Plague Years (Book 3): This Thing of Darkness I Acknowledge Mine
Page 33
The connection was suddenly broken.
“What did we get?” asked Amos as he leaned out the door.
“He is just south of Medford, Oregon,” said Corporal Taylor. “And he was in motion when he made the call.”
“Not quite a thousand miles then, but he seems bent on making it happen.” said Amos more to himself than the others in the room. “I’ll notify higher on this. Write up this report before you do the after-action report on the attack and rescue. I predict this one will be high on Lassiter’s hot list. Taylor, please transcribe the recording we have and get with these gentlemen to fill in the blanks. I’m off to call Captain Lassiter.”
“Did you mean that?” asked Chad after Amos had left.
“Yeah,” said Dave with an embarrassed tone to his voice. “Ever since my wife died, you and Mary and the kids have been my support group, my family if you will. If I follow the darkness in my soul, I know it will consume me. Now with Heather in my life, I’d rather live for the light, instead of the darkness. I guess I’m still a romantic at heart.”
The End
Glossary of Military Terms
.300 Winchester Magnum: High performance sniper and hunting round.
.30-06: It was the standard US Military round in two World Wars and is still a very popular hunting cartridge.
.308: Replacement for the 30-06 for military weapons. Very similar ballistic performance to the 30-06.
.338 Laupa: The round fired by David Tippet’s sniper rifle. This round is particularly long ranged and hard hitting.
5.56 mm: Common current military rounds for small arms such are the M-4 and M-16. Also fired by many civilian sporting weapons
ABU: Air Force Battle Utilities. Replaced standard Air Force Fatigues.
AFOSI: Air Force Office of Special Investigation. Air Force Police who investigate military wrong doing, similar to CID in the Army.
AGE: Air Ground Equipment. A collection of aircraft heaters, power and start carts common on all military airfields
A-Team: Basic Special Forces detachment comprised of a detachment commander, who is usually a Captain or Major, and a Chief Warrant Officer as his exec. The team also includes the following enlisted men: one Operations Sergeant also known as the "Team Sergeant", usually a Master Sergeant, one Assistant Operations and Intelligence Sergeant who is usually a Sergeant First Class, and two Weapons Sergeants, two Engineer Sergeants, two Medical Sergeants, and two Communications Sergeants, minimum rank is a buck sergeant.
AK47: Eastern Block made assault rifle in 7.62 x 39. Tough and reliable, but with less than perfect accuracy.
AN/PRC-148: This is a Multiband Inter/Intra Team Radio (MBITR) and is the most widely fielded handheld multiband, tactical software-defined radio, in use with NATO forces around the world.
AN/PSN-13: The Defense Advanced GPS Receiver is the standard GPS unit carried by most of our ground forces. It is a military-grade, dual-frequency receiver, and has the security hardware necessary to decode the encrypted P(Y)-code GPS signals. It displays map overlays with a location icon and is accurate to less than a meter under normal conditions.
AT4: Man portable anti-tank missile launcher.
AR15: Civilian version of the M-16 rifle in 5.56 mm. They are usually semi-automatic but can be machined to fire full automatic with the proper receiver group.
Article 15: Non-judiciary punishment. This is an alternative for minor offenses which usually leads to fines or reduction in enlisted rank.
BACA: Bikers Against Child Abuse.
Beach King Air Twin Engine Turboprop: High performance, long range twin engine business aircraft.
C-17: The Boeing C-17 Globemaster III is a large four engine military transport aircraft. It was developed for the United States Air Force and is being used by several other countries.
CID: Criminal Investigation Division. Army police who investigate military wrong doing, similar to AFOSI.
CO: Military slang for Commanding Officer.
Colt 10mm Delta Elite: A high end 1911 style civilian pistol chambered for the powerful 10mm auto cartridge.
Drone: Any one of a number of remotely piloted vehicles used by the military forces to provide surveillance.
Flash Bang: the M-48 stun grenade, is the currently-issued stun grenade of the United States Military. Upon detonation, it emits an intensely loud "bang" of 170–180 decibels and a blinding flash of more than one million candela within five feet of initiation, sufficient to cause immediate flash blindness, deafness, tinnitus, and inner ear disturbance.
FRAG Order: A fragmentary order is an abbreviated form of an OPORD (verbal, written, or digital), usually issued on a day-to-day basis, that eliminates the need for restating information contained in a basic operation order.
Five-by-Five: Five by five is the best of 25 possible subjective responses used to describe the quality of communications, specifically the signal-to-noise ratio.
General Discharge: A less than honorable way out of the armed services primarily used to get minor offenders out of the military.
Hydra 70 rockets: A 2.75-inch fin-stabilized unguided rocket used primarily in the air-to-ground role. It can be equipped with a variety of warheads, and in more recent versions, guidance systems for point attacks.
High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle (HMMWV): commonly known as the Humvee, is a four-wheel drive military light truck. It has largely supplanted the roles previously performed by the original jeep, and others such as the Vietnam-era M151 jeep, the M561 "Gama Goat", their M718A1 and M792 ambulance versions, the Commercial Utility Cargo Vehicle (CUCV), and other light trucks.
IED: This TLA stands for Improvised Explosive Device and is the official military name for all manner of homemade mines.
JAG: Judge Advocate General. Military lawyers who provide legal counsel for military members and provide military legal advice for the services.
KIA: Killed in Action.
IG: Every military member not in imminent combat had the right to go to the Inspector General’s office which functions as ombudsman and ensures the procedures are properly followed.
LBE: Load bearing equipment used by the military to distribute weight for easy carry.
Little Bird: (nicknamed the Killer Egg), and its attack variant AH-6, are light helicopters used for special operations in the United States Army. Originally based on a modified OH-6A.
