NationStates Jolt Archive

Someone complained that they had no idea what people are talking about in reference to military equipment. After reading that, I decided that the complaint had a degree of merit, and therefore I have put down a few terms and slang from the military.

This list is far from all-inclusive, it just represents the terms I came up with after a few minutes' thought. Note that many of these terms are unique to the US military and probably do not apply to other nations' militaries.

When I remembered to do so, I have tried to make the terms as gender-neutral as possible. If the few inclusions of the word man offends anyone, they can feel free to wax self-righteously wrathful on their own post elsewhere.

If anyone wants other terms included in this list, feel free to post them here, along with the definitions and origin. I will edit the list every so often to include terms that need to be added.

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TERM DEFINITION
AA Anti-Aircraft. Detecting and destroying aircraft and missiles. AAA is anti-aircraft artillery.

AAM Air to Air Missile. Missiles designed to allow one aircraft to shoot down another.

ACM Air Combat Maneuvering. The modern fighter-pilot term for Dogfight.

Acquired Observed or under observation. For weapons directors, it can also mean that the object is being tracked. It can also indicate that targeting systems are locked on.

Active A type of sensor or detection apparatus that projects energy outward and detects the returned energy signal. Radar is an active sensor, as are some IR systems.

Actual Radio term designating a unit commander. If the unit call sign is "Brownbag" the unit commander will be "Brownbag Actual".

Adrift Missing in action (RCN). Not in its proper place (USN)

A-Farts Semi-derogatory reference to American Forces Radio and Television Service- the English-language military broadcast network available to service members overseas.

Aft Nautical term indicating the direction of the rear of a ship.

AFV Armored Fighting Vehicle. Any vehicle armored to withstand at Small Arms fire (at a minimum) and designed to operate on the battlefield as a fighting unit. Tanks are classified as AFV's.

Airborne Term used to identify soldiers trained in parachute use. Airborne units are trained to parachute into enemy territory in advance of assaults by regular military units.

Air Boss On ships with flight decks, the Air Boss is the officer in charge of all air operations.

Airedale Semi-derogatory term referring to Navy flight personnel.

Airman Any military person in the Air Force. Usually restricted to enlisted personnel.

Airmobile Soldiers transported to the battlefield by aircraft- usually helicopters.

Air Superiority Aircraft designed solely to attack and destroy other aircraft.

Airy-Fairy RCN Fleet aviation personnel. In the Royal Navy (UK), a vague or impractical suggestion.

All Aspect Capable of attacking targets from any direction. Missiles which are not all-aspect can only engage targets from limited angles. All-aspect platforms are platforms that can successfully attack targets in any environment.

All Weather Aircraft capable of flying, detecting, and destroying enemy targets regardless of lighting or weather conditions.

Amphib US Navy term for a ship designed for landing troops and/or vehicles on a beach. Also referred to as Gator Freighter

AMRAAM Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missile

AMTRACK Euphemism for the Amphibious, tracked landing vehicles used extensively by the US Marines. The vehicles are still in use, despite being largely replaced by LCACs.

Anchor-faced Royal Navy (UK) euphemism for someone enthusiastic about the Navy.

Angels Altitude in thousands of feet. "Angels Ten" means ten thousand feet.

AP Armor-Piercing. Ammunition designed with directed-energy (also called shaped-charge) warheads to defeat tank armor.

APC Armored Personnel Carrier. A lightly-armored vehicle (see LAV) built to carry infantry into battle, but not designed to allow fighting from inside the vehicle.

Arclight Vietnam-era US Army term for a massive area bombardment by heavy bombers.

Artillery Large-caliber cannon- usually 155mm or larger- used to attack the enemy from a distance

ASDIC British term for Sonar. Acronym comes from the Anti-Submarine Detection Investigation Committee, which developed the first effective sonar systems.

ASM Air to Surface Missile. Missiles designed to allow aircraft to attack surface targets, including ships.

ASW Anti-Submarine Warfare. The art of hunting and killing submarines.

AT Anti-Tank. Generally designates munitions capable of defeating tank armor.

Bandit A hostile aircraft.

Battery Any group of artillery pieces, usually 4 to a battery.

Battlewagon Older term referring to larger warship (especially battleships and battlecruisers).

BDU Battle Dress Uniform. Military services usually have several uniforms for different purposes. Dress uniforms for formal occasions, Undress (also called Utility) uniforms for general work, and Battle Dress for combat operations.

Big Chicken Dinner Bad Conduct Discharge. In many ways, equivalent to a felony conviction.

Bingo Pilot's radio call indicating he is returning to base for fuel. Also refers to the precise chronological point to which a pilot can fly out, have adequate time to fight and get back to his air base/carrier with just enough fuel to land.

Bird Farm More current term referring to aircraft carriers.

Bitchbox (surface) Intercom or amplified circuit used to communicate between spaces of the ship.

Black Shoe Navy slang for a non-avaiation officer. Only navy aviators wear brown shoes.

Blue on Blue A friendly-fire kill. Refers to the usual Western miltary practice of referring to friendly forces as "Blue". UK term is 'own-goal.'

Blue Water Navy term referring to operations in the ocea- well away from land. Brown water refers to riverine operations.

Boat A small water vessel that doesn't carry smaller craft aboard. Also used to refer to submarines.

Boatswain Pronounced Bosun. Archaic term from sail navies referring to the men who handled the lines and manned the rudder. The term survives in modern navies in the rating Boatswain's Mate.

Bogie An unidentified aircraft or radar contact.

Bow The forward (pointy) end of a ship.

Brass Any officer. Especially higher-ranking ones.

Bravo Zulu US Navy radio-message shorthand for Well done! or Good Job.

Brown Shoe Navy slang for an aviation officer, derived from the uniform footwear for navy aviators.

Break Also known as Jink, an aircraft's sudden and violent maneuver designed to avoid enemy fire or missiles.

Break In radio communications, when speaking to individuals within a unit, this term indicates the speaker's change of intended recipient. EXAMPLE: "Charlie four, this is Six. Go ahead with a hand-held on that enemy column. Break. All Charlie units, go hot."

Bubblehead Semi-derogatory term referring to submarine sailors.

Butterbar Reference to the single gold bar used to indicate the lowest-ranking officers in the US military called Ensigns in the Navy and 2nd Lieutenant elsewhere.

Buzz-bomb Slang term for any of several short-range, man-portable, anti-armor missiles.

Buzzboy WWII-era semi-derogatory term for pilots of any sort.

Cannon Cocker Gunnery or artillery specialist.

CAP Combat Air Patrol. Originally, the aircraft launched to protect the aircraft carrier. Currently refers to any defensive Air Superiority aircraft.

Captain Term of respect given to the Commanding Officer of any vessel, regardless of military rank. This term is reserved solely for the CO, and any persons whose rank is Captain are referred to as Commodore on ships they do not command.

Captain's Mast Navy Non-judicial disciplinary procedure, usually meted out by unit commanders.

CAS Close Air Support. Another term for TacAir.

Casualty US Navy term for any emergency situation. Generic military term for killed or wounded personnel

Cavalry Originally designated warriors trained to fight from horseback. In modern usage, cavalry refers to Airmobile units and some vehicle units- particularly tanks.

CBDR Constant Bearing, Decreasing Range. An announcement indicating that the target is heading directly toward you.

CBR Chemical/Biological/Radiological. Previously called NBC (Nuclear/Biological/Chemical). Used in reference to fighting with those types of weapons and defending against same. For the record, the US military lumps all nuclear weapons and those using radioactive materials (so-called dirty bombs, for example) as Radiological weapons.

CDO Command Duty Officer. Navy term for the senior officer on duty when the CO is off the ship in port.

Chest Candy Medals, ribbons, and other bits of tin and glitter that military people collect over the course of their careers.

CIC Combat Information Center. In modern navies, the electronic heart of the ship. Ships are fought from CIC in modern combat. The Operations Officer runs CIC.

CIWS Pronounced see-whiz. Close In Weapon System. The US Navy's 30mm point-defense chaingun, used in anti-air and anti-missile defense. Also called R2-D2 due to the resemblance of the gun housing to the Star Wars droid.


CO Comanding Officer. Also referred to (behind his back) as the Old Man.

Coasties Semi-derogatory reference to the US Coast Guard (usually by the US Navy). Also called Puddle Pirates.

COB Chief of the Boat. Navy shorthand for the senior enlisted person aboard a submarine.

Combatant Navy term for ships designed for combat (Destroyers, Frigates, Cruisers, Aircraft Carriers, etc). Non-Combatants are ships such as supply ships or amphibs which do not normally engage in combat.

Company 3 or more Platoons under the command of a single officer- usually a captain. A company of tanks is usually 4 tank platoons of 3-5 tanks each.

CQB Close Quarters Battle. Essentially refers to hand-to-hand combat, but is used whenever the combatants are literally within spitting distance. Also known as Two Cats in a Sack.

DE Directed Energy. Refers to a weapon employing a shaped-charge to defeat armor.

Deuce-and-a-half Slang term for the standard 2 1/2-ton truck used by the US military.

Deck Ape Semi-derogatory Navy term for personnel who work in Deck Division on a ship (Boatswain's Mates)

Destroyer Small ships with a crew of 200-350, designed primarily to destroy submarines. Modern destroyers are All Aspect platforms.

DI Drill Instructor. Also referred to as Drill Sergeant. The dedicated professionals who turn raw recruits into soldiers and Marines.

