MSG3: German Heckler and Koch rifle patterned after the G3 military rifle but normally has a heavy match barrel, bipod, and usually a mounted scope. This rifle is favored by several special operations and police forces globally for its accuracy and dependability.
NASA: National Aeronautical and Space Administration. Agency responsible for the United States Space Program and tracking mostly civilian satellites.
NEACP/NAOC: National Emergency Airborne Command Post. Pronounced kneecap. Also known as the National Airborne Operations Center (NAOC). Pronounced ‘NAY-OCK’. This is a highly modified Boeing 747B (E-4B) containing communications and other equipment that allows the President, Vice President, Secretary of Defense, or other civilian official in the chain of command to direct operations. There are four EA-4B Advanced Airborne Command Post aircraft known to exist known as project Nightwatch. Sometimes referred to as the Doomsday plane. See E-6 Mercury.
NCA: National Command Authority. The President of the United States (POTUS). Generally a term used by military forces. See POTUS.
NCO: Non-Commissioned Officer. Any enlisted personnel who have achieved the rank of E4 resulting in the rank of Petty Officer 3rd Class or Sergeant depending on the branch of service.
NMCC: The National Military Command Center. Referred to as ‘NIMIC.’ It is located at the Pentagon and is responsible for issuing Emergency Action Messages (EAM) to launch control centers, submarines, recon aircraft, and battlefield commanders. NMCC provides continuous support, intelligence, communication, and monitoring of all communications, electronic activity, and systems to ensure minimum connectivity for the Single Integrated Operational Plan (SIOP) execution, worldwide monitoring and crisis management. This allows the JCS up to the minute status on all US armed forces and their capabilities. See JCS.
NOD: Night Optical Device. Sometimes referred to as ‘NOGs’ for Night Optical Goggles.
NOE: Nap of the Earth. Flying an aircraft as low to the ground as possible to mask its sound signature and avoid radar detection or to evade other hostile aircraft/missiles. Some aircraft have terrain following radars and other electronic navigational aids specially designed to allow this type of flight.
Nomex: Flame retardant material used in aviation flight suits and other items of clothing such as flight gloves.
NSW: Naval Special Warfare. Encompasses SDV, SEAL Teams, and SWCC units. See SDV, SEAL, SWCC.
ODA: Operational Detachment Alpha. Also referred to as a ‘A-Team.’ A small, tactical operations group within US Army Special Forces usually consisting of 10-12 personnel.
ODB: Operational Detachment Bravo. Known as a ‘B-Team.’ Usually a support unit or larger operational unit supporting the ODA, usually consisting of 12-24 personnel. See ODA.
ODC: Operational Detachment Charlie. Known as a ‘C-Team.’ Usually a support/command element that supports both the ODA and ODB during deployments. This could be by way of COMMO (Communications), vehicles, artillery, heavy weapons, or a combination of all of these. See ODA, ODB.
OD: Olive Drab. A color commonly found or referred to within a military environment. A shade of green.
OEOB: Eisenhower E Office Building (EEOB). Formerly known as the Old Executive Office Building (OEOB). Originally, it was the State, War, and Navy Building, is an office building in Washington, D.C. across the street from the White House. The building is maintained by the General Services Administration and occupied by the White House Office of Administration/Executive Office of the President. It is also rumored to be a hub for a vast underground tunnel network that connects several key buildings.
OIC: Officer in Charge. Known as the 1-IC. Usually a term used within the NSW/SPECOPS community as the average SEAL Team consists of an OIC and 2IC conventionally, a Lieutenant and a Lieutenant Junior Grade (LTJG). See NSW, SPECOPS, SEAL.
Petty Officer: Enlisted rank of maritime service branches, Navy, and Coast Guard. Rank structure is roughly equivalent to ground force ranks. Petty Officer 3rd Class is similar to a Specialist or Corporal. Petty Officer 1st Class is similar to a Sergeant First Class.
POTUS: President of The United States.
Pri-Fly: Primary Flight Control. The air traffic control center on warships, specifically aircraft carriers or helicopter assault ships.
PSG1: German Heckler and Koch 7.62mm match grade semiautomatic rifle. Similar to the HK MSG3 in caliber but having many cosmetic design changes regarding the pistol grip, rifle barrel, and magazine capacity.
