airborne

Perhaps a good way to die would be on the beach
in the morning, in a light breeze and with a soft pillow
to pull me under, a rope around my ankle
to hang me floating among sunken crumpled steel
so the coral and the fish will come and kiss me
and i will bubble up and lie on the surface with the foam
and the micro-organisms living therein,
catching a ride on a floating gull and falling into a spider's web
(the sunlight catching) captured by a raindrop
off the back of a beetle and through dirt, stones,
into an aquifer and deep with the leucistic axolotl.

From the DOD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms, page 15, as of March 2017, republished here to provide context, promote thoroughness, and attempt to alleviate potential ambiguity, now and forevermore.

airborne (adj.)

1. In relation to personnel, troops especially trained to effect, following transport by air, an assault debarkation, either by parachuting or touchdown.
2. In relation to equipment, pieces of equipment that have been especially designed for use by airborne troops during or after an assault debarkation as well as some aeronautical equipment used to accomplish a particular mission.
3. When applied to materiel, items that form an integral part of the aircraft.
4. The state of an aircraft, from the instant it becomes entirely sustained by air until it ceases to be so sustained.
(JP 3-17)

airborne alert

A state of aircraft readiness wherein combat-equipped aircraft are airborne and ready for immediate action to reduce reaction time and to increase survivability. See also combat air patrol; ground alert. (JP 3-01)

airborne assault

The use of airborne forces to parachute into an objective area to attack and eliminate armed resistance and secure designated objectives. (JP 3-18)

airborne early warning

The detection of enemy air or surface units by radar or other equipment carried in an airborne vehicle, and the transmitting of a warning to friendly units. Also called AEW. (JP 3-52)

airborne mission coordinator

The designated individual that serves as an airborne extension of the component commander or supported commander responsible for the personnel recovery mission. Also called AMC. See also combat search and rescue; personnel recovery coordination cell. (JP 3-50)

airborne operation

An operation involving the air movement into an objective area of combat forces and their logistic support for execution of a tactical, operational, or strategic mission. See also assault; assault phase. (JP 3-18)

Source:
https://www.tradoc.army.mil/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/AD1029823-DOD-Dictionary-of-Military-and-Associated-Terms-2017.pdf

296 words for Brevity Quest 2024