Direct Fire Weapons that can only attack targets with an unobstructed LOS/LOF. All Small Arms and most vehicle weapons are direct fire only. Weapons such as mortars and artillery are Indirect Fire weapons.

DMZ De-Militarized Zone. An area where military action and weaponry are officially prohibited

DU Depleted Uranium. Ammunition made of this dense material is especially useful for penetrating armored targets.

Dust-off Vietnam-era term meaning helicopter medical evacuation

ECM Electronic Counter Measures. Using electronics to defeat enemy targeting and detection systems- such as Radar. Also called Jamming and Spoofing

ELINT Electronic Intelligence gathering.

El-Tee Military shorthand for Lieutenant, derived from the contracted designation LT.

EMP Electro-Magnetic Pulse. A massive electromagnetic shockwave which damages or destroys active electronics equipment. One of the side-effects of a nuclear weapon detonation.

ESM Electronic Support Measures. Most of the passive sensors and other electronic equipment designed to augment existing equipment or detect electronic signals with a passive search.

FAE Acronym for Fuel-Air Explosive.

Fast Mover Slang term for jet aircraft assigned to TacAir

Firebase A forward artillery position designed to provide artillery support for ground troops

Firecracker Specialized term for airburst antipersonnel artillery rounds.

First Lieutenant The officer in charge of Deck Division on a ship. usually a senior officer, next in line for command after the Operations Officer.

Flag Navy term for a Commodore or Admiral in command of a fleet. Flagship is therefore the ship upon which the Admiral/Commodore's flag is flying.

Flattop Older term referring to aircraft carriers

FLIR Forward-Looking InfraRed. A night-vision and targeting system installed on aircraft to allow navigation and targeting in darkness. This is both an Active and a Passive sensor package.

Focsle Pronounced foke-sul, this is a derivation of the term forecastle, referring to the forwardmost area of a ship. Currently refers to the top deck of the bow of a ship, forward of the superstrtucture

Forward Nautical term indicating the direction toward the bow of a ship.

Fox Fighter pilot's transmission indicating he has fired a missile.

Free-Fire Zone An area where military units may use their weapons without obtaining permission. Usually- but not always- applies to an area where positive target identification is not required because anything in the area is an enemy.

Freq Frequency. Usually refers to radio communications, but can also indicate electronic systems' operating bands.

Friendly Fire Getting attacked by your own or allied forces.

Frigate Small ships with a crew of 180-250, designed primarily to destroy submarines. Modern versions have limited AA capabilities. Also called Corvettes

God Botherer (RN) The chaplain. Aka 'Sin Bosun', 'Sky Bosun', Sky Pilot.

Guns In the Navy, a slang reference to Gunner's Mates- the crewmen who man, maintain, and fire the weapons onboard. In other services, this term usually refers to personnel in Heavy Weapons or artillery units.

Hard target Target which is heavily protected and/or defended (military airfields, munitions dumps, etc). A Soft Target is a target which isessentially undefended or underdefended.

Hardened Extensively protected/defended against generic or specific threats. Modern aircraft are hardened against EMP, for example.

HARM Homing AntiRadiation Missile. Missiles designed to detect attack radar and communications sites by homing in on the transmissions of the site.

Hash Marks The service stripes worn on Dress Uniforms (typically on the left sleeve) to indicate the wearer's length of service. In the US, each diagonal line indicates 4 years.

HE High Explosives. Ammunition with a large explosive charge, used primarily against unarmored targets. HEAT is High Explosive AntiTank ammunition.

HFDF High Frequency Direction Finder. A device designed to receive electronic signals and establish the direction of origin. This is a type of ESM.

Heavy Weapons Large support weapons such as artillery, mortars, etc. Generally indicates weapons too large/bulky/heavy for the infantry to carry, and therefore must be carried or towed by vehicles.

Hog Slang term for tube artillery.

Hot LZ A Landing Zone which is under enemy fire

HUMINT Human Intelligence. Intelligence data gathered by actual human observers.

ICBM InterContinental Ballistic Missile. A missile designed to be able to deliver an attack anywhere on the planet (the Intercontinental part) after being launched out of the atmosphere, where it falls back to Earth (the ballistic bit). Usually used to carry nuclear weapons.

IFV Infantry Fighting Vehicle. Lightly-armored vehicles 9see LAV) designed to carry Infantry to the battlefield and allow the soldiers to fight from inside the vehicle.

Indig Semi-derogatory term referring to the local populace in a foreign country. Also referred to as "wogs".

Infantry The standard soldier, trained to fight with small arms and support weapons on foot.

IR Infra Red. Thermal night vision systems. Can be operated in passive mode (simply detects emitted heat) or active (emits a beam of infrared light to illuminate the darkness).

Jimmy Royal Navy nickname for a submarine's Executive Officer.

Joe Generic term for someone who is really enthusiastic about military service. In the US Marines, the term is Gung Ho.

Kay Short for Kay Pee Aitch (KPH). Kilometers Per Hour.

KIA Killed In Action

KEW Kinetic Energy Weapon. Ammunition that relies on mass and velocity rather than explosives to damage targets. DU (Depleted Uranium) is technically a KEW.

Klick Kilometer. Used mainly to refer to distance and range.

LAV Light Armored Vehicle. Generic term for any of several utility vehicles and IFVs- usually wheeled instead of tracked- with sufficient armor to defeat small arms.

LAW Light Anti-tank Weapon. A small, disposable, shoulder-fired rocket designed to defeat light armor.

LCAC Landing Craft, Air Cushion. Specifically, the enormous hovercraft the US Marines use to make amphibious assaults.

Lifer US military term for someone intending to serve a full 20-30 year term in the service.

Lifer juice US military term for coffee. Also called Java, Joe, Jamoke, or Carbon Remover.

Line Navy designation for an officer in the line of command, as opposed to staff, supply, or medical officers.

Littoral Navy term for the operating in the ocean close to shore, as opposed to Blue-water or Riverine operations.

LOF Line Of Fire.

LOS Line Of Sight.

LZ Landing Zone. An area where helicopters can drop off troops or pick up wounded.

Ma-Deuce US Army slang term for the M2 .50 caliber machine gun.

MBT Main Battle Tank. The largest and heaviest-armored tank in a military's arsenal.

Mechanized Designates an Infantry unit equipped with lots of vehicles- including tanks.

MIA Missing In Action

Mike Phonetic alphabet shorthand for minute on the radio. "I'll be there in four mikes."

MOAB Acronym for the famous Massive Ordnance, Air-Burst conventional air-delivered bomb. Also known as Mother Of All Bombs.

Monkey on a stick Derisive term for any type of meat served on skewers by street vendors in any port of call. In third-world countries, only consumed by drunk sailors and Marines, due to questionable sanitation practices.

MOW Messenger On Watch. Just what the name describes. In port, the MOW stands watch on the quarterdeck. Underway, the Messenger is usually an engineering enlisted person.

MRE Meal, Ready to Eat. The standard compact rations issued to the US military in the field. Usually referred to by the troops as Meals Refused by Ethiopians.

Mustang Navy term for an officer who started out in the enlisted ranks.

NAFOD Abbreviation for "No Apparent Fear Of Death." What a frightened LSO writes on your grade card. Indicates consistent unsafe practices.

Nape Napalm. The classic US military incendiary agent.

NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Also seems to be a slang term for adding milk and two sugars to one's tea or coffee.

NCO Non Commissioned Officer. Senior enlisted person entrusted with the actual day-to-day running of a military unit. Usually a long-service veteran with a lot of experience.

No Joy Pilot's radio message indicating he has not seen the target.

NVG Night Vision Goggles. Usually operating by IR, advanced models can also use Light Enhancement (amplifying existing light to usable levels). In either mode, NVGs significantly reduce peripheral vision.

OOD In the Navy, it means Officer of the Deck- the person who conns the ship underway or the person in charge of the ship's quarterdeck inport. In other services, it usually means Officer of the Day- which serves the same function as the Navy's CDO.

OODA OODA: Observe, Orient, Decide, Act - the basic structure of all military operations.

OPSEC Operational Security

Panzer Slang term for a tank, especially a Main Battle Tank (MBT)

Passive A type of sensor operation that relies entirely on signals from outside the detecting platform. Listening to acoustic sensors for enemy submarines is a good example of a passive search. Using HFDF to detect enemy radar is another example.

PBI Poor Bloody Infantry. Foot soldiers, dogfaces, mudfeet. The poor slob who has to physically haul his carcass across ground covered by enemy fire and take and hold the land. The guy that rarely gets the glory or attention but does 90% of the hard and dirty work.

Platoon Usually composed of 3-5 Squads, a typical US Army Platoon is about 48 men.

Point Patrol term referring to the position in front of the rest of the patrolling unit. This is the most dangerous position, so it usually falls to the newest man in the unit or the most paranoid.

Pongo Royal army semi-derogatory term for infantryman. Probably derived from the traditional name given to coach dogs.

POOW Petty Officer Of the Watch. The enlisted person responsible for securing the Quarterdeck in port.

Port Naval term indicating the direction left. Turn to port means turn to the left.

POW Prisoner Of War.

Punch Out Eject from an aircraft. The WWII-era term for this was Hit the silk. also called "Punch Elvis".

Push Radio term referring to a unit's assigned frequency.

Quarterdeck Navy term for the ceremonial entrance to the ship. The Quarterdeck is manned inport by the OOD, POOW, and MOW.

Radar An acronym meaning RAdio Detection And Ranging. An electronic means of locating and tracking a target, as well as a means of guiding weapons to attack it.

