easier. They also have more time for other managerial functions.
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IV. Find the meaning of the underlined expressions: 1. Remember how you handled the situation; it is likely to crop up again. 2. The Division Surgeon is an officer who doubles in brass. 3. The general wants us to firm up all plants by 1300 hours. 4. Now don't try to give it the shotgun method; I want you to be specific. 5. It's his responsibility, so lay it in his lap. 6. Lump together all the data on this situation for me. 7. What's the latest up to the minute news? No change? O.K.!
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TYPICAL AMERICAN EXPRESSIONS EXPRESSION 1. About face 2. Above board 3. Abreast of the situation 4. Ace in the hole 5. All for it 6. All out, to go 7. All shot 8. Along with, to go 9. Around the clock 10. Attack jumps off 11. Attack stalls 12. AWOL (AY-WOL) 13. Baby 14. Backed up by 15. Backtrack, to 16. Bad shape, in 17. Bag, to 18. Ball, on the 19. Balled up 20. Bank on, to 21. Barrel through, to 22. Battle tested 23. Bawl out, to 24. Beat, to 25. Beat around the bush MEANING To reverse a decision Honest Know what is happening A surprise; a surprise situation Agree entirely To try every means available Ruined To agree, follow 24 hours a day; a full day Attack begins Attack is retarded Absent without leave Problem Reinforced by To return on the same road In difficult position; in bad physical condition To capture Correct; efficient Confused; wrong To depend on rely on To pass through quickly Proven worthy To reprimand; speak harshly to To defeat Delay coming directly to the point
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EXAMPLES
1. The Captain had to make an about face in orders because of the sudden enemy attack. 2. He has advanced rapidly because he has always been above board. 3. These reports keep the General Staff abreast of the situation. 4. The reserve force is the General's ace in the hole. 5. This is a good plan and I'm all for it. 6. It is necessary to go all out to capture this enemy position. 7. If the bridge is destroyed, our plants will be all shot. 8. I advise you to go along with that idea; it is very sound. 9. The staff worked around the clock to finish on time. 10. The attack jumps off at 0430 hours. 11. Our attack stalls whenever we encounter heavy fire. 12. He is AWOL for 9 days; he will be court - martialed. 13. Making the estimate of the situation is your baby. 14. The 58th infantry will be backed up by supporting artillery. 15. Because of the bad roads, the supply convoy had to backtrack 6 miles. 16. Our reserve failed, so now we are really in bad shape. 17. We expect to bag 500 prisoners in the next 24 hours. 18. My G3 is always on the ball. 19. When transportation didn't arrive, things became balled up. 20. Is it safe to bank on his returning tomorrow? 21. The Army will have to barrel through the gap in hot pursuit. 22. The division was a battle tested unit after 4 months of combat. 23. It is not always wise to bawl out subordinates for every mistake. 24. Our purpose in every encounter is to beat the enemy. 25. Instead of telling me the truth, he tried to beat around the bush.
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26. Beat him to the punch, to 27. Beats me 28. Beef up, to 29. Be in charge of, to 30. Be on tap, to 31. Big picture, the 32. Bird dog, to 33. Bird's eye view 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. Blacked out Blast, to Blink, on the Blitz, to Blow a bridge, to Bog down Boil down Boomerang, to Brass, the Breakdown Breakdown
To take action before another acts I don't understand this To reinforce To command Be present Complete view or plan To supervise or watch closely Overall explanation Without lights for security To strike a hard blow Not functioning To attack and overcome To destroy a bridge To slow up or stop To reduce to basic form To return to the one who begins it High ranking officers Analysis Failure To occur again To follow closely in pursuit Explanation of a plan To illustrate To reveal, illustrate A general view of a situation
45. Break out again, to 46. Breathe down the neck 47. Briefing 48. Bring out a point, to 49. Bring to light, to 50. Broad picture
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26. We must get there first in order to beat him to the punch. 27. What does this dispatch mean? It beats me. 28. We'll have to beef up the main effort with extra artillery support. 29. You are to be in charge of these men. 30. Be here at 0800 hours; the Commanding General will also be on tap. 31. After the briefing, he could see the big picture much better. 32. I'm going over there to bird dog the problem for tonight. 33. Before starting the movement, I'll give you a bird's-eye view of the plan. 34. All vehicles will be blacked out tonight. 35. This tank is able to blast any pillbox. 36. My jeep's on the blink; may I borrow yours? 37. With this plan, we hope to blitz the enemy. 38. To blow a bridge safely and effectively requires great skill. 39. The attack will bog down if you do not get us more fire support. 40. Please help me boil down this question to a form in which it can be answered. 41. You don't want this whole thing to boomerang on you. 42. The brass will inspect us today, so get everything ready. 43. Give me a breakdown of your air requirements for tomorrow. 44. The message didn't get through because of communications breakdown. 45. We believe heavy firing is about to break out again. 46. It is sometimes dangerous to breath down the neck of an unpredictable enemy. 47. Before the attack begins, the men are given a complete briefing. 48. I want to bring out the following point as a summary. 49. This intelligence is likely to bring to light the presence of new enemy reinforcements. 50. The Corps G3 gave us the broad picture of Corps Operations.
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51. Buffalo, to 52. Bug 53. Bump into, to 54. Butt heads with, to 55. 56. 57. 58. Button, on the Button up, to Buy, Ill Call your shot, to
To confuse, to bewilder Defect To meet; engage To argue; engage a fight or violent discussion Exactly correct To finish; close Agree; accept To estimate correctly A prepared message Cannot locate or specify To continue To do or execute an order Theres a trick or difficult point To understand Unprepared; without supply Right! Correct! To verify, to inspect To reprimand Severely damaged To suffer severely To finish Very clear; without doubt To explain; solve To destroy, to deliver hard blows Just barely successful; just barely avoiding an accident
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59. Canned message 60. Cant put ones finger on 61. Carry on with, to 62. Carry out an order, to 63. Catch, theres a 64. 65. 66. 67. Catch on, to Caught short, to be Check! Check up on
68. Chew out, to 69. Chewed to pieces 70. 71. 72. 73. Chin, to take it on the Clean up, to Clean cut Clear up, to
51. An instructor who tries to buffalo his students will lose their respect. 52. This radio set has a bug in it. 53. Opposing flanking movements tend to bump into each other. 54. They are going to butt heads with each other because each is insistent that he is right. 55. He answered every question on the button; his grade is 100%. 56. This memorandum will serve to button up the issue. 57. That is a good plan; Ill buy it. 58. The enemy is trying to envelop us, G2; you sure know how to call your shot. 59. During practical exercises, we used many canned messages. 60. This radio is on the blink; the operator cant put his finger on whats wrong. 61. After the briefing, each section will be able to carry on with its work. 62. To carry out an order efficiently, one must first understand it. 63. This plan is OK, but theres a catch in it; we havent enough transportation. 64. We dont want him to catch on to our plan. 65. Well need extra ammunition; we cant be caught short. 66. Is this what you wanted? Check! Thanks. 67. Good staff officers check up on orders being carried out correctly. 68. It is not good to chew out a person before others. 69. The enemy forces were chewed to pieces by our accurate artillery fire. 70. Well have to take it on the chin if the enemy attacks now. 71. Our division took 2 days to clean up pockets of resistance. 72. It was undoubtedly a clean-cut victory. 73. I dont understand this point. Would you care to clear it up for me. 74. Our air strikes will have to clobber the enemy reserves. 75. The enemy attack failed to destroy the bridge but it was a close shave.
