Head: Navy and Marine Corps term for toilet; called a latrine in the Army
HEAT: High Explosive Anti-Tank
Hell Week: The fifth week of BUD/S that is five-plus days of continuous activity and training with little or no sleep
Hors de combat: Out of the battle (expression in French)
HSB: High-Speed Boat
Immediate Action: A quick, sometimes temporary, fix to a mechanical problem
IR: Infra-Red
Island: The superstructure of an aircraft carrier or assault ship
JSOC: Joint Special Operation Command
K-Bar: A brand of knives manufactured for military and camping purposes
KD Range: Known-Distance weapons-firing Range
KIA: Killed In Action
Keffiyeh: Arab headdress (what Yasser Arafat wore) KISS: Keep It Simple, Stupid or more politely, Keep It
Simple, Sweetheart LBE: Load-Bearing Equipment LSSC: Light SEAL Support Craft Light Sticks: Flexible plastic tubes that illuminate Limpet Mine: An explosive mine that is attached to the hulls
of vessels
Locked Heels: When a serviceman is getting a severe vocal reprimand, it is said he is having his heels locked, i.e., standing at attention while someone is bellowing in his face.
LSO: Landing Signal Officer LZ: Landing Zone M-18 Claymore Mine: A mine fired electrically with a blast
ing cap M-60 E3: A compact model of the M-60 machine gun M-67: An antipersonnel grenade M-203: A single-shot 40-millimeter grenade launcher MATC: A fast river support craft MCPO: Master Chief Petty Officer Medevac: Medical Evacuation MI-5: United Kingdom Security Agency Mk 138 Satchel Charge: Canvas container filled with explo
sive
Mossad: Israeli Intelligence Agency (ha-Mossad le-Modiin ule-Tafkidim Meyuhadim Institute for Intelligence and Special Tasks)
MRE: Meal, Ready to Eat MSSC: Medium SEAL Support Craft Murphy's Law: An assumption that if something can go
wrong, it most certainly will N2: Intelligence Staff N3: Operations Staff NAS: Naval Air Station NAVSPECWAR: Naval Special Warfare NCO: Noncommissioned Officers, i.e., corporals and sergeants NCP: Navy College Program NFL: National Football League NROTC: Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps NVG: Night-Vision Goggles
NVS: Night-Vision Sight
OA: Operational Area
OCONUS: Outside the Continental United States
OCS: Officers Candidate School
OER: Officer's Efficiency Report
OP: Observation Post
OPLAN: Operations Plan. This is the preliminary form of an OPORD.
OPORD: Operations Order. This is the directive derived from the OPLAN of how an operation is to be carried out. It's pretty much etched in stone.
PBL: Patrol Boat, Light
PC: Patrol Coastal vessel
PDQ: Pretty Damn Quick
PLF: Parachute Landing Fall
PM: Preventive Maintenance
PMC: Private Military Company. These are businesses that supply bodyguards, security personnel, and mercenary civilian fighting men to persons or organizations wanting to hire them.
PO: Petty Officer (e.g., PO1C is Petty Officer First Class)
POV: Privately Owned Vehicle
P.P.P.P.: Piss-Poor Prior Planning
PT: Physical Training
Puhtee: An Afghan rolled cap stocking cap that can be worn in many ways
RHIP: Rank Has Its Privileges
RIB: Rigid Inflatable Boat
RIO: Radar Intercept Officer
RPG: Rocket-Propelled Grenade
RPM: Revolutions Per Minute
RTO: Radio Telephone Operator
Run-flat tires: Solid-rubber inserts that allow the vehicle to run even when the tires have been punctured
SAS: Special Air Services an extremely deadly and superefficient special operations unit of the British Army
SAW: Squad Automatic Weapon M-249 5.56-millimeter magazine or clip-fed machine gun
SCPO: Senior Chief Petty Officer SDV: Seal Delivery Vehicle SERE: Survival, Escape, Resistance, and Evasion SF: Special Forces SFOB: Special Forces Operational Base Shiites: A branch of Islam; in serious conflict with the Sunnis SITREP: Situation Report SNAFU: Situation Normal, All Fucked Up Snap-to: The act of quickly and sharply assuming the position of attention with chin up, shoulders back, thumbs along the seams of the trousers, and heels locked with toes at a 45-degree angle
SOCOM: Special Operations Command SOF: Special Operations Force SOI: Signal Operating Instructions SOLS: Special Operations Liaison Staff SOP: Standard Operating Procedures SPECOPS: Special Operations Special Boat Squadrons: Units that participate in SEAL mis
sions SPECWARCOM: Special Warfare Command Sunnis: A branch of Islam; in serious conflict with the Shiites T-10 Parachute: Basic static-line-activated personnel para
chute of the United States Armed Forces. Primarily designed for mass tactical parachute jumps. Taliban: Militant, anti-West Muslims with extreme religious
views; in serious conflict with Shiites TDy: Temporary Duty Three-Shop: Operations and Training Section of the staff TOA: Table of Allowances Two-Shop: Intelligence Section of the staff U.K.: The United Kingdom (England, Wales, Scotland, and
Northern Ireland) UN: United Nations Unass: To jump out of or off something UNREO: United Nations Relief and Education Organization USAF: United States Air Force USASFC: United States Army Special Forces Command USSR: Union of Soviet Social Republics Russia before the
fall of Communism VTOL: Vertical Take-Off and Landing Watch Bill: A list of personnel and stations for the watch Waypoint: A location programmed into navigational instrumentation that directs aircraft, vehicles, and/or vessels to a specific spot on the planet
Whaler Boat: Small craft loosely based on the types of boats used in whaling. They are generally carried aboard naval and merchant vessels and are diesel-powered.
WIA: Wounded in Action WMD: Weapons of Mass Destruction: nuclear, biological, etc.