Recon Reconnaissance. The art of trying to discover where the enemy is, what he's doing, and what he's doing it with. Can include satellites, aircraft, or sending troops into the area to see first hand.

Redleg Old slang term for soldiers assigned to artillery units. Derived from the red stripe worn down each leg of their uniform trousers.

Redout A condition caused by excessive negative G's. Temporary loss or obstruction of vision caused by too much blood in the retinas.

REMF Rear Echelon Mother F***er. Derogatory term used by combat troops to refer to support personnel who never hear a shot fired in anger.

Retrograde Maneuver Weasel-word reference to a retreat.

RPG Rocket-Propelled Grenade. A shoulder-fired launcher capable of delivering a large grenade at high speed to a great distance.

Rules of Engagement Specific rules determining when and under what circumstances military personnel may use their weapons.

Rupert British slang reference to an officer.

Sailor Any military person in the Navy. Also called Swabbie or Squid.

Salvo Not sure of the origin, but generally refers to mass-firing of artillery weapons.

SAM Surface to Air Missile. Any missile from the shoulder-fired Stinger to the Patriot or larger that is designed to attack aircraft from the ground.

Sapper Originally a term for troops who undermined castle defenses by tunnelling, this now refers to troops who specialize in demolition and defense-clearing work- especially clearing minefields under fire, destroying positional defenses, etc.

SAR Search And Rescue.

SAW Squad Automatic Weapon. A light machine gun (comparable to the M-60) issued to increase a squad's firepower.

Screw the Pooch Mess up, especially a serious mistake.

Secure Military term with different meanings, depending on the branch of service. Told to secure a building, the Marines will shoot it full of holes and burn it to the ground. The Army will make sure the building is empty, and post a guard. The Navy will padlock the doors and inspect the locks every hour. The Air Force will take out a lease on the structure.

Shot Radio warning that supporting artillery has fired.

SIGINT Signals Intelligence. Intelligence data gathered by monitoring enemy communications signals.

Six Behind you. Originally a fighter-pilot expression, if 12 o'clock is directly ahead, then 6 is directly behind. Check your six and watch your six means keep an eye out for a rear attack.

Six This term is also a radio designation for the commander of a small unit. Small units are commonly assigned radio designations (George, Hotel, India, etc), and the radio identifier for the CO of such a unit is SIX. Example: "All George units, this is Six. Move 'em out."

Small Arms Technically, all weapons up to and including the .50 cal machine gun. Usually refers only to weapons that the infantryman can carry.

Snipe Semi-derogatory Navy term referring to personnel who work in Engineering.

Soldier Any miltary person trained in ground combat- as opposed to Sailor and Airman. To a Marine, a soldier is any military person not good enough to be a Marine.

Sonar SOund Navigation And Ranging. Underwater acoustic sensors (Passive), often tied in with transducers (Active) to allow detection and navigation underwater. For obvious reasons, windows are not a feasible alternative.

Spike Along with several dozen others, this a slang expression meaning Kill. Other terms include, Zap, Wax, Grease, Ice, Emulsify, and Terminate with extreme prejudice

Splash Radio warning that supporting artillery fire is arriving.

Spook Any spy or intelligence officer.

Squad Small unit of soldiers- usually 6-12- capable of operating independently. Platoons are divided into squads.

Squadron Military grouping mainly used by Air Forces and Navies. US Navy squadrons are usually type-specific command organizations (detroyers, cruisers, submarines, etc). US Air Force squadrons are actual military units, comparable to Batallions in ground forces. Some vehicle units in the US Army and Marines still use the squadron designation- a hold-over from the horse cavalry days.

SSM Surface to Surface Missile. Missiles that are launched from one point on the earth (or ocean) to attack another part of the earth or ocean. ICBMs are a specialized type of SSM.

Starboard Naval term indicating the direction right. Turn to starboard means turn to the right.

Stern The aft (rear) part of a ship

Stick Slang term for a bombload after it is dropped.

STOL Short Take-Off and Landing. Aircraft designed to be able to take off and land with very little runway.

Stonk Slang term for an artillery barrage.

Strack Front-line soldier's reference to the nice uniforms worn by REMFs. Also used to refer to the rear-echelon "soldiers" themselves

Suit Any civilian politician or lawyer type.

SWAG Sandbag With A Gun. Apparently a Royal Army epithet for reservists.

TacAir Tactical Air support. Aircraft dedicated to supporting ground troops.

Tally Ho Radio call meaning the pilot has seen the target.

Target-rich Environment Technical term meaning enemy forces are available for destruction almost everywhere.

Threat Axis The direction the attack is expected to come from.

Three Radio designation for the senior NCO ofa small unit.

Tin Can Navy term for lightly-armored ships such as Destroyers, Frigates, and Corvettes. Such vessels are usually used as ASW platforms.

Top Also called Top Sergeant, Top Soldier, Top Kick, or First. Used to refer to the senior Non Commissioned Officer in a company or larger unit. The First Sergeant or Command Sergeant Major.

Trooper Also called Troop or Troopie, this term was orignally used in reference to Cavalry soldiers. With the decline of horses in modern combat, it now refers to vehicle crews and Airmobile soldiers.

Tube Slang term for any artillery piece

Twidget Semi-derogatory Navy term for personnel who work with electronics. Also called Sweaters for the clothing Twidgets wear to ward off the chill of the air conditioned spaces where they work.

UAV Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. Remote-controlled aircraft designed for surveillance and reconnaissance.

UCAV Same as a UAV, but with weapons loaded aboard to allow combat.

V/STOL Vertical/Short Take-Off and Landing. Aircraft capable of taking off and landing vertically (straight up and down) or with a short runway- depending on the load of the aircraft.

Weapons Free General order given to allow units to fire freely on a target. Weapons Tight means permission to fire is denied.

Wet Diaper Award Humorous award given to Navy Pilots who successfully complete their first night carrier landing. This action is so stressfull that some pilots have been known to lose bladder control.

Wild Weasel An aircraft or mission designed to penetrate and destroy enemy air defenses.

Willy-Pete White Phosphorous. Originally designed as a marking round, it turned out to be an effective antipersonnel weapon. White Phosphorous burns even without oxygen, meaning that it causes extremely serious burns to personnel.

WIA Wounded In Action

World Slang term used by US combat veterans to refer to the continental United States

XO Executive Officer, second in command.

Zero Semi-derogatory term for any officer.

Zoomie Semi-derogatory term for Air Force personnel, especially pilots.

Zulu Used at the end of a time reference, it means Greenwich Mean Time- the US Navy's reference time zone. There are 26 letters in the alphabet, and 24 time zones. Remove the I and O from the alphabet to avoid confusion, and you now have 24 letters- one for each time zone.

Here are some military glossaries for further reading.

Military Glossaries:
http://www.glossarist.com/glossaries/government-politics-military/military/default.asp
http://www.urbanoperations.com/glossary.htm
http://usmilitary.about.com/library/glossary/blglossary.htm
http://www-lib.iupui.edu/subjectareas/gov/military.html
http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/doddict/

Daistallia's online references post:
http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1654412#1654412

Nice selection - I got a question I hope you can answer. I recently got some "Bronco" aircraft - Their primary mission is as an "CAS and recon craft". What does the CAS stand for?

Thanks,
Tias(RS' player)

I would like to nominate this thread for a prize, and maye even a sticky (though we'd have to get rid of some first)

I would like to nominate this thread for a prize, and maye even a sticky (though we'd have to get rid of some first)

id second a sticky.....

hows bout ICBM? all i can think of atm...

oh and SSM (surface to surface missile)

Yay! An excellent and useful idea. I can think of a few to add, feel free not to where unneeded. (Feel free to change or add definitions.)

NBC- Nuclear, Biological, Chemical weapons or warfare
AT- antitank
ATGM- AntiTank Guided Missile.
AP- Armor Penetrating (munition)
APC- Armored Personnel Carrier. AFV with troop carrying capacity/design.
HE- High Explosive
ICM- Improved Conventional Munitions.
HARM- High speed Anti-Radar Missile, basically anti-ship or anti-SAM
Rifle- any small arm with grooves (rifles) in the barrel to make the bullet more accurate/better range
Smoothbore- any non-rifled gun. Mortars are smoothbore.
Red Leg- slang for artillery, artillery operators
RPG - Rocket Propelled Grenade, usually a rifle grenade
Munition- the type of explosives/warhead used on a bullet, bomb, missile, rocket, whatever.
VTOL- vertical take-off and landing. Like the Harrier.
STOL- short take-off and landing
ESTOL- extreme short take off and landing
UAV- Unmanned Aerial Vehicle, usually for scouting/recon
UCAV- Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle.
Recon- Reconnaissance, the act of searching an area for enemies.

I should put up some Menelmacari military jargon too. ^_^

~Siri

Nice selection - I got a question I hope you can answer. I recently got some "Bronco" aircraft - Their primary mission is as an "CAS and recon craft". What does the CAS stand for?

Thanks,
Tias(RS' player)

CAS is Close Air Support, I believe. The Bronco is primarily a reconnaissance aircraft, although some of them were equipped with rockets for marking targets.

I would like to nominate this thread for a prize, and maye even a sticky (though we'd have to get rid of some first)

id second a sticky.....

hows bout ICBM? all i can think of atm...

oh and SSM (surface to surface missile)

SSM is already there. ICBM stands for Intercontinental Ballistic Missile, and I'll add that in a little bit. Good idea.

