lieutenant colonel. Cavalry units use the term “Squadron” for units of this size.
BDA Bomb Damage Assessment. The controversial art of determining from fuzzy imagery and contradictory intelligence whether or not a particular target has been destroyed or rendered inoperative.
BDU Battle Dress Uniform.
BLU Air Force nomenclature for a “bomblet” or “submunition,” dispenser followed by a number designating a particular type such as BLU-109.
Blue-on-Blue Accidental firing of weapons at friendly forces due to erroneous identification, breakdown of communications, or system malfunctions.
BRAC Base Realignment and Closure Commission. Organization created by Congress to tackle the politically sensitive task of selecting military bases to be closed, merged, or sold off.
Bradley Heavy (up to 67,000 lbs/30,450 kg) tracked armored vehicle with 25mm cannon and TOW missile launcher. M2 Infantry Fighting Vehicle carries a 3-man crew (driver, gunner, commander) and 6- man infantry squad. M3 Cavalry Fighting Vehicle carries a 2-man scout team and extra ammunition instead. Over 6,700 built.
Brigade Military unit consisting of several battalions, typically commanded by a colonel or brigadier general. U.S. Army divisions generally contain 3 or 4 brigades.
C2 Command and Control. Currently used to describe electronic systems that assist warfighters.
C-5B Galaxy Long-range Lockheed Martin heavy lift transport. Four TF39 turbofan engines. Maximum takeoff weight is 837,000 pounds. Nose structure swings up and tail ramp drops down for rapid loading and unloading. About 82 in service.
C-17 Globemaster III Heavy-lift McDonnell Douglas transport designed for operation into short, unimproved runways. Four P&W F117 turbofan engines. Max. takeoff weight 585,000 lbs/266,000 kg. Advanced cockpit with flight crew of 2 plus enlisted loadmaster in cargo bay.
C-47 Dakota Twin-engine transport version of Douglas DC-3 airliner. Workhorse of Allied airborne operations in WWII. Produced from 1939 to about 1950, and still flying.
C-119 Twin-engine tactical transport of the 1950s, nicknamed “Flying Boxcar.”
C-130 Hercules Lockheed tactical transport. Four Allison T56 turboprops. Over 2000 of these classic aircraft have been built since 1955 and it is still in production. Hero of 1976 Israeli hostage rescue mission to Entebbe, Uganda. Many models and variants, including AC-130U gunship and EC-130H communications jammer. New C-130J under development has advanced avionics and new Allison T406 engine with six-bladed propellers. Standard transport has maximum takeoff weight of 175,000 lb/80,000 kg.
C-141 Starlifter Long-range heavy lift transport, built by Lockheed, entered service in 1964. Four TF33 turbofan engines. About 227 remain in service, subject to weight restrictions due to airframe fatigue. Equipped for in-flight refueling. Maximum takeoff weight 325,000 pounds.
C3I Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence; the components and targets of information warfare. Pronounced “see-three- eye.”
CAS Close Air Support. “Air attacks against hostile targets which are in close proximity to friendly forces and which require detailed integration of each air mission with the fire and movement of those forces.” (Official Defense Department definition.)
Cavalry Combat arm based on mobility, reconnaissance, surprise, and shock action. Before the 20th century, used horses. The U.S. Army applies the term Cavalry to certain units equipped with armored vehicles, attack helicopters, or both.
CBU Cluster Bomb Unit. A munition that is fuzed to explode at low altitude, scattering large numbers of “submunitions” over an area target. Submunitions can be explosive grenades, delayed action mines, antitank warheads, or other specialized devices.
CENTCOM United States Central Command, a unified (joint service) command with an area of responsibility in the Middle East and Southwest Asia. Headquartered at McDill AFB, Florida and generally commanded by an Army four-star general. CENTCOM normally commands no major combat units, but in a crisis situation it would be rapidly reinforced by units of the Army’s XVIIIth Airborne Corps, the U.S. Marine Corps, and Allied forces.
CH-47 Chinook Aging Boeing Vertol “Chinook” twin-rotor helicopter found in Army medium helicopter squadrons.
“Chalk” Group of paratroops assigned to one aircraft. In World War II, the term was “stick.”
CinC Commander in Chief. Used to designate the senior officer, typically a four-star general or admiral in charge of a major command, such as CINCPAC (Commander in Chief of the U.S. Pacific Command).
CNN Atlanta-based global newsgathering organization, highly regarded as a source of 24 -hour real-time information by the defense and intelligence community. The U.S. military has deployable satellite terminals that allow commanders to monitor CNN from anywhere in the world.
Company Military unit consisting of several platoons, typically commanded by a captain. Within a battalion, companies are designated by letters (A, B, C, etc.). Cavalry units use the term “troop” for company-sized units, while Artillery units use the term “battery.”
CONOPS Concept of Operations. The commander’s guidance to subordinate units on the conduct of a campaign.
CRAF Civil Air Reserve Fleet. Commercial transport aircraft, some with government subsidized modifications, such as strengthened floors, designated for requisition by Air Mobility Command in time of national emergency.
CSAR Combat Search and Rescue. Recovery of downed aircrew evading capture in an enemy-held area. Typically a helicopter mission supported by fixed-wing aircraft.
CSS Combat Service Support. Military term for administrative units such as supply, maintenance, and finance.
DARO Defense Airborne Reconnaissance Office. A Pentagon agency created in 1992, charged with fixing the mess in U.S. airborne recon.
DISCOM Divisional Support Command. Administrative, maintenance and logistic elements of a division.
DIVARTY Divisional Artillery. Several battalions, often reinforced with additional Corps level units. Typically commanded by a brigadier general. U.S. Army doctrine calls for dispersed deployment of artillery, but tightly centralized control and synchronization of fires.
DMA Defense Mapping Agency.
DoD Department of Defense. U.S. government branch created in 1947, responsible for the four armed services and numerous agencies, program offices and joint projects.
DSCS Defense Satellite Communication System. A family of geosynchronous satellites and ground terminals ranging from 33-inch airborne antennae to 60-foot ground dishes. The current generation, DSCS III, includes five satellites, providing global coverage. Some earlier DSCS II satellites are still operational.
DZ Drop Zone. An area designated for parachute dropping of personnel or equipment. A “hot DZ” is one under enemy fire. This is very bad.
ECM Electronic Countermeasures. Any use of the electromagnetic spectrum to confuse, degrade or defeat hostile radars, sensors or radio communications. The term ECCM (electronic counter- countermeasures) is used to describe active or passive defensive measures against enemy ECM, such as frequency-hopping or spread spectrum waveforms.
ECWCS Extended Cold Weather Clothing System. New winter/arctic gear based on technology developed for skiers and mountain climbers, such as Gore-Tex.
EFOG-M Enhanced Fiber-Optic Guided Missile. Army advanced-technology demonstration project (cancelled and revived several times) to develop a missile that trails an ultra-strong, ultra-light fiber optic cable, providing a video data link for precision guidance. Good for killing point targets on the other side of the