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76. Close the pincers 77. Cluttered up 78. Cock-and bull story 79. Cold war 80. Comb over, to
To surround; isolate Has too many minor details An unbelievable story War without shooting; war of propaganda To search thoroughly
81. Come out in good shape, to To withstand the attack 82. Come to grips with, to 83. Come up with the solution, to 84. Cook up, to 85. Count on, to 86. Cover a lot of ground 87. Cover the high points, to 88. Crackup 89. Crank up 90. Crop up, to 91. Crosscheck to 92. 93. 94. 95. 96. 97. 98. 99. 100. Curtain of fire Curve ball Customer, a big Cut off Cut to the bone Dark, in the Dead wood Deadline Dent
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To attack; to contact To find the answer; to solve To prepare, make a plan To depend or rely on Discuss a large amount To cover the important points An accident Start To appear suddenly; to happen To verify from different sources Barrage Tricky, unfair situation A large user of Surrounded, isolate Reduce to absolute minimum Ignorant of Worthless Prevent the use of Make a slight gain
76. By a double envelopment, we can close the pincers on the enemy 77. Your overlay is too cluttered up to understand it. 78. His explanation was just a cock and bull story. 79. The conflict between East and West is a cold war. 80. Someone ought to comb over these reports carefully to find any errors. 81. If all regiments are able to come out in good shape, the plan will have been successful. 82. The reconnaissance unit was about to come to grips with the enemy patrol. 83. You know the problem; now your job is to come up with the solution. 84. Try to cook up something new to surprise the enemy. 85. To count on others all the time is unwise; be self-reliant. 86. We have to cover a lot of ground during this period. 87. I want to cover the high points once again, so you will understand the lesson thoroughly. 88. Three fighter planes had a crackup on landing. 89. Its nearly time to cross the initial point; crank up your motors. 90. Remember how you handled the situation; it is likely to crop up again. 91. I want you to check with him and to crosscheck with everyone else involved. 92. Our troop advanced behind a heavy curtain of fire. 93. There are no curve balls in this examination. 94. Division Artillery is the big customer for 90-mm shells. 95. In the defense of an extended front, some units may be cut off for a while. 96. If we send this group to Corps, well be cut to the bone. 97. What does this mean, G2? Dont keep me in the dark. 98. Can I transfer him? Hes just dead wood in the section. 99. Deadline that vehicle; the brakes are faulty. 100. Our secondary effort will probably only dent his lines.
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Dig out, to To discover; to study Dish it out, to To give hard blows Divvy up To divide Done for Finished; defeated Dont see the forest for the Too busy with details to see the trees big picture 106. Dont fight the problem Accept things as they are; dont offer resistance 107. Doubles in brass Acting in two or more jobs at once 108. Doughboy Infantryman 109. Dovetail 110. Down a blind alley 111. Down the home stretch 112. Drag out, to 113. 114. 115. 116. Duck Earmark Eggs in one basket, all your End product Coincide Reach an impasse Finishing or ending To be slow; to last a long time Avoid Reserve for a specific purpose Chances of success in one effort The result
117. End run around, to make an To envelop 118. Eyeball to eyeball 119. Eye on, to keep an 120. Fall down on 121. Fan out, to 122. Federal case, make a 123. Feed, to At bayonets distance; face to face To watch closely Fail, be inefficient in To disperse; deploy To exaggerate; to stress something which is not important To send to, transmit
124. Fight hammer and tongs, to To fight heavily; closely engage 125. Fine tooth comb, with a Very careful search
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101. Youll have to dig out these experience factors from FM 101-102. 102. Weve taken a lot of damage; now its our turn to dish it out. 103. The Supply Sergeant will divvy up the rations for each company. 104. If the storm hits us now, well be done for. 105. All men in the division are not kept informed, therefore they dont see the forest for the trees. 106. I know that this is a difficult matter, but dont fight the problem; work slowly and carefully. 107. The Division Surgeon is one officer who doubles in brass. 108. In the final analysis, its the doughboy who has to take the objective. 109. The adjacent divisions plans for the attack dovetail very well with our own. 110. Youre down a blind alley, Bill; we wont get extra trucks for this movement. 111. Well be going down the home stretch in Phase 1 in 2 weeks. 112. The attack through the fortified position is likely to drag out some time. 113. Lets duck into the nearest building to get away from sniper fire. 114. George, your infantry battalion is earmarked for division reserve. 115. Make out 3 separate plans; dont put all your eggs in one basket. 116. The end product of this training showed up well in the training tests. 117. Our best course of action to make an end run around the enemys left flank. 118. Our doughboys fought eyeball to eyeball in the enemy trenches. 119. You ought to keep an eye on enemy activity. 120. This operation is of supreme importance; no one must fall down on his job. 121. The leading battalion will fan out to cover our advance. 122. Dont make a federal case out of this matter; its not so very important. 123. The job of division is to feed G2 information on daylight movements of the enemy. 124. To take that hill, youll have to fight hammer and tongs. 125. Search there with a fine tooth comb for the missing reports.
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126. Fingertips, to have at your 127. Finish off 128. 129. 130. 131. 132. 133. 134. 135. Firm up, to Fix, in a bad Fix the enemy, to Flair up, to Flap, in a Follow up, to Force his hand Fouled up
To have available; ready To defeat enemy To complete, finish In trouble To keep the enemy inactive To begin action In great confusion To verify; supervise To make one reveal his plans Wrong; thwarted; confused To restrict, stop in place Reinforcements or replacements To waste, employ piecemeal Any mechanical thing Adjusted to Obtain results Be fortunate; gain an advantage To advance To exist without To find an answer Succeed by taking a chance To succeed; to manage Begin; start To communicate with Continue
136. Freeze, to 137. Fresh blood 138. Fritter (away), to 139. Gadget 140. Geared to 141. Get action 142. 143. 144. 145. 146. 147. 148. 149. 150. Get a lucky break Get ahead, to Get along without, to Get around a difficulty, to Get away with it Get by with, to Get going Get in touch with, to Get on with
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126. Whats your estimate, G3? You ought to have it at your fingertips. 127. When that last strong point surrenders, we can finish off the rest easily. 128. The general wants us to firm up all plans by 1300 hours. 129. When the jeep axle broke, we were really in a bad fix. 130. The base of fire serves to fix the enemy in place. 131. Sporadic firing is expected to flair up all through the night. 132. For lack of information, the staff was in a flap. 133. Staff officers are to follow up on all plans and orders issued. 134. This reconnaissance may force his hand. 135. Because of unexpected guerrilla activity, all our plans for secrecy were fouled up. 136. If theres no time to evacuate civilians, it will be necessary to freeze them in place. 137. The enemy was waiting for fresh blood before making a new attack. 138. An uncoordinated attack may cause you to fritter away your advantage. 139. Whats that gadget, Dick? Its a special tool for radios, John. 140. Our advance must be geared to that of the adjacent divisions. 141. We need that material right away; we must get action on our requisition. 142. Well get a lucky break if theres no heavy precipitation. 143. Dont try to get ahead too fast. 144. Well have to get along without hot meals for two or three days. 145. A resourceful staff officer knows how to get around a difficulty. 146. You may get away with it this time, but you wont always be so lucky. 147. We may have to get by with only a few men. 148. George, get going on the report; Ill need it in 15 minutes. 149. If you want to get in touch with him, call him at his home. 150. Excuse the delay, gentlemen. Lets get on with the briefing.
