ADS-L Digest - 12 Apr 2009 to 13 Apr 2009 (#2009-104)

[James A. Landau <JJJRLandau@netscape.com>]

On  Monday, 13 Apr 2009 22:05:51 Zulu - 0500 an Easter-Monday bunny named Dave Hause <dwhause at JOBE.NET>
wrote:

>These would probably be the same "reporters" who describe any armored,
>tracked, vehicle as a "tank."

An Associated Press report out of Mombasa, Kenya by "ELIZABETH A. KENNEDY and PAULINE JELINEK", URL
   http://channels.isp.netscape.com/news/story.jsp?flok=FF-APO-1335&idq=/ff/story/0001%2F20090414%
   2F0823729363.htm&sc=1335&floc=NI-nelead
reads:

"The U.S. is considering new options to fight piracy, including adding Navy gunships along the Somali coastline and launching a campaign to disable pirate ``mother ships,'' according to military officials."

Please, a "gunship" (aka "Puff the Magic Dragon") is an AIRPLANE, not a sea-going vessel.  Specifically, a gunship is a cargo-type airplane armed with high-rate-of-fire machine guns or cannon.  Gunships would be very useful for a landing on the Somali coast but are overkill for chasing pirate speedboats or even mother ships.

I have no objection to female reporters reporting on nautical news (it was a nineteen-year-old woman who commanded the third-fastest clipper ship run around Cape Horn), but there is no excuse for not getting military jargon straight, particularly if quoting "military officials" (civilian or uniformed?).


           James A. Landau
           test engineer
           Northrop-Grumman Information Technology
           8025 Black Horse Pike, Suite 300
           West Atlantic City NJ 08232 USA
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End of ADS-L Digest - 12 Apr 2009 to 13 Apr 2009 (#2009-104)
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Netscape.  Just the Net You Need.

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