OSS2 (operational support system)

OSS2 is a NATO abbreviation that stands for operational support system. NATO's English and French abbreviation glossary gives the French equivalent as système de soutien opérationnel and attributes the entry to the NATO Standardization Glossary (NASG).

The term belongs to NATO military terminology. It appears in AAP-15, the Glossary of NATO acronyms and abbreviations, which is published in English and French. Canadian readers will meet it mainly in NATO-related documents, where the numeral at the end is part of the abbreviation and changes its meaning.

What the NATO glossary says about OSS2

The 2013 edition of AAP-15 lists OSS2 as operational support system. The same entry carries the French equivalent, système de soutien opérationnel, so the abbreviation can be matched across both official NATO languages.

NATO also maintains NATOTerm, its official terminology database. NATOTerm is run by the NATO Terminology Office within the NATO Standardization Office and holds non-classified military terminology along with relevant non-military terminology. It is the reference point for how NATO defines and uses its terms.

OSS2 and OSS1: why the numeral matters

The same NATO glossary lists a separate abbreviation, OSS1, which means open source software. The two share the letters OSS and differ only by the final digit, yet they describe unrelated things: one is a type of system that supports operations, the other is a category of software.

Anyone reading a NATO document, a bid package or a technical annex should therefore treat the digit as part of the term. Dropping it, or misreading it, turns operational support into software licensing.

Canadian uses of the words operational support

Other Canadian organizations use similar words in contexts that are not the NATO term. The Royal Canadian Air Force's 2 Operational Support Squadron, abbreviated 2 OSS, coordinates in-theatre operations and aerospace forces. It also supplies core command staff for an operational Air Task Force headquarters. That is a military unit, not the NATO abbreviation OSS2.

Transport Canada has an Operational Support Services Centre and Warehouse, described in an evaluation report. The report does not identify the centre as OSS2. The names look alike, but each refers to a different thing.

• OSS2: NATO abbreviation for operational support system.
• OSS1: NATO abbreviation for open source software.
• 2 OSS: the RCAF's 2 Operational Support Squadron.
• Operational Support Services Centre: a Transport Canada facility.

What OSS2 means for a bidder

If OSS2 appears in a NATO-linked requirement, read it as operational support system and check the surrounding text to see which system the buyer has in mind. Confirm the digit before you scope or price anything, because OSS1 means open source software.

Do not assume that 2 OSS, the Air Force squadron, or Transport Canada's Operational Support Services Centre is the subject of a requirement that uses OSS2. Where a solicitation defines its own acronyms, the solicitation's definitions govern. For bilingual responses, use système de soutien opérationnel as the French term for operational support system, as NATO's glossary does.