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152. Get rolling Begin; start 153. Get the show on the road, To begin; start to 154. Get together with Meet, confer 155. Get your hands on, to To obtain 156. 157. 158. 159. 160. GI GI Gimmick Gingerly Gismo Government issue A soldier A troublesom point; device Softly, carefully Anything whose name you dont know Give a summary of Fail to deceive (failure in deception) To withdraw, to fall back Give your agreement (signal to continue) To strike your hardest blows To punish To cover in very general terms
161. Give a rundown on 162. Give away, (a give away) 163. Give ground, to 164. Give him the green light 165. Give him the 1-2 punch, to 166. Give him the works, to 167. Give the broad brush, to
168. Give it the once over Scrutinize, examine 169. Give it the shotgun method, To do something quickly to 170. Give the highlights (of, on) Cover only the most important points 171. Give the nod to, to To approve 172. Give up Surrender 173. Go along with Agree 174. Gobbledy gook Unintelligible information 175. Gobble up
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Capture, take
151. Prior to combat, we want to get rid of all physically unfit soldiers. 152. Promptly at 2030 hours, the column will get rolling. 153. We have been ordered to get the show on the road at 2205. 154. G2 and G3 get together with each other on all operations. 155. Do you know where to get your hands on any more ammunition right away? 156. Your GI clothing is given free in wartime. 157. Every GI has the opportunity to advance himself. 158. This gimmick is causing the bearing to wear away. 159. Mines must be placed in position gingerly. 160. Whats that gismo? Its a new safety device. 161. Give me a rundown on enemy strategy and locations. 162. Those newly cut trees in that area sure give away his position. 163. The enemy is expected to give ground slowly and stubbornly. 164. The bottleneck is cleared up, so give him the green light. 165. With our artillery and preplanned air strikes, we are in position to give him the 1-2 punch. 166. Nows the time, sir, to give him the works. 167. It will take just 2 minutes, to give the broad brush to the situation. 168. Heres the order, Ed, give it the once over, will you? 169. Now dont try to give it the shotgun method; I want you to be specific. 170. Reports, which give the highlights, are useful in a general way. 171. Tomorrow he may decide to give the nod to your suggestion. 172. If youre cut off, dont give up, well get help to you somehow. 173. I dont go along with what you recommend, sir. 174. Whats that gobbledy gook? Its a cryptographic message; heres the clear text. 175. A rapid advance may gobble up many strongpoints and prisoners of war.
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176. Goes out 177. Go for record 178. 179. 180. 181. Goldbrick Good deal, its a Got it made Go to pot
Fails to operate Do something officially A lazy person Wonderful; to ones liking Do not have worry Deteriorate; fail to pieces; become worthless To experience; to undergo hardship From 2200-0600 hours; night work Something extra; free; gratis To complain; voice objections to Not permitted to fly
182. Go through the mill, to 183. 184. 185. 186. Graveyard shift, the Gravy, just Gripe, to Grounded
187. Ground floor, to get in on To be one of the first the 188. Ground rule A normal procedure; a fixed rule 189. Ground work Basic detail work 190. Gumbo 191. Gum up 192. Guts 193. Hammer and tongs 194. Hand in glove with 195. 196. 197. 198. 199. 200. Hands are tied Hang on Hard and fast rule Hard go of it Hash it over Hassle Mud, slush Spoil; do poorly The will to fight; bravery With great force Closely together; closely related Cannot act Continue to resist Invariable; fixed Difficulty Discuss the situation A fight, argument
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176. My receiver goes out as soon as I move it. 177. General remarks to his staff just before entering combat for the first time: Now we go for record. 178. Keep your eye on him; be is a goldbrick. 179. How do you like your new job? Its a good deal. 180. If this meeting solves the problem, youve got it made. 181. Without good leadership, any unit will soon go to pot. 182. The men have to go through the mill to be successful. 183. Its your turn next month for the graveyard shift as duty officer. 184. These extra rounds of ammunition are just gravy. 185. When morale is poor, the men are sure to gripe. 186. All our preplanned observation missions were grounded during the snowstorm. 187. He was promoted quickly because he was lucky to get in on the ground floor. 188. Theres a ground rule here against such actions. 189. The early ground work on the plan was performed by the assistant G3. 190. No vehicle could move through such gumbo after 4 days rain. 191. I dont want to gum up this job, its important to my days' future. 192. The doughboy with the rifle is the one who has the guts in battle. 193. We fought the enemy hammer and tongs for 2 hours. 194. The assistant G4 for transportation works hand in glove with G3 on movement. 195. My hands are tied; I cannot disobey my superiors orders. 196. Hang on for 8 hours; relief is on the way. 197. There is no hard and fast rule in such a situation. 198. The troops in defense were having a hard go of it. 199. Youd better hash it over with the commanding officer. 200. G4 and the Ordnance Officer had a big hassle about maintenance.
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201. Have a go at it, to 202. Have a heyday 203. Have an edge 204. Have it made 205. Have on hand 206. 207. 208. 209. Have ones hands full Hazy about Headache Head on, meet
To attempt; to try Have things ones own way Have an advantage Be successful Have; own Be very busy or occupied with Doubtful about, not sure Trouble, difficulty Meet squarely or face to face To avoid a decision Delayed In an organized way Surround; isolate Have no resistance Isolated; abandoned Most important point To emphasize; stress Important To leave hurriedly To march Disorganized; poorly done Be exactly correct Begin; start Go to sleep Reduce to a minimum
210. Hedge, to 211. 212. 213. 214. Held up Helter-skelter Hem in Heyday, have a
215. High and dry 216. Highlight 217. Highlight, to 218. 219. 220. 221. 222. 223. High powered Hightail, to Hike on foot, to Hit or miss Hit the nail on the head Hit the road
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201. It will be a difficult stream to bridge, but the engineers want to have a go at it anyway. 202. During the pursuit, our Air Forces will have a heyday with the retreating enemies. 203. We have an edge over the enemy in firepower. 204. If we can cut off the enemys retreat, well have it made. 205. Each unit makes a daily report on how much gas they have on hand. 206. Go see my assistant; I have my hands full right now. 207. Im still hazy about when my unit will move. 208. Maintenance of vehicles during an attack is always a headache. 209. If we commit our reserve here, our two forces will meet head on. 210. Dont try to hedge on the date replacements are due; youve got to be more specific. 211. Our forces were held up by heavy enemy fire. 212. The enemy patrol ran helter-skelter back to their own lines. 213. By this turning movement, we can hem in the enemy unit. 214. The pursuit planes will have a heyday with the retreating columns. 215. The cracked-up plane was left high and dry in No mans Land. 216. The highlight of this operation will be the surprise element. 217. The purpose of this booklet is to highlight the slang youll most often hear. 218. He was made corps Chief of Staff, a very high powered job. 219. We want the enemy to hightail to the rear without a real fight. 220. There is no transportation; the troops will have to hike on foot. 221. Do this again, it looks like a hit or miss job to me. 222. Your solution hits the nail on the head. 223. Well, lets hit the road; weve still got 3 hours to return to the command post. 224. Im tired; I think Ill hit the sack. 225. To preserve surprise, we will have to hold down all noise.
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226. Hold out 227. Hold out a unit 228. Hold up his end 229. Holding the bag, left 230. Hook, on your own 231. Hook-up 232. Hook up with, to 233. 234. 235. 236. 237. 238. 239. 240. 241. Horns of a dilemma, on the Hot (news, poop), the Hot potato Hot shot Hot time, to have a Hot war Hot water, in Hot work Hubba! Hubba!
Continue to resist Keep in reserve Do his share of the work Be held responsible On your own initiative Join in communications; juncture To join, as in communications In a difficult position Latest, important information Difficult problem or situation Very efficient; very important person A difficult fight A shooting war In trouble Difficult Lets have your attention! Listen carefully! I agree I agree or accept I like that; that is wonderful Ill accept that I like A subordinate Undecided; uncertain Positive; certain Being processed
242. Ill buy that 243. Ill go along with that 244. Ill go for that 245. Ill settle for that 246. 247. 248. 249. 250. Im sold on Indian In the air In the bag In the mill
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226. You must hold out until relieved by the link-up forces. 227. 60th Infantry will hold out one battalion, subject to division orders. 228. Each staff officer must hold up his end of the load. 229. If the rations dont arrive, the mess officer will be left holding the bag. 230. You do not have the authority to act on our own hook. 231. Can you contact the Battalion Commander by some hook-up? 232. Our flank patrol is to hook up with those of the adjacent division. 233. Whats your opinion? Im on the horns of a dilemma. 234. What is the hot (news, poop) from the front? 235. That question is some hot potato; have you any ideas on it? 236. This regimental S3 is really a hot shot on everything he does. 237. The 20l st likely to have a hot time over on the left. 238. From April 1940 to May 1945, Europe was in a hot war. 239. If that bridge goes out, well be in hot water. 240. Fighting face to face is always hot work. 241. Hubba! Hubba! Lets settle down and complete this job. 242. G4, your logistical plan looks OK to me; Ill buy that. 243. Captain, your plan looks OK to me; Ill go along with that. 244. Would you like 5 days in the Army Leave Center? Ill go for that. 245. I need 40 trucks, but have only received 25, so Ill settle for that. 246. Im sold on the idea of small unit rotation. 247. Well, here are my orders; Ill just be an Indian in the Pentagon. 248. All plans are in the air since the Old Man received his orders. 249. After we take that last defile, the surrender is in the bag. 250. All outstanding requisitions still in the mill are cancelled.