Evil Overlord, I think this is great! Personally I am fairly familiar with a wide range of military jargon, but I see a great deal of ignorance here. (Please note: that is absolutely NOT a slam on anyone. I am positive each player out there can kick my ass in some form of jargon!)

CAS is Close Air Support, or aircraft operating closely in the support of ground forces opeartions. Typical CAS missions are anti tank ops by A-10s or the average napalm strikes you see in the movies (the famous one in Apocalypse Now - *I love the smell of Napalm in the morning...*)

For more info on CAS: http://www.cc.gatech.edu/fac/Thomas.Pilsch/AirOps/cas.html

Military Glossaries:
http://www.glossarist.com/glossaries/government-politics-military/military/default.asp
http://www.urbanoperations.com/glossary.htm
http://usmilitary.about.com/library/glossary/blglossary.htm

Yay! An excellent and useful idea. I can think of a few to add, feel free not to where unneeded. (Feel free to change or add definitions.)


A bunch of good ones, here. I'll get those in the list, too.

BTW, the US military no longer uses the term NBC (Nuclear/Biologic/Chemical). Now we use CBR (Chemical/Biological/Radiological). I'll add that one, too.

I should put up some Menelmacari military jargon too. ^_^

~Siri

Egad! Don't open that door! Close it!

Cuz otherwise I would feel compelled to unleash a horde of PrattCo Conglomerate (PCC) Integrated Theatre Defense Organisation (ITDO) military jargon... leading to an inevitable Military-Jargon Escalation (MJE) with no Mutually Assured Destruction (MAD) preventing it from swamping all of NationStates (NS) in obscure military jargon From Now Until The End Of Time (FNUTEOT)!

No but seriously, perhaps this could include some NS specific things, like Ortillery- orbital artillery, EMW- electromagnetic weaponry or..... ::forces himself to type the words::..... Plasma-based Weaponry. (Stuff that can be used by everybody in a more general sense.)

Evil Overlord, I think this is great! Personally I am fairly familiar with a wide range of military jargon, but I see a great deal of ignorance here. (Please note: that is absolutely NOT a slam on anyone. I am positive each player out there can kick my ass in some form of jargon!)

Military Glossaries:
http://www.glossarist.com/glossaries/government-politics-military/military/default.asp
http://www.urbanoperations.com/glossary.htm
http://usmilitary.about.com/library/glossary/blglossary.htm

Those glossaries are a good idea. I'll add them to the bottom of the list. I've been bemoaning the lack of familiarity with standard military terms myself, but I only thought of addressing the problem last night.

You got destroyers and frigates confused. A frigate, such as the Type 23, is an anti-submarine platform. A destroyer, such as an M or D class, is designed for anti-air missions. Anti-Air destroyers are currently being built by the UK, Germany and US, amongst others. There are no ASW destroyers being built (although some destroyers, particually ones with helicoptors embarked, have ASW capabilities).

I should put up some Menelmacari military jargon too. ^_^

~Siri

Egad! Don't open that door! Close it!

No but seriously, perhaps this could include some NS specific things, like Ortillery- orbital artillery, EMW- electromagnetic weaponry or..... ::forces himself to type the words::..... Plasma-based Weaponry. (Stuff that can be used by everybody in a more general sense.)

I agree that specific national jargon should probably be posted by that nation, preferably in its own thread.

I think that a dictionary of NS terminology would probably be a good idea. I think it's already been done a couple of times, but I'm not sure when or by whom.

More on a specific subject I often see abused here - firearms.

Great detail on firearm principals of operation:
http://www.rkba.org/guns/principles/

Firearms tutorial:
http://www-medlib.med.utah.edu/WebPath/TUTORIAL/GUNS/GUNINTRO.html

samll arms glossaries:
http://w3.agsfoundation.com/safety/gloss_menu.html
http://www.snipercountry.com/Comp.htm

You got destroyers and frigates confused. A frigate, such as the Type 23, is an anti-submarine platform. A destroyer, such as an M or D class, is designed for anti-air missions. Anti-Air destroyers are currently being built by the UK, Germany and US, amongst others. There are no ASW destroyers being built (although some destroyers, particually ones with helicoptors embarked, have ASW capabilities).

As a member of the US Navy who is currently on leave from my assigned destroyer, as well as an amateur military historian, I can assure you that the destroyer was originally designed as an ASW and (later) anti-air platform. Modern destroyers (such as the Arleigh Burke-class DDGs in the US Navy) are all-aspect platforms that can engage and destroy any threat. They are equipped with towed-array sonars, torpedos, anti-aircraft radars, guns, and missiles- including the Tomahawk. DDGs are routinely assigned to independent duty, although their primary purpose is battlegroup air/ASW defense.

Frigates (called corvettes in WWI and Destroyer Escorts in WWII) were originally lighter ships also originally intended as convoy escorts to protect merchant ships from U boats. Modern frigates have a limited anti-air and anti-surface capability, and are primarily employed as outlying sonar pickets for battlegroups.

My own list of online references, which overlap somewhat (especially as I just cross posted the material I posted here). Lots of military info....
http://www.nationstates.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=1654412#1654412

I can supply missile definitions, by the way(I also sell all those mentioned below, telegraph if it has interest):

SRBM/IRBM - Short Range/Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile
ICBM - Inter Continental Ballistic Missile
SLBM - Submarine Launched Ballistic Missile
GB/GM - Guided Bomb/Guided Munition.

Yay! An excellent and useful idea. I can think of a few to add, feel free not to where unneeded. (Feel free to change or add definitions.)


A bunch of good ones, here. I'll get those in the list, too.

BTW, the US military no longer uses the term NBC (Nuclear/Biologic/Chemical). Now we use CBR (Chemical/Biological/Radiological). I'll add that one, too.
The reason that NBC is no longer used is the TV network with the same letters 'requested' the military to change the term.

Seems a fair request to me. Though in NS it would probably be ABCNNR (Antimatter/Biological/Chemical/Nuclear/Nanotech/Radiological).

I personally consider Nuclear and Radiological to be two different categories. The former are the familiar and it seems much-loved n00kz, the latter would be 'dirty bombs' and the like, and perhaps neutron weapons.

http://www.weirdozone.0catch.com/projects/nationstates/sirithil/sirithilnosfeanor.gifLady Sirithil nos Fëanor
Elentári of the Eternal Noldorin Empire of Menelmacar
Chancellor of CENNA
"We have known freedom's price. We have shown freedom's power. We will see freedom's victory."
~US President George W. Bush
We Love the Iraqi Information Minister (http://www.welovetheiraqiinformationminister.com)
Clicky-clicky!

Yay! An excellent and useful idea. I can think of a few to add, feel free not to where unneeded. (Feel free to change or add definitions.)


A bunch of good ones, here. I'll get those in the list, too.

BTW, the US military no longer uses the term NBC (Nuclear/Biologic/Chemical). Now we use CBR (Chemical/Biological/Radiological). I'll add that one, too.
The reason that NBC is no longer used is the TV network with the same letters 'requested' the military to change the term.
Sounds a bit urban legendish to me. Not discounting it, just sound that way. The abbreviation has undergone several changes - ABC (Atomic, Biological, Chemical), NBC, CBR, and I may have missed one in that as well....

Seems a fair request to me. Though in NS it would probably be ABCNNR (Antimatter/Biological/Chemical/Nuclear/Nanotech/Radiological).

I personally consider Nuclear and Radiological to be two different categories. The former are the familiar and it seems much-loved n00kz, the latter would be 'dirty bombs' and the like, and perhaps neutron weapons.

http://www.weirdozone.0catch.com/projects/nationstates/sirithil/sirithilnosfeanor.gifLady Sirithil nos Fëanor
Elentári of the Eternal Noldorin Empire of Menelmacar
Chancellor of CENNA
"We have known freedom's price. We have shown freedom's power. We will see freedom's victory."
~US President George W. Bush
We Love the Iraqi Information Minister (http://www.welovetheiraqiinformationminister.com)
Clicky-clicky!
Reposted because I hate having the last post on the page. Nobody ever sees it.

~Siri

Bubblehead also refers to navy divers.

SNAFU - Situation Normal, All Fouled Up
FUMTU - Fouled Up More Than Usual
FUBAR - Fouled Up Beyond Any Recovery
SNAFUBAR - Situation Normal, All Fouled Up Beyond Any Recovery

BUFF - Big, Ugly, Fat Fellow. Term referring to later model B-52's

I tend to go by what my Concise guide to Modern warships says when it comes to ship designations.

Aircraft carriers: Attack, ASW, and light Air craft carriers

Major surface ships:

Cruisers(Excluding battleships): Over one 10,000 tons
Light Cruisers:7,000 to 10,000 tons
Destroyers: 3,000 to 7,000 tons
Frigates: 1,100 to 3,000 tons
Corvettes: 500 to 1,100 tons

Light forces:

Fast attack craft(Above 25 knots in speed): missle, Gun, torpedo and patrol

Patrol craft(Below 25 knots in speed):Large patrol craft 100 to 500 tons, Coastal patrol craft below 100 tons

Amphibious forces: Command ships, Assault ships, Landing ships, Landing craft, transports

Mine warfare: Minelayers, MCM surport ships, Mine Sweepers(Ocean), Mine Hunters, mine Sweepers(Coastal), Mine Sweepers(Inshore) Mine Sweeping boats

Submarines: Strategic Missile, Cruise missile, Fleet and Patrol

I always knew those as 'F***ed' instead of 'Fouled'... but that's just me...

