[Ads-l] kinetic (military)

[dave@wilton.net]

OED doesn't have the military sense. "Kinetic event" was the 2010 ADS Most Euphemistic WOTY. The corresponding "Among the New Words" article has a 2008 cite for "kinetic event" which I've slightly antedated.
 
Here are some examples that demonstrate the development of this sense of "kinetic."
 
"kinetic energy projectile"
 
“U.S. Army Recognized Former Resident for Energy Projectile.” Chanute Tribune (Kansas), 25 September 1976, 7/5. NewspaperArchive.com.

"Brandon, an employee of the Ballistic Research Laoratories [sic], Aberdeen, Md., and four other men were recognized for their combined efforts in developing a new 60 millimeter kinetic energy projectile as part of the Army’s Medium-Caliber Anti-Armor Automatic Cannon Program."
 
 
"kinetic energy round"
 
Webbe, Stephen. “M-1 Tank: Prone to Fires in the Crew’s Compartment?” Christian Science Monitor (Boston), 8 January 1982. ProQuest Newspapers.

"But the M-1 may not be as indestructible as the army likes to claim. Congressional testimony and unclassified army documents indicate that its Chobham armor is vulnerable to penetration by Soviet shells[.]

"Some experts claim that although this revolutionary British armor provides good protection against high-explosive anti-tank rounds, it has no special capability against solid-shot, or kinetic energy, rounds that tanks use to destroy each other. The Army stoutly denies the claim[.]"
 
 
"kinetic form of warfare" and "kinetic targeting"
 
McCarthy, Rory and Duncan Campbell. “The Language of War.” Guardian (London), 18 March 2003, 7/7–8. ProQuest Newspapers.

"kinetic targeting" and "go kinetic"

"Current preferred euphemism for dropping bombs. When aircraft drop leaflets on Iraq asking the military to surrender and radio stations broadcast anti-Saddam rhetoric, the generals describe it as soft targeting. When fighter jets and cruise missiles destroy targets on the ground, the military calls it 'kinetic targeting.'
 
"For the military, it is an unusually simple and vigorous description fo the destruction they are about to deliver. It has also spawned a spin-off: the tens of thousands of US and British troops poised to attack Iraq are simply waiting for permission to 'go kinetic.'"
 
 
"kinetic event"
 
Manganaro, Christopher G. “Doing More with Less: Special Forces in Afghanistan.” Army Logistician, 39.6, November/December 2007, 26–30. ProQuest Trade Journals.

"The procurement and distribution of humanitarian assistance items can have an effect on mission accomplishment that is as significant as the support of kinetic operations. During a non-kinetic event, such as a medical civil action project, the FLE [forward logistics element] can prepare supplies and strategic loads to be pushed forward to villages using host nation trucks or Afghan National Army (ANA) vehicles."
 
 

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