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251. In tune with 252. Ironclad rule 253. Iron out, to 254. Its all yours 255. 256. 257. 258. Its at a premium Its in your (hands, lap) Its beyond me Its (your baby) (all yours)
Agree; in accord with Invariable, without exception To arrange the details of; to coordinate Its your problem Badly needed Its your problem I dont understand this Its your problem I think; believe In trouble Decided; resolved To agree with Riddle, all mixed up Worried, excited Trick; difficult point Planned in advance To begin Decide too quickly To avoid To watch closely Continue to attack To advise; to inform Remember Prevent the enemy from bothering you To control or keep in contact with
259. It strikes me that 260. Jam, in a 261. Jelled 262. Jibe with, to 263. Jigsaw 264. Jittery 265. Joker 266. 267. 268. 269. 270. 271. 272. Jump ahead of, one Jump off, to (of an attack) Jump to conclusions Keep clear of, to Keep close tabs on, to Keep hammering at Keep one in the picture, to
273. Keep in mind 274. Keep the enemy off your back 275. Keep your finger on, to
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251. All division operations must be in tune with the Commanding Generals concepts. 252. It is an ironclad rule that subordinates respect supervisions. 253. You must see the Division Adjutant to iron out this rotation program. 254. I want a recommendation on this problem before 1700 hours; it's all yours. 255. Gas is at a premium after a siege of 48 hours. 256. What are we going to do about this? Its in your hands. 257. I cant understand why theres no news; Its beyond me. 258. What are we going to do about this? Its your baby. (Its all yours). 259. It strikes me that we need reinforcements just to be safe. 260. That battalion is out of ammunition and gas; theyre in a jam for sure. 261. Our plans were all jelled before the Commanding Officer returned. 262. This report appears to jibe with what the observation team indicated. 263. G2 is the one who must solve the jigsaw puzzle of enemy strategy. 264. Dont be so jittery; our plans are well organized. 265. The joker is that Army cant evacuate our prisoners of war for 3 days. 266. Im one jump ahead of you; Ive already arranged that. 267. Our attack is to jump off tomorrow morning at 0430. 268. This is serious; dont jump to conclusions. 269. Warn your men to keep clear of that minefield near you. 270. We will have to keep close tabs on that enemy armoured division. 271. Keep hammering at them in that area until we open their line. 272. G2, be sure to keep me in the picture on any new enemy reinforcements. 273. We must keep in mind our final objective and our mission. 274. In a withdrawal, the purpose of the detachment left in contact is to keep the enemy off your back. 275. You have to keep your finger on everyone involved at all times.
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276. Keep your wits about you 277. Keystone 278. Kick around, to 279. Kickoff, at the 280. Kickoff, to 281. Knock down drag out affair 282. Knock (off) (out), to 283. Know-how, the 284. Know the ropes, to 285. Know the score, to 286. Know your way around, to 287. Last ditch 288. Last inning(s), in the 289. Last legs 290. Last resort, as a 291. 292. 293. 294. 295. 296. Last stand Late shift Lay it in his lap Lay on Layout Lay the cards on the table, to
Be calm The principal point To discuss At the beginning To begin A fight to the final conclusion To kill; take out of action The ability, the knowledge To know the procedures To be intelligent; to know To be (become) familiar with Final resistance, effort In the final phase Making ones final resistance As a final means Final resistance Late tour of duty Give him the problem Pre-arrange, prepare Physical arrangement To explain all the details To make first preparations
298. Lay your hands on, to To secure; obtain 299. Leaning forward in their Troops are ready and eager to foxholes begin the attack 300. Lets get going Lets begin
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276. Dont get excited during the enemy attack; just keep your wits about you. 277. The keystone of the maintenance system is the user of equipment. 278. Weve got 2 days to kick the plan around before deciding on a solution or a scimitar. 279. The General went down to the 59th Infantry to watch the attack at the kickoff. 280. The red flare was the signal to kickoff the attack. 281. The air battle, like ours on the ground, turned into a knock down drag out affair. 282. We tried to knock off the enemy artillery the first day. 283. With all his past experience, hes got the know-how to be a good G3. 284. As a former G3, he ought to know the ropes quite well. 285. He ought to know the score all right; hes not a Colonel for nothing. 286. In each new job, it takes time to know your way around. 287. When we blew up all bridges in the rear, the enemy had to make a last ditch. 288. We launched our exploiting forces in the last innings of the campaign. 289. Come on, theyre on their last legs; lets get in eyeball to eyeball. 290. The service elements of the division are used in combat only as a last resort. 291. The Battle of the Bulge was really the German Armys last stand. 292. Im on duty from 2000-0600 hours; thats the late shift. 293. Its his responsibility, so lay it in his lap. 294. G3 Air, lay on 3 air alert missions for tomorrows attack. 295. The layout of the Comcenter must be efficient and convenient. 296. Before he commits the reserve company, he will have to lay the cards on the table to the Old Man. 297. A part of the staff is detached to lay the groundwork for the next operation. 298. Youve got to lay your hands on more ammunition, somewhere. 299. At H-hr, all troops were leaning forward in their foxholes. 300. Were late already; lets get going back to the division rear echelon.
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301. Lets take a look (at) (into) 302. Letter of the law 303. Lie doggo 304. Lie low 305. Line buck, to make a
Lets examine Each detail of the law Hide; to be quiet Out of sight To make a penetration
306. Live off (the fat of) the To use local resources, to enjoy the land, to best 307. Lock horns with Argue, engage in a (fight, discussion) with 308. Look down your throat Have dominant observation 309. Look into Examine 310. Look into the crystal ball Make a guess 311. 312. 313. 314. 315. Lower the boom, to Lump together Made a fine play Make a stab at it Make good, to To strike a heavy blow Add, total Did something very well Attempt try; guess To be successful Composition, arrangement Work of 1 man for 1 hour Damaged; hurt Means of accomplishing something The important point Ruin; spoil Fail Finish To begin movement or march Advance, as in promotion
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316. Makeup 317. Manhour 318. Mauled 319. 320. 321. 322. Means to the end Meat of the matter Mess up Miss the boat
301. On the way lets take a look at the plan for tomorrow. 302. Weve done nothing wrong, so weve complied with the letter of the law. 303. Our tanks will lie doggo before the attack, camouflaged in the adjacent woods. 304. Lie low until enemy patrol passes. 305. Since the enemy flanks are secure, we'll have to make a line back. 306. Aggressor policy is to live off the land as much as possible. 307. If we attack there, well only lock horns with his prepared position. 308. From that hill mass, the enemy can look down your throat. 309. Heres this report, Captain; look into this at once, please. 310. A good G2 doesnt look into the crystal ball; he looks for indications. 311. Our air support should really be able to lower the boom on them. 312. Lump together all the data on this situation for me. 313. The tank-infantry team made a fine play through that hole. 314. I dont know the correct answer, but Ill make a stab at it. 315. We expect division units to make good on their combat readiness tests. 316. The makeup of that task force parallels that of a covering force. 317. Five (5) manhours are needed to get that truck operating again. 318. The troops in the counterattack though successful, were severely mauled. 319. Clarity in operation orders is only one means to the end. 320. The meat of the matter is contained in the second paragraph. 321. Youre in command now, so dont mess up your chances. 322. He will miss the boat completely if he overestimates the enemy strategy. 323. The 20th Infantry, following the 23d Armored, will mop up the last enemy resistance. 324. The leading serials will have to move out of their areas right on time. 325. Next month Ill move up a notch from Asset G3 to G3.