RHI(B): Rigid Hull Inflatable (Boat). Pronounced as ‘rib.’ One size up from the Inflatable Boat, Small, (IBS), can sometimes be referred to as an IBM, or Inflatable Boat, Medium. Sometimes generically referred to as a ‘Zodiac’. Due to their size, these cannot be stored aboard a submarine.
RIF: Reduction in Force. A federal program that studied officers and units, and then made decisions on what units would be disbanded and what officers would be given an early retirement as they were deemed to be non mission essential.
ROE: Rules of Engagement. Rules that a military unit adheres to when in a specific situation. ROE and EOF usually go hand in hand. See EOF.
ROTC: Reserve Officer Training Corps. Pronounced ‘ROT-C.’ Usually offered at colleges and universities to students wanting to pursue a career or education opportunities within the military. Most students become commissioned as 2nd Lieutenants or Lieutenant Junior Grade (LTJG) depending on what branch of service they elect to join.
SAC: Special Agent in Charge. The lead Secret Service or FBI agent in a detail or investigation. An old abbreviation for the US Air Force Strategic Air Command, now defunct having been replaced by the Air Combat Command (ACC).
SALUTE: Acronym for Size, Activity, Location, Unit, Time, Equipment. This is a specific report sent back to command from units that are either recon dedicated or performing a strategic reconnaissance mission.
SATCOM: Satellite Communication. A very secure encrypted form of communication, restricted for military use only.
SAW: Squad Automatic Weapon. See M249, M240.
SEA HAWK: The naval designation and version of the US Army UH-60 Black Hawk. Comes in many various configuration just like the Army versions. US Coast Guard has adopted it as well and designate it the HH-60 Jay Hawk. Replaced the UH-1 ‘Huey.’
SEAL: SEa, Air, Land. US Naval Special Forces, first formed in 1962.
SDV: SEAL Delivery Vehicle/Swimmer Delivery Vehicle. Advanced SEAL Delivery Vehicle or ASDV. Normally a ‘wet’ mini-submarine used as a taxi to insert/retrieve SEAL teams to their targets, can be used from surface ships as well. The SDV is flooded, and the swimmers ride exposed to the water, breathing from the vehicle's compressed air supply or using personal SCUBA or Draeger (Re-breather) equipment. SDVs are generally launched from a Dry Deck Shelter (DDS) on the back of a submarine, or from amphibious carriers (surface craft) equipped to launch and recover the SDV. It can be airdropped (unmanned) into an operational area from a C-130 Hercules.
SFG: Special Forces Group. Usually followed by (A), example: 1SFG(A) denoting that group as airborne (that’s the capital ‘A’ part of the unit descriptor) qualified which most if not all US Army Special Forces units are. Example: 1st Special Forces Group, Airborne would be 1SFG(A).
SIG Sauer: a European manufacturer of small arms. In this context, it is referencing a high quality handgun favored by most SEAL team operators for its reliability and compact size. It is available in a variety of calibers including 9mm, .40 caliber or .45 caliber. See SEAL
SITT: Shipboard Integrated Tactical Team. Essentially a SWAT team for US Navy vessels.
SITREP: Situation Report. A term used by the military and requested by command about the disposition of a unit.
STICK: An airborne term referring to 10-12 soldiers (a squad) that are grouped together prior to jumping from an aircraft. A platoon could have 4 or more 'sticks' known as a ‘chalk’ which might be broken down by squad with a 'stick' leader usually a senior NCO as squad leader. Forming the paratroopers into sticks and chalks makes
it easier for the jumpmaster to know how many people are on the plane and in what order/formation they will be exiting the plane. These terms come from the common use of white chalk on the sides of planes and vehicles to mark and update numbers of personnel and equipment being emplaned. See NCO.
Stoner SR25 SD Rifle: Developed by Knights Armament Company and Eugene Stoner the creator of the M16 and Stoner Weapons Systems. The SR 25 was the AR-15 rifle scaled up to shoot 7.62x51 / .308 Winchester ammunition, with up to 60% of parts of the new rifle being interchangeable with standard AR-15 components. In 2005, a modified version of the SR-25 / Mk.11 rifle won the US Army Semi-Automatic Sniper Rifle or Special Application Sniper Rifle (M110 SASR) competition, and today it is being issued to US Army snipers, in an attempt to replace the venerable M24 Sniper Weapon System.
