¶ … officer to communicate effectively? The officer commands his or her troops. The soldiers beneath him or her on the chain of command simply obey the officer, without question as to the reasonable nature of the orders. These troops always understand the officer, no matter what he says or how brusquely she communicates.

Because of this inaccurate portrayal of the military in fictional and non-fictional media sources, such as books, news articles, and movies, this is the common, civilian concept of how orders are rendered down the military chain of command. However, in the real world of military service and engagement, the truth is quite often the reverse. The greater the rank of the officer, the greater his or her responsibility he or she has to communicate effectively to his or her troops. The greater the rank of the officer, the more articulate he or she must be in communicating effectively to his or her troops.

military as a whole. The greater the officer's rank, the more people look to that officer for guidance and depend upon his or her judgment, on a moment to moment basis in and out of combat. Such points are worthy of reiteration particularly in regards to communication because so much of military language and lingo seems designed to obfuscate meaning, rather than to convey meaning. But although acronyms may abound in military language, there is a reason this is so. Once an individual is familiar with the military language of acronyms and commands, communication is facilitated rather than limited. Maneuvers and meanings can be conveyed clearly, quickly, and accurately when conducting exercises on the field, or when one is involved in the heat and heart of combat.
An officer must be able…