Board Thread:Discussions/@comment-35898226-20180616172050/@comment-35898226-20180618002729

Thanks again. My internal perspective sees things one way and the reader undoubtedly sees it different. An incongruence. I'm hoping on avoiding some of those problems by presenting it here.

The military tradition, my tradition, is that abbreviations are simply part of the vernacular. I doubt most military people even know what MRAP (Mine Resistant, Ambush Protected), Hemet/ HEMTT (Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck) or  Humvee (HMMWV) stand for. It’s just their names. Military Intelligence (MI/S2/G2) is the worst in my experience. If you don’t know their internal language, their documents are frankly indecipherable.

The narrator obviously draws from the author's experience and knowledge. I'm trying to figure a way around the problem you identified. I also have had to create a glossary. In the half dozen stories written there are a lot of recurring characters, places, things and organizations. To those not immersed in 40K fluff I DO think it can be confoundedly difficult to understand.

I think the thing with the ‘Hotshot’ and ‘Helgun’ make sense. Soldiers are always kitting out their weapons. Some acts can be dangerous. Using the M2 .50cal adjustment tools (headspace and timing) on a similar .50cal (but different apparently) on the Avenger anti-aircraft gun can cause the weapon to explode. The SCAR assault rifle used by SF (Special Forces) is simply too expensive ($1200) compared to the M4 ($600) for mass adoption. The SCAR is only a benefit with elite units that are training dynamically almost 24 hours a day. A normal soldier can barely hit a 300 meter pop-up target