Carrier 13 - Brink of War

by Keith Douglass

  bitch box One interior communications system on a ship. So named because it's normally used to bitch at another watch station.

  blue on blue Fratricide. U.S. forces are normally indicated in blue on tactical displays, and this term refers to an attack on a friendly by another friendly.

  blue water Navy Outside the unrefueled range of the airwing. When a carrier enters blue water ops, aircraft must get on board, (e. g., land) and cannot divert to land if the pilot gets the shakes.

  boomer Slang for a ballistic missile submarine.

  BOQ Bachelor Officers Quarters--a Motel Six for single officers or those traveling without family. The Air Force also has VOQ, Visiting Officers Quarters.

  buster As fast as you can (i. e., bust yer ass getting here).

  CAG Carrier Air Group Commander, normally a senior Navy captain aviator.

  Technically, an obsolete term, since the air wing rather than an air group is now deployed on the carrier. However, everyone thought CAW sounded stupid, so CAG was retained as slang for the Carrier Air Wing Commander.

  CAP Combat Air Patrol, a mission executed by fighters to protect the carrier and battle group from enemy air and missiles.

  Carrier Battle Group A combination of ships, air wing, and submarines assigned under the command of a one-star admiral.

  Carrier Battle Group 14 The battle group normally embarked on Jefferson.

  CBG See Carrier Battle Group.

  CDC Combat Direction Center--modernly, replaced CIC, or Combat Information Center, as the heart of a ship. All sensor information is fed into CDC and the battle is coordinated by a tactical action officer on watch there.

  CG Abbreviation for a cruiser.

  Chief The backbone of the Navy. E-7, -8, and -9 enlisted pay grades, known as chief, senior chief, and master chief. The transition from petty officer ranks to the chief's mess is a major event in a sailor's career. Onboard ship, the chiefs have separate eating and berthing facilities. Chiefs wear khakis, as opposed to dungarees for the less senior enlisted ratings.

  Chief of Staff Not to be confused with a chief, the COS in a battle group staff is normally a senior Navy captain who acts as the admiral's XO and deputy.

  CIA Christians in Action. The civilian agency charged with intelligence operations outside the continental United States.

  CIWS Close-in Weapons System, pronounced "seewhiz." Gatling gun with built-in radar that tracks and fires on inbound missiles. If you have to use it, you're dead.

  COD See C-2 Greyhound.

  collar count Traditional method of determining the winner of a disagreement. A survey is taken of the opponent's collar devices.

  The senior person wins. Always.

  Commodore Formerly the junior-most admiral rank, now used to designate a senior Navy captain in charge of a bunch of like units. A destroyer Commodore commands several destroyers, a sea control Commodore the S-3 squadrons on that coast. Contrast with CAG, who owns a number of dissimilar units (e. g., a couple of Tomcat squadrons, some Hornets, and some E-2s and helos).

  compartment Navy talk for a room on a ship.

  Condition Two One step down from General Quarters, which is Condition One.

  Condition Five is tied up at the pier in a friendly country.

  CONUS CONtinental United States. Normally used to refer to the mainland only.

  crypto Short for some variation of cryptological, the magic set of codes that makes a circuit impossible for anyone else to understand.

  CV, CVN Abbreviation for an aircraft carrier, conventional and nuclear.

  CVIC Carrier Intelligence Center. Located down the passageway (the hall) from the flag spaces.

  data link, the LINK The secure circuit that links all units in a battle group or in an area. Targets and contacts are transmitted over the LINK to all ships. The data is processed by the ship designated as Net Control, and common contacts are correlated. The system also transmits data from each ship and aircraft's weapons systems (e. g., a missile firing). All services use the LINK.

  desk jockey Nonflyer, one who drives a computer instead of an aircraft.

  DDG Guided missile destroyer.

  DESRON Destroyer commander.

  DICASS An active sonobuoy. dick stepping Something to be avoided. While anatomically impossible in today's gender-integrated services, in an amazing display of good sense, it has been decided that women do this as well.