~Siri

*TAG*

I always knew those as 'F***ed' instead of 'Fouled'... but that's just me...

~Siri

:D
I used the 'clean' version to keep the Mods from calling 'Arc Light' on my butt

An U N A B R I D G E D Unofficial Dictionary for Marines can be found at http://4mermarine.com/USMC/dictionary.html
Be carefull using some of these terms since you could get fragged by the mods if you don't 'clean' some of them up :)

wow... this is so the kind of thing I needed cuz I'm compleatly clueless LOL *grins* thanx guys!

http://www.cybersluagh.com/lynn/lynnsm.jpg
IvyLynn
~Eris's Player~

86.
To throw away or get rid of something. From the number of the form originally used to remove an item from a stock record.

Box of Grid Squares.
One of the endless group of nonexistent items that new members of a unit would be sent looking for. This one was used mainly in artillery.

Bucket of Steam.
A commodity used in a practical joke by “salty” Marines who would send inexperienced comrades on a mission to find one as part of an informal initiation rite. Taken from a similar tactic among sailors.

Group Tighteners.
1) Another nonexistant search & fetch item for rookies, a-la bucket of steam, 2) A placebo drop of solvent or oil placed on the sights of the weapon of an unsuspecting marksmanship trainee, placed there by a range instructor as a last resort to instill confidence and get the idiot qualified, 3) Adult beverages employed by competition marksmen to either relax after a day of dealing with recruits or to combat match butterflies prior to competing. See Recruit Punishment.

Sea Bat.
A mythical creature used in a practical joke by salty Marines and sailors against inexperienced compatriots, usually aboard ship. There are a number of permutations of this joke, some quite nasty

Another great thread for the "New to NS" (unsurprisingly, from none other than TEO).

Another Glossary (AF terms): http://www.voodoo.cz/falcon/glossary.html
Apparently any aircraft related term that you would need to know.


Good Term: Sierra Hotel (SH)= 'Shit Hot' ((really)good, as in "The Weather is Sierra Hotel" or "The Pilot pulls off a Sierra Hotel ingress")
NS Trivia: this was also the name of Sniper Country's top-drawer SOF.

Another Good term: Sierra Creek, as in "Up Sierra Creek without a paddle" :wink:

I've updated the list quite a bit- mostly with a lot of the suggestions you all provided, but also with a few of my own.

For everyone's education and edification, I will post here the US military's Phonetic Alphabet.

A Alpha

B Bravo

C Charlie

D Delta

E Echo

F Foxtrot

G Golf

H Hotel

I India

J Juliet

K Kilo

L Lima

M Mike

N November

O Oscar

P Poppa

Q Quebec

R Romeo

S Sierra

T Tango

U Uncle

V Victor

W Whiskey

X X-Ray

Y Yankee

Z Zulu

Bump

Great post. Here's also something you forgot:

CAS --- Close Air Support

Great post. Here's also something you forgot:

CAS --- Close Air Support

Damn! You're right. I even said I would add it a couple of days ago.

Wait one.

Sticky it!

Sticky it!
Seconded.

OK, CAS, Direct Fire, LOS, and LOF have been added.

a Boggie i belive means a enemy Fighter.

SF - special forces
Frag - fragmentation grenade
ARTL - antitank rocket launcher (unguided)
LAW - light antitank weapon (general term)
SAW - squad automatic weapon (general term, any light machinegun)
CQB - Close-Quarters battle
Bandit - hostile aircraft
BRAA - pilots' term. Bearing, Range, And Altitude (of hostile aircraft)
PZ - pickup zone - opposite of LZ
Spike -another pilots' term. They have detected enemy radar emmisions.
RWR - radar warning receiver
ECM - electronic countermeasures
SMG - submachinegun. Any automatic weapon firing pistol ammunition
Mag - magazine
Ping - to use active sonar
IRST - Infra-red Search and Track - a passive detection system.
IR - Infra-red
NVG - Night-vision Goggles
NOD - Night Observation Device (more general term, an include starlight scopes, etc)
WP - white phosphorous
Willie Peter - white phosphorous
Chalk - a small group of troops, usually deployed via helicopter
Stick - a small group of paratroopers
HALO - a parachute term. High-Altitude (drop), Low Opening
HAHO - parachute term. High Altitude (drop), High Opening
Drop - to parachute from an aircraft
Pipper - gunsight on a pilot's Heads-up display, guns only
Shack - radio call used to report a sucessful air-to-ground strike
Flashbang - a non-lethal stun grenade which temporarily blinds and deafens anyone nearby

More specific terms:
ACOG - Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight
JDAM - Joint Direct Attack Munition
SOCOM - Special Operations COMmand
SOPMOD - Special Operations Particular MODification
HMMWV - "Humvee", NOT "Hummer". High Mobility-Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle
TOW - Tube-launched, Optically Wire-guided missile

Some more pilots' terms:

ACM - Air Combat Maneuvering. dogfighting
AIM - Air Intercept Missile
AMRAAM - Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile
Angels: height in thousands of feet. Ex - Angels 20 is 20,000 feet
ASL - above sea level
AGL - above ground level
Bingo - an aircraft only has enough fuel to return to base - a status term
Break - a hard, defensive maneuver designed to evade missiles
CAP - combat air patrol
Fence Check - ensure all switches are properly set
Fox One - radio call made when a pilot launches a semi-active radar guided missile such as the AIM-7 Sparrow
Fox Two - radio call made when a pilot launches a heat-seeking missile
Fox Three - radio call made when a pilot launches a radar-guided missile such as the Phoenix or AMRAAM
Jink - sudden violent maneuver in an aircraft intended to throw off the aim of an opponent using guns
Mike-Mike - millimeter, from the abbreviation "mm"
No Joy - radio call meaning "I do not see the target"
Punch Out - to eject from an aircraft
SAR - Search And Rescue
Tally - radio call meaning "I see the target"

*Bookmark*

This is pretty sweet. I never could remember U-W on the Phonetic Alphabet.

I didn't see FUBAR or SNAFU on the list, I figured it could be put on there since there are other slang terms.

FUBAR - F**ked Up Beyond All Recognition.

SNAFU - Situation Normal All F**ked Up

Both are used by soldiers to describe their displeasure with orders or a duty that doesn't make sense or seems like a waste of time.

http://www.redsun.org/images/lenin.gif
Premier Bomfy
People's Republic of Aequatio

Those two are in my additions to the list, along with FUMTU - F'd Up More Than Usual :)

Charlie Foxtrot: Cluster Fuck
Sierra square Delta square: Same Shit Different Day

Piece of Chow Line and a Bucket of Prop Wash- two more nonexistant items new crew members are sent to look for.

Charlie Foxtrot: Cluster f---
Sierra square Delta square: Same Shit Different Day

Sierra square Delta square can also be shortened to SSDD

Marking for future refrence

a Boggie i belive means a enemy Fighter.

Not quite, but it's a good addition nonethless. Bogie is an unidentified aircraft. Hostile aircraft are Bandits.

Quite a few more good entries.

For everyone's information, I'm excluding the rawest military terms (TARFU, FUBAR, SSDD, etc) in a desperate effort to keep the mods from nuking me to smithereens and jumping on the smoking remains.

On that subject, how many nonmilitary types know what Whiskey Tango Foxtrot Oscar means?

LOL

just add the clean versions of them that way no one gets nuked :-)
SSDD would be Same Stuff Different Day

In response to popular demand, here are some of the slang terms common in the US military- albeit cleaned up to avoid destruction by the Mods. Note that this list is short and unalphabetized. Feel free to add to it as ideas come to you.

WTFO What The F**k, Over? Sometimes shortened to WTF

SNAFU Situation Normal, All F***ed Up

TARFU Things Are Really F***ed Up.

FUBAR F***ed Up Beyond All Recognition

USMC Uncle Sam's Misguided Children

NAVY Never Again Volunteer Yourself

FNG F***ing New Guy

PAPERCLIP People Against People Ever Reenlisting. Civilian Life Is Preferred.

CYA Cover Your Ass

KYAG Kiss Your Ass Goodbye

IHTFP I Hate This F***ing Place. NOTE- When explaining this acronym to officers, the translation is: I Have Truly Found Paradise

WIDETM When In Doubt, Empty The Magazine.

MARINE My Ass Rides In Navy Equipment

Lemme see, there's
AFU:All F***ed Up
Alpha Mike Foxtrot:Adios, Mother F***er
Blue Falcon:Buddy F***er
Delta Sierra:Dumb S***
FIIGMO:F*** It, I Got My Orders
FTA:F*** the Army
FTN:F*** the Navy
FUBB:F***ed Up Beyond Belief
FUBAB:F***ed Up Beyond All Belief
GAF:Give A F***
HMFIC:Head Mother F***er In Charge
HMFWIC:Head Mother F***er What's In Charge

Here's something else some of you might like.