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326. 327. 328. 329. 330. 331. 332. 333. 334. 335. 336. 337. 338.
Mow down Muddle up Muff your chance Mull over, to Nasty business Needle Never say die Never mind Nip and tuck Nit-pick Nose, on the Nutshell, in a Off balance, to catch
Wound or kill many Confused Fail; miss To think about Dirty work Annoy; disturb Never give up hope Forget about it Very close, almost evenly matched Bother with minor questions Squarely; exactly, correctly Briefly To find unprepared Wrong, incorrect At first glance Not official; not to be quoted Away from; unaware All right; correct Your senior officer Someone or something which has proved reliable Familiar to everyone Once only To reprimand Being planned At first look
339. Off base 340. Offhand 341. Off the cuff; record 342. Off the track 343. O.K. 344. Old Man 345. Old standby 346. Old stuff, thats 347. One shot 348. On the carpet 349. On the drawing board 350. On the face of it
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326. Our interlocking fire will mow down the enemy 327. This latest dope leaves me more muddled up than before. 328. Dont muff your chance to earn a promotion. 329. Wait a minute; Ive got to mull over this news for a while. 330. The Mobile Army Surgical Hospital will have a lot of nasty business after the attack. 331. Needle him with questions to make him talk. 332. We still have a chance, you know, so never say die. 333. Never mind; I will submit a new plan. 334. The fighting on our first objective was nip and tuck. 335. Dont nit-pick your instructors; theyve got a lot to cover. 336. He answered that question on the nose. 337. In a nutshell, General, we can support your plan. 338. By attacking at 2300 hours, we should be able to catch the enemy off balance. 339. You are way off base on your time and space calculations. 340. Offhand, Id say well capture 200 prisoners on D day. 341. Here are some factors to help you, which Ill give you off the cuff. 342. This maneuver will keep the enemy off the track of our main effort. 343. Your plan is O.K. 344. The Old Man doesnt always agree with his G3, does he? 345. The Commanding General is permitted to select his old standby as his Chief of Staff. 346. Thats old stuff, it was in use at the outbreak of World War II. 347. We can give it a one shot treatment. 348. The Old Man is going to put him on the carpet because of the serious mistake be made. 349. We have several new jet planes on the drawing board. 350. Your landing plan, on the face of it, looks O.K. to me.
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351. On the fence 352. On the hook 353. On the last lap 354. On the ropes 355. On the spot 356. On your own 357. 358. 359. 360. 361. 362. 363. 364. Open and shut Outfit Out of hand Out on a limb Overall picture Over his head, to go Over my head Pack a wallop, to
Undecided In a difficult position Near the end Almost defeated In a position requiring decision Independent; alone Sure; certain; positive Unit; organization Out of control Undecided; doubtful Complete situation To appeal to higher authority Difficult to understand To be powerful, strong To describe in an ideal manner
365. Paint a rosy picture, to 366. Passe 367. Pass the buck, to 368. 369. 370. 371. 372.
No longer used To avoid responsibility by giving it to another Pass the work down the line Communicate; convey the message Pat answer A sure, specific reply Pat, have down To memorize Pay dearly Be costly Payoff, the The result; climax To produce good results Greatest amount of work A talk to raise morale
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351. Right now, hes on the fence about the two courses of action. 352. Youve got me on the hook; I just dont know the correct solution. 353. Here is the Command Post; were on the last lap now. 354. The enemy is on the ropes now; keep hammering at him. 355. Your question puts me on the spot, but heres my recommendation. 356. During an independent operation, youre pretty well on your own. 357. They had an open and shut case against the accused. 358. Hospital returnees should be reassigned to their old outfit. 359. During a bottleneck, traffic is nearly always out of hand. 360. That question puts me out on a limb; frankly, I dont know the answer. 361. I can brief you on the overall picture in 10 minutes. 362. If he refuses your request you ought to go over his head. 363. His explanation is over my head. 364. Any weapon will have to pack a wallop to be effective in this situation. 365. He is not always reliable; he tends to paint a rosy picture too often. 366. The use of messenger pigeons is almost passe. 367. Dont try to pass the buck to me; that problem is yours. 368. Pass the word down the line about the possible use of gas masks. 369. This question calls for a pat answer. 370. The patrol will have the area down pat. 371. If we try to infiltrate, well pay dearly for it in lives. 372. The payoff of proper fire support co-ordination is the enemys defeat. 373. Good maintenance ought to pay off in a reduced number of deadlined vehicles. 374. G3 has his peak load from about 0900 to 1800 hours. 375. Whats the matter? You need a pep talk.
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376. Pet subject 377. Pick and shovel work 378 Pick one out of thin air 379. Pin down the enemy 380. Pinpoint 381. Pipeline, in the 382. Plant, a 383. Plaster, to 384. Play safe, to 385. Plow through 386. Plug the gap 387. Plush job, a 388. Point, there is no 389. Point up 390. 391. 392. 393. 394. Polish off, to Poll the class Poop Pooped out Poopsheet
Favorite topic Difficult assignment(s) To guess Keep the enemy in control Locate accurately According to requisition A spy To destroy To be cautious Pass through quickly Stop a breakthrough An easy (job); a luxury There is no reason Emphasize; reveal To defeat; complete Take a vote; ask for opinions Information Tired, exhausted Information sheet Happen Strike or attack heavily Shoot a great deal ammunition A strong movement Have very little time For and against
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395. Pop up 396. Pound to pieces 397. Pour out the lead 398. Power play 399. Pressed for time 400. Pro and con
of
376. Military history is the Colonels pet subject. 377. The Indians on a staff do most of the pick and shovel word. 378. There are several possible solutions, so Ill pick one out of thin air. 379. Our artillery will pin down the enemy indefinitely. 380. You must pinpoint your targets when requesting artillery support. 381. Individually trained replacements arrive in the pipeline. 382. Some CIC men mingle with refugees as a plant to discover enemy agents. 383. Ask for an air strike to plaster that target. 384. On the defense, we requisition extra Class V supplies just to play safe. 385. An armored division cannot plow through heavily fortified position. 386. The General committed the Engineer Battalion to plug the gap. 387. The Division Commanding Generals trailer is a plush job as a home in the field. 388. There is no point in asking for it; there are none in stock. 389. The arrival of enemy reinforcements would point up a stiffening defense. 390. The mission of this unit is to polish off remaining resistance. 391. Ill poll the class on these three courses of action. 392. According to the poop, well occupy blocking position. 393. In mountain operations, men become pooped out easily. 394. Where is that movement poopsheet wit the critical points on the route? 395. In a meeting engagement, anything can pop up, so be on the alert. 396. Our artillery fire will pound to pieces any defense they establish. 397. This new automatic rifle can really pour out the lead. 398. A penetration is normally a power play through the middle. 399. A piecemeal attack is made when youre pressed for time. 400. Lets discuss the pro and con of this course of action.
