deconfliction

A week or so ago I saw a word that was new to me, in a comment by John Kirby, chief spokesman for the Pentagon.

“Thus far, and going forward, it does require constant coordination and deconfliction with the Taliban,” Kirby said. “What we've seen is, this deconfliction has worked well in terms of allowing access and flow as well as reducing the overall size of the crowds just outside the airport.”

It turns out that deconfliction is a word, and it doesn’t just mean resolving conflicts in a general sense. The word is jargon for air traffic control, specifically military air traffic control, and refers to making sure that nobody is surprised by the location of any other planes, so that planes don’t smash into each other (or shoot each other down). So, jargon, but it’s a thing that needs a word, and it’s a reasonable word for it, so there we are.

Thanks,
-Ed.

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