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 22 combat troops. Has a crew of 3.
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, AtLNATtic.
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. Six 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.
COB: Close quarters battle house. Training facility near Nyland in the desert training area. Also called the Kill House.
COB: 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.
CRRC: Combat Rubber Raiding Craft. Also the IBS or 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' long, 75 tons displacement.
Dirty Shirt Mess: Officers can eat there in flying suits on board a carrier.
DNS: Doppler Navigation System.
Drager LAR V: Rebreather that SEALs use. No bubbles.
DREC: Digitally Reconnoiterable Electronic Component. Top-secret computer chip from NSA that can decipher any U.S. military electronic code.
E&E: SEAL talk for escape and evasion.
E-2C Hawkeye: Navy, carrier-based, Airborne Early Warning aircraft for long-range early warning, threat assessment, and fighter direction. Has a 24-foot saucerlike 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 communication base for the President of the United States and other high-ranking officials in an emergency and in wartime.
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 nonlethal 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: Used to aim antenna for radio to pick up satellite signals.
ES-3A: ELectronic INTelligence (ELINT) intercept aircraft. 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: Nonlethal grenade that gives off a series of piercing explosive sounds and a series of brilliant strobe-type lights to disable an enemy.
Floatation 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 plus or minus 10 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 and easy to kill or capture. Usually nonlethal.
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 3, and 18 passengers. Cruises at 581 mph. Maximum range 4,275 miles.
H&K 21A1: Machine gun with 7.62 NATO round. Fires 900 rounds per minute. Range 1,100 meters. All types of NATO rounds: ball, incendiary, tracer. Replaces the older, more fragile M-60 E3.
H&K G11: Automatic
rifle, new type. 4.7mm caseless ammunition. Fifty-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, 3-round burst, or fully automatic.
H&K MP-5SD: Nine-millimeter submachine gun with integral silenced barrel, single-shot, 3-shot, or fully automatic. Rate 800 rounds per minute.
H&K P9S: Heckler & Koch’s 9mm Parabellum double-action semiauto pistol with 9-round magazine.
H&K PSG1: High-precision, bolt action sniping rifle. 7.62 NATO round. Five- to 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 Shitte 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 V-8, air-cooled. Top speed, 65 mph. Range, 300 miles.
Hotels: SEAL talk for hostages.
Humint: Human intelligence. Acquired on the ground by human beings versus 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.
Islamic Jihad: Arab holy war.
IV Pack: Intravenous fluid that you can drink if out of water.
JAG: Judge Advocate General. The Navy’s legal investigating arm, independent of any Navy command.
JNA: Yugoslav National Army.
JP-4: Normal military jet fuel.
JSOC: Joint Special Operations Command.
JSOCCOMCENT: Joint Special Operations Command Center in the Pentagon.
KA-BAR: SEALs’ combat fighting knife.
KATN: Kick Ass and Take Names. SEAL talk, get the mission in gear.
KH-11: Spy satellite, takes pictures of ground, IR photos, etc.
KIA: Killed In Action.
KISS: Keep It Simple, Stupid. SEAL talk for streamlined operations.
Klick: A kilometer of distance. Often used as a mile. From Vietnam era, but still widely used in military.
Krytrons: Complicated, intricate timers used in making nuclear-explosive detonators.
KV-57: Encoder for messages, scrambles.
LT: Short for lieutenant in SEAL talk.
Liaison: Close connection, cooperating person from one unit or service working with another military unit.
Laser Pistol: The SIW pinpoint of ruby light emitted on any pistol for aiming. Usually a silenced weapon.
Left Behind: In 30 years, SEALs have seldom left behind a dead comrade, never a wounded one. Never been taken prisoner.
Let’s Get the Hell Out of Dodge: SEAL talk for leaving a place, bugging out, hauling ass.
Light Sticks: Chemical units that make light after twisting to release chemicals that phosphoresce.
Loot & Shoot: SEAL talk for getting into action on a mission.
LZ: Landing Zone.
M1A1 M-14: Match rifle upgraded for SEAL snipers.
M1-8: Russian Chopper.
M-3 Submachine Gun: WW II grease gun,45-caliber. Cheap. Introduced in 1942.
M-16: Automatic U.S. rifle. 5.56 round. Magazine 20 or 30, rate of fire 700 to 950 radients/minutes. Can attach M203 40mm grenade launcher under barrel.
M-18 Claymore: Antipersonnel mine. A slab of C-4 with 200 small ball bearings. Set off electrically or by trip wire. Can be positioned and aimed. Sprays out a cloud of balls. Kill zone, 50 meters.
M-60E3: Lightweight handheld machine gun. Not used now by the SEALs.
M60 Machine Gun: Can use 100-round ammo box snapped onto the gun’s receiver. Not used much now by SEALs.
M61A1: The usual 20mm cannon used on many American fighter planes.
M61 (j)1: Machine pistol, Yugoslav make.
M-86: Pursuit deterrent munitions. Various types of mines, grenades, trip-wire explosives, and other devices in antipersonnel use.
M-203: A 40mm grenade launcher fitted under an M-16 or the M-4A1 Commando. Can fire a variety of grenade types up to 200 yards.
