US Army Dictionary of Military Terms

active Federal service under section 12406 and Chapter 15 of title 10 (DOD), US Code. See also active duty; federal service;

Presidential Reserve Callup Authority.

(JP 4-05)

Presidential Reserve Callup Authority —

Provision of a public law (US Code, Title 10 (DOD), section 12304) that provides the President a means to activate, without a declaration of national emergency, not more than 200,000 members of the Selected Reserve and the Individual Ready Reserve (of whom not more than 30,000 may be members of the Individual Ready Reserve), for not more than 270 days to meet the support requirements of any operational mission. Members called under this provision may not be used for disaster relief or to suppress insurrection. This authority has particular utility when used in circumstances in which the escalatory national or international signals of partial or full mobilization would be undesirable. Forces available under this authority can provide a tailored, limited-scope, deterrent, or operational response, or may be used as a precursor to any subsequent mobilization. Also called PRCA. See also Individual

Ready Reserve; mobilization; Presidential Callup; Selected Reserve.

(JP 3-57)

pressure altitude — (*) An atmospheric pressure expressed in terms of altitude which corresponds to that pressure in the standard atmosphere. See also altitude.

pressure breathing — (*) The technique of breathing which is required when oxygen is supplied direct to an individual at a pressure higher than the ambient barometric pressure.

pressure front — See shock front.

pressure mine — (*) 1. In land mine warfare, a mine whose fuze responds to the direct

pressure of a target. 2. In naval mine warfare, a mine whose circuit responds to the hydrodynamic pressure field of a target. See also mine.

pressure mine circuit — See pressure mine.

pressurized cabin — The occupied space of an aircraft in which the air pressure has been increased above that of the ambient atmosphere by compression of the ambient atmosphere into the space.

prestrike reconnaissance — Missions undertaken for the purpose of obtaining complete information about known targets for use by the strike force.

prevention — The security procedures undertaken by the public and private sector in order to discourage terrorist acts. See also antiterrorism. (JP 3-07.2)

prevention of stripping equipment — See antirecovery device.

preventive deployment — The deployment of military forces to deter violence at the interface or zone of potential conflict where tension is rising among parties. Forces may be employed in such a way that they are indistinguishable from a peacekeeping force in terms of equipment, force posture, and activities. See also peace enforcement; peacekeeping; peace operations. (JP 3-07)

preventive diplomacy — Diplomatic actions taken in advance of a predictable crisis to prevent or limit violence. (JP 3-07)

preventive maintenance — The care and servicing by personnel for the purpose of maintaining equipment and facilities in satisfactory operating condition by providing for systematic inspection, detection, and correction of incipient

failures either before they occur or before they develop into major defects.

preventive medicine — The anticipation, communication, prediction, identification, prevention, education, risk assessment, and control of communicable diseases, illnesses and exposure to endemic, occupational, and environmental threats. These threats include nonbattle injuries, combat stress responses, weapons of mass destruction, and other threats to the health and readiness of military personnel. Communicable diseases include anthropod-, vector-, food-, waste-, and waterborne diseases. Preventative medicine measures include field sanitation, medical surveillance, pest and vector control, disease risk assessment, environmental and occupational health surveillance, waste (human, hazardous, and medical) disposal, food safety inspection, and potable water surveillance. Also called

PVNTMED. (JP 4-02)

preventive war — A war initiated in the belief that military conflict, while not imminent, is inevitable, and that to delay would involve greater risk.

prewithdrawal demolition target — A target prepared for demolition preliminary to a withdrawal, the demolition of which can be executed as soon after preparation as convenient on the orders of the officer to whom the responsibility for such demolitions has been delegated. See also demolition target.

primary aircraft authorization — The number of aircraft authorized to a unit for performance of its operational mission. The primary authorization forms the basis for the allocation of operating resources to include manpower, support equipment, and flying-hour funds. Also called PAA.

primary aircraft inventory — The aircraft assigned to meet the primary aircraft authorization. Also called PAI.

