Designations for decks above the main deck (also known as the damage control deck) begin with zero (e. g., 0–3). The zero is pronounced as 'oh' in conversation. Decks below the main deck do not have the initial zero, and are numbered down from the main deck (e. g., deck 11 is below deck 3; deck 0–7 is above deck 0–3).
1MC The general announcing system on a ship or submarine. Every ship has many different interior communications systems, most of them linking parts of the ship for a specific purpose. Most operate off sound-powered phones. The circuit designators consist of a number followed by two letters that indicate the specific purpose of the circuit. 2AS, for instance, might be an antisubmarine warfare circuit that connects the sonar supervisor, the USW watch officer, and the sailor at the torpedo launcher.
C-2 Greyhound Also known as the COD, Carrier Onboard Delivery. The COD carries cargo and passengers from shore to ship. It is capable of carrier landings. Sometimes assigned directly to the air wing, it also operates in coordination with CVBG from a shore squadron.
air boss A senior commander or captain assigned to the aircraft carrier, in charge of flight operations. The 'Boss' is assisted by the Mini-Boss in Pri-Fly, located in the tower onboard the carrier. The air boss is always in the tower during flight operations, overseeing the launch and recovery cycles, declaring a green deck, and monitoring the safe approach of aircraft to the carrier.
air wing Composed of the aircraft squadrons assigned to the battle group.
The individual squadron commanding officers report to the air wing commander, who reports to the admiral.
airdale Slang for an officer or enlisted person in the aviation fields.
Includes pilots, NFOS, aviation intelligence officers, maintenance officers, and the enlisted technicians who support aviation. The antithesis of an airdale is a 'shoe.'
Akula Late-model Russian-built attack nuclear submarine (SSN). Fast, deadly, and deep diving.
ALR-67 Detects, analyzes and evaluates electromagnetic signals, emits a warning signal if the parameters are compatible with an immediate threat to the aircraft (e. g., seeker head on an antiair missile). Can also detect an enemy radar in either a search or a targeting mode.
altitude Is safety. With enough airspace under the wings, a pilot can solve any problem.
AMRAAM Advanced Medium Range Antiair Missile.
angels Thousands of feet over ground. Angels twenty is 20,000 feet.
Cherubs indicates hundreds of feet (e. g., cherubs five = five hundred feet).
ASW Antisubmarine Warfare, recently renamed Undersea Warfare. For some reason.
avionics Black boxes and systems that comprise an aircraft's combat systems.
AW Aviation antisubmarine warfare technician, the enlisted specialist flying in an S-3, P- 3, or helo USW aircraft. As this book goes to press, there is discussion of renaming the specialty.
AWACS An aircraft entirely too good for the Air Force, the Advanced Warning Aviation Control System. Long-range command and control and electronic intercept bird with superb capabilities.
AWG-9 Pronounced 'awg nine,' the primary search- and fire-control radar on a Tomcat.
backseater also known as the GIB, the guy in back. Nonpilot aviator available in several flavors BN (bombadier/ navigator), RIO (radar intercept operator), and TACCO (Tactical Control Officer), among others. Usually wear glasses and are smart.
Bear Russian maritime patrol aircraft, the equivalent in rough terms of a U.S. P-3. Variants have primary missions in command and control, submarine hunting, and electronic intercepts. Big, slow, good targets.
bitch box One interior communications system on a ship. So named because it's normally used to bitch at another watch station.
blue on blue Fratricide. U.S. forces are normally indicated in blue on tactical displays, and this term refers to an attack on a friendly by another friendly.
blue water Navy Outside the unrefueled range of the airwing. When a carrier enters blue water ops, aircraft must get on board, (e. g., land) and cannot divert to land if the pilot gets the shakes.
boomer Slang for a ballistic missile submarine.
BOQ Bachelor Officers Quarters ? a Motel Six for single officers or those traveling without family. The Air Force also has VOQ, Visiting Officers Quarters.
buster As fast as you can (i. e., bust yer ass getting here).
CAG Carrier Air Group Commander, normally a senior Navy captain aviator.
Technically, an obsolete term, since the air wing rather than an air group is now deployed on the carrier. However, everyone thought CAW sounded stupid, so CAG was retained as slang for the Carrier Air Wing Commander.
CAP Combat Air Patrol, a mission executed by fighters to protect the carrier and battle group from enemy air and missiles.
Carrier Battle Group A combination of ships, air wing, and submarines assigned under the command of a one-star admiral.
Carrier Battle Group 14 The battle group normally embarked on Jefferson.
CBG See Carrier Battle Group.
CDC Combat Direction Center ? modernly, replaced CIC, or Combat Information Center, as the heart of a ship. All sensor information is fed into CDC and the battle is coordinated by a tactical action officer on watch there.
CG Abbreviation for a cruiser.
Chief The backbone of the Navy. E-7, -8, and -9 enlisted pay grades, known as chief, senior chief, and master chief. The transition from petty officer ranks to the chief's mess is a major event in a sailor's career. Onboard ship, the chiefs have separate eating and berthing facilities. Chiefs wear khakis, as opposed to dungarees for the less senior enlisted ratings.
Chief of Staff Not to be confused with a chief, the COS in a battle group staff is normally a senior Navy captain who acts as the admiral's XO and deputy.
CIA Christians in Action. The civilian agency charged with intelligence operations outside the continental United States.
CIWS Close-in Weapons System, pronounced 'seewhiz.' Gatling gun with built-in radar that tracks and fires on inbound missiles. If you have to use it, you're dead.
COD See C-2 Greyhound.
collar count Traditional method of determining the winner of a disagreement. A survey is taken of the opponent's collar devices.
The senior person wins. Always.
Commodore Formerly the junior-most admiral rank, now used to designate a senior Navy captain in charge of a bunch of like units. A destroyer Commodore commands several destroyers, a sea control Commodore the S-3 squadrons on that coast. Contrast with CAG, who owns a number of dissimilar units (e. g., a couple of Tomcat squadrons, some Hornets, and some E-2s and helos).
compartment Navy talk for a room on a ship.
Condition Two One step down from General Quarters, which is Condition One.
Condition Five is tied up at the pier in a friendly country.
CONUS CONtinental United States. Normally used to refer to the mainland only.
crypto Short for some variation of cryptological, the magic set of codes that makes a circuit impossible for anyone else to understand.
CV, CVN Abbreviation for an aircraft carrier, conventional and nuclear.
CVIC Carrier Intelligence Center. Located down the passageway (the hall) from the flag spaces.
data link, the LINK The secure circuit that links all units in a battle group or in an area. Targets and contacts are transmitted over the LINK to all ships. The data is processed by the ship designated as
