lane

n. an area of expertise or (military) responsibility; a mandate. Subjects: English, Military, Jargon

Etymological Note: As explained in the comments, this usage is probably an extension of the idea of a shooting lane, where each shooter must keep fire within a long track. Perhaps reinforced by lanes on a highway or running track, or by a lane as a path, meaning “a course of action or conduct.”

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Citations: 1993 Steve Moore Press-Enterprise (Riverside, California) (June 12) “He holds the fate of Murrieta Creek” p. B02: “I’m always mindful of my charter,” VanAntwerp said, noting that he must follow specific guidelines in making a ruling. “I stay in my lane,” the colonel said, using a foot-race analogy. 1996 Tom Hundley Chicago Tribune (Jan. 21) “U.S. Forces Treading Lightly In Bosnia” p. 1: Critics question whether a strictly narrow construction of the American role will sacrifice the heart of the NATO military mission: Providing enough political stability for U.S. troops to go home within a year and leave behind a genuine peace. “I don’t go outside my lane,” said Col. Gregory Fontenot, who commands 4,000 U.S. troops deployed in the Posavina corridor. 2000 Kenneth H. Bacon U.S. Department of Defense (Oct. 31) “DoD News Briefing”: Well, that’s in the defense authorization—that’s—sorry—in the intelligence authorization bill, which is not as much in his lane of responsibility as the defense authorization bill. 2003 Richard Myers @ Islamabad, Pakistan U.S. Department of State (July 29) “Interview with Pakastani Televsion News Channel, Geo-TV”: Well, I’ve already talked about the military part of that, and to stay inside my lane, my military lane, I probably shouldn’t comment, but it’s obvious that there is— 2006 Peter Pace U.S. Department of Defense (Jan. 5) “DoD News Briefing by General Peter Pace”: A large segment of the clip had to do with opinion about the war, and that’s not my lane.…There were two parts in what I saw that went directly to my lane in the road, which is the health of the U.S. military. 2006 Peter Pace Fox News (Mar. 5) “Transcript: Gen. Peter Pace on ‘FNS’”: Well, I think the policy debate is going to continue in public, and that’s outside of my lane. What I can tell you is that military to military, which is where my lane is, that we could not have better cooperation from United Arab Emirates. 2006 Stephen J. Hedges Duluth News Tribune (Minnesota) (May 13) “Domestic surveillance concerns shine light on Hayden’s low profile”: The man at the center of the growing furor over the National Security Agency’s surveillance of Americans’ domestic phone calls, Gen. Michael Hayden, is an Air Force officer who never flew a fighter jet or dropped a bomb. He rose through the ranks by, in Pentagon parlance, staying in his lane.

Posted 15 May 06 | Permalink | Tell a Friend

Reader comments:

Antonyms: The “big picture”; the mission of the command as a whole. While the original source is probably “athletic” (specifically bowling), the military use of “lane” is peculiar to the firing range. Each soldier shooting has a “lane” running from his or her position to the most distant target for which he or she is responsible. The pattern, from above, looks like a bowling alley. Many of us remember the word “lane” in this context from one of the last commands in a cycle of firing: “Alibi firers, watch your lanes!” (Alibi firers are those who had a weapon jam or otherwise had some reason for not shooting all of their rounds during shooting for record.) In the U.S. Army, the term “lane” extends to other training contexts where individual soldiers or units train side-by-side, such as squad maneuvers. The key meaning in all of these applications is that the soldier or unit training must not stray outside the assigned lane into a lane assigned to another soldier or unit. It is a control measure, to avoid confusion or worse (if live ammunition is being used). The expression “watch your lane” was subsequently used to counsel soldiers to pay attention to their own responsibilities and not get involved in responsibilities assigned to others.

by Edward M "Ted" McClure, LTC, US Army (Retired) 16 May 06, 0250 GMT

Excellent commentary. I will revise the entry reflect it.

by Grant Barrett 16 May 06, 0323 GMT