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Afghan War News > Afghan War Glossary > E

The military community uses a multitude and variety of terms, phrases, and expressions in its vocabulary. This is especially true in the Afghan theater of operations. Some terms, phases, and words are formal in nature while others are derived from common usage. This glossary is intended to assist those new to the Afghan theater or others unfamiliar with terminology or slang used by those working or serving in Afghanistan.

To search for the term, acronym or phrase
click on the first letter of the word below.

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E


E&R. Evasion and Recovery.

EAC. Echelons Above Corps. Sometimes referred to as "Echelons Above Reality" or EAR; and also as "The Puzzle Palace".

EAEU. Eurasian Economic Union.

EAG. Enterprise Advisory Group. For teams working in specific functional areas at the Afghan ministry level providing advise and assistance.

EAP. When an advisor team conducts Level II or Level II advising with an Afghan counterpart it may have to travel (by vehicle or aircraft) to advise at that Afghan unit location. This usually takes place in the form of an Expeditionary Advisory Package or EAP. See also Advise and Assist Cell (ACC). Read good article outlining the purpose of the Expeditionary Advisory Package.

East Turkestan Islamic Movement (ETIM). A Uighur separatist group based in the western Xinjiang province of China which borders on a narrow stretch of the Afghan border known as the Wakhan Corridor.

EATL. European-Asian Transport Links. A project designed to transform the infrastructure and trade dynamics of Central Asia.

EBAAT. Engineer Brigade Advise and Assist Team. The EBAAT advises the National Engineer Brigade of the Afghan National Army.

EC. Enemy Combatant. The guy that is shooting at you.

ECC. Electoral Complaints Commission. A board appointed by Karzai to enusre the election would swing the way of his favorite candidates.

ECF. Extended Credit Facility.

ECP. Entry Control Point. Where one enters a COP, FOB, or secured area. Usually staffed with armed guards who will check identification before allowing entry.

ECM. Electronic Counter Measures.

ECOA. Enemy Course of Action. What the bad guys are going to do.

ECP. Entry Control Point. The access area for foot or vehicle traffic into a secure area.

EDA. Excess Defense Article.

EDD. Explosive Detection Dog.

Educating. Within the context of Security Force Assistance, educating means teaching concepts and knowledge that can be applied over a broad range of applications. The advisor has to be ready to teach and coach concepts and knowledge as necessary.

EEFI. Essential elements of friendly information.

EEI. Essential Element of Information.

EF. Enemy Forces.

EF. See Essential Functions below.

EFP. Explosive Formed Projectile.

EFT. Electronic Fund Transfer. Most members of the ANSF are now paid their salaries through EFT; providing efficiency and an attempt to eliminate corruption.

EFTG. Effective Date-Time-Group.

EGF. European Gendarmerie Force.

EHRC. See Explosive Hazards Reduction Course below.

EHRT. Explosive Hazard Reduction Team.

Eid. Three days of celebration after the holy month of Ramadan.

Eid-al-Adha. Called the Feast of the Sacrafice. An important religious holiday celebrated by Muslims worldwide. Learn more about the holiday at Wikipedia.

EJK. Extra-Judicial Killing.

EKIA. Enemy Killed in Action.

Electoral Complaints Commission (ECC). An organization put together to ensure that fair elections are held in Afghanistan  . . .  right. The ECC was dissolved by the Taliban in December 2021.

Elimination of Violence Against Women (EVAW). This law was passed in 2009 and criminalizes rape for the first time in Afghanistan's history. Learn more about women in Afghanistan.

ELINT. Electronic Intelligence.

EMAS. Equipment Maintenance Apprenticeship and Services. A contract program to provide maintenance services and training to the Afghan National Army.

Embedded. An advisor or advisor team that lives and works with the advised ANSF unit or element. This provides the best possible solution for establishing rapport, persistent engagement, and advisor effectiveness. It also presents some force protection challenges due to insider threat and assistance from ISAF for QRF, CAS, and MEDEVAC. Very few advisor teams are (were) embedded; those that were sometimes operated from a "COP within a COP". The early advisor teams known as ETTs were usually embedded.

Embed. Referring to a reporter who is along for the ride and ready to write up the way he sees things based on his one or two days with you. Don't trust embeds. They look for the bad news and will highlight it at the expense of all the good things you are doing. They will also misquote you, missinterpret what you say, take things out of context, and make you look like a moron. Avoid embeds like the plague.

