Tropical Terror sts-12

by Keith Douglass

  Milly looked at DeWitt. “We decided sometime in the spring. I’ll take a month off and we’ll go up to Seattle for the honeymoon.”

  * * *

  The next day in Flagstaff, neither of them mentioned the engagement. Ardith had a satisfied little smile most of the time, and Murdock put up with it. They had a lot of talking to do before they even came close to getting engaged.

  He flexed his elbow and moved it until his shoulder hurt, then put his right arm deeper into the sling. It was going to be an interesting two weeks. As they toured the small town, he kept thinking about his life and Ardith and where he was heading. He couldn’t be sure of anything yet, not until his shoulder healed and he had the muscles and tendons trained again to the finely honed excellence that being a SEAL required. If he could do it.

  What would happen if he couldn’t meet his own set of standards for physical ability? He refused to think about it. Instead he wondered who would jump up to challenge the U.S. next? What small country would try for something extra in international relations? Who would shoot down a U.S. airliner, or try to capture one of our ships and hold it for ransom? There were so many ways that terrorists could affect the world.

  He wanted to be there, to be back on the cutting edge. He flexed his right shoulder and winced. No pain medication, but no fun either. Now he had just one job, as Ardith had pointed out to him. He had to get his shoulder back to pre-bullet proficiency. He had to get it healed and trained and strengthened so he could be a SEAL again.

  The only question he had now was, could he do it? Could he stay in the SEALs as commander of Third Platoon with special commitment to the CIA, the CNO, and the President?

  Only the next three months could give him that answer.

  SEAL TALK

  MILITARY GLOSSARY

  Aalvin: Small U.S. two-man submarine.

  Admin: Short for administration.

  Aegis: Advanced Naval air defense radar system.

  AH-1W Super Cobra: Has M179 undernose turret with 20mm Gatling gun.

  AK-47: 7.63-round Russian Kalashnikov automatic rifle. Most widely used assault rifle in the world.

  AK-74: New, improved version of the Kalashnikov. Fires the 5 .45mm round. Has 30-round magazine. Rate of fire: 600 rounds per minute. Many slight variations made for many different nations.

  AN/PRC-117D: Radio, also called SATCOM. Works with Milstar satellite in 22,300-mile equatorial orbit for instant worldwide radio, voice, or video communications. Size: 15 inches high, 3 inches wide, 3 inches deep. Weighs 15 pounds. Microphone and voice output. Has encrypter, capable of burst transmissions of less than a second.

  AN/PUS-7: Night-Vision Goggles. Weighs 1.5 pounds.

  ANVIS-6: Night-Vision Goggles on air crewmen’s helmets.

  APC: Armored Personnel Carrier.

  ASROC: Nuclear-tipped antisubmarine rocket torpedoes launched by Navy ships.

  Assault Vest: Combat vest with full loadouts of ammo, gear.

  ASW: Anti-Submarine Warfare.

  Attack Board: Molded plastic with two handgrips with bubble compass on it. Also depth gauge and Cyalume chemical lights with twist knob to regulate amount of light. Used for underwater guidance on long swim.

  Aurora: Air Force recon plane. Can circle at 90,000 feet. Can’t be seen or heard from ground. Used for thermal imaging.

  AWACS: Airborne Warning And Control System. Radar units in high-flying aircraft to scan for planes at any altitude out 200 miles. Controls air-to-air engagements with enemy forces. Planes have a mass of communication and electronic equipment.

  Balaclavas: Headgear worn by some SEALs.

  Bent Spear: Less serious nuclear violation of safety.

  BKA, Bundeskriminant: Germany’s federal investigation unit.

  Black Talon: Lethal hollow-point ammunition made by Winchester. Outlawed some places.

  Blivet: A collapsible fuel container. SEALs sometimes use it.

  BLU-43B: Antipersonnel mine used by SEALs.

  BLU-96: A fuel-air explosive bomb. It disperses a fuel oil into the air, then explodes the cloud. Many times more powerful than conventional bombs because it doesn’t carry its own chemical oxidizers.

  BMP-1: Soviet armored fighting vehicle (AFV), low, boxy, crew of 3 and 8 combat troops. Has tracks and a 73mm cannon. Also an AT-3 Sagger antitank missile and coaxial machine gun.

  Body Armor: Far too heavy for SEAL use in the water.

  Bogey: Pilots’ word for an unidentified aircraft.

  Boghammar Boat: Long, narrow, low dagger boat; high-speed patrol craft. Swedish make. Iran had 40 of them in 1993.

  Boomer: A nuclear-powered missile submarine.

  Bought It: A man has been killed. Also “bought the farm.”

