text: Military Terms
  directed-energy warfare — (DOD) Military action involving the use of directed-energy weapons, devices, and
  countermeasures. (JP 3-85)
  directed-energy weapon — (DOD) A weapon or system that uses directed energy to incapacitate, damage, or
  destroy enemy equipment, facilities, and/or personnel. (JP 3-85)
  direction finding — (DOD) A procedure for obtaining bearings of radio frequency emitters by using a highly
  directional antenna and a display unit on an intercept receiver or ancillary equipment. (JP 3-85) Also called
  DF.
  direction of attack — A specific direction or assigned route a force uses and does not deviate from when
  attacking. (ADP 3-90)
  direction of fire — The direction on which a fire unit is laid to the most significant threat in the target area, to the
  chart direction to the center of the zone of fire, or to the target. (ATP 3-09.50)
  directive authority for logistics — (DOD) Combatant commander authority to issue directives to subordinate
  commanders to ensure the effective execution of approved operation plans, optimize the use or reallocation of
  available resources, and prevent or eliminate redundant facilities and/or overlapping functions among the
  Service component commands. (JP 1 Volume 2) Also called DAFL.
  disarmament — (Army) The collection, documentation, control, and disposal of small arms, ammunition,
  explosives, and light and heavy weapons of former combatants, belligerents, and the local populace. (FM 3-
  07)
  disassociated personal effects — Personal effects not found on the human remains or cannot be associated at
  the time of recovery. (ATP 4-46)
  disease and nonbattle injury — (DOD) All illnesses and injuries not resulting from enemy or terrorist action or
  caused by conflict. (JP 4-02) Also called DNBI.
  disengage — A tactical mission task in which a unit breaks contact with an enemy to conduct another mission or
  to avoid becoming decisively engaged. (FM 3-90)
  disengagement criteria — Protocols that specify those circumstances where a friendly force must break contact
  with the direct fire and observed indirect fire to avoid becoming decisively engaged or to preserve friendly
  combat power. (FM 3-90)
  disengagement line — A phase line located on identifiable terrain that, when crossed by the enemy, signals to
  defending elements that it is time to displace to their next position. (ADP 3-90)
  disinformation — The deliberate use of incorrect or false information with the intention to deceive or mislead.
  (FM 3-61)
  disintegrate — To disrupt the enemy’s command and control, degrading the synchronization and cohesion of its
  operations. (FM 3-0)
  dislocate — To employ forces to obtain significant positional advantage in one or more domains, rendering the
  enemy’s dispositions less valuable, perhaps even irrelevant. (FM 3-0)
  dislocated civilian — (DOD) A broad term primarily used by the Department of Defense that includes displaced
  person, an evacuee, an internally displaced person, a migrant, a refugee, or a stateless person. (JP 3-29) Also
  called DC.
  dismounted movement — A movement of troops and equipment mainly by foot, with limited support by
  vehicles. (FM 3-90) Also called foot march.
  dispersion — (DOD) 1. The spreading or separating of troops, materiel, establishments, or activities, which are
  usually concentrated in limited areas to reduce vulnerability. (JP 5-0)
  displaced person — (DOD) A broad term used to refer to internally and externally displaced persons
  collectively. (JP 3-29)
  display — (DOD) In military deception, a static portrayal of an activity, force, or equipment intended to deceive
  the adversary’s visual observation. (JP 3-13.4)
  disrupt — 1. A tactical mission task in which a unit upsets an enemy’s formation or tempo and causes the
  enemy force to attack prematurely or in a piecemeal fashion. 2. An obstacle effect that focuses fire planning
  and obstacle effort to cause the enemy to break up its formation and tempo, interrupt its timetable, commit
  breaching assets prematurely, and attack in a piecemeal effort. (FM 3-90)
  distinction — The law of armed conflict principle that obliges parties to a conflict to distinguish between
  combatants and the civilian population and to distinguish between military objectives and protected property
  and places. (FM 6-27)
  distribution — (DOD) 5. The operational process of synchronizing all elements of the logistic system to deliver
  the “right things” to the “right place” at the “right time” to support the geographic combatant commander. (JP 4-
  0)