primary censorship — Armed forces censorship performed by personnel of a company, battery, squadron, ship, station, base, or similar unit on the personal communications of persons assigned, attached, or otherwise under the jurisdiction of a unit. See also censorship.

primary control officer — In amphibious operations, the officer embarked in a primary control ship assigned to control the movement of landing craft, amphibious vehicles, and landing ships to and from a colored beach. Also called PCO. (JP 3-02)

primary control ship — In amphibious operations, a ship of the task force designated to provide support for the primary control officer and a combat information center control team for a colored beach. Also called PCS. (JP 3-02)

primary flight control — The controlling agency on aviation ships and amphibious aviation assault ships that is responsible for air traffic control of aircraft within 5 nautical miles of the ship. On Coast Guard cutters, primary flight control duties are performed by a combat information center, and the term “PRIFLY” is not used. Also called

PRIFLY. See also amphibious aviation assault ship; aviation ship. (JP 3-04.1)

primary imagery dissemination — See electronic imagery dissemination.

primary imagery dissemination system — See electronic imagery dissemination.

primary interest — Principal, although not exclusive, interest and responsibility for

accomplishment of a given mission, including responsibility for reconciling the activities of other agencies that possess collateral interest in the program.

primary operating stocks — Logistic resources on hand or on order necessary to support day-to-day operational requirements, and which, in part, can also be used to offset sustaining combat requirements. Also called POS.

primary review authority — The organization assigned by the lead agent to perform the actions and coordination necessary to develop and maintain the assigned joint publication under the cognizance of the lead agent. Also called

PRA. See also joint publication; lead agent. (JP 1-01)

primary target — An object of high publicity value to terrorists. See also antiterrorism; secondary targets. (JP 3-07.2)

primed charge — (*) A charge ready in all aspects for ignition.

prime mover — A vehicle, including heavy construction equipment, possessing military characteristics, designed primarily for towing heavy, wheeled weapons and frequently providing facilities for the transportation of the crew of, and ammunition for, the weapon.

prime vendor — A contracting process that provides commercial products to regionally grouped military and federal customers from commercial distributors using electronic commerce. Customers typically receive materiel delivery through the vendor’s commercial distribution system. Also called PV. See also distribution system. (JP 4-09)

principal building — A building aboard a diplomatic or consular compound where

classified information may be handled, stored, discussed, or processed, but that does not house the offices of the chief of mission or principal officer.

principal items — End items and replacement assemblies of such importance that management techniques require centralized individual item management throughout the supply system, to include depot level, base level, and items in the hands of using units. These specifically include the items where, in the judgment of the Services, there is a need for central inventory control, including centralized computation of requirements, central procurement, central direction of distribution, and central knowledge and control of all assets owned by the Services.

principal officer — The officer in charge of a diplomatic mission, consular office, or other Foreign Service post, such as a United States Liaison Office.

principal operational interest — When used in connection with an established facility operated by one Service for joint use by two or more Services, “principal operational interest” indicates a requirement for the greatest use of, or the greatest need for, the services of that facility. The term may be applied to a Service, but is more applicable to a command.

principal parallel — (*) On an oblique photograph, a line parallel to the true horizon and passing through the principal point.

principal plane — (*) A vertical plane which contains the principal point of an oblique photograph, the perspective center of the lens, and the ground nadir.

principal scale — (*) In cartography, the scale of a reduced or generating globe representing the sphere or spheroid, defined

by the fractional relation of their respective radii. Also called nominal scale. See also scale.

principal vertical — (*) On an oblique photograph, a line perpendicular to the true horizon and passing through the principal point.

printing size of a map or chart — (*) The dimensions of the smallest rectangle which will contain a map or chart, including all the printed material in its margin.

print reference — (*) A reference to an individual print in an air photographic sortie.

priority designator — A two-digit issue and priority code (01 through 15) placed in military standard requisitioning and issue procedure requisitions. It is based upon a combination of factors that relate the mission of the requisitioner and the urgency of need or the end use and is used to provide a means of assigning relative rankings to competing demands placed on the Department of Defense supply system.

