The War After Armageddon

NEXGEN ARMORED VEHICLES: Later offshoots of the U.S. Army’s Future Combat Systems program. Heavily reliant upon electronic defenses, they prove a disappointment in the field, far more vulnerable than older combat vehicles, such as the M-1 tank, with heavier armor.

O

0–5: A lieutenant col o nel.

0–6: A full “bird” colonel.

OPCON: Operational Control. A unit that is OPCON to a headquarters is under the headquarters’ control only for a specific mission, purpose, or time frame; essentially, it’s on loan.

P

PHASE LINE: A military control measure; a line drawn on a map, usually associated with readily identifiable terrain features, that helps a commander regulate a combat action. Similar in purpose to the yard lines on a football field.

POL: Petroleum, Oil, and Lubricants. Military-speak for fuel.

POW: Prisoner of war.

PROVIDENTIAL COMMUNITIES: Camps constructed for Muslim-Americans after the nuclear terror attacks on Los Angeles and Las Vegas.

R

RUMINT: “Rumor intelligence.” Slang for military gossip about a current or anticipated situation.

S

S-2: The primary staff intelligence officer at the battalion, regimental, or brigade level.

S-3: The primary staff operations officer at the battalion, regimental, or brigade level.

S-4: The primary staff logistics officer at the battalion, regimental, or brigade level.

SAMS: School of Advanced Military Studies; a one-year “postgraduate” course for select Army officers following their completion of Command and Staff College at Ft. Leavenworth.

SCHWERPUNKT: The main effort in an attack.

SEABEES: Navy construction engineers who deploy on land. Lineage dates to WWII.

SF: U.S. Army Special Forces, known to the public as “Green Berets.” Operating in small groups, they accomplish large missions.

SIGNAL LEECHES: Revolutionary technology that allows broadcast signals to intercept and “ride” other signals to nearby destinations to attack, penetrate, or degrade a communications and control system.

STRIKEWARN: A brief, rigidly formatted message to alert military units to an impending nuclear attack.

T

TC: Tank Commander. Now used for the on-board commander of any combat vehicle.

U

UAV: Unmanned aerial vehicle, a pilotless aircraft that, in different configurations, can perform any air mission. Known colloquially, though inaccurately, as a “drone.”

USG: United States Government.

V

VAMPIRE ATGM: Generic term for an antitank guided missile that, once launched, can identify and strike its own targets. An evolution of older, primitive fire-and-forget systems.

W

WSO: Weapons systems officer. The “back-seater” in a fighter aircraft with a two-man crew.

X

XO: 1.) The executive officer, usually of a battalion; 2.) pretty good cognac.

Z

Z DIAGRAM: An old-fashioned, formal calculation for a bombing run, projecting the most advantageous altitudes for the attack profile, point of release for bombs, and the post-detonation fragmentation pattern (which the pilot needs to avoid).

NUMBERS:

155: 155mm artillery piece, self-propelled or towed. The backbone of the Field Artillery.