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Rolling Thunder (2007)

Page 27

by Jack - Seals 04 Terral


  Puglisi and Miskoski, Cruiser said. That goes without a second thought.

  It shall be done, sayeth the gods of war, Brannigan said, writing down their names. Okay. I can see we'll be able to have three assault sections with two fire teams each.

  Don't forget a SAW gunner for each one, Cruiser urged him.

  Right, Jim. You take the First Section, he said, writing down the assignment. He glanced over at Taylor. The Second Section is yours, Ensign.

  Aye, sir, the young man said.

  And, of course, the Third will be honchoed by the intrepid Senior Chief Petty Officer Buford Dawkins, the pride of Alabama.

  You have some guys left over, Cruiser pointed out.

  It's all part of my cunning master plan, the Skipper said with a wink. That will be our support section of machine guns. Seven-point-six-twos, as a matter of fact. I'll let Chief Gunnarson run that particular show. He gave Taylor another look. Any suggestions, Ensign?

  Negative, sir.

  Have you been in combat before, Ensign? Cruiser asked.

  Negative, sir.

  In that case, I have some advice for you, Brannigan said. You'll be the leader of an assault section, understand? You are the commander, but you listen to the advice of the senior petty officers. Developing that habit will be invaluable to you not only in the beginning of your career, but even after you're a salty old dog yourself.

  Yes, sir.

  When Brannigan slid the diagram of the organization over to Cruiser, the impassive Ensign Orlando Taylor gazed steadily at the two veteran officers. The one thing he wanted to conceal from them was his fear; not the fear of death or injury, but the fear of failure. He had been raised in a family headed by a capable, ambitious father. The outcome of this paternal supervision was a fierce rivalry among the four Taylor brothers, who had been taught that anything short of success was not an option.

  Cruiser handed the quickly sketched manning chart to Brannigan. I'd say it's good to go.

  Fine, the Skipper said. So let's put it into reality, shall we, gentlemen?

  Lead on, sir, Cruiser said.

  The three officers got up to go outside. Taylor followed the two seniors, his apprehension growing.

  .

  GLOSSARY

  2IC: Second in Command 2-Shop: Intelligence Section of the staff 3-Shop: Operations and Training Section of the staff 4-Shop: Logistics Section of the staff AA: Anti-Aircraft AAR: After-Action Report ACV: Air Cushion Vehicle (hovercraft) AFSOC: Air Force Special Operations Command AGL: Above Ground Level AKA: Also Known As Angel: A thousand feet above ground level, i.e., Angels Twois two thousand feet. APC: Armored Personnel Carrier ARG: Amphibious Ready Group AS-50: .50 caliber, semiautomatic sniper rifle with scope ASAP: As Soon As Possible ASL: Above Sea Level AT-4: Antiarmor rocket launchers Attack Board (also Compass Board): A board with a compass, watch, and depth gauge used by subsurface swimmers AT: Anti-Tank ATV: All-Terrain Vehicle AWOL: Away Without Leave, i.e., absent from one's unitwithout permission. AKA French leave. BBC: British Broadcasting Corporation BOQ: Bachelor Officers' Quarters Briefback: A briefing given to staff by a SEAL platoon regarding their assigned mission. This must be approved before it is implemented. BDU: Battle Dress Uniform BUD/S: Basic Underwater Demolition SEAL training course BX: Base Exchange, a military store with good prices for service people. AKA PX in the Army, for Post Exchange. C4: Plastic explosive CAR-15: Compact model of the M-16 rifle CATF: Commander, Amphibious Task Force CDC: Combat Direction Center aboard a ship Chickenshit: An adjective that describes a person or a situation as being particularly draconian, overly strict, unfair, or malicious CHP: California Highway Patrol CLU: Command Launch Unit for the Javelin AT missile CNO: Chief of Naval Operations CO: Commanding Officer Cover: Hat, headgear CP: Command Post CPU: Computer Processing Unit CPX: Command Post Exercise CRRC: Combat Rubber Raiding Craft CRT: Cathode Ray Tube CS: Tear gas CSAR: Combat Search and Rescue CVBG: Carrier Battle Group Dashika: Slang name for the Soviet DShK 12.7-millimeter

  heavy machine gun DDG: Guided Missile Destroyer DEA: Drug Enforcement Agency DPV: Desert Patrol Vehicle Det Cord: Detonating Cord DJMS: Defense Joint Military Pay System

  Draeger Mk V: Underwater air supply equipment

  DZ: Drop Zone

  E&E: Escape and Evasion

  EPW: Enemy Prisoner of War

  ER: Emergency Room (hospital)

  ESP: Extra-Sensory Perception

  ETS: End of Term of Service

  FLIR: Forward-Looking Infrared Radar

  Four-Shop: Logistics Section of the staff

  French Leave: See AWOL

  FRH: Flameless Ration Heater

  FTX: Field Training Exercise

  G-3: The training and operations staff section of a unit commanded by a general officer

  GPS: Global Positioning System

  Gunny: Marine Corps slang for the rank of Gunnery Sergeant E-7

  H&K MP-5: Heckler & Koch MP-5 submachine gun

  HAHO: High-Altitude, High-Opening parachute jump

  HALO: High-Altitude, Low-Opening parachute jump

  HE: High Explosive

  Head: Navy and Marine Corps term for toilet; called a latrine in the Army

  HEAT: High Explosive Anti-Tank

  Hell Week: The fifth week of BUD/S that is five-plus days of continuous activity and training with little or no sleep

  Hors de combat: Out of the battle (expression in French)

  HSB: High-Speed Boat

  Immediate Action: A quick, sometimes temporary, fix to a mechanical problem

  IR: Infra-Red

  Island: The superstructure of an aircraft carrier or assault ship

  JSOC: Joint Special Operation Command

  K-Bar: A brand of knives manufactured for military and camping purposes

  KD Range: Known-Distance weapons-firing Range

  KIA: Killed In Action

  Keffiyeh: Arab headdress (what Yasser Arafat wore) KISS: Keep It Simple, Stupid or more politely, Keep It

  Simple, Sweetheart LBE: Load-Bearing Equipment LSSC: Light SEAL Support Craft Light Sticks: Flexible plastic tubes that illuminate Limpet Mine: An explosive mine that is attached to the hulls

  of vessels

  Locked Heels: When a serviceman is getting a severe vocal reprimand, it is said he is having his heels locked, i.e., standing at attention while someone is bellowing in his face.

