I'm not exactly sure how this particular bit of lingo worked its way into the U.S. military lexicon but I think it should be destroyed, and destroyed quickly.
When briefing a senior officer it has become vogue to put the Bottom Line Up Front, labeled BLUF, on your first slide and then use the rest of you brief to back it up. Because when you get through with a brief the commander knows there's really only one important point you want to make. So by putting it up front you tell him what to expect by the time you get to the end.
Good in theory? Maybe. In practice? This is just stupid. (If I want to bluff the commander, I'm certainly not going to make it that easy for him to see... I want him to work for it.)
What I see far too often is an officer that goes on and on, repeating himself along the way, only to get to the end of his brief to announce what the BLUF is (which, as you will note, is no longer up front) and then that BLUF is actually a longer summation of what he just repeated.
It makes you want to drive long, sharp objects into your eyeballs at a high rate of speed.
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