  Doppler Acoustic phenomena caused by relative motion between a sound source and a receiver that results in an apparent change in frequency of the sound. The classic example is a train going past and the decrease in pitch of its whistle. When a submarine changes its course or speed in relation to a sonobuoy, the event shows up as a change in the frequency of the sound source.

  Double nuts Zero zero on the tail of an aircraft.

  E-2 Hawkeye Command and control and surveillance aircraft. Turboprop rather than jet, and unarmed. Smaller version of an AWACS, in practical terms, but carrier-based.

  ELF Extremely Low Frequency, a method of communicating with submarines at sea. Signals are transmitted via a miles-long antenna and are the only way of reaching a deep-submerged submarine.

  Envelope What you're supposed to fly inside of if you want to take all the fun out of naval aviation.

  EWs Electronic warfare technicians, the enlisted sailors that man the gear that detects, analyzes, and displays electromagnetic signals. Highly classified stuff.

  F/A-18 Hornets The inadequate, fuel-hungry intended replacement for the aging but still kick-your-ass potent Tomcat. Flown by Marines and Navy.

  Familygram Short message from submarine sailor's family to a deployed sailor. Often the only contact with the outside world that a submarine sailor on deployment has.

  FF/FFG Abbreviation for a fast frigate (no, there aren't slow frigates) and a guided missile fast frigate.

  flag officer In the Navy and Coast Guard, an admiral. In the other services, a general.

  flag passageway The portion of the aircraft carrier that houses the admiral's staff working spaces. Includes the flag mess and the admiral's cabin. Normally separated from the rest of the ship by heavy plastic curtains, and designated by blue tile on the deck instead of white.

  Flight Quarters A condition set onboard a ship preparing to launch or recover aircraft. All unnecessary persons are required to stay inside the skin of the ship and remain clear of the flight deck area.

  flight suit The highest form of navy couture. The perfect choice of apparel for any occasion--indeed, the only uniform an aviator ought to be required to own.

  FOD Stands for Foreign Object Damage, but the term is used to indicate any loose gear that could cause damage to an aircraft. During flight operations, aircraft generate a tremendous amount of air flowing across the deck. Loose objects--including people and nuts and bolts--can be sucked into the intake and discharged through the outlet from the jet engine. FOD damages the jet's impellers and doesn't do much for the people sucked in, either. FOD walkdown is conducted at least once a day onboard an aircraft carrier. Everyone not otherwise engaged stands shoulder to shoulder on the flight deck and slowly walks from one end to the other, searching for FOD.

  fox Tactical shorthand for a missile firing. Fox one is for a medium-range missile guided by radar, such as an AMRAAM or Sparrow; fox two is for an IR-guided missile such as a Sidewinder; the fox three is for a long-range Phoenix missile.

  GCI Ground Control Intercept, a procedure used in the Soviet air forces.

  Primary control for vectoring the aircraft in on enemy targets and other fighters is vested in a guy on the ground, rather than in the cockpit where it belongs.

  gib See backseater.

  GMT Greenwich Mean Time.

  green shirts See shirts.

  handler Officer located on the flight-deck level responsible for ensuring that aircraft are correctly positioned, "spotted," on the flight deck.

  Coordinates the movements of aircraft with yellow gear (small tractors that tow aircraft and
other related gear) from maintenance areas to catapults and from the flight deck to the hangar via the elevators.

  Speaks frequently with the air boss. See also bitch box.

  HARMS Anti-radiation missiles that home in on radar sites.

  Home Plate Tactical call sign for Jefferson.

  hot In reference to a sonobuoy, holding enemy contact. huffer Yellow gear located on the flight deck that generates compressed air to start jet engines. Most Navy aircraft do not need a huffer to start engines, but it can be used in emergencies or for maintenance.

  hunter Call sign for the S-3 squadron embarked on the Jefferson.