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401. Prod, to 402. Pull off an operation 403. 404. 405. 406. 407. Pull out, to Pull stakes, to Punch through Push off, to Push on, to
To urge Execute a maneuver To depart; withdraw To depart To penetrate To begin To advance Give something a name, be specific Place him in a difficult position Publish an order Publish the information Be specific; explain Argue over a small point To prepare, to arrange To recapitulate; to summarize Reconnaissance Discuss again; review A summary Puzzle; complicated process Very familiar to me According to standard procedure The correct time to act Circuit or schematic diagram Everything collapses Given a job unwillingly
408. Put a handle on 409. 410. 411. 412. 413. 414. Put him on the spot Put out an order Put out the poop Put your finger on it Quibble Rack up, to
415. Recap, to 416. Recon 417. Rehash 418. Resume' 419. Rigamarole 420. Right down my alley 421. Right down the line 422. 423. 424. 425. Ripe, the situation is Road map Roof falls in, the Roped in
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401. Someone ought to prod the Old Man into taking action. 402. We cant pull of this operation without control of the sea approaches. 403. When a unit pulls but by order, it also pulls stakes. 404. The enemy had to pull stakes and hightail it. 405. If we can punch through to Hill 201, weve got it made. 406. The pre-dawn attack is scheduled to push off at 0317 hours. 407. In the pursuit, mobile forces are to push on to cut off the enemy retreat. 408. Can you put a handle on that new gadget? I never heard of it. 409. A feint will put him on the spot as to where our main effort is. 410. Put out an order in compliance with the Old Mans request. 411. Ill put out the poop on the overall picture periodically. 412. Wheres the gimmick in this? Can you put your finger on it? 413. Lets not quibble on the form; complete it without delay. 414. Once the overall concept is known, you can begin to rack up the plan. 415. To recap briefly, our advance during the past 24 hours has encountered stiff resistance. 416. This is a typical recon and fighter airfield of the tactical air force. 417. Lets rehash the situation briefly; first, bring out all significant new enemy reinforcements. 418. A brief resume' is the same as a recap. 419. The observation section can help the G2 solve the rigamarole of enemy tactics. 420. Id like that job, sir; its right down my alley. 421. Weve made many administrative moves; this ones right down the line. 422. The situation is ripe for our counterattack, General. 423. Lets review the road map on this transmitter. 424. When all defense units are surrounded, the roof falls in. 425. He was roped in to the inspection team today.
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426. Rough going, have 427. 428. 429. 430. 431. 432. Rough idea, a Rough time Round figures, in Rub Rule of thumb Run, to
Have difficulty A general conception Difficult time Approximately Difficulty Fixed rule To command Summarize; describe Unable to penetrate, impossible to find the answer To have only a little of, to need Average, normal Going or moving quickly To command; to be charge Having the responsibility Had a very narrow escape; just barely escaped disaster Understand; intelligence To reduce One who is blamed A great deal in a very short period of time Depart A fight Save with difficulty Eliminate Light action To fail; to lose
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433. Rundown, give a 434. Run into a stone wall 435. Run low, to 436. Run of the mill 437. Run, on the 438. Run the show, to 439. Saddled with 440. Saved by the bell 441. Savvy 442. Scale down, to 443. 444. 445. 446. 447. Scapegoat Schedule, tight Scram Scrap Scrape together
448. Scratch, off 449. Scrimmaging 450. Second best, to come out
426. Our patrols on the mountains have rough going when communications fail. 427. A brief resume gives you a rough idea of past action. 428. With his two assistants absent, the chief was having a rough time. 429. Our losses to date in round figures amount to about 200. 430. The rub is that we have no spare parts available. 431. There is no rule of thumb to solve all your problems. 432. The Executive officer will have to run the company during the Company Commander's leave. 433. The G3 can give a rundown at any time of all units organic and attached to the division. 434. We'll run into a stone wall when we get to that fortified position. 435. We're about to run low on water; send back for more. 436. The recent sporadic enemy air attacks only show run of the mill air activity. 437. We've got them on the run. Bring up the ammunition on the run, Joe. 438. Your job is to run the show at your assigned position. 439. The Military Government officer is saddled with the problems of the refugees. 440. It looked awfully bad for us for a while but we were saved by the bell. 441. Now I savvy the situation. That S3 has lots of savvy. 442. We'll have to scale down our assault echelon because we don't have sufficient reserves. 443. The MP is usually the scapegoat if the traffic becomes congested. 444. Visiting four divisions in one day is a tight schedule. 445. Wow, there are 3 tanks coming; let's scram into this gully. 446. Our main effort was engaged in a hot scrap all afternoon. 447. It required 4 days for our S4 to scrape together enough rations for the forced march. 448. Scratch off the 2 bulldozers on his requisition; they aren't available. 449. There was only light scrimmaging all along the main line of resistance. 450. I am afraid we are going to come out second best.
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451. See the light, to 452. Sell him a bill of goods, to 453. Settle for 454. Set rule 455. Set up to 456. Setup 457. Sewed up 458. Shake loose 459. Shake off, to 460. Shake-up 461. Shaky on 462. Shape up, to 463. Sharp 464. Shine, to 465. Shift, midnight 466. Shoot! 467. Shot, to take a 468. Shoot the breeze 469. 470. 471. 472. 473. 474. Shoot the works Shoot through Shoot your bolt Short cut Shorthanded Short of
To understand To influence; to convince Agree on; accept Answer; solution; regulation To prepare; establish Arrangement; something very easy or certain Ready; engaged; busy Release; free Get rid of; lose Change Weak or doubtful about To take definite form; to meet requirements Intelligent; smart To be superior, outstanding Tour of duty from 2400 to 0800 hours Go ahead! To attempt; try Talk informally Use everything To cut through quickly Exhaust all resources A quick and easy way Lacking men Need; not all the way to Quick, haphazard manner
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451. Thank you for your explanation. Now I begin to see the light. 452. Ive tried to sell him a bill of goods, but hes not very convinced. 453. OK, Ill settle for one extra truck, although I need two. 454. Theres no set rule for each situation; use your imagination or initiative. 455. At the evening brief, we are going to set up plans for next day's mission. 456. The setup of the G2-G3 tent must not be dominated by the G3 Section. That salient will prove to be a setup for our flanking fires. 457. G4, are all the plans for the forward movement sewed up? I couldn't see the Old Man; all his time was sewed up with VIP's. 458. If we can shake loose that Armored Division, we've got it made. 459. After an atomic attack, you've got to shake off fear and resume the attack. 460. Because of the last defeat, there will be a shake-up in command. 461. I'm a little shaky on my figures, Dan; can you check them? 462. Now the picture begins to shape up, after this latest poop. You've got to shape up or I will have to replace you. 463. A good soldier is always sharp. 464. He has done well in the past; he should continue to shine. 465. Activities are usually quiet during the midnight shift. 466. If you have any questions, shoot! 467. It's your turn to take a shot at it, Jim. 468. The students get together during break periods and shoot the breeze. 469. When you commit your reserve, you shoot the works. 470. You should be able to shoot through that gap easily enough. 471. You must shoot your bolt; the enemy is still pouring through. 472. After experience in any job, you get to know the short cuts. 473. Our recent losses have left us shorthanded. 474. I'm short of ammunition. The patrol stopped short of the outpost about 200 yards. 475. In giving your solution, don't use the shotgun method.
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476. Shot in the dark, take a 477. 478. 479. 480. Shot up Shove off, to Showdown, to have a Sidelight
Guess Wounded; disorganized To depart; leave To argue out a point; inspection An interesting aspect Divert from main purpose
481. Sidetrack 482. Silver platter, on a 483. Silver lining, the 484. Sit tight 485. Sixty-four ($64) question 486. Size up the situation
Without effort The happy part of a situation which seems difficult Wait; do not move dollar The most important question Make an estimate situation Lacking in detail To economize Just barely succeed of the
487. Sketchy 488. Skimpy on, to be 489. Skin of your teeth, by the 490. Skip over, to 491. Skirt, to 492. Slam into 493. Slang 494. 495. 496. 497. 498. Slant Slant, have the wrong Slew of, a Slide over Slip out the bag
To avoid mention of; to omit To avoid; to go around Meet; engage violently Idioms which are commonly used Idea Have an incorrect idea A great number of Explain briefly Escape To make a blunder; to err In this job
.