priority intelligence requirements — Those intelligence requirements for which a commander has an anticipated and stated priority in the task of planning and decisionmaking. Also called PIRs. See also information requirements; intelligence; intelligence cycle; intelligence requirement. (JP 2-0)

priority message — A category of precedence reserved for messages that require expeditious action by the addressee(s) and/or furnish essential information for the conduct of operations in progress when routine precedence will not suffice. See also precedence.

priority national intelligence objectives —

A guide for the coordination of intelligence

collection and production in response to requirements relating to the formulation and execution of national security policy. They are compiled annually by the Washington Intelligence Community and flow directly from the intelligence mission as set forth by the National Security Council. They are specific enough to provide a basis for planning the allocation of collection and research resources, but not so specific as to constitute in themselves research and collection requirements.

priority of immediate mission requests — See emergency priority; urgent priority.

priority system for mission requests for tactical reconnaissance — A system that assigns each tactical reconnaissance request the appropriate priority as follows. Priority I — Takes precedence over all other requests except those previously assigned priority I. The results of these requests are of paramount importance to the immediate battle situation or objective. Priority II — The results of these requirements are in support of the general battle situation and will be accomplished as soon as possible after priority I requests. These are requests to gain current battle information. Priority III — The results of these requests update the intelligence database but do not affect the immediate battle situation. Priority IV

— The results of these requests are of a routine nature. These results will be fulfilled when the reconnaissance effort permits. See also precedence.

prior permission — (*) Permission granted by the appropriate authority prior to the commencement of a flight or a series of flights landing in or flying over the territory of the nation concerned.

prisoner of war — A detained person as defined in Articles 4 and 5 of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War of August 12, 1949. In

particular, one who, while engaged in combat under orders of his or her government, is captured by the armed forces of the enemy. As such, he or she is entitled to the combatant’s privilege of immunity from the municipal law of the capturing state for warlike acts which do not amount to breaches of the law of armed conflict. For example, a prisoner of war may be, but is not limited to, any person belonging to one of the following categories who has fallen into the power of the enemy: a member of the armed forces, organized militia or volunteer corps; a person who accompanies the armed forces without actually being a member thereof; a member of a merchant marine or civilian aircraft crew not qualifying for more favorable treatment; or individuals who, on the approach of the enemy, spontaneously take up arms to resist the invading forces. Also called POW or PW.

prisoner of war branch camp — (*) A subsidiary camp under the supervision and administration of a prisoner of war camp.

prisoner of war camp — An installation established for the internment and administration of prisoners of war.

prisoner of war censorship — The censorship of the communications to and from enemy prisoners of war and civilian internees held by the United States Armed Forces. See also censorship.

prisoner of war compound — (*) A subdivision of a prisoner of war enclosure.

prisoner of war enclosure — (*) A subdivision of a prisoner of war camp.

prisoner of war personnel record — (*) A form for recording the photograph, fingerprints, and other pertinent personal data concerning the prisoner of war,

including that required by the Geneva Convention.

proactive measures — In antiterrorism, measures taken in the preventive stage of antiterrorism designed to harden targets and detect actions before they occur. (JP 3-07.2)

proactive mine countermeasures —

Measures intended to prevent the enemy from successfully laying mines. See also mine countermeasures. (JP 3-15)

probability of damage — (*) The probability that damage will occur to a target expressed as a percentage or as a decimal. Also called PD.

probable error — See horizontal error.

probable error deflection — Error in deflection that is exceeded as often as not.

probable error height of burst — Error in height of burst that projectile and/or missile fuzes may be expected to exceed as often as not.

probable error range — Error in range that is exceeded as often as not.

probably destroyed — (*) In air operations, a damage assessment on an enemy aircraft seen to break off combat in circumstances which lead to the conclusion that it must be a loss although it is not actually seen to crash.

probe — In information operations, any attempt to gather information about an automated information system or its on-line users. See also information; information operations; information system. (JP 3-13)

procedural control — (*) A method of airspace control which relies on a combination of previously agreed and promulgated orders and procedures.