  ICS Interior Communications System. The private link between a pilot and a RIO, or the telephone system internal to a ship.

  inchopped Navy talk for a ship entering a defined area of water (e. g., "inchopped the Med"). Leaving a body of water is called outchopping.

  IR Infrared, a method of missile homing.

  isothermal A layer of water that has a constant temperature with increasing depth. Located below the thermocline, where increase in depth correlates to decrease in temperature. In the isothermal layer, the primary factor affecting the speed of sound in water is the increase in pressure with depth.

  JBD Jet Blast Deflector. Panels that pop up from the flight deck to block the exhaust emitted by aircraft.

  USS Jefferson The star nuclear aircraft carrier in the U.S. Navy.

  leading petty officer The senior petty officer in a work center, division, or department, responsible to the leading chief petty officer for the performance of the rest of the group.

  LINK See data link.

  lofargram Low Frequency Analysing and Recording display. Consists of lines arrayed by frequency on the horizontal axis and time on the vertical axis. Displays sound signals in the water in a graphic fashion for analysis by ASW technicians.

  long green table A formal inquiry board. It's better to be judged by three than carried by six.

  machinist's mate Enlisted technician who runs and repairs most engineering equipment onboard a ship. Abbreviated as MM (e. g., MM 1 sailor is a petty officer first class machinist's mate).

  MDI Mess Deck Intelligence. The heartbeat of the rumor mill onboard a ship and the definitive source for all information.

  MEZ Missile Engagement Zone. Any hostile contacts that make it into the MEZ are engaged only with missiles. Friendly aircraft must stay clear in order to avoid a blue on blue engagement (i. e., fratricide).

  Mig A production line of aircraft manufactured by Mikoyan in Russia. Mig fighters are owned by many nations around the world.

  Murphy, law of The factor most often not considered sufficiently in military planning. If something can go wrong, it will. Naval corollary Shit happens.

  national assets surveillance and reconnaissance resources of the most sensitive nature (e. g., satellites).

  NATOPS The bible for operating a particular aircraft. See envelope.

  NFO Naval Flight Officer.

  nobrainer Contrary to what copy editors believe, this is one word. Used to signify an evolution or decision that should require absolutely no significant intellectual capabilities beyond that of a paramecium.

  Nomex Fire-resistant fabric used to make "shirts." See shirts.

  NSA National Security Agency. Primarily responsible for evaluating electronic intercepts and sensitive intelligence.

  OOD Officer of the Day, in charge of the safe handling and maneuvering of the ship. Supervises the conning officer and other underway watchstanders. Ashore, the OOD may be responsible for a shore station after normal working hours.

  operations specialist Formerly radar operators, back in the old days.

  Enlisted technician who operates combat detection, tracking, and engagement systems, except for sonar. Abbreviated OS.

  OTH Over the horizon, usually used to refer to shooting something you can't see. Targeting data may be provided to the shooter by an aircraft, satellite, or ground forces in the area.

  P-3s Shore-based antisubmarine warfare and surface surveillance long-range aircraft. The closest you can get to being in the Air Force while still being in the Navy.

  Phoenix Long-range antiair missile carried by U.S. fighters.

  Pipeline Navy term used to describe a series of training commands, schools, or necessary education for a particular speciality. The fighter pipeline, for example, includes Basic Flight then fighter training at the RAG (Replacement Air Group), a training squadron.

  punching out Ejecting from an aircraft.

  purple shirts See shirts.

  PXO Prospective Executive Officer-the officer ordered into a command as the relief for the current XO. In most squadrons, the XO eventually "fleets up" to become the commanding officer of the squadron, an excellent system that maintains continuity within an operational command--and a system the surface Navy does not use.

  rack A bed. A rack-monster is a sailor who sports pillow burns and spends entirely too much time asleep while his or her shipmates are working.

  red shirts See shirts.

  RHIP Rank Hath Its Privileges. See collar count.

