• grue@lemmy.world
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    11 days ago

    From the French sortir, “to go out”.

    So yeah, the “out” and “back” parts are important: if a unit is attaching while maneuvering in the field, it’s not a “sortie”. That’s also why it’s common in aviation, since airplanes inherently require a home runway that every attack begins and (ideally) ends at.