In modern day war movies and video games (Black Hawk Down), pickups with machine guns mounted on them are called ‘technicals.’ What is a ‘technical,’ and why are they called that?
I don’t think there was a particular reason. Those weapons were all sort of patched together and the locals dubbed them “technicals”. I don’t know if there is a definitie etymology.
My understanding is the term originated in Somalia, where many of the warring factions put together such vehicles. Humanitarian agencies attempting to work there sometimes hired gangs using such vehicles as bodyguards. Payments to the gangs were listed as being for “technical support” on their expense reports.
This page supports Colibri’s etymology, but I’m not sure how trustworthy it is.
I’ve been googling without results for some solid verification, but the first time I read the term “technical” was in reference to the Chad/Libyan war of the 1970’s, not the Somalian Civil War, and the technical advisors were French Foreign Legionaires, which lends some credibility since the FFL has a history of making do with whatever is at hand.