MURPHY'S LAWS OF ARMED COMBAT

1. You are not Superman.

2. If it's stupid but it works, it isn't stupid.

3. Never draw fire; it irritates everyone around you.

4. The greatest threat to any combat unit is a junior officer with a map
and a compass.

5. Incoming fire has the right of way.

6. If the enemy is in range, so are you.

7. One enemy soldier is never enough, but two is entirely too many.

8. Try to look unimportant. The enemy may be low on ammo.

9. When in doubt, empty your magazine.

10. Never share a foxhole with anyone braver than you are.

11. When you have secured an area, don't forget to tell the enemy.

12. No battle plan ever survives contact with the enemy.

13. The easy way is always mined.

14. Combat will occur on the ground between two adjoining maps.

15. Anything you do can get you shot, including doing nothing.

16. If your attack is going really well, it's an ambush.

17. If your flank march is going well, the enemy expects you to outflank him.

18. The enemy diversion you're ignoring is the main attack.

19. After things have gone from bad to worse, the cycle will repeat itself.

20. Make it tough for the enemy to get in and it will be impossible for you to get out.

21. No matter which way you have to march, it's always uphill.

22. If you are forward of your position, your artillery will fall short.

23. If at first you don't succeed, call in an air-strike.

24. Arclight is the ultimate close-support weapon.

25. If you can't remember where you put it, the claymore is pointed at you.

26. No combat-ready unit ever passed inspection.

27. No inspection-ready unit has ever passed combat.

28. The side with the fanciest uniforms loses.

29. Friendly fire isn't.

30. Interchangable parts aren't.

31. All-weather close air support doesn't work in bad weather.

32. Precision bombing is normally accurate to within plus/minus one mile.

33. Radios will fail as soon as you desperately need fire support.

34. The one item you need is always in short supply.

35. Things which must be shipped together as a set, aren't.

36. Things that must work together, can't be carried to the field that way.

37. The most delicate component will be dropped.

38. Design flaws travel in groups.

39. Nature always sides wit the hidden flaw.

40. If it jams, force it. If it breaks, it needed replacing anyway.

41. The enemy invariably attacks on two occasions: (a.) When you're ready for them; (b.) When you're not ready for them.

42. If you are short of everything except the enemy, you are in combat.

43. A sucking chest wound is nature's way of telling you to slow down.

44. The worse the weather, the more you are required to be out in it.

45. Never forget that your weapon was made by the lowest bidder.

An addition to this one 21. No matter which way you have to march, it's always uphill, against the wind.

I'm putting this post here so I can look this thread up in future.

Martha Foxtrot: Mother Fu*ker

Neutron bombs, while sharing a characteristic with radiological bombs, cannot be classified as a radiological weapon. If memory serves me correctly, it is considered to be a nuclear weapon. Why? Well, if a neutron bomb goes off, you can enter the said area about 11 minutes after detonation. Also, let us not forget that you need a thermonuclear bomb first going off before you can have your neutron bomb.

<tag>

RAM-Radar Absorbant Material.
RAD-Radar Absorbant Devices.
STOVL-Short Take-Off, Verticle Landing (Between STOL and VTOL)
Sunshine Units-Measurements of a nuke's effects.
GOTH Plan-GOes To Hell Plan, the last ditch plan
BOHICA-Bend Over, Here It Comes Again (for artillery attacks)
GPMG-General Purpose Machine Gun
REMF-Rear Echelon Mother-Fu<ker
MARINE-My Ass Rides In Navy Equipment

Adding to the *mockronyms* (mocking acronyms - an originalism created on the spot!):
CIA: Christians In Action (neither original nor created on this spot)

Neutron bombs, while sharing a characteristic with radiological bombs, cannot be classified as a radiological weapon. If memory serves me correctly, it is considered to be a nuclear weapon. Why? Well, if a neutron bomb goes off, you can enter the said area about 11 minutes after detonation. Also, let us not forget that you need a thermonuclear bomb first going off before you can have your neutron bomb.

Per the US Navy- any weapon using or containing nuclear material of any sort is classified as a Radiological weapon. This includes nuclear and thermonuclear weapons, so-called dirty bombs, neutron weapons, and even radioactive material deliberately spread in orer to cause casualties.

I'm not sure how well this will turn out, but here is a list of US military ranks. I've omitted the Warrant Officer ranks because they're basically identical regardless of service.

ENLISTED

E-1
Navy= Seaman/Airman/Fireman Recruit
USMC= Private
Army= Private
USAF= Airman Basic

E-2
Navy= Seaman/Airman/Fireman Apprentice
USMC= Private 1st Class
Army= Private
USAF= Airman

E-3
Navy= Seaman/Airman/Fireman
USMC= Lance Corporal
Army= Private 1st Class
USAF= Airman 1st Class

E-4
Navy= Petty Officer 3rd Class
USMC= Corporal
Army= Corporal/Specialist
USAF= Senior Airman

E-5
Navy= Petty Officer 2nd Class
USMC= Sergeant
Army= Sergeant
USAF= Staff Sergeant

E-6
Navy= Petty Offcier 1st Class
USMC= Staff Sergeant
Army= Staff Sergeant
USAF= Technical Sergeant

E-7
Navy= Chief Petty Officer
USMC= Gunnery Sergeant
Army= Sergeant 1st Class
USAF= Master Sergeant

E-8
Navy= Senior Chief Petty Officer
USMC= Master Sergeant/1st Sergeant
Army= Master Sergeant/1st Sergeant
USAF= Senior master Sergeant/1st Sergeant

E-9
Navy= Master Chief Petty Officer
USMC= Master Gunnery Sergeant/Sergeant Major
Army= Sergeant major
USAF= Chief Master Sergeant


COMMISSIONED OFFICER

O-1
Navy= Ensign
USMC= 2nd Lieutenant
Army= 2nd Lieutenant
USAF= 2nd Lieutenant

O-2
Navy=Lieutenant Junior Grade
USMC= 1st Lieutenant
Army= 1st Lieutenant
USAF= 1st Lieutenant

O-3
Navy= Lieutenant
USMC= Captain
Army= Captain
USAF= Captain

O-4
Navy= Lieutenant Commander
USMC= Major
Army= Major
USAF= Major

O-5
Navy= Commander
USMC= Lieutenant Colonel
Army= Lieutenant Colonel
USAF= Lieutenant Colonel

O-6
Navy= Captain
USMC= Colonel
Army= Colonel
USAF= Colonel

O-7
Navy= Rear Admiral (Lower Half)
USMC= Brigadier General
Army= Brigadier General
USAF= Brigadier General

O-8
Navy= Rear Admiral (Upper Half)
USMC= Major General
Army= Major General
USAF= Major General

O-9
Navy= Vice Admiral
USMC= Lieutenant General
Army= Lieutenant General
USAF= Lieutenant General

O-10
Navy= Admiral
USMC= General
Army= General
USAF= General

And yet another BUMP

Per the US Navy- any weapon using or containing nuclear material of any sort is classified as a Radiological weapon. This includes nuclear and thermonuclear weapons, so-called dirty bombs, neutron weapons, and even radioactive material deliberately spread in orer to cause casualties.

Then they are blatently wrong. Radiological weapons are DIFFERENT from nuclear weapons. However, I can see how they could be classified as radiological weapons, if it weren't for the fact that nuclear weapons had their own classification.

DMZ - Demilitarized Zone. An area from which military forces, operations, and installations are prohibited.
VMZ - Very Militarized Zone. An area from were lots of military troops and forces are operating in.

OOC: Sorry, had to add the second one. I don't think it is official military jargon, but it's worth noting none-the-less. I heard it on some movie, but I can't remember which so the term may be slightly off.

[Then they are blatently wrong. Radiological weapons are DIFFERENT from nuclear weapons. However, I can see how they could be classified as radiological weapons, if it weren't for the fact that nuclear weapons had their own classification.

Tell the Pentagon, not me. I'm only posting military terms and jargon. The current US military term is just what I've said it is.

OK. I've added some artillery terms and some of the suggestions I've received lately.

I've added a few Inteligence acronyms, as well as Daistallia's online references post (which I had somehow failed to add- my apologies).

I've added a few more entries.

Since today is Veteran's Day in the US, let us remember the Infantryman's Prayer Under Fire:

"For what we are about to receive, make us truly grateful. Incoming!"

I've added a few Inteligence acronyms, as well as Daistallia's online references post (which I had somehow failed to add- my apologies).

Happy to get it on there. Now if someone will sticky it or add it to one of the stickies.... (I*m working on my military organization threads. A combo of this, those, the naval thread, the tank thread, and a few others would make a nice *Quick and Dirty Guide to How to Make War....* (Yes, I am a huge Jim Dunnigan fan. However did you guess....)

I've added a few Inteligence acronyms, as well as Daistallia's online references post (which I had somehow failed to add- my apologies).

Happy to get it on there. Now if someone will sticky it or add it to one of the stickies.... (I*m working on my military organization threads. A combo of this, those, the naval thread, the tank thread, and a few others would make a nice *Quick and Dirty Guide to How to Make War....* (Yes, I am a huge Jim Dunnigan fan. However did you guess....)

Which is a Hell of a thing to be working on for Veteran's Day.

We should be ashamed of ourselves.

Here are a few I've seen servicemen throw around
Silent Death-Nickname given by Canadian Leopard Crewmen to the M1 tank after field excerisises, for the tank's quiet engine.
Bone-B-1 or B-1B bomber
FRED-F*cking ridiculous expensive disaster
Pig-Nickname for M-60
Hotel Echo-High Explosive
Hotel Sierra-Hot sh*t or haul sh*t, used to describe dangerous areas or retreats.

Actual.
(Commtalk)Radio call sign for commander of a unit. If the unit call sign is "Brownbag" the unit commander will be "Brownbag Actual".

Amtrac.
Slang for Amphibious Armored, Tracked, Personnel Carrier. (LVT/AAV).

Anchor Clanker.
In the Navy, a Boatswain's Mate. Or anyone in the Navy.

About all I can think up for now.

*Tag* for a reference on my war-threads.

Good job, man.

-Ruhrian DIA Agent

Tagged.