SOCOM: Special Operations Command. It encompasses all branches of service and their specific special operations forces.
SOTIC: Special Operations Target Interdiction Course. A school that special operators from any branch of service can attend similar to the Marine Corps Scout/Sniper School.
SPECOPS: Special Operations. Generic term used to identify military forces trained for special operations without identifying any specific unit or branch.
SPECWAR: Special Warfare. Commonly referred to as NAVSPECWAR, or Naval Special Warfare (NSW).Designated naval warfare specialty that conducts operations in the coastal, riverine, and maritime environments. The emphasis is small, flexible, highly mobile units that can operate under, on, or from the sea. These operations are characterized by stealth, speed, and precise application of force, encompassing SEAL, SDV, and SWCC units. See NSW, SEAL, SDV, SWCC.
SQT: SEAL Qualification Training. This training comes after graduating BUD/S. It is like a finishing school for SEALs and takes approximately 18 months to complete. See BUD/S, SEAL.
SSGN: SSGN is the United States Navy hull classification symbol for a nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine. The SS denotes "Ship, Submersible" (submarine), the G denotes "Guided Missile," and the N denotes "Nuclear Powered." Several “boomers”, Ship, Submersible, Ballistic, Nuclear, (SSBN), that carried Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM) were converted to carry cruise missiles from 2002 to 2008. 22 of the 24 missile tubes were converted to carry 7 Tomahawk Cruise missiles each. The remaining two tubes are converted to Lock Out Chambers (LOC) to be used by Special Operations personnel. This allowed the former SSBN to become a deployment/support platform for special operations units. The submarine (fictional) mentioned within the story has had all missile tubes removed and that space converted to a large dive out locker and storage area. For more information on SSGNs, see this link: http://www.specialoperations.com/Navy/SSGN/
SWCC: Special Warfare Combatant Crewman. Pronounced ‘swick’. The brown water navy, a term that goes back to the Vietnam War where naval riverine forces operated along the Mekong River, a body of water known to be brown. Primarily, SWCC is a taxi and support service for the SEALs and may use RHIBs or other smaller watercraft to support naval special operations in a maritime environment. Also known as The River Rats as they operate, usually along coastlines, inland waterways and rivers. See RHI(B), SEAL.
Tac-Sat: Tactical Satellite communications.
TBI: Traumatic Brain Injury.
TOC: Tactical Operations Center. Usually a temporary, portable, or transportable facility, building, tent, vehicle, or location that military personnel will use to communicate and interface with other units during a tactical situation.
UAV: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. Essentially, it is a large remote control plane. The most recognizable would be the Predator and Reaper models, but there are numerous versions from the small man portable WASP III designed to be used by a single infantryman on the battlefield, to the jet powered Global Hawk designed for high altitude long endurance surveillance. The US has placed Air to Ground guided missiles on the Reaper and Predator with great success in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.
UCMJ: Uniform Code of Military Justice. Articles set forth by congress that define how military personnel should act and what is against the rules; a set of laws to be adhered to by all military personnel or face charges from punitive to court martial.
UDT: Underwater Demolition Team. Historical precursor to the SEALs. The last UDT team was decommissioned in the 1980s. See SEAL.
UHF: Ultra High Frequency. Radio waves and broadcast bandwidth within the frequency range of 450 MHz to 952 MHZ.
UM84: Universal holster made by Bianchi replacing the old leather style, made with ‘ballistic’ nylon and several other features. A bit more comfortable to wear and can be extended to a tactical carry when wearing a field jacket and/or body armor.
USAMRIID: US Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Disease. This is the group that finds the germ, virus, biological agent, etc., and then attempts to develop a vaccine or antidote. The military medical bio-defense unit. Sometimes referred to as ‘the RID’.
VHF: Very High Frequency. Radio waves and broadcast bandwidth within the frequency range of 89.00 MHz to 216 MHZ.
VSTOL/VTOL: Vertical/Short Takeoff and/or Landing. Usually performed by a helicopter. Very few fixed wing aircraft are capable of absolute and vertical immediate lift or drop. Currently, the AV8 Harrier and the AV/MH-22 ‘Osprey’ tilt rotor are the most common aircraft capable of performing such an evolution.
XO: Executive Officer. The second in command beneath the Commanding Officer (CO).
