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GLOSSARY
An Amphibious Raid

A type of amphibious operation involving swift incursion into or temporary occupation
of an objective followed by a planned withdrawal.

An Amphibious Withdrawal

A type of amphibious operation involving the extraction of forces by sea in ships or
craft from a hostile or potentially hostile shore.

Asymmetric Warfare

Unconventional strategies and tactics adopted by a force when the military capabilities
of belligerent powers are not simply unequal but are so significantly different that they
cannot make the same sorts of attacks on each other.

Attrition
Gradual but, steadily destruction of enemy’s war fighting capabilities in order to
degrade the war-waging ability.

Auxiliaries
These ships are specifically designed to support other ships with limited self-sustainment
capacity. They carry and have the ability to lift personnel, deliver provisions, general
stores and they deliver and receive fuel.

Barrier Operations

Conducted where geography and/or oceanography combine to create a focal area that
can be closed to an adversary.

Biomedical Engineering

Biomedical engineering is the application of the principles and problem solving
techniques of engineering to biology and medicine.

Blockade

An operation intended to disrupt the enemy’s economy by preventing ships of all
nations from entering or leaving specified coastal areas under the occupation and
control of the enemy. Blockade is an act of war and the right to establish it is granted to
navies under the traditional laws of war. This law requires, inter alia, that the blockade
must be effective, that it is to be declared by the belligerent so that all interested
parties know of its existence and that it is confined to ports or coasts occupied by the
enemy. The expression is used more broadly to mean a combat operation carried out

To Nurture a Stable Environment at Sea 241