rear echelon

rear′ ech′elon


n.
(in a military operation) the troops, officers, etc., removed from the combat zone and responsible for administration.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

rear echelon

Elements of a force which are not required in the objective area.
Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. US Department of Defense 2005.
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References in periodicals archive ?
More British units in the rear echelon soon witnessed a hideous stampede of French from the front line, many blue and gasping, all stamped with terror.
But intertwined with his disgust that men could be reduced to fodder is a repulsion for those at the "rear echelon." That is how he refers to the Marines with their clean pants and warm coffee.
On 1 May 1945, the unit minus a rear echelon embarked on the Army Attack Transport Sea Scamp.
Antiquated black-powder single-shots were issued to rear echelon units such as military police, communication, supply, prison guards, etc.
During World War IT, demands for additional small arms resulted in the M.7s being reissued to rear echelon, support, transport, reservists and security units.
When troop withdrawals became policy, some lessening of new recreational development occurred, but the basic comfort level of the rear echelon remained.
The bunch was traveling well, and the son (let's call him Mike) and I were in the "drags." Mike, who was a year or two my junior, took down his rope and threw out a nice stand-up loop that trapped the hind feet of a rear echelon cow.
But for the past decade, the US forces in Kuwait have been rear echelon forces supporting the combat forces in Iraq.
Indeed Prevost's lack of suitable military experience for the North American theater of operations and his arrogance led the earl of Loudoun, Major General James Abercromby, and Major General Jeffrey Amherst to consign him to the rear echelon. That his vaunted unit would immediately bring British forces in the colonies a tactical edge proved a hoax that might have led to a man with lesser luck and patrons to disgrace.
The reason for such a disconnect between the televised warriors and the clinical data is the widening rift in fitness standards between the frontline soldier and the rear echelon support element.