Few regional terms.
Rupert = the english call their officers this
Doggies, Dog Soldiers/Pongos = infantry
PBI = "poor bloody infantry"
SWAG(s) = "sandbags with a gun" = what my regular army sergeant refers to myself and the rest of my reserve unit as. this is an improvement on what he used to call us :/
various other names for bits of gear we have, mostly abusive so i won't bother with em. nice thread dude, and the US ranks were handy :P

Thanks for the new input. I've updated the list.

Anyone else have some military jargon from non-US sources I could add?

TEO

Thanks for the new input. I've updated the list.

Anyone else have some military jargon from non-US sources I could add?

TEO
Some notes on the use of "regiment" and army unit hierarchies:

Infantry

In Britain unit designations depend on the service (infantry, armour, artillery, engineers and so on). In the infantry, we have:

- Section
- Platoon
- Company
- Battalion (of a Regiment; see below)
- Brigade
- Division
- Corps
- Army (not since World War II)
- Army Group (not since World War II)

Regiments are purely ceremonial 'holding' units for battalions, providing a shared identity and history. For example, The Parachute Regiment never fights as such, but it is 'parent' to several battalions that take their name from it - e.g. 1st Battalion The Parachute Regiment. Standard infantry units follow the same rules - e.g. 1st Battalion King's Own Scottish Borderers. These names are general shortened to numeral and acronym/abbreviation - e.g. 3 Para or 2 KOSB.

Armour

Armour units are made up as follows:

- Troop (also Sabre Troops, which may be armoured cavalry)
- Squadron
- Regiment
(Brigade, Division etc)

Hence, an armoured regiment is equivalent in size to an infantry battalion, and fights as a single regiment of squadrons (i.e. company equivalents). The name indicates the fact it's a coherent unit - e.g. 1st Royal Tank Regiment.

SAS

The SAS operates the same as armour. IIRC, even the unit names are the same. So, for example, you'd have 22nd Special Air Service Regiment. Of course, SAS units fight as small patrols, not as entire massed ranks.

Support arms

Support arms units (such as artillery or engineers) manage to confuse things further by combining both methods. You'll have a number of regiments-the actual operational kind-with a ceremonial parent unit also called a regiment. So, for example, you'll get 16 Fd Regt RA, which is short for 16th Field Regiment of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (Royal Artillery or RA for short). Regiments in artillery and air defence are made up of batteries rather than squadrons.

There are dozens of Royal Regiments of support arms - the Royal Artillery (RA), the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA), Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME), Royal Veterinary Corps (RVA), Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC), Royal Logistics Corps (RLC) and so on.

Royal Marines

The RM aren't technically part of the Army, and have their own unit names. There's 3 Commando Brigade (Royal Marines), which consists of three commandos (basically, the RM equivalent of infantry battalions) plus support arms. So you might see the name 40 Commando (RM) identifying a Royal Marine unit.

Regiments in the USA

In the US military, a regiment is roughly analogous in size to a brigade. However, a Marine regiment is a single fighting unit, usually with three battalions named after the regiment (e.g. 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment). US Army regiments are more like British Army regiments in that they're traditional or ceremonial formations, with battalions that fight independently as part of mixed-arms brigades. For example, one hypothetical armoured brigade might have the 1st Battalion, 4th Armour, the 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry (Mechanised) and the 2nd Battalion, 17th Infantry (Mechanised).

There are exceptions (of course), but that's roughly right, I think. My understanding, in ascending order:

Infantry: 3 or 4 squads form a platoon, and 3 or 4 platoons plus supporting arms (such as heavy weapons) form a company. Three or four companies form a battalion, which is usually the highest single integrated unit unless you're a Marine. Three or four battalions form a brigade (Army) or regiment (Marines), and usually three brigades form a division - in peacetime a division might have two regular brigades and one "round-out" National Guard brigade in times of war. Any number of divisions, but usually three or four, form a corps, and corps are grouped into armies and then into army groups (but not in recent years!). For example, XVIII Airborne Corps oftejn contained the 82nd Airborne, the 101st Air Assault and the 24th Infantry (Mechanised) Divisions.

Armour units are similar but have individual tanks in a platoon. Armoured cavalry units use the traditional cavalry designations of a squadron for a company and a troop for a platoon (armoured cavalry in the modern age being focused on the roles of reconnaissance and "delaying forces", using firepower and mobility to blunt enemy attacks until larger and better-armed units can be mobilised - during the Cold War, it was the US Army's Armoured Cavalry Regiments [ACRs] that would have been first to fight against a Warsaw Pact thrust).

Apologies if any of my facts are incorrect. I don't keep up to date as much as I used to.

Good stuff, for the most part. Especially the information on Royal Army organization. I wasn't aware that the UK still maintained the "Regiment" as an active (vice ceremonial) unit.

The old organization that the regiment belongs to date back to the English Civil War, I believe (could be badly wrong, however- Americans are usually wholly unaware of foreign military history), and was originally a muster-formation, so the folks who were paying the Commander of the unit by the man could actually count the companies and know whether or not they were getting the number of troops they'd agreed to pay for.

This custom also explains the Western military fondness for snap inspections and turning out in full kit. The paymaster had to be able to inspect any man in the regiment to ensure that it wasn't just some cowherd with manure still between his toes.

Most modern militaries replace the Regiment with the Brigade (which no doubt accounts for a lot of the confusion), except for ceremonial functions and the specialized units listed in the previous post.

The last time I looked, though, a US armored platoon was 3-5 tanks (or equivalent). An infantry platoon is 45-60 men ... most of the time. To further complicate matters, some units still use the old "troop" and "squadron" designation for formations of armored vehicles (Air Cavalry and other Airmobile units in particular are fond of this).

It would be nice if the militaries with a lot in common (for example: the US military is largely based on that of the British Empire) could get together and agree on a standard unit designation- with appropriate variations for special units, etc. Most of the reason there are differences is strictly parochialism. The US Air Force was deliberately designed with differences from the Royal Air Force just because the US Generals were too stiff-necked to copy a functional organization- just because it was foreign.

Good stuff, for the most part. Especially the information on Royal Army organization. I wasn't aware that the UK still maintained the "Regiment" as an active (vice ceremonial) unit.
Yes. Infantry battalions are generally quartered with their fellow battalions - the Parachute Regiment used to share one base in Aldershot, although I believe they're now located in Colchester. The regiment provides an administrative home and a sense of pride in the unit, particularly given the dramatic reductions in unit numbers since World War II.

Most modern militaries replace the Regiment with the Brigade (which no doubt accounts for a lot of the confusion), except for ceremonial functions and the specialized units listed in the previous post.
The British Army does too (I've never worked out why it's not the 'Royal Army'); the best known combat formation is 7 Armoured Brigade, including the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards (Carabiniers & Greys), the 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, the 1st Battalion, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, and The Black Watch (Royal Highland Regiment).

The last time I looked, though, a US armored platoon was 3-5 tanks (or equivalent). An infantry platoon is 45-60 men ... most of the time. To further complicate matters, some units still use the old "troop" and "squadron" designation for formations of armored vehicles (Air Cavalry and other Airmobile units in particular are fond of this).
It also doesn't help when peacetime restrictions mean units often have different strengths and sizes. How many times do armies switch from triangular to square establishments? (in the interests of keeping the glossary going for any other readers, triangular formations are based on threes - three companies to a battalion and so on - and square formations are based on fours).

It would be nice if the militaries with a lot in common (for example: the US military is largely based on that of the British Empire) could get together and agree on a standard unit designation- with appropriate variations for special units, etc. Most of the reason there are differences is strictly parochialism. The US Air Force was deliberately designed with differences from the Royal Air Force just because the US Generals were too stiff-necked to copy a functional organization- just because it was foreign.
Absolutely.

I've updated the Dictionary with some terms from Signals and Electronic Warfare.

If anyone has the meaning of the British acronym, "ASDIC", I'd appreciate hearing it. I know its the British term for Sonar, but what do the letters mean?

TEO

ASDIC was the fore-runner of SONAR not an equiavalent of it. Anyway there are several acronyms of ASDIC:
ASDIC Allied Submarine Detection Investigation Committee (detection device)
ASDIC Anti-Submarine Detection Investigation Committee (British)
ASDIC Armed Services Documents Intelligence Center

ASDIC was the fore-runner of SONAR not an equiavalent of it. Anyway there are several acronyms of ASDIC:
ASDIC Allied Submarine Detection Investigation Committee (detection device)
ASDIC Anti-Submarine Detection Investigation Committee (British)
ASDIC Armed Services Documents Intelligence Center

That's pretty much what I found as well. Thanks for the imput.

TEO

I've added a few new terms:

Strack, Coasties, and Hash Marks.


TEO

I've updated the dictionary with a few Navy terms.


TEO

Bump for the hell of it

I've posted a few more navy terms.


TEO

I've added a few more terms.


TEO

I've updated the main list with some terms that others have submitted but hadn't been added yet.

AMRAAM
Angels
Bingo
Break
CBDR
Fox
Mike
No Joy
Punch Out
Spike
Tally


TEO

http://www-lib.iupui.edu/subjectareas/gov/military.html

For all your acronym-ing needs........

But seeing as you are unlikely to either post that entire listing, or replace all of your with that link, I will suggest you put these ones on the list (and possibly add the link at the bottom also):

ATGM - Anti-Tank Guided Missile
SSBN - Ship, Submersible, Ballistic, Nuclear (a nuclear sub in other words)

I've added Falastur's link for another military glossary.