procedure — A procedure begins with a specific, documentable event that causes an activity to occur. The activity must produce a product that normally affects another external organization. Frequently, that product will be the event that causes another procedure to occur. It is important to recognize that a procedure determines “what” an organization must do at critical periods but does not direct “how” it will be done.

procedure turn — (*) An aircraft maneuver in which a turn is made away from a designated track followed by a turn in the opposite direction, both turns being executed at a constant rate so as to permit the aircraft to intercept and proceed along the reciprocal of the designated track.

procedure word — A word or phrase limited to radio telephone procedure used to facilitate communication by conveying information in a condensed standard form. Also called proword.

processing — (*) 1. In photography, the operations necessary to produce negatives, diapositives, or prints from exposed films, plates, or paper. 2. (DOD only) A system of operations designed to convert raw data into useful information. (JP 2-0)

proclamation — A document published to the inhabitants of an area that sets forth the basis of authority and scope of activities of a commander in a given area and which defines the obligations, liabilities, duties, and rights of the population affected.

procurement lead time — The interval in months between the initiation of procurement action and receipt into the supply system of the production model (excludes prototypes) purchased as the result of such actions. It is composed of two elements, production lead time and administrative lead time. See also

administrative lead time; initiation of procurement action; level of supply; production lead time; receipt into the supply system.

producer countries — In counterdrug operations, countries where naturally occurring plants such as coca, cannabis, or poppies are cultivated for later refinement into illicit drugs. See also counterdrug operations. (JP 3-07.4)

production base — The total national industrial production capacity available for the manufacture of items to meet materiel requirements.

production lead time — The time interval between the placement of a contract and receipt into the supply system of materiel purchased. Two entries are provided: a. initial — The time interval if the item is not under production as of the date of contract placement; and b. reorder — The time interval if the item is under production as of the date of contract placement. See also procurement lead time.

production logistics — That part of logistics concerning research, design, development, manufacture, and acceptance of materiel. In consequence, production logistics includes: standardization and interoperability, contracting, quality assurance, initial provisioning, transportability, reliability and defect analysis, safety standards, specifications and production processes, trials and testing (including provision of necessary facilities), equipment documentation, configuration control, and modifications.

production loss appraisal — An estimate of damage inflicted on an industry in terms of quantities of finished products denied the enemy from the moment of attack through the period of reconstruction to the point when full production is resumed.

proficiency training aircraft — Aircraft required to maintain the proficiency of pilots and other aircrew members who are assigned to nonflying duties.

profile — See flight profile.

program aircraft — The total of the active and reserve aircraft. See also aircraft.

Programmed Forces — The forces that exist for each year of the Future Years Defense Program. They contain the major combat and tactical support forces that are expected to execute the national strategy within manpower, fiscal, and other constraints. See also current force; force; Intermediate

Force Planning Level.

program of nuclear cooperation — (*)

Presidentially approved bilateral proposals for the United States to provide nuclear weapons and specified support to user nations who desire to commit delivery units to NATO in nuclear only or dual capable roles. After presidential approval in principle, negotiations will be initiated with the user nation to develop detailed support arrangements.

progress payment — Payment made as work progresses under a contract, upon the basis of costs incurred, of percentage of completion accomplished, or of a particular stage of completion. The term does not include payments for partial deliveries accepted by the Government under a contract or partial payments on contract termination claims.

prohibited area — A specified area within the land areas of a state or its internal waters, archipelagic waters, or territorial sea adjacent thereto over which the flight of aircraft is prohibited. May also refer to land or sea areas to which access is prohibited. See also closed area; danger area; restricted area.

projected map display — (*) The displayed image of a map or chart projected through an optical or electro-optical system onto a viewing surface.

projection print — An enlarged or reduced photographic print made by projection of the image of a negative or a transparency onto a sensitized surface.

proliferation (nuclear weapons) — The process by which one nation after another comes into possession of, or into the right to determine the use of, nuclear weapons; each nation becomes potentially able to launch a nuclear attack upon another nation.

