Articles - Military Lingo Guide

This entire guide is written Out-of-Character, meaning it is from an Anarchy Online Player's point of view, and not the character he plays. Since Anarchy Online is set in a constant hostile enviroment (factions, aliens, mobs) I thought writing this small guide on Military Lingo would help those interested in roleplaying military roles in AO.


Basic Military Lingo
Role-playing a military role is not easy, your character in any position could be considered "on duty" unless otherwise stated, therefore your behavior should be on a "professional" level in-character. Of course there is always a time to joke around, as you are playing military not a statue.

The classic term "watch your back" is "watch your 6" or "watch your six" as we go by numbers, 12o'clock is in front of you, 9o'clock to your left, 3o'clock to your right, and 6o'clock behind you (your back). These terms can be used in combat when referring to enemies and friendies locations in the battlefield, operation or mission.

Instead of the plain "yes" or "yeah" you could answer "Acknowledged" or "Affirmative", same applies to "no" or "nah" which can also be replaced by "Acknowledged" or "Negative".

A few phrases are commands, like "John take point" means such person will be ahead, for "recon" or "pulling" a target to the rest of the team during training or certain operations.

Also the term "on mark" or "on my mark" it means a "signal" will be given to take certain action, be it to attack, distract, retreat, move, etc. The signal can be a nod, a scream, a countdown or a certain move made by the person making the mark.

Other terms and phrases are common and easy to comprehend, like "Pull out", "Move out", "Go in", "Fire at will" (not someone named Will, for those wiseguys out there), "Withdraw", "Engage", "Open Fire", "Hold your Fire", "Evasive Action", etc.

The term "Scramble" means to assemble/move for action, this is used during an emergency most of the time, during attacks on your territory by enemies.

When in front of superior officers the term "Attention" means you are to stand where you are facing an officer.

Time can also be military role-played! let's say you are about 5mins away from joining your team or meeting someone, instead of "ETA 5mins" you can say "I'm 5 clicks away", if ask how long is that, say "At current speed, 1 click per minute" (click meaning a certain distance).


Advanced Military Lingo
You should develop certain "military" habits. If you're in a team and are the leader, instead of saying "lets go guys" say "Move out team", "let's not get near that thing" could be "hostile detected, take evasive action". If you are not a leader in a team, but a Puller, instead of "i got one" say "Hostile Detected, Locked on Target, awaiting orders." If you need a doctor to heal you can shout "Assistance Required, Low Health, CODE RED." or "Medic!". If you got a team on their way to a mission and something gets in your path (attacks) select the monster and say "Hostile Detected.. %t has started it's attack run, withdrawing, mission is priority 1." or "Incoming Hostile...%t has started it's attack run, open fire at will." %t will be replaced with the monster's name, all this can be easily be accomplished with macros and scripts, all little touches to your military persona.

You can get caught in the middle of a Funcom Event as you're trying to level or get something you need...will you role-play or try to get what you need?, it's all up to you (my personal opinion, role-play because there is always time to level or shop).

In Military Operations/Missions, there isn't much room for "buddy" talk, but there is some. Always good to have a smile or a laugh at the expense of a target who should have known not to make a move, and did.

Certain terms require in-character "tactical" knowledge. Check the Military Tactics Guide for more details on that.


There you have it.

Have a great day, and may your role-playing experience be as fulfilling as mine.

Windguaerd's Player.

Last updated on 12.07.2011 by Khuri
Article written by Windguaerd
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