476. The Old Man doesn't take a shot in the dark; he acts on positive information. 477. My battalion was badly shot up in this attack. 478. I've got to shove off to visit the 58th and 59th. 479. The Old Man is going to have a showdown tonight. 480. One sidelight on this captured material is the relative shortage of riffes. 481. Unverified information may sidetrack you in making your estimate of the situation. 482. The enemy won't give that dominant position on a silver platter. 483. Don't get discouraged; always look for the silver lining. 484. Just sit tight until his next move. 485. Where are his reserves? That's the $64 question. 486. The Colonel quickly sized up the situation and then issued his orders. 487. I couldn't act on such sketchy information. 488. The ammunition is low, so we'll have to be skimpy on it awhile. 489. Well, you took that hill by the skin of your teeth; it was touch and go. 490. Allow me to skip over the next 3 items; now, how about evacuation? 491. We've got to skirt that machine-gun nest to get at the blockhouse. 492. We must slam into the position with everything we have. 493. If you don't savvy our slang, you won't have classroom discussion. 494. Here's another slant; try another route. 495. You have the wrong slant on it; it's this way. 496. We found a slew of enemy troops concealed in a ravine. 497. Don't slide over those matters; explain them at length. 498. In spite of our mopping up, many enemy will slip out of the bag. 499. When you are tired and nervous, you are likely to slip up on your job. 500. Do you have a capable officer to place in this slot?
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501. Slug, a 502. Slug with work, to 503. Slugging match 504. Slug it out, to 505. Smack into, run 506. Smooth sailing 507. Snafu 508. Snag onto 500. Snap decision, make a 510 Sneak around the end, to 511. Snowball, to 512. Snow job 513. Snow under 514. Soft spot, a 515. 516. 517. 518. Sort of Soup up, to Sour, go SOP(ESS, O, Pee)
A bullet To assign a great deal of work An intense fight To fight very intensely Meet face to face Easy; without trouble Confused; in a turmoil Seize; hold Act hastily; decide quickly To make an envelopment To become bigger A pleasing but exaggerated speech To overwhelm A weakness Somewhat To increase To fail; go wrong Written directive describing correct procedure Initial work, difficult jobs Memorize To be specific; to explain step by step To discover; see observe Inspecting only a few of a group Immediately, without hesitation To compare
.
519. Spade work 520. Spec 521. Spell out 522. Spot, to 523. Spot check 524. Spur of the moment, on the 525. Stack up, to
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Slugs were flying thick and fast during the infiltration. 502. I begged him not to slug me with work, but he snowed me under. 503. Capturing the final objective was a real slugging matter. 504. In fact, we had to slug it out for 3 hours before overcoming the enemy. 505. A patrol may run smack into enemy ambushes. 506. The operation was smooth sailing over the outnumbered enemy. 507. Another bottleneck at the bridge? Now our plans are snafu for sure. 508. Snag onto every inch of ground you can before you are relieved. 509. Don't make a snap decision; take some time to study the situation. 510. One course of action is to sneak around the end tonight. 511. During my absence, my work tends to snowball. 512. It is amusing to listen to his snow job. 513. We organize reliefs for our staff; we don't want to snow them under with work. 514. First find the enemy soft spot, then reinforce your initial success. 515. Every new job is sort of strange at first. 516. We've got to soup up the attack with all available artillery. 517. Keep on the lookout so that your plans don't go sour. 518. If you run the Comcenter according to the SOP, nothing will go wrong. 519. The Indians on the staff do the spadework for the Old Man. 520. You can't spec everything; that's why we have an FM 101-10. 521. Please spell out just what you mean so that I can understand. 522. Visual air reconnaissance is used to spot enemy movements. 523. Battalion Commanders during rehabilitation periods spot-check equipment. 524. Ideas which come on the spur of the moment can be useful. 525. Their new weapons appear to stack up well with ours in quality.
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501.
526. Stake all 527. Stale, to go 528. Stalemate 529. 530. 531. 532. 533. 534. Stall, to Stall off, to Standby Start from scratch Start the ball rolling Staying power
Put all chances of success in one effort To become careless; indifferent An impasse, a fight with no victory for either side To fail; to delay; to be delayed To delay a decision Aid; help; assistance Explain from the beginning Begin Ability to resist To remain in the vicinity To be adjacent Endure it Take a chance Difficult situation Easy or predetermined solution Halt immediately Take corrective action Visualize with exaggeration Calmly; without effort Perplexed Result; overall situation Best effort Lost; defeated To exchange To wait uncertainly; endure until the end
535. Stick around, to 536. Stick close, to 537. Stick it out 538. Stick your neck out 539. Sticky point 540. 541. 542. 543. Stock answer Stop cold Straighten out Stretch your imagination
544. Stride, in 545. 546. 547. 548. 549. Stumped Sum and substance Sunday punch Sunk Swap, to
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526. We could stake all on an atomic attack. 527. After a wrong time at the same job, a man tends to go stale. 528. After 3 days of fruitless attack, both sides decided it was a stalemate. 529. Your main effort is likely to stall for lack of fire support. 530. I think he is just trying to stall off. 531. Your weapon is your best standby in a difficult spot. 532. What happened in my absence? Start from scratch, please. 533. Now for the briefing, G1; you start the ball rolling. 534. With all those reinforcements, he'll have lots of staying power against attack. 535. Tell my aide to stick around till I get back. 536. During the foggy weather, all these planes have to stick close to base. 537. Can you stick it out till reinforcements arrive? 538. Don't stick it your neck out without thorough reconnaissance. 539. The question of exactly when to counterattack may be a sticky point sometimes. 540. There's no stock answer in such a contingency. 541. Our concealed minefield ought to stop him cold. 542. Go down there and straighten out that outfit, Captain. 543. Can't you stretch your imagination to realize that this is possible? 544. Our main effort was so strong we took his counterattack in stride. 545. That's got me stumped; what's your recommendation? 546. The sum and substance is that our attack is stopped cold. 547. Commitment of the reserve constitutes your Sunday punch. 548. If we don't capture Hill 395, we're sunk. 549. During the night, the new unit is to swap places with the old one. 550. We'll just have to sweat it out until we know his atomic capability.
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555. Take a chance 556. 557. 558. 559. 560. 561. 562. 563. Take a crack at Take it, can Take it easy Take a peek at Taken care of Take off, to Take off! Take over, to
Arrange successfully Change over to Study; work on According to specifications; correct Endanger; place in jeopardy Attempt; try Can endure difficult situations Relax Look at All prepared To depart; departure Begin! Start! To take the place of; to replace in command Choose To influence; convince To engage; come into contact with Incorrect; confused To go fast; proceed rapidly That's the difficulty That's your problem To discuss the details To eliminate; discard
564. Take your pick 565. Talk him into, to 566. Tangle with, to 567. 568. 569. 570. 571. 572. Tangled up Tear along, to That's the rub That's your baby Thrash it out, to Throw out the window, to
573. Throw the book at him Give a severe punishment 574. Throw your Sunday To make your best effort punch, to 575. Thumbnail sketch Very general and brief description
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551. Can you swing a deal to swap weapons at once? 552. Radio operation, switch over to channel B. 553. We'll tackle this now and have the plan ready. 554. This tank is tailor made for the job at hand. 555. Don't take a chance with that patrol; the area is covered with mines. 556. Let me take a crack at it with my outfit. 557. I admire his courage; he can take it. 558. Don't let your problems upset you; instead, take it easy. 559. Now let us take a peek at those air photos. 560. Have you taken care of all details for the relief? 561. Jet planes need a long runway to take off; their takeoff isn't fast. 562. It is approaching zero hour; take off now! 563. The Colonel is to take over the regiment; today he'll run the outfit well. 564. Here are two identical photos; take your pick and send me the other. 565. I want to talk him into accepting my decision. 566. A patrol is likely to tangle with several infiltrating groups. 567. Your first report has many details tangled up, but you'll learn. 568. Once we get on the paved road, we'll be able to tear along. 569. We can't get hold of any more rations anywhere; that's the rub. 570. Don't give me this project; that's your baby. 571. We'll need a staff conference to thrash it out. 572. This new information means we have to throw out the window all earlier plans. 573. The court will throw the book at him for his desertion. 574. When you launch the counterattack, you've got to throw your Sunday punch. 575. I've only got 5 minutes, G2, for you to give me a thumbnail sketch.