prompt radiation — The gamma rays produced in fission and as a result of other neutron reactions and nuclear excitation of the weapon materials appearing within a second or less after a nuclear explosion. The radiations from these sources are known either as prompt or instantaneous gamma rays. See also induced radiation; initial radiation; residual radiation.

proofing — The verification that a breached lane is free of live mines by passing a mine roller or other mine-resistant vehicle through as the lead vehicle.

propaganda — Any form of communication in support of national objectives designed to influence the opinions, emotions, attitudes, or behavior of any group in order to benefit the sponsor, either directly or indirectly. See also black propaganda; grey propaganda; white propaganda.

propelled mine — See mobile mine.

proper authority — An authority authorized to call an opposing force hostile; may be either the National Command Authorities (NCA), the affected CINC, and/or any commander so delegated by either the NCA or the CINC.

proper clearance — A clearance for entry of units into specified defense areas by civil or military authorities having responsibility for granting such clearance.

property — 1. Anything that may be owned. 2. As used in the military establishment, this term is usually confined to tangible property, including real estate and materiel. For special purposes and as used in certain statutes, this term may exclude such items as the public domain, certain lands, certain categories of naval vessels, and records of the Federal Government.

property account — A formal record of property and property transactions in terms of quantity and/or cost, generally by item. An official record of Government property required to be maintained.

proportional navigation — A method of homing navigation in which the missile turn rate is directly proportional to the turn rate in space of the line of sight.

protected emblems — The red cross, red crescent, and other symbols that designate that persons, places, or equipment so marked have a protected status under the law of war.

protected frequencies — Those friendly frequencies used for a particular operation, identified and protected to prevent them from being inadvertently jammed by friendly forces while active electronic warfare operations are directed against hostile forces. These frequencies are of such critical importance that jamming should be restricted unless absolutely necessary or until coordination with the using unit is made. They are generally timeoriented, may change with the tactical situation, and must be updated periodically. See also electronic warfare. (JP 3-51)

protected persons/places — Persons (such as enemy prisoners of war) and places (such as hospitals) that enjoy special protections under the law of war. They may or may not be marked with protected emblems.

protected site — (*) A facility which is protected by the use of camouflage or concealment, selective siting, construction of facilities designed to prevent damage from fragments caused by conventional weapons, or a combination of such measures.

protection — Measures that are taken to keep nuclear, biological, and chemical hazards from having an adverse effect on personnel, equipment, or critical assets and facilities. Protection consists of five groups of activities: hardening of positions; protecting personnel; assuming mission-oriented protective posture; using physical defense measures; and reacting to attack. See also mission-oriented protective posture.

(JP 3-11)

protection of shipping — The use of proportionate force by US warships, military aircraft, and other forces, when necessary for the protection of US flag vessels and aircraft, US citizens (whether embarked in US or foreign vessels), and their property against unlawful violence. This protection may be extended (consistent with international law) to foreign flag vessels, aircraft, and persons. (JP 3-07)

protective clothing — (*) Clothing especially designed, fabricated, or treated to protect personnel against hazards caused by extreme changes in physical environment, dangerous working conditions, or enemy action.

protective mask — A protective ensemble designed to protect the wearer’s face and

eyes and prevent the breathing of air contaminated with chemical and/or biological agents. See also missionoriented protective posture. (JP 3-11)

protective minefield — (*) 1. In land mine warfare, a minefield employed to assist a unit in its local, close-in protection. 2. In naval mine warfare, a minefield laid in friendly territorial waters to protect ports, harbors, anchorages, coasts, and coastal routes. See also minefield.

prototype — Amodel suitable for evaluation of design, performance, and production potential.

provisioning — See initial provisioning.

proword — See procedure word.

proximity fuze — (*) A fuze wherein primary initiation occurs by remotely sensing the presence, distance, and/or direction of a target or its associated environment by means of a signal generated by the fuze or emitted by the target, or by detecting a disturbance of a natural field surrounding the target.