  Bow Cat: The bow catapult on a carrier to launch jets.

  Broken Arrow: Any accident with nuclear weapons, or any incident of nuclear material lost, shot down, crashed, stolen, hijacked.

  Browning 9mm High Power: A Belgium 9mm pistol, 13 rounds in magazine. First made 1935.

  Buddy Line: 6 feet long, ties 2 SEALs together in the water for control and help if needed.

  BUD/S: Coronado, California, nickname for SEAL training facility for six months’ course.

  Bull Pup. Still in testing; new soldier’s rifle. SEALs have a dozen of them for regular use. Army gets them in 2005. Has a 5.56 kinetic round, 30-shot clip. Also 20mm high-explosive round and 5-shot magazine. Twenties can be fused for proximity airbursts with use of video camera, laser range finder, and laser targeting. Fuses by number of turns the round needs to reach laser spot. Max range: 1200 yards. Twenty round can also detonate on contact, and has delay fuse. Weapon weighs 14 pounds. SEALs love it. Can in effect “shoot around corners” with the airburst feature.

  BUPERS: BUreau of PERSonnel.

  C-2A Greyhound: 2-engine turboprop cargo plane that lands on carriers. Also called COD, Carrier Onboard Delivery. Two pilots and engineer. Rear fuselage loading ramp. Cruise speed 300 mph, range 1,000 miles. Will hold 39 combat troops. Lands on CVN carriers at sea.

  C-4: Plastic explosive. A claylike explosive that can be molded and shaped. It will burn. Fairly stable.

  C-6 Plastique: Plastic explosive. Developed from C-4 and C-5. Is often used in bombs with radio detonator or digital timer.

  C-9 Nightingale: Douglas DC-9 fitted as a medical-evacuation transport plane.

  C-130 Hercules: Air Force transporter for long haul. 4 engines.

  C-141 Starlifter: Airlift transport for cargo, paratroops, evac for long distances. Top speed 566 mph. Range with payload 2,935 miles. Ceiling 41,600 feet.

  Caltrops: Small four-pointed spikes used to flatten tires. Used in the Crusades to disable horses.

  Camel Back: Used with drinking tube for 70 ounces of water attached to vest.

  Cammies: Working camouflaged wear for SEALs. Two different patterns and colors. Jungle and desert.

  Cannon Fodder: Old term for soldiers in line of fire destined to die in the grand scheme of warfare.

  Capped: Killed, shot, or otherwise snuffed.

  CAR-15: The Colt M-4Al. Sliding-stock carbine with grenade launcher under barrel. Knight sound-suppressor. Can have AN/PAQ-4 laser aiming light under the carrying handle. .223 round. 20- or 30-round magazine. Rate of fire: 700 to 1,000 rounds per minute.

  Cascade Radiation: U-235 triggers secondary radiation in other dense materials.

  Cast Off: Leave a dock, port, land. Get lost. Navy: long, then short signal of horn, whistle, or light.

  Castle Keep: The main tower in any castle.

  Caving Ladder: Roll-up ladder that can be let down to climb.

  CH-46E: Sea Knight chopper. Twin rotors, transport. Can carry 25 combat troops. Has a crew of 3. Cruise speed 154 mph. Range 420 miles.

  CH-53D Sea Stallion: Big Chopper. Not used much anymore.

  Chaff: A small cloud of thin pieces of metal, such as tinsel, that can be picked up by enemy radar and that can attract a radar-guided missile away from the plane to hit the chaff
.

  Charlie-Mike: Code words for continue the mission.

  Chief to Chief: Bad conduct by EM handled by chiefs so no record shows or is passed up the chain of command.

  Chocolate Mountains: Land training center for SEALs near these mountains in the California desert.

  Christians In Action: SEAL talk for not-always-friendly CIA.

  CIA: Central Intelligence Agency.

  CIC: Combat Information Center. The place on a ship where communications and control areas are situated to open and control combat fire.

  CINC: Commander IN Chief.

  CINCLANT: Navy Commander IN Chief, atLANTtic. CINCPAC: Commander-IN-Chief, PACific.

  Class of 1978: Not a single man finished BUD/S training in this class. All-time record.

  Claymore: An antipersonnel mine carried by SEALs on many of their missions.

  Cluster Bombs: A canister bomb that explodes and spreads small bomblets over a great area. Used against parked aircraft, massed troops, and unarmored vehicles.

  CNO: Chief of Naval Operations.

  CO-2 Poisoning: During deep dives. Abort dive at once and surface.

  COD: Carrier On Board Delivery plane.

  Cold Pack Rations: Food carried by SEALs to use if needed.

