CAS3 Staff Officer Guide - U.S. Army

Chop Concurrence acquired during coordination.
Crunch A bind—a lot of work with little time for completion.
© 2005 CAS3 For Instructional Purposes Only
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Appendixes 98
Cut and paste To reorganize basic elements in a paper (e.g., paragraphs), usually by means
of the cut and paste functions of a computer application.
Dog and pony show A briefing that uses multimedia, full-motion video, or techniques that are
considered above and beyond the expected standard. Sometimes this term
simply suggests that someone is to be briefed.
Fallback position Alternate position—a position to take if the primary stance on an issue is not
approved.
Flaky Refers to a staff paper that contains conclusions and recommendations that
will not hold up under hard analysis.
Float To submit an action for approval or coordination.
Fly Means action will be approved. More commonly used in a negative sense, as
in “it won’t fly.”
Grease Sometimes called “greasing the skids.” Refers to preliminary effort or
lobbying in support of a position or paper to help ensure that it is favorably
considered.
Gut issue The single most important point or consideration.
Happy to glad To make minor nonsubstantive corrections to a paper.
Heartburn Serious disagreement with a proposal or staff action.
Idiot blocks Option lines at the end of a staff paper which allow the decision maker to
indicate his or her decision or desires by using a check mark (e.g.,
APPROVED DISAPPROVED SEE ME ).
Input Information provided in response to a request or reporting requirement.
Iteration One version of a paper. Each subsequent rewrite is referred to as an
iteration.
Loaded action An action that raises difficult issues. Term also used in referring to an action
which has purposely been designed to appear simple or routine on the surface
in order to disguise its true significance.
Massage Rework a paper or reformat data.
Non-seller An action or proposal which will probably not be approved. Same as “won’t
fly” or “won’t wash.”