POTUS — President of the United States
Pu-239 — Plutonium 239
RIB — Rigid Inflatable Boat
Rivet Joint — RC-135 signals intelligence aircraft
RPG — Rocket Propelled Grenade (slang). In Russian, it stands for “Ruchnoy Protivotankovy Granatomyot” and is translated into English as “handheld antitank grenade-launcher.”
S8G — Submarine, 8th generation reactor, produced by General Electric. Reactor plant fitted in Ohio-class ballistic missile and cruise missile submarines.
SAM — Surface-to-Air Missile
SATCOM — Satellite Communications
SAVAK — National Intelligence and Security Organization. In Farsi, it stands for “Sazeman-e Ettela’at va Amniyat-e Keshvar.”
SCAR — Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle
SDV — Swimmer Delivery Vehicle
SEAL — Sea, Air, Land, U.S. Navy Special Forces
SECDEF — Secretary of Defense Sierra — A U.S. Navy designation indicating that a contact was detected and being tracked by a sonar system.
SIGINT — Signals Intelligence
SM-3 — Standard Missile 3, U.S. Navy ballistic missile defense system
SOCOM — Special Operations Command
SOF — Special Operations Forces
SSBN — Nuclear Powered Ballistic Missile Submarine
SSGN — Nuclear Powered Cruise Missile Submarine
Thobe — Arabic for garment. Generally a long tunic worn by men.
TWCC — Tomahawk Weapons Control Center
UAV — Unmanned Air Vehicle
U-235 — Uranium 235
U-238 — Uranium 238
VEVAK — Ministry of Intelligence and National Security. In Farsi, “Vezarat-e Ettela’at va Amniyat-e Keshvar.”
VFA — Naval Strike Fighter Squadron
VIP — Very Important Person
VTC — Video Teleconference
WINPAC — Weapons Intelligence, Nonproliferation and Arms Control Center in CIA
WMD — Weapons of Mass Destruction
XO — Executive Officer
Zodiac — aka Z-bird, type of combat rubber raiding craft
Zulu — Military designation that indicates a time is in reference to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) or Universal Time.