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576. Tie down, to 577. 578. 579. 580. 581 Tie in with, to Tied up Tie into the enemy Tied together Tight squeeze
To limit; restrict To agree with; to support Busy; detained To engage or attack the enemy Joined; related; coordinated Difficult Time is very important Not much time remains A quick method to save time Give advance information To penetrate Things which help one to accomplish a job With every means The boss; the best man; the commander At higher levels; in the air above Very closely matched Mention Difficult problem or situation To find it difficult to do To remove or replace A traffic difficulty Traffic is out of control Train 3 men for each job
Overanxious; nervous Instructor leads the class point by point and shows how to solve
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582. Time is of the essence 583. Time's running shot 584. Time saver, a 585. Tip your hand 586. Toehold, to get a 587. Tools of his trade 588. Tooth and nail 589. Top man 590. Topside 591. Touch and go 592. Touch on 593. Tough nut to crack 594. Tough time, to have a 595. Trade him in, to 596. Traffic jam 597. Traffic is out of hand 598. Train 3 deep 599. Trigger happy 600. Troop-lead the class
576. The interrogation teams trie to tie down prisoners on specific information which G2 wants. 577. This information ought to tie in with what you found out. 578. You can't see the Old Man, he's tied up. 579. We'll tie into the enemy with all available weapons. 580. The work of G2 and G3 is tied together. 581. Getting our column past that critical point on time will be a tight squeeze. 582. Hurry that serial over the river; time is of the essence. 583. Can you still do it before the deadline? Time's running short. 584. During briefing sessions, charts, graphs, and experience tables are great time savers. 585. Don't tip your hand by moving your reserves too early. 586. Once you are able to get a toehold, set up the Command Post. 587. G3's thorough knowledge of division units is the tool of his trade. 588. Fighting hammer and tongs is like fighting tooth and nail. 589. Ask Lt. Col. Brown; he's top man in this battalion. 590. Column cover planes normally protect movement topside. 591. The fire on both sides was touch and go until our reinforcements arrived. 592. Now let's touch on supply; G4 will be responsible for all rations. 593. The Aggressor fortified zone was a tough nut to crack. 594. The Engineer Company is likely to have a tough time putting in the bridge. 595. My assistant is becoming very careless; I think I'll have to trade him in. 596. Maximum flow and minimum necessary controls in a traffic plan will avoid traffic jams. 597. No one can get anywhere; traffic is out of hand. 598. During the division training program, train 3 deep in all key jobs. 599. Just prior to the assault landing, we lost 3 planes because of trigger happy individuals. 600. As a time saver, the instructor may troop-lead the class through
difficult points.
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601. Turn into 602. Turn them loose 603. Two up and one back 604. Umpty-umph 605. Understudy 606. Under the gun 607. 608. 609. 610. 611. 612. 613. 614. Under way, to get Up a tree Upset the apple cart Upstairs Up to date Up to snuff Up to the minute Up to you, it's
Become Release 2 regiments in the front lines 1 regiment in division reserve Something without a specific name or number One who trains for another person's position Dominated by enemy observation To begin; start Undecided Ruin the plans In the air above The latest or newest information Correct; efficient The latest information It depends on you Think intelligently
616. VIP (pronounced Vee Eye Very important person Pee) 617. Visiting fireman Important visitor 618. Wallop A strong blow 619. Wallop, to 620. War of nerves 621. Water under the bridge, it's 622. Wear two hats 623. Weight, dead 624. Whale the tar out of 625. Whatchamacallit To hit strongly War without shooting A past event Act in two or more jobs at once Without value Defeat badly Anything whose correct name you don't know
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601. Our attack could easily turn into a rout of the enemy. 602. Have your tanks ready so you can turn them loose at the right time. 603. In a normal defense position, we employ our infantry regiments two up and one back. 604. Where's he from? From the Umpty-umph Battalion which just joined us. 605. I have been reassigned; Lt. Smith is my understudy. 606. Engineers putting up a bridge before the line is taken are working under the gun. 607. The battle is about to get under way. 608. I'm sure up a tree, Jim, whether or not to move your battalion. 609. That undetected turning movement upset the apple cart. 610. If we have air superiority upstairs, we'll see many planes topside. 611. Bring me up to date on what's happened in the last 4 hours. 612. My battalion is up to snuff on supply economy, as far as I can see. 613. What's the latest up to the minute news? No change? OK! 614. OK George, it's up to you and your counterattack; give 'em your Sunday punch. 615. If a traffic snarl happens, Sergeant, use your head and send the others on that bypass. 616. The Corps Commanding General and other VIPs came to present 3 awards to men in the regiment. 617. Take those visiting firemen into the visitors' tent, not into G3's tent. 618. The new 280-millimeter gun packs quite a wallop, even at that range. 619. If we can manage to wallop him with a surprise atomic attack, we've got it made. 620. The war of nerves during September 1939 to April 1940 was mostly a cold war. 621. You can't change that mistake, John; it's water under the bridge. 622. There are several officers on the Division Supply Staff who wear two hats. 623. That clerk is just dead weight in the orderly room. 624. If our reinforcements arrive in time, we should whale the tar out of the enemy. 625. Give me that whatchamacallit, the one by your left hand.
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What're you driving at? Whip, to Whip out an order, to Whipped Wind up an operation Workhorse Work it out, to Worry wart Worth his weight in gold
What do you mean? To beat, defeat To publish an order quickly Tired; defeated Finish Hard worker To solve One who worries about details Very valuable; invaluable Consider lost, damaged, or ruined A great deal of unnecessary talk
635. Write off as lost 636. Yak yak 637. Yak, to 638. Yardstick, as a 639. 640. 641. 642.
To talk idly; to chatter As a means of measurement; as a rule You've got something there You have an important point there You've had it You're finished; you have no other chance Zero hour Critical time Zero in, to To locate accurately
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What're you driving at by suggesting a change in leave quotas? 627. We must try to whip the enemy before winter sets in. 628. The Chief of Staff told G3 to whip out order at once. 629. I'm whipped; a fellow can't work 48 hours without relief. 630. This pursuit to the Rhine will wind up this operation. 631. The workhorses in the Pentagon are the Indians. 632. Here's the problem; try to work it out. 633. That worry wart will take too long to make a decision. 634. A good classification officer is worth his weight in gold when the division first receives its replacements. 635. You can write off as lost 25% of the tanks which take part in the attack. 636. His yak yak caused misunderstanding in the interpretation of the orders. 637. The tendency to yak at length is not an asset to an officer. 638. Experience table can be used as a yardstick to figure your requirement. 639. I'd forgotten that point, but you've got something there. 640. If you're under an atomic burst, brother, you've had it. 641. The zero hour for his attack will be 0310 hours. 642. The mission of this battery is to zero in on enemy artillery position.
626.
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BIBLIOGRAPHY *** Military Leadership, U.S. Government Printing office 1993 *** American Language Course, Book 33, Lackland A.F.B., 1993 *** Dictionary of English Language and Culture, Longman, 2000 *** Makkai, Adam; Boatner T.Maxime; Handbook of Gates E. John, Commonly Used American Idioms, Barron's, 1995 *** American Language Course, Book of Idioms DLIELC, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, 1993
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