pseudopursuit navigation — A method of homing navigation in which the missile is directed toward the instantaneous target position in azimuth, while pursuit navigation in elevation is delayed until more favorable angle of attack on the target is achieved.

psychological consolidation activities —

Planned psychological activities across the range of military operations directed at the civilian population located in areas under friendly control in order to achieve a desired behavior that supports the military objectives and the operational freedom of the supported commanders.

psychological operations — Planned operations to convey selected information and indicators to foreign audiences to influence their emotions, motives, objective reasoning, and ultimately the behavior of foreign governments, organizations, groups, and individuals. The purpose of psychological operations is to induce or reinforce foreign attitudes and behavior favorable to the originator’s objectives. Also called PSYOP. See also consolidation psychological operations; overt peacetime psychological operations programs; perception management.

psychological warfare — The planned use of propaganda and other psychological actions having the primary purpose of influencing the opinions, emotions, attitudes, and behavior of hostile foreign groups in such a way as to support the achievement of national objectives. Also called PSYWAR.

public affairs — Those public information, command information, and community relations activities directed toward both the external and internal publics with interest in the Department of Defense. Also called

PA. See also command information; community relations; public information.

public affairs assessment — An analysis of the news media and public environments to evaluate the degree of understanding about strategic and operational objectives and military activities and to identify levels of public support. Includes judgments about the public affairs impact of pending decisions and recommendations about the structure of public affairs support for the assigned mission. See also assessment; public affairs. (JP 3-61)

public affairs ground rules — Conditions established by a military command to

govern the conduct of news gathering and the release and/or use of specified information during an operation or during a specific period of time. See also public affairs. (JP 3-61)

public affairs guidance — Normally, a package of information to support the public discussion of defense issues and operations. Such guidance can range from a telephonic response to a specific question to a more comprehensive package. Included could be an approved public affairs policy, news statements, answers to anticipated media questions, and community relations guidance. The public affairs guidance also addresses the method(s), timing, location, and other details governing the release of information to the public. Public affairs guidance is approved by the Assistant to the Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs). Also called

PAG. See also community relations; public affairs. (JP 3-61)

public information — Information of a military nature, the dissemination of which through public news media is not inconsistent with security, and the release of which is considered desirable or nonobjectionable to the responsible releasing agency.

public key infrastructure — An enterprisewide service (i.e. data integrity, user identification and authentication, user nonrepudiation, data confidentiality, encryption, and digital signature) that supports digital signatures and other public key-based security mechanisms for Department of Defense functional enterprise programs, including generation, production, distribution, control, and accounting of public key certificates. A public key infrastructure provides the means to bind public keys to their owners and helps in the distribution of reliable public keys in large heterogeneous

networks. Public keys are bound to their owners by public key certificates. These certificates contain information such as the owner’s name and the associated public key and are issued by a reliable certification authority. Also called PKI.

pull-up point — (*) The point at which an aircraft must start to climb from a low-level approach in order to gain sufficient height from which to execute the attack or retirement. See also contact point.

pulse code — A system of using selected pulse-repetition frequencies to allow a specific laser seeker to acquire a target illuminated by a specific laser designator. See also laser; laser designator; laser seeker. (JP 3-09.1)

pulse duration — In radar, measurement of pulse transmission time in microseconds; that is, the time the radar’s transmitter is energized during each cycle. Also called pulse length and pulse width.

pulsejet — (*) A jet-propulsion engine containing neither compressor nor turbine. Equipped with valves in the front which open and shut, it takes in air to create thrust in rapid periodic bursts rather than continuously.

pulse repetition frequency — 1. In lasers, the number of pulses that occur each second. 2. In radar, the number of pulses that occur each second. Pulse repetition frequency should not be confused with transmission frequency, which is determined by the rate at which cycles are repeated within the transmitted pulse. Also called PRF. See also laser. (JP 3-09.1)

pulsing — (*) In naval mine warfare, a method of operating magnetic and acoustic sweeps in which the sweep is energized by current which varies or is intermittent in accordance with a predetermined schedule.