M662: A red flare for signaling.
MagSafe: Lethal ammunition that fragments in human body and does not exit. Favored by some police units to cut down on second kill from regular ammunition exiting a body.
Make a Peek: A quick look, usually out of the water, to check your position or tactical situation.
Mark 23 Mod O: Special operations offensive handgun system. Double-action, 12-round magazine. Ambidextrous safety and mag-release catches. Knight screw-on suppressor. Snap-on laser for sighting. .45 caliber. Weighs 4 pounds loaded. 9.5 inches long, with silencer 16.5 inches long.
Mark II Knife: Navy-issue combat knife.
Mark VIII SDV: Swimmer Delivery Vehicle. A bus, SEAL talk. Twenty-one feet long, beam and draft 4 feet, 6 knots for 6 hours.
Master-at-Arms: Military police on board a ship.
MAVRIC Lance: A nuclear alert for stolen nukes or radioactive goods.
MC-13 °Combat Talon: A specially equipped Hercules for covert missions in enemy or unfriendly territory.
McMillan M87R: Bolt-action sniper rifle,50 caliber, 53 inches long. Bipod, fixed 5- or 10-round magazine. Bulbous muzzle brake on end of barrel. Deadly up to a mile. All types .50-caliber ammo.
MGS: Modified grooming standards. So SEALs don’t all look like military to enable them to do undercover work in mufti.
MH-53J: Chopper, updated CH053 from ’Nam days. 200 mph, called the PAVE Low III.
MH-60K Blackhawk: Navy chopper. Forward infrared system for low-level night flight. Radar for terra-follow avoidance. Crew of 3, take 12 troops. Top speed 225 mph. Ceiling, 4,000 feet. Range radius, 230 miles. Arms: two 12.7mm machine guns.
M15: British domestic intelligence agency.
MIDEASTFOR: Middle East Force.
MiG: Russian-built fighter, many versions, used in many nations around the world.
Mike Boat: Liberty boat off a large ship.
Mike-Mike: Short for mm, millimeter, as 9 mike-mike.
Milstar: Communications satellite for pickup and bouncing from SATCOM and other radio transmitters. Used by SEALs.
Miniguns: In choppers. Can fire 2,000 rounds per minute. Gatling gun type.
Mitrajez M80: Machine gun from Yugoslavia.
Mocha: Food energy bar SEALs carry in vest pockets.
Mossburg: Pump-action shotgun, pistol grip, 5-round magazine. SEALs use it for close-in work.
Motorola Radio: Personal radio, short range, lip mike, earpiece, belt pack.
MRE: Meals Ready to Eat. Field rations used by most of U.S. armed forces and the SEALs as well. Long-lasting.
MSPF: Maritime Special Purpose Force.
&nb
sp; Mugger: MUGR, miniature underwater locator device. Sends up antenna for pickup on positioning satellites. Works underwater or above. Gives location within 10 feet.
Mujahideen: A soldier of Allah in Muslim nations.
NAVAIR: NAVy AIR command.
NAVSPECWAR: NAVal SPECial WARfare Section. SEALs are in this command.
NAVSPECWARGRUP-Two: Naval Special Warfare Section Group Two based at Norfolk.
NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service. A civilian operation not reporting to any Navy authority to make it more responsible and responsive. Replaces the old NIS, Naval Investigation Service, which did report to the closest admiral.
NEST: Nuclear Energy Search Team. Nonmilitary unit that reports at once to any spill, problem, or broken arrow to determine the extent of the radiation problem.
Newbie: A new man, officer, or commander of an established military unit.
NKSF: North Korean Special Forces.
NLA: Iranian National Liberation Army. About 4,500 men in south Iraq, supported by Iraq for possible use against Iran.
Nomex: The type of material used for flight suits and hoods.
NPIC: National Photographic Interpretation Center in D.C.
NRO: National Reconnaissance Office, runs and coordinates satellite development and operations for the intelligence community.
NSA: National Security Agency.
NSC: National Security Council. Meets in Situation Room, support facility in the Executive Office Building in D.C. Main security group in the nation.
NSVHURAWN: Iranian Marines.
NUCFLASH: An alert for any nuclear problem.
NVG One Eye: Litton single-eyepiece Night Vision Goggles. Prevents NVG blindness in both eyes if a flare goes off. Scope shows green-tinted field at night.
NVGs: Night Vision goggles. One eye or two. Give good night vision in the dark with a greenish view.
OAS: Obstacle Avoidance Sonar. Used on many low-flying attack aircraft.
OIC: Officer in charge.
Oil Tanker: One is: 885 feet long, 140 feet beam, 121,000 tons, 13 cargo tanks that hold 35.8 million gallons of fuel, oil, or gas. Twenty-four on the crew. This is a regular-sized tanker, not a supertanker.
OOD: Officer Of the Deck.
Orion P-3: Navy’s long-range patrol and antisub aircraft. Some adapted to ELINT roles. Crew of 10. Max speed loaded 473 mph. Ceiling, 28,300 feet. Arms: Internal weapons bay and 10 external weapons stations for a mix of torpedoes, mines, rockets, and bombs.
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