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No matter your background, age, sexual orientation, or anything that makes you…. well, you; you’ve probably had some type of interaction with the military. And no matter what that interaction might’ve been, I’m almost 99.9% sure that an acronym was used somewhere within the conversation. Today, I’m going to break down the military’s purpose of multiple acronym usage, as well as how the concepts can be utilized by people like yourself, even without a military background.
It’s Just Another Language
The purpose of an acronym is to simply shorten a phrase or system of words that are frequently used amongst a group or culture of people. We understand this, as we normally use them on a day-to-day basis; sometimes without even realizing it. Popular phrases amongst the younger generation like “LOL (Laugh Out loud)” or “GG (Good Game/Get Good)” might be utilized to make a statement. Whereas in business or other occupations, phrases like “ASAP (As Soon As Possible)” or “TGIF (Thank God It’s Friday)” might be used to shorten and simplify things.
During my military career, one acronym that has been the potato of all things I’ve ever encountered was BAMCIS.
B – Begin Planning
A – Arrange for Reconnaissance
M– Make Reconnaissance
C – Complete the Planning
I – Issue the Order
S – Supervise
Essentially, it is a tactical planning technique used to help troops plan, conduct surveillance, and make the next step. Now, you might be wondering how any of this could be applicable in your daily lives. Well, let me show you.
Begin Planning
The purpose is in the title itself; START THINKING!
Often, we get so caught up in the bigger picture, that we forget that everything is a series of small steps, that are just joined together. But to start anything, you must first sit down and create a plan to get there. What is the impact you are trying to make, what are you trying to communicate to your target audience; what is your mission? It simply is just that: the result.
Arrange for Reconnaissance
This is when troops would look at what’s available and what they need to request assistance with. For you, it’s the same thing. Once you start a big task, you might ask yourself things to do; but you might not be able to do them all. As such, that’s perfectly fine. The World isn’t comprised of just yourself. Look at the people and resources around you and use them to help you move forward.
Make Reconnaissance
Troops now would normally set out on either foot patrols or night patrols, to gather information regarding the terrain, considerations of the enemy forces, their capabilities, etc. You’re not going to be doing any of that, but it will be something similar. You’re going to go get yourself some handy, dandy information to help your cause. This might be done using search engines like Google or Bing, or perhaps by reading a book or watching a video. Think of the steps you take to plan a trip. You look at the dates where costs probably won’t be the highest, and you investigate what the weather is going to be like, and modes of transportation. You’re just gathering the ingredients so then you can be prepared.
Complete the Planning
Our troops are going to take all the information and essentials they have gathered and now create a more detailed plan. You’re going to do the same thing. Now that you have gathered all the outside help you might’ve needed, and the additional information, you want to go ahead and input that all into your original plan. Think of it like putting a puzzle together, where you finally have more of the pieces you didn’t have when you started, to see the full picture.
Issue the Order
Normally occurs no more than 48 hours and no less than 24 hours, after a plan has been created. This is just an advised time window, letting the troops know the time frame when everything should be occurring. It is just a whole bunch of time blocks. For you, think of it like planning a party for your business, and it starts 24 hours from now- all the people you asked for help, all the planning you’ve done, you know who and where everyone needs to be. In the worst case, if something does fall out of place that you had planned, you still have time to adjust your plan and come up with a backup, but with this short window too, it’s ill-advised to come up with a completely different plan and expect it to have the same level of success and execution. It’s possible, but just would take more work. Never say Never.
Supervise
Everyone always enjoys asking with so many steps and all, which one is the most important. And despite how influential towards success all of the other steps are, the final one always wins out on top. The commander, the fire team leaders, and all the leadership are now going to assist with the execution of the plan, but also observe and assess their troops and the enemy. For you, you’ve been the brains behind this whole thing. You’ve put it all together. Now it’s your time to go ahead and hit the start button. But you’re not just doing it. You’re also watching for things that could go wrong, giving advice and suggestions to help things move more efficiently. You’re making sure your plan is a success.
Though acronyms are incredibly helpful once their meanings are understood, they can also confuse others who are not aware of their purpose. As such, each branch of the military has specific acronyms that are used within their branches and ones that are used widely across them all. If you’re running a business that interacts with members of the military and their families, I would use them and explain them, but use them sparingly within your promotions.