  Combat Harness: American Body Armor nylon-mesh special-operations vest. 6 2-magazine pouches for drum-fed belts, other pouches for other weapons, waterproof pouch for Motorola.

  CONUS: The Continental United States.

  Corfams: Dress shoes for SEALs.

  Covert Action Staff: A CIA group that handles all covert action by the SEALs.

  CQB: Close Quarters Battle house. Training facility near Nyland in the desert training area. Also called the Kill House.

  CQB: Close Quarters Battle. A fight that’s up close, hand-to-hand, whites-of-his-eyes, blood all over you.

  CRRC Bundle: Roll it off plane, sub, boat. The assault boat for 8 SEALs. Also the IBS, Inflatable Boat Small.

  Cutting Charge: Lead-sheathed explosive. Triangular strip of high-velocity explosive sheathed in metal. Point of the triangle focuses a shaped-charge effect. Cuts a pencil-line-wide hole to slice a steel girder in half.

  CVN: A U.S. aircraft carrier with nuclear power. Largest that we have in fleet.

  CYA: Cover Your Ass, protect yourself from friendlies or officers above you and JAG people.

  Damfino: Damned if I know. SEAL talk.

  DDS: Dry Dock Shelter. A clamshell unit on subs to deliver SEALs and SDVs to a mission.

  DEFCON: DEFense CONdition. How serious is the threat?

  Delta Forces: Army special forces, much like SEALs.

  Desert Cammies: Three-color, desert tan and pale green with streaks of pink. For use on land.

  DIA: Defense Intelligence Agency.

  Dilos Class Patrol Boat: Greek, 29 feet long, 75 tons displacement.

  Dirty Shirt Mess: Officers can eat there in flying suits on board a carrier.

  DNS: Doppler Navigation System.

  Draegr LAR V: Rebreather that SEALs use. No bubbles.

  DREC: Digitally Reconnoiterable Electronic Component. Top-secret computer chip from NSA that lets it decipher any U.S. military electronic code.

  E-2C Hawkeye: Navy, carrier-based, Airborne Early Warning craft for long-range early warning and threat-assessment and fighter-direction. Has a 24-foot saucer-like rotodome over the wing. Crew 5, max speed 326 knots, ceiling 30,800 feet, radius 175 nautical miles with 4 hours on station.

  E-3A Skywarrior: Old electronic intelligence craft. Replaced by the newer ES-3A.

  E-4B NEACP: Called Kneecap. National Emergency Airborne Command Post. A greatly modified Boeing 747 used as a communications base for the President of the United States and other high-ranking officials in an emergency and in wartime.

  E & E: SEAL talk for escape and evasion.

  EA-6B Prowler: Navy plane with electronic countermeasures. Crew of 4, max speed 566 knots, ceiling 41,200 feet, range with max load 955 nautical miles.

  EAR: Enhanced Acoustic Rifle. Fires not bullets, but a high-impact blast of sound that puts the target down and unconscious for up to six hours. Leaves him with almost no aftereffects. Used as a non-lethal weapon. The sound blast will bounce around inside a building, vehicle, or ship and knock out anyone who is within range. Ten shots before the weapon must be electrically charged. Range: about 200 yards.

  Easy: The only easy day was yesterday. SEAL talk.

  ELINT: Electronic INTelligence. Often from satellite in orbit, picture-taker, or other electronic communications.

  EOD: Navy experts in nuclear material and radioactivity who do Explosive Ordnance Disposal.

  Equatorial Satellite Pointing Guide: To aim antenna for radio to pick up satellite signals.

  ES-3A: Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) intercept craft. The platform for the battle group Passive Horizon Extension System. Stays up for long patrol periods, has comprehensive set of sensors, lands and takes off from a carrier. Has 63 antennas.

  ETA: Estimated Time of Arrival.

  Executive Order 12333: By President Reagan authorizing Special Warfare units such as the SEALs.

  Exfil: Exfiltrate, to get out of an area.

  F/A-18 Hornet: Carrier-based interceptor that can change from air-to-air to air-to-ground attack mode while in flight.

  Fitrep: Fitness Report.

  Flashbang Grenade: Non-lethal grenade that gives off a series of piercing explosive sounds and a series of brilliant strobe-type lights to disable an enemy.

  Flotation Bag: To hold equipment, ammo, gear on a wet operation.

  Fort Fumble: SEALs’ name for the Pentagon.

  Forty-mm Rifle Grenade: The M576 multipurpose round, contains 20 large lead balls. SEALs use on Colt M-4A1.

  Four-Striper: A Navy captain.

