The new terms will be phased in slowly so you can become accustomed to them. In fact, we expect that you'll see the old terms used in a number of publications for a few years before they are all updated. At the same time, Department of Defense components were working together to agree on common terminology. The value of this common terminology became apparent whenever joint operations were conducted, and also when Reserve components explained their roles to other groups such as Congress. Although this didn't impact most Coast Guard Reservists, it was at best a minor thorn in our side whenever we needed to translate our terms into those that others could understand.
Some terms have the same name, but different meanings.
See boxes at left for explanations.