ZODIAC: Combat Rubber Raiding/Reconnaissance Craft (CRRC). Pronounced ‘crick.’ Zodiac is the manufacturer of inflatable boats used by civilians, naval forces and other military units. The name ‘Zodiac’ has become synonymous with the CRRC in popular culture.
Acknowledgements
This is the area where I extol the virtues of the people that have helped make this book a reality. There are many people who have gone above and beyond the call and those people include, Chip Denton who designed alternate cover images and provided his time and insight as a test reader.
S.P. Durnin, author of The Crowbar Chronicles. I’ve known S.P. for a while now and he never ceases to make me laugh with his input about my work. Many thanks my friend. Tony Monchinski, author of the Eden series and many other fictional and non-fictional works. Tony is an author I met through another site, did a review of his work and then started talking to him online. Tony is a great guy and his work is phenomenal. He was kind enough to accept my offer to write the foreword for Book 1. That brings us to the site that allowed me to meet all these phenomenal authors. Buyzombie.com, owned and managed by Stuart Conover. Thanks to Stu I’ve been exposed to authors such as Jessica Meigs, Craig DiLouie, Scott Baker, Eloise Knapp, and many, many others.
I want to especially thank John O’Brien, author of The New World series. Without John’s help and guidance with aircraft and especially the technical aspects of a C-130, those sequences would be total crap. Another author who had helped me along the way is Stephen Knight. Stephen is the author The Rising Dead, Gathering Horde series of books and he was kind enough to read through one of the first iterations of my book and offer his notes and suggestions to make it better.
I’d like to thank my sources of military information because without them, this series would not have been possible. The JAG office at JBLM for taking time to help me understand the Posse Comitatus Act and how it affects the use of Military Units within the borders of CONUS. The PAO office at Joint Base Lewis/McChord, WA for answering several hundred questions and remaining polite throughout the ordeal. Thanks to the 17th Coast Guard District Public Relations office who took my repeated calls and answered my questions about Coast Guard operations with professionalism even when I’m sure it was frustrating for them. Thanks to the Marine Security Detachment at Bangor, WA for allowing me entry into their ‘inner sanctum’, answering my questions and allowing me a ‘hands-on’ of some the equipment and weapons they use. A big thank you goes out to the ‘Gold’ crew of one of the boomers stationed in the Bango
r area for allowing an inside peek at their boat and describing how the subsurface fleet lives and operates.
Thank you goes out to Lieutenant Colonel Emory Lehman (RET), Master Sergeant Ernest Appleby (RET), Staff Sergeant Joseph Carter (RET), Staff Sergeant Michael Liebel (RET), and Sergeant Richard Webber of the 3/161 INF (M) based out of Kent, WA for their help in describing National Guard operations and methods. Their introduction to a particular retired master sergeant helped form one character within the series. I want to thank the service members and civilian staff of Camp Murray, WA who allowed me relative free rein of their facility. Thanks goes out to the staff of Bldg 1, the 10th MSD/WMD, 111th ASOC, TSGT Mike Lilla of the Washington Air National Guard, the staff of the Washington State Emergency Operations Center (EOC) located at Camp Murray, WA and the offices of the Adjutant General of both the Washington National Guard and the Washington Air National Guard for extending every courtesy to me during my visit there. Special thanks to SGTs Sigafoos and Balding for their enlightened input.
A big thanks goes out to the men, and women, of the 1st Special Forces Group, Airborne, 1SFG(A), also stationed at JBLM for granting me access to their compound and personnel.
This series would not be complete without the help and guidance of Rich Restucci, Sara Gray, Evin Ager, Doctor Andrew Dill, MD. (Thanks Doc), and many more who provided insight and extremely detailed reviews of each book, pointing out errors and other problems. Not to forget the test subjects, I mean test readers, my thanks goes out to Alan Brooks, Victor Sokoloski, and Nick Carcano. I’m sure I missed a few others that volunteered to be subjected to my drivel and I thank those people as well.
Thanks goes out to the excellent authors, Stephen Kozeniewski who wrote the foreword for book 2 and Eloise Knapp who wrote the foreword for book 3.
Finally, I want to thank you, the reader for encouraging me to continue the series with your feedback and reviews.
Up From the Depths: Book 4 Movement to Contact Page 28