  RIO Radar Intercept Officer. See NFO.

  RTB Return to base.

  S-3 Command and control aircraft sold to the Navy as an antisubmarine aircraft. Good at that, too. Within the last several years, redesignated as "sea control" aircraft, with individual squadrons referred to as torpedo-bombers. Ah, the search for a mission goes on.

  But still a damned fine aircraft.

  SAM Surface-to-Air Missile (e. g., the Standard missile fired by most cruisers). Also indicates a land-based site.

  SAR Sea-Air Rescue.

  SCIF Specifically Compartmented Information. Onboard a carrier, used to designate the highly classified compartment immediately next to TFCC.

  Seawolf Newest version of Navy fast-attack submarine.

  SERE Survival, Evasion, Rescue, Escape; required school in pipeline for aviators.

  shirts Color-coded Nomex pullovers used by flight deck and aviation personnel for rapid identification of a sailors job. Green maintenance technicians. Brown plane captains. White safety and medical. Red ordnance. Purple fuel. Yellow flight deck supervisors and handlers.

  shoe A black shoe, slang for a surface sailor or officer. Modernly, hard to say since the day that brown shoes were authorized for wear by black shoes. No one knows why. Wing envy is the best guess.

  Sidewinder Short-range IR-guided antiair missile carried by U.S. fighters.

  Sierra A subsurface contact.

  sonobuoys Acoustic listening devices dropped in the water by ASW or USW aircraft.

  Sparrow Medium-range radar-guided antiair missile carried by U.S. fighters.

  Spetznaz The Russian version of SEALS, although the term encompasses a number of different specialties.

  spooks Slang for intelligence officers and enlisted sailors working in highly classified areas.

  SUBLANT Administrative command of all Atlantic submarine forces. On the west coast, SUBPAC.

  sweet When used in reference to a sonobuoy, indicates that the buoy is functioning properly, although not necessarily holding any contacts.

  When used in reference to bug juice served on the mess decks, it's redundant.

  TACCO Tactical Control Officer The NFO in an S-3.

  tactical circuit A term used in these books that encompasses a wide range of actual circuits used onboard a carrier. There are a variety of CR circuits (coordination and reporting), and occasionally for simplicity sake and to avoid classified material, I just use the word tactical.

  tanked, tanker Navy aircraft have the ability to refuel from a tanker, either Air Force or Navy, while airborne. One of the most terrifying routine evolutions a pilot performs.

  TAO Tactical Action Officer. A watch officer with complete authority to fight the ship, including authority to release weapons without consulting the captain of the ship.

  TFCC Tactical Flag Command Carrier. A compartment in flag spaces from which th
e CVBG controls the battle. Located immediately forward of the carrier's CDC.

  Tombstone Nickname given to Magruder.

  Top Gun Advanced fighter training command.

  Undersea Warfare Commander In a CVBG, normally the DESRON embarked on the carrier. Formerly called the ASW commander.

  VDL Video Downlink. Transmission of targeting data from an aircraft to a submarine with OTH capabilities.

  VF-95 Fighter squadron assigned to Air Wing 14, normally embarked on USS Jefferson. The first two letters of a squadron designation reflect the type of aircraft flown. VF = fighters. VFA = Hornets. VS = S-3, etc.

  Victor Aging Russian fast-attack submarine, still a potent threat.

  VS-29 S-3 squadron assigned to Air Wing 14, embarked on USS Jefferson.

  The VS-29 Vikings were the first S-3 squadron to transition to the S-3B, known as the B bird. Best squadron around.

  VX-1 Test pilot squadron that develops envelopes after Pax River evaluates aerodynamic characteristics of new aircraft. See envelope.

  white shirt See shirts. wilco Short for Will Comply. Used only by the aviator in command of the mission.

  Winchester In aviation, means out of weapons. A Winchester aircraft must normally RTB.

  XO Executive Officer, the second in command.

  yellow shirt See shirts.