  Fox Three: In air warfare, a code phrase showing that a Navy F-14 has launched a Phoenix air-to-air missile.

  FUBAR: SEAL talk. Fucked Up Beyond All Repair.

  Full Helmet Masks: For high-altitude jumps. Oxygen in mask.

  G-3: German-made assault rifle.

  Gloves: SEALs wear sage-green, fire-resistant Nomex flight gloves.

  GMT: Greenwich Mean Time. Where it’s all measured from.

  GPS: Global Positioning System. A program with satellites around Earth to pinpoint precisely aircraft, ships, vehicles, and ground troops. Position information is to a plus or minus ten feet. Also can give speed of a plane or ship to one quarter of a mile per hour.

  GPSL: A radio antenna with floating wire that pops to the surface. Antenna picks up positioning from the closest 4 global positioning satellites and gives an exact position within 10 feet.

  Green Tape: Green sticky ordnance tape that has a hundred uses for a SEAL.

  GSG-9: Flashbang grenade developed by Germans. A cardboard tube filled with 5 separate charges timed to burst in rapid succession. Blinding and giving concussion to enemy, leaving targets stunned, easy to kill or capture. Usually non-lethal.

  GSG9: Grenzschutzgruppe Nine. Germany’s best special warfare unit, counterterrorist group.

  Gulfstream II (VCII): Large executive jet used by services for transport of small groups quickly. Crew of 3 and 18 passengers. Cruises at 581 mph. Maximum range 4,275 miles.

  H & K 21A1: Machine gun with 7.62 NATO round. Replaces the older, more fragile M-60 E3. Fires 900 rounds per minute. Range 1,100 meters. All types of NATO rounds, ball, incendiary, tracer.

  H & K G-11: Automatic rifle, new type. 4.7mm caseless ammunition. 50-round magazine. The bullet is in a sleeve of solid propellant with a special thin plastic coating around it. Fires 600 rounds per minute. Single-shot, three-round burst, or fully automatic.

  H & K MP-5SD: 9mm submachine gun with integral silenced barrel, single-shot, three-shot, or fully automatic. Rate 800 rds/min.

  H & K P9S: Heckler & Koch’s 9mm Parabellum double-action semiauto pistol with 9-round magazine.

  H & K PSG1: 7.62 NATO round. High-precision, bolt-action, sniping rifle. 5- t
o 20-round magazine. Roller lock delayed blowback breech system. Fully adjustable stock. 6x42 telescopic sights. Sound suppressor.

  HAHO: High Altitude jump, High Opening. From 30,000 feet, open chute for glide up to 15 miles to ground. Up to 75 minutes in glide. To enter enemy territory or enemy position unheard.

  Half-Track: Military vehicle with tracked rear drive and wheels in front, usually armed and armored.

  HALO: High Altitude jump, Low Opening. From 30,000 feet. Free fall in 2 minutes to 2,000 feet and open chute. Little forward movement. Get to ground quickly, silently.

  Hamburgers: Often called sliders on a Navy carrier.

  Handie-Talkie: Small, handheld personal radio. Short range.

  HELO: SEAL talk for helicopter.

  Herky Bird: C-130 Hercules transport. Most-flown military transport in the world. For cargo or passengers, paratroops, aerial refueling, search and rescue, communications, and as a gunship. Has flown from a Navy carrier deck without use of catapult. Four turboprop engines, max speed 325 knots, range at max payload 2,356 miles.

  Hezbollah: Lebanese Shiite Moslem militia. Party of God.

  HMMWU: The Humvee, U.S. light utility truck, replaced the honored Jeep. Multipurpose wheeled vehicle, 4x4, automatic transmission, power steering. Engine: Detroit Diesel 150-hp diesel V-8 air-cooled. Top speed 65 mph. Range 300 miles.

  Hotels: SEAL talk for hostages.

  Humint: Human Intelligence. Acquired on the ground; a person as opposed to satellite or photo recon.

  Hydra-Shock: Lethal hollow-point ammunition made by Federal Cartridge Company. Outlawed in some areas.

  Hypothermia: Danger to SEALs. A drop in body temperature that can be fatal.

  IBS: Inflatable Boat Small. 12x6 feet. Carries 8 men and 1,000 pounds of weapons and gear. Hard to sink. Quiet motor. Used for silent beach, bay, lake landings.

  IR Beacon: Infrared beacon. For silent nighttime signaling.

  IR Goggles: “Sees” heat instead of light.

  Isothermal layer: A colder layer of ocean water that deflects sonar rays. Submarines can hide below it, but then are also blind to what’s going on above them since their sonar will not penetrate the layer.

  IV Pack: Intravenous fluid that you can drink if out of water.