  LSO: Landing Signal Officer LZ: Landing Zone M-18 Claymore Mine: A mine fired electrically with a blast

  ing cap M-60 E3: A compact model of the M-60 machine gun M-67: An antipersonnel grenade M-203: A single-shot 40-millimeter grenade launcher MATC: A fast river support craft MCPO: Master Chief Petty Officer Medevac: Medical Evacuation MI-5: United Kingdom Security Agency Mk 138 Satchel Charge: Canvas container filled with explo

  sive

  Mossad: Israeli Intelligence Agency (ha-Mossad le-Modiin ule-Tafkidim Meyuhadim Institute for Intelligence and Special Tasks)

  MRE: Meal, Ready to Eat MSSC: Medium SEAL Support Craft Murphy's Law: An assumption that if something can go

  wrong, it most certainly will N2: Intelligence Staff N3: Operations Staff NAS: Naval Air Station NAVSPECWAR: Naval Special Warfare NCO: Noncommissioned Officers, i.e., corporals and sergeants NCP: Navy College Program NFL: National Football League NROTC: Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps NVG: Night-Vision Goggles

  NVS: Night-Vision Sight

  OA: Operational Area

  OCONUS: Outside the Continental United States

  OCS: Officers Candidate School

  OER: Officer's Efficiency Report

  OP: Observation Post

  OPLAN: Operations Plan. This is the preliminary form of an OPORD.

  OPORD: Operations Order. This is the directive derived from the OPLAN of how an operation is to be carried out. It's pretty much etched in stone.

  PBL: Patrol Boat, Light

  PC: Patrol Coastal vessel

  PDQ: Pretty Damn Quick

  PLF: Parachute Landing Fall

>   PM: Preventive Maintenance

  PMC: Private Military Company. These are businesses that supply bodyguards, security personnel, and mercenary civilian fighting men to persons or organizations wanting to hire them.

  PO: Petty Officer (e.g., PO1C is Petty Officer First Class)

  POV: Privately Owned Vehicle

  P.P.P.P.: Piss-Poor Prior Planning

  PT: Physical Training

  Puhtee: An Afghan rolled cap stocking cap that can be worn in many ways

  RHIP: Rank Has Its Privileges

  RIB: Rigid Inflatable Boat

  RIO: Radar Intercept Officer

  RPG: Rocket-Propelled Grenade

  RPM: Revolutions Per Minute

  RTO: Radio Telephone Operator

  Run-flat tires: Solid-rubber inserts that allow the vehicle to run even when the tires have been punctured

  SAS: Special Air Services an extremely deadly and superefficient special operations unit of the British Army

  SAW: Squad Automatic Weapon M-249 5.56-millimeter magazine or clip-fed machine gun

  SCPO: Senior Chief Petty Officer SDV: Seal Delivery Vehicle SERE: Survival, Escape, Resistance, and Evasion SF: Special Forces SFOB: Special Forces Operational Base Shiites: A branch of Islam; in serious conflict with the Sunnis SITREP: Situation Report SNAFU: Situation Normal, All Fucked Up Snap-to: The act of quickly and sharply assuming the posi

  tion of attention with chin up, shoulders back, thumbs along the seams of the trousers, and heels locked with toes at a 45-degree angle

  SOCOM: Special Operations Command SOF: Special Operations Force SOI: Signal Operating Instructions SOLS: Special Operations Liaison Staff SOP: Standard Operating Procedures SPECOPS: Special Operations Special Boat Squadrons: Units that participate in SEAL mis

  sions SPECWARCOM: Special Warfare Command Sunnis: A branch of Islam; in serious conflict with the Shiites T-10 Parachute: Basic static-line-activated personnel para

  chute of the United States Armed Forces. Primarily designed for mass tactical parachute jumps. Taliban: Militant, anti-West Muslims with extreme religious

  views; in serious conflict with Shiites TDy: Temporary Duty Three-Shop: Operations and Training Section of the staff TOA: Table of Allowances Two-Shop: Intelligence Section of the staff U.K.: The United Kingdom (England, Wales, Scotland, and

  Northern Ireland) UN: United Nations Unass: To jump out of or off something UNREO: United Nations Relief and Education Organization USAF: United States Air Force USASFC: United States Army Special Forces Command USSR: Union of Soviet Social Republics Russia before the

  fall of Communism VTOL: Vertical Take-Off and Landing Watch Bill: A list of personnel and stations for the watch Waypoint: A location programmed into navigational instru

  mentation that directs aircraft, vehicles, and/or vessels to a specific spot on the planet

  Whaler Boat: Small craft loosely based on the types of boats used in whaling. They are generally carried aboard naval and merchant vessels and are diesel-powered.

  WIA: Wounded in Action WMD: Weapons of Mass Destruction: nuclear, biological, etc.

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