shingle.”
17
Pronounced “Hu-Ahhh,” it is the standard Airborne acknowledgment to an order or statement, and stands for Heard… Understood… and Acknowledged!
18
In addition to the basic T-10-series parachute system, the Army also uses the MC1-1 steerable parachute. The use and certification of this square-canopy system are handled in later classes, since BAS concentrates just on basic T-10 operations and safety.
19
The standard speed for all aircraft (C-130 Hercules, C-141 Starlifter, and C-17 Globemaster III) dropping paratroops is 130 knots. Any more than this can literally tear the troopers apart.
20
Air Tasking Orders (ATOs) are the flying schedules for every kind of aircraft in a theater of operations. During Operation Desert Storm, the ATO controlled everything from bombing missions to MEDIVAC missions.
21
For more on the early problems of the M16, see
22
Used as a booby trap for centuries in Asia, this is a sharpened steel spike or bamboo stake, hidden in a shallow covered pit and often smeared with excrement to cause disabling infections.
23
Chlorine bleach and Trisodium Phosphate, two common household cleaning solutions, can neutralize many chemical agents.
24
A great deal of other information about the systems being described in this chapter has been covered in my other books
25
With its handsome wooden stock, the M14 is still carried by the Honor Guard at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. It also is used by Naval and Coast Guard vessels as a boarding weapon.
26
After decades of incompatibility, the Army and Air Force radios can finally communicate on common frequencies.
27
Prime Chance was a program to rapidly convert existing OH-58Ds to an armed configuration to support maritime interdiction operations in the Persian Gulf. In 1988, the Prime Chance aircraft swept the Gulf of Iranian gunboats that were harassing tankers. Later, the decision was made to upgrade the entire OH- 58D fleet to the Prime Chance configuration.
28
Army helicopters are named for Native American tribes, so the UH-1 is officially the “Iroquois.” Nobody actually calls it that, not even full-blooded Iroquois.
29
In an emergency, which is the normal combat situation, you can probably pack in sixteen troops, maybe more if they’re little guys with a high tolerance for discomfort.