Embrace the Suck. What enlisted members of the Army or Marines do everyday. The act of putting up with the never ending grind of stupid senior NCOs, incompetent officers, pot-a-potties, MREs, IDF, SAF, and Afghan counterparts. The Navy and Air Force do not have a similar term; perhaps because it doesn't "suck" as bad to be in the Navy or Air Force.

Embrace the Chaos. Reportedly this phrase is used by Security Force Assistance advisors who work at the NATO Training Mission - Afghanistan at Camp eggers.

EMIS. Education Management Information System (Afghan).

EMS. Electromagnetic Spectrum.

Enable. The act of an advisor team providing enablers to the advised ANSF unit or element. Enablers are logistics, intelligence, close air support, artillery or mortar fires, or MEDEVAC. In early 2013 advisors were told to "Just Say NO" to the Afghans when they requested enablers in an attempt to get the Afghans to develop and use their own enablers.

Enduring Partnership. The name of the NATO mission in Afghanistan after 2016. Enduring Partnership (EP) will follow the Resolute Support mission which ends in December 2016. Learn more about NATO's Enduring Partnership in Afghanistan.

ENNA. European Network of NGOs in Afghanistan. www.ennanet.eu.

EOA. Enemies of Afghanistan. We don't call them insurgents any more; (because that would mean there still is an insurgency). Now the insurgents are EOA; somehow inferring that the insurgents are from the outside of Afghanistan (which some of them are).

EOC. Emergency Operations Center.

EOD. Explosive Ordnance Disposal. Men who wear protective garments and defuse IEDs. Not a job that I want.

EOF. Escalation of Force. A measured response to a perceived threat.

EO/IR. Electro-Optic/Infrared.

EOT. End of Tour . . . . finally.

EP. See Enduring Parnership above.

EPA. Evasion Plan of Action.

EPHS. Essential Package of Hospital Services.

EPM. Embedded Police Mentor.

EPS. Electronic Payroll System.

EPW. Enemy prisoner of war.

E&R. Evasion and Recovery.

ERP. Expeditionary Reach Package.

ERW. Explosive remnants of war.

eSAT. Expeditionary Sustainment Advisory Team.

ESF. Economic Support Fund.

Essential Functions. As in the "8 Essential Functions" of Security Force Assistance in Afghanistan. The 8 Essential Functions replaced (sort of) the 5 Functional Pillars.

Estonia. The Baltic country of Estonia has been one of the consistent troop contributing nations of the ISAF mission. Learn more of Estonia's involvement in Afghanistan.

ETA. Estimated Time of Arrival.

ETD. Estimbated Time of Departure.

ETHINT. Ethnographic Intelligence.

ETR. Estimated Time of Return.

ETT. Embedded Training Team. An advisory team that embedded with Afghan army or police units. Usually six to twelve men strong. ETTs proved effective in the mid-2000s but were largely discontinued (no one knows why) in favor of "partnering" - which proved unsuccessful for the most part. ETTs would travel, live and work with their host nation unit in groups of six men in two or three pickup trucks. A later version of advisor team known as SFAATs sometimes visited their advised units once or twice a week in groups of 16 or more and in 4 or more MRAPs or MATVs when doing "Level II advising".

EU. European Union.

EUM. End Use Monitoring.

EUPOL. European Union Police.

Evac. Evacuation. To leave a location under duress. Sometimes meaning a medical evacuation or MEDEVAC.

EVAW. See Elimination of Violence Against Women above.

EvBO. Evidence Based Operations. Something the Afghan police do not do very well because many are illiterate and most are corrupt.

EW. Electronic Warfare.

EWO. Electronic Warfare Officer.

EWS. Early Warning System. Something our C-RAM does for us; something cellphones and villagers watching the CF and ANA drive out the ECP does for the insurgents.

EXCON. Exercise Control.

Exfil. Exfiltration Route. Usually from an objective

EXORD. Executive Order.

EXOPORD. Exercise Operation Order.

Explosive Hazards Reduction Course. This Afghan-taught 3-week long course helps the Afghan soldiers improve their capabilities to deal with the IED threat.

EXSUM. Executive Summary. The short version of a long paper.

 


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The definitions provided in this Afghan War Glossary are from many different sources to include publications, documents, and personal knowledge. In some instances, there are several definitions or meanings to a word or phrase.

To suggest additional terms for the glossary or to correct any inaccuracies or broken links send an email to staff@afghanwarnews.info. All external sites open up in an new window. 


 

Afghan War News > Afghan War Glossary > E