M1: Standard US service rifle of WWII. It is an eight shot, semi-automatic rifle in 30-06. The weapon is known for accuracy.
M112: Demolition blocks: Blocks of C-4 explosive used for all types of demolition and explosive ordnance disposal work.
M118: Military grade ammunition for M-60’s, M-240’s and sniper weapons in 7.62mm x 51. The commercial variant is known as .308.
M16: US service rifle in 5.56mm. It is now largely replaced by the M-4 carbine version of the same rifle.
M183: The M183 demolition charge is essentially 16 M112 demolition blocks made of C-4 explosive packed in a canvas M85 carrying case along with blasting caps and detonators. The M112s is used for all types of demolition and explosive ordnance disposal work.
M2: US military 60mm mortar. The standard US light mortar with some modifications since WWII.
M203: A 40mm grenade launcher that mounts on the under rail of an M-4.
M240: officially Machine Gun, 7.62mm, M240, is the US military designation for the FN MAG (Mitrailleuse d'Appui Général, meaning general-purpose machine gun), a family of belt-fed, gas-operated medium machine guns firing the 7.62×51mm NATO cartridge.
M249: M249 light machine gun in 5.56 mm, M249, is the American adaptation of the Belgian FN Minimi, a light machine gun manufactured by the Belgian company FN Herstal. Capable of using standard 30 round magazines or 200 round boxes holding belted ammo.
M4: The shortened carbine version of the M-16 which it has almost completely replaced in US service.
M60: Standard 7.62mm x 51 US military machine gun being partially phased out for the M-240.
M855: Military grade 5.56mm ammunition.
M870: The military version of the Remington 870 12 gauge shotgun.
MP5: Heckler & Koch MP5 (from German: Maschinenpistole 5, which translates to machine pistol 5) is a 9mm submachine gun of German design issued to many US Special Action Assets. The silenced version is known as the MP5SD.
Mad Minute: "Mad minute" is an expression in military terminology to describe any short period of intense weapons fire.
Manpad or MANPADS: Man Portable Air Defense System. A term used to refer to any number of handheld anti-aircraft missiles.
Mark 19 Grenade Launcher: The Mk 19 is a belt-fed, blowback-operated, air-cooled, crew-served, fully automatic weapon that is specially designed not to cook off rounds unintentionally. It fires 40 mm grenades at a cyclic rate of 325 to 375 rounds per minute
Mini-14: Ruger civilian rifle that fires 5.56mm. It is a very common semi-automatic rifle.
Mini-30: Ruger civilian rifle that fires the Russian 7.62 x 39 round.
MP5SD: The MP5 is one of the most widely used submachine guns in the world, having been adopted by 40 nations and numerous military, law enforcement, intelligence, and security organizations. The SD version has a built-in suppressor that takes standard ammo and reduces in muzzle velocity to the sub-sonic range. The result of the subsonic munition and the baffles in the suppressor means that the weapon is very quiet. The loudest sound is the mechanical action of the weapon.
MRAP: Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicle used by the military and some police forces to patrol hazardous areas.
M-Q8B: An unmanned autonomous helicopter developed by Northrop Grumman for use by the United States Armed Forces. It is available in armed and unarmed versions.
M-9: Standard US 9mm Parabellum pistol based on the Berretta 92S.
NCO: Non-Commissioned Officer. These are sergeants and technicians of higher rank than privates.
OV-10A: US Army and Air Force light attack and airborne observation aircraft. Commonly used by forward air controllers in Vietnam and Desert Storm.
P-19: US Air Force Fire suppression truck.
P-90: The FN P90 is a personal defense weapon (PDW) designed and manufactured by FN Herstal in Belgium. Created in response to NATO requests for a replacement for 9×19mm Parabellum firearms, the P90 was designed as a compact but powerful firearm for vehicle crews, operators of crew-served weapons, support personnel, special forces and counter-terrorist groups. It uses the FN 5.7×28mm ammunition.
PJ: Air Force Para-Rescue Jumpers. They are extremely skilled medics who are also experts in parachuting, scuba infiltration, and many forms of deadly combat.
Remington 700 BDL: A Civilian hunting rifle available in many calibers that is known for accuracy and reliability.
Remington 1100: A popular semiautomatic shot gun available in several grades.
RON: Remain Overnight. This is radio short hand used when you can’t return to base and must remain in place overnight.
RPV: Remotely piloted vehicle.
Ruger Blackhawk: Civilian single action cowboy style pistol. It is reputed to be reliable and accurate. Commonly offered in .357 magnum.
Ruger No. 1: A falling block, single shot rifle commonly used for hunting. It is considered very accurate.
Semtex: General-purpose plastic explosive containing RDX and PETN. It is used in commercial blasting, demolition, and in certain military applications.
Smith and Wesson Model 686: A seven shot civilian revolver commonly available in .357 magnum.
Snivel gear: snivel gear is military slang for equipment that is deemed not vitally necessary to deployment, designed to increase comfort rather than to further the mission.
Stinger: FIM-92 Stinger is a Man-Portable Air-Defense System (MANPADS) that operates as an infrared homing surface-to-air missile.
SWAT: Special Weapons and Tactics police units used for high intensity law enforcement situations.
TLQ: Temporary Living Quarters. Military bases have something similar to motels for families traveling between stations called TLQs. They are normally for short stay only but in times of crisis they are often used for overflow housing.
UCMJ: Uniform Code of Military Justice. This is a body of laws that govern the conduct of military members.
UH-1N: Bell Twin Huey is a medium military helicopter. The UH-1N has a fifteen-seat configuration, with one pilot and fourteen passengers.
USMC: United States Marine Corps.
USA: United State Army.
USAF: United States Air Force.
WIA: Wounded in Action.