In Forrest Gump (1994), Lt Dan speaks on radio:
Lt Dan: Roger, Strongarm, be advised we have incoming from the tree line at points blue plus two. AKs and rockets...
What does "points blue plus two" mean?
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1It's "at Point Blue plus two", Point Blue being a defined point on a military map. For the plus two part I assume it's a specific military lingo in relation to the point (orientation, distance etc.).– xngtngCommented Jan 23, 2022 at 16:03
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Who knows? It might mean at the location designated as "blue" plus 2 other locations. Or perhaps 2 kilometres beyond the tree line or something. I doubt many native speakers would know (but nor would they be likely to give it any thought when watching the movie, even if they heard the words quite clearly; it's unlikely to be significant to the audience, even if it matters to the fictional speaker and his target audience).– FumbleFingersCommented Jan 23, 2022 at 17:06
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1 Answer
In the military, they routinely attach a name to a particular place on a battlefield, like "Hill 137" or "Omaha Beach" or "Point Blue". This enables the soldiers to reference a location quickly and accurately. If you need to call in artillery support, for example, you don't want to get bogged down saying, "You see that patch of oak trees near the lake? We need artillery fire about 100 feet southwest of that. No, not the trees by the beach, the other side of the lake ..." The place may have a local name, or it may not. Even if it does, you don't want to get bogged down with people who don't know the local language trying to pronounce it.
I don't know exactly what "plus 2" means. Probably 2 of some unit of distance in some specified direction, but whether it's miles west or yards from the front line I don't know.
