LTVP — 7-An armored amphibious assault vehicle used by the U.S. Marine Corps. It weighs 26 tons and has top speeds of 39 mph on land and 8.5 mph in the water. Capable of carrying up to twenty- five troops, it is armed with a50-caliber machine gun.
M-1 and M-1A1 — The current main battle tank of the U.S. Army. Type-classified in 1981, the M-1 is in the field in two versions: the M-1, which is armed with a 105mm. rifled main gun, and the M-1A1, which is armed with a 120mm. smooth-bore gun. The two versions have similar characteristics, which include secondary armament of a.50-caliber machine gun at the commander's station and a 7.62mm. machine gun mounted coaxially with the main gun. The tank weighs 61 tons and has a maximum speed of 45 mph and a range of 275 miles. The M-1 is the first U.S. tank to be protected by special armor, sometimes referred to as Chobham armor.
M-2 — The current U.S. Army infantry-fighting vehicle, called the Bradley. The Bradley is armed with a twin tube TOW-missile launcher, a 25mm. gun, and a 7.62mm. machine gun mounted coaxially with the 25mm. gun. It has a crew of three and can carry six infantrymen, each of whom has a firing port and a periscope from which he can fire a special port weapon. The M-2 weighs 25 tons, has a top speed of 41 mph, is amphibious and has a range of 300 miles.
M-3 — The reconnaissance version of the M-2 Bradley, found in scout platoons and armored cavalry units. Its characteristics and performance are the same as the infantry version.
M-8 — The standard Soviet troop-carrying helicopter.
M-16 — The standard rifle of U.S. ground-combat forces. It fires a 5.56mm. round, either semiautomatic or full automatic, and is gas operated, magazine fed and air-cooled. The M-16A2, now being fielded, eliminates the automatic mode and fires a three-round burst instead and has several other improvements, including a heavier barrel that allows greater accuracy at longer ranges.
M-577 — A fully armored and tracked command post carrier. Used by battalion staffs and above for their command post, or tactical operations center See TOC/. Mechanized-Term used in the U.S. Army when referring to infantry units equipped with armored personnel carriers or infantry-fighting vehicles. In the Red Army, these units are referred to as motorized rifle units.
MILES — Short for 'multiple integrated laser engagement system.' The system uses eye- safe lasers mounted on all weapons and sensors attached to all personnel and equipment. The lasers and sensors are set at different frequencies that only allow a 'kill' to be achieved in training by weapons capable of inflicting a 'kill' in reality. For example, an M-16 rifle MILES laser can 'kill' an exposed soldier but not a tank.
Mine Roller/Plow — Devices attached to the front of tanks and designed to detonate antitank mines without damaging the tank pushing the device. In this way, path can be cleared through a mine field even when covered by fire from defending units.
Motorized Rifle — Term used in the Red Army when referring to infantry units equipped with armored personnel carriers or infantry-Fighting vehicles. In the U.S. Army, these are referred to as mechanized units.
NATO — Acronym for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which includes Norway, Denmark, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Italy, Great Britain, Spain, Portugal, Canada and the United States.
NCO — Short for 'noncommissioned officer'-a sergeant.
OP FOR — Short for 'opposing force,' a term used to describe the enemy during maneuver training exercises.
Orders Group — Selected commanders and staff officers who receive the mission operations order from their higher headquarters. These people, in turn, with assistance from the rest of the unit's staff, will produce the necessary orders at their level to accomplish the mission assigned to them.
Overwatch — A term applied to a tactical method of movement in which part of unit remains stationary, watching for enemy activity, while another part moves forward. It is the task of the over watch element to engage any enemy forces that threaten the element in motion.
Platoon — A military organization that consists of as few as 9 men and 3 tanks in the case of a Soviet tank platoon or as many as 50 men in some U.S. platoons.
Point Element — A small group of soldiers or vehicles that moves well in advance of the main body of troops. This element is responsible for ensuring that the route is clear and navigable. Should the point element be ambushed, the main body will not be involved, provided the point was out far enough.
Reactive Armor — Not really armor in the conventional sense, reactive armor consists of numerous small metal boxes arranged on a tank's exterior and filled with explosives. If a HEAT round (See HEAT) hits this, the explosive in the reactive armor detonates and, without damaging the tank, prevents the jet stream of the HEAT round from forming.
Regiment — A military organization similar to a brigade but more rigid in its organization. It usually consists of one type of unit, such as an infantry regiment or an armor regiment. All battalions within a regiment carry the same regimental number.
RO-RO Ships — Cargo ships designed to allow for wheeled and tracked vehicles to be driven on and off. This eliminates the need for cranes and fully operational port facilities at the point of debarkation.
Round-out Unit — The current U.S. Army force structure does not allow the Army to have enough personnel on active duty to fill all authorized slots in active units. Some active-duty units are missing entire subordinate units. National Guard and Reserve units therefore are identified to fill out those active-duty units that are short when necessary. These Guard and Reserve units are referred to as round-out units.
RRF (Ready Reserve Fleet) — Civilian-owned merchant ships that are on short-notice recall by the U.S. Navy for use in transporting supplies and equipment in the event of mobilization or war.
S-1, etc. — The 'S' stands for 'staff' in battalion- and brigade-sized units in the U.S. Army. The S-1 is responsible for personnel matters, the S-2 is the intelligence officer, the S-3 is operations, plans and training, and the S-4 is supply and maintenance. At division and corps level, the 'S' is replaced with a 'G,' which stands for 'general staff.' When more than one service is involved, as in a joint Army and Navy operation, staffs use 'J,' for 'joint staff.'
Sabot — The word is French, meaning 'shoe.' In the U.S. Army, it is short for 'fin- stabilized armor-piercing discarding sabot,' which is the primary armor defeating round used by tanks. A Sabot is a kinetic energy round that literally punches its way through the armor of the targeted tank. Though the round is fired from a large-caliber gun, the actual penetrator, made of depleted uranium or a tungsten nickel alloy, is small, being only a fraction of the gun's bore diameter. This penetrator is seated in a base that equals the diameter of the gun tube and keeps the gases produced by the propellant behind the round. This base plate is the shoe, or Sabot. After the penetrator leaves the gun tube, the base plate falls away.
SAW — Squad automatic rifle. The M249 SAW is a 5.56mm. light machine gun now replacing the M-60 machine gun. The weapon weighs 22 pounds with a full, 200-round magazine attached, and has a cyclic rate of fire of 700 rounds per minute.
Security Element — A force responsible for providing protection, security or early warning to a larger force.
Self-propelled Artillery — Field artillery that is mounted on a tracked vehicle and usually provides armored protection for the crew.
Squad — The smallest military organization, normally commanded by a sergeant and consisting of 9 to 12 men.
T-80 — The current Red Army main battle tank. The T80 has a three-man crew consisting of the tank commander, the gunner and the driver. An automatic loader eliminates the need for a human loader. The T-80 is armed with a 125mm. smooth-bore gun, a 12.7mm. machine at the commander's station and a 7.62mm. mace gun mounted coaxially with the main gun. The T-80 weighs 39.3 tons, has a top speed of 50 mph and a range of 310 miles and uses special armor as well as add-on reactive armor. The T-72 and the T-64, both of which are earlier versions of the T-80, are similar to it in appearance and have the same general performance data.
Thermal Sight — A sighting system that detects heat emissions and transforms them into an electronic image.