Since he brought it up, I think that a list of common designations for US Navy ships might be in order. A few general tips.

The first letter of a ship's designation usually tells you what sort of ship it is. A= Auxilliary. B= Battle. C= Cruiser. D= Destroyer. L= Landing ship.

The second letter tells you what the specific classification is: D= Destroyer, E= Ammunition, G= General Purpose (for Auxilliaries. Combatants use the G designation for Guided Missile), O= Oiler, S= Submarine. For example, the USS Yosemite was designated AD-19. This tells you that the ship was an Auxilliary Destroyer tender, and the 19th of that particular classification. This is not the same as the ship's class. The Yosemite was a Dixie class Destroyer tender, which was different from the later Puget Sound class (AD-44, I believe).

AD Auxilliary ship, Destroyer. A repair ship that specializes in woking on destroyers and other surface ships.

AE Auxilliary ship, Explosive. A supply ship designed primarily to transport amunition.

AG Auxilliary ship, General purpose.

AO Auxilliary ship, Oiler. A supply ship designed primarily to carry fuel.

AOE Auxilliary ship, Oiler/Explosive. A supply ship designed to transport fuel and/or ammunition

AS Auxilliary ship, Submarine. A repair ship that specializes in working on submarines.

BB Battleship

CV Aircraft Carrier. A nuclear-powered aircraft carrier would be designated CVN

CG Guided missile cruiser. The USN used to have several nuclear powered cruisers which were designated CGN

DD Destroyer

DDG Guided missile destroyer

FF Fast Frigate

FFG Guided missile frigate

FFT Fast Frigate Trainer

LCAC Landing Craft, Air Cushion. This is the USN's new hovercraft landing craft.

LHA Landing ship, Helicopter Assault

LHD Landing ship, Helicopter Dock

LSD Landing ship, Shore Dock. This specialized amphibious assault ship is designed to run its bow into shore so troops and equipment can disembark directly onto the beach.

LST Landing ship, Shore, Tank. This ship is similar to the LSD, but is mainly designed to allow tanks to disembark directly onto the beach.

PH Patrol Hydrofoil. Small hydrofoil patrol boats.

SS Ship, Submersible. A diesel-powered submarine. The USN only has one of these left in its inventory, and it is a dedicated research vessel.

SSN Ship, Submersible, Nuclear. A nuclear-powered submarine. This designation applies to all nuclear subs except the ballistic missile subs, which are designated SSBN.

This list is far from inclusive, They're just the ones I remember off the top of my head. Feel free to suggest others. I would especially appreciate anyone familiar with non-US navies to post the designations of their vessels.

TEO

I have added a few more terms:

Salvo, Squadron, and Sapper


TEO

Tag

Bump for the Forum Change


TEO

.::TAG::.

Added panzer, LAV, and indig.


TEO

Time for another BUMP.

Once more, if anyone has military terms or jargon not already listed, please feel free to post 'em. I am especially interested in terms and jargon from non-US sources.


TEO

[OOC: One you missed; the fancy term for hurry-up-and-wait.

OODA: Observe, Orient, Decide, Act - the basic structure of all military operations.

Semi-OOC:

A bunch of jargon from my own nation.

Imperial Defence Forces terminology (ICEL):-

KKM - kinetic kill missile. A simple kinetic missile, deployed from/to-from 250,000 feet on a to-ground vector.
KKM/IY - kinetic kill missile/improved yield. Identical to a KKM, but tipped with a cross-beam of dense metallic material to increase proactive yield marginally.
Proactive yield - proactive yield describes the total delivery of energy to the target, as opposed to the total output of energy from a warhead/kinetic/ballistic weapon.
Kill vehicle - any unmanned object which carries a warhead to a target.
PDEFS - Point-defence electron flux system. An anti-missile/aircraft defence system based on delivering additional current to a circuit and/or delivering heat energy to a target.
SSAI - Sub-sentient artificial intelligence. Any 'battle computer system' which is sophisticated enough to record and prevent/aid prevention of repetition of tactical/strategic errors.
SSASI - Sub-sentient artificial semantic intelligence. Military term used for anything from translation devices to non-sophisticated AI-based decrypting/decoding machines.
KKV - Kinetic kill vehicle. Blanket term given to any object which travels with sufficient velocity to produce a non-proactive explosive yield on impact equivalent to one half ton of TNT.
(C)KKM - (Clustered)Kinetic Kill Missile. Identical to a kinetic kill missile, but with altitude detection equipment and a segmented hull. At a set altitude, the missile splits into seperate sections - usually directly before impact - to spread damage over a wider area. The thrust component usually disengages from the kill vehicle at this time.
KWH - Kinetic warhead. The term given to the 'warhead' of a (C)KKM, the section actually designed to split into several parts shortly before impact.
Stifle Structure - A groundforce squad formation intended for use during street-to-street combat.
US - Ultrasonic or ultrasound.
USW - A weapon based on ultrasound.
ICKM - Intercontinental Kinetic Missile. A kinetic missile designed to provide global-reach kinetic missile deployment capability.
CKM - Continental Kinetic Missile. A kinetic missile with a range of several thousand miles; now obsolete.
SENTINEL-GO - Strategic Extermination/Neutralization Turret (Incorporating Normal and Electromagnetic/Laser-Guided Ordinance). A sophisticated, centrally-guided/independant anti-personnel/anti-tank/anti-air semi-mobile tower mounted on fifty-mile long maglev pistes.
GUARDIAN - The control system for the ICEL National Defence Grid.
IDF - Imperial Defence Forces.
CSF - Commonality Space Force.
IDF N - Imperial Defence Forces Navy.
IDF AF - Imperial Defence Forces Air Force.
IDSF - Imperial Defence Special Force.
IDF GF - Imperial Defence Forces Ground Force.
IDF R&DC - Imperial Defence Forces Research&Development Corps.
IDF SPU - Imperial Defence Forces Strategic Peacekeeping Unit.
A/B/C/D/E/G/M/K/X# - Illuvauromeni 'Sharp' series of aircraft. Each letter progression represents a generation, although it should be noted that the the D#s and E#s were both transporter planes. The # represents the musical notation.

OOC: There are probably more... dunno if these were what you were looking for or not.]

[OOC: One you missed; the fancy term for hurry-up-and-wait.

OODA: Observe, Orient, Decide, Act - the basic structure of all military operations.

I've never heard of that one before, but I'll add it to the list.


Semi-OOC:

A bunch of jargon from my own nation.

<SNIP>

OOC: There are probably more... dunno if these were what you were looking for or not.]

Someone else suggested making a glossary of NS military terminology, which would probably be a good idea. I'd rather restrict this thread to actual RL military jargon, however.


TEO

A few select phrases from this site http://www.besco.de/min_seaman_slangs.htm

Adrift - (RCN) Missing in action. "Oh no, I'm adrift for the meeting and the Bossman'll be there!"

A-farts - Spoken form of A.F.R.T.S. (Armed Forces Radio and Television System), a US system providing television and radio entertainment to forces overseas.

Airy-fairy – (1) (RN) Fleet Air Arm personnel. See WAFOO. (2) (RCN) Vague or impractical suggestion.

Anchor-faced - (RN) Anyone who is enthusiastic about the Navy.

Big Chicken Dinner – Bad Conduct Discharge. In many ways, equivalent to a felony conviction.

Bitchbox – (surface) Intercom or amplified circuit used to communicate between spaces of the ship.

Blue on Blue - A friendly-fire kill. UK term is 'own-goal.'

Cannon Cocker - Gunnery specialist.

Captain's Mast - Non-judicial disciplinary procedure, usually meted out by unit commanders.

God Botherer - (RN) The chaplain. Aka 'Sin Bosun', 'Sky Bosun'.

Golden Rivet - The mythical last rivet which completes a ship. Generally found in the depths of the engineering spaces, a maneuver used to get a female guest to bend over. "And if you look 'way down there, you can see the golden rivet!"

Green Maggots - (RCN) Sleeping bag.

Monkey on a stick - Derisive term for dish similar to satay chicken, served on skewers, by street vendors in any port of call. In third-world countries, only consumed by drunk sailors and Marines, due to questionable sanitation practices.

NAFOD – Abbreviation for "No Apparent Fear Of Death." What a frightened LSO writes on your grade card. Indicates consistent unsafe practices.

Punch Elvis - Eject.

Redout - A condition caused by excessive negative G's. Temporary loss or obstruction of vision caused by too much blood in the retinas.

Screw the Pooch - Mess up, especially a serious mistake.

Good stuff. I'll update the list this afternoon.


TEO

I've added a lot of Sapor's list, plus the terms "lifer" and "lifer juice".

While we're on the subject, can anyone tell me the derivation and uses of the British term, "boffin"? I have an idea of the meaning, but want to be sure before posting it in the list.


TEO

I tend to use it to refer to clever people, not commonly used though. It's more of a jovial insult than actual comment on someones intellect.

Bump

Tag

Bump yet again

Added

AMPHIB
COMBATANT
LITTORAL
MA-DEUCE
and
WEAPONS TIGHT.


TEO

A few things that just poppd in my head...

Bingo: Also refers to the precise chronological point to which a pilot can fly out, have adequate time to fight and get back to his air base/carrier with just enough fuel to land.

RAS: Radar Absorbing Structure. When unusual angles and shapes are deliberately built into an aircraft in order to reflect RADAR waves at unreadable angles. Take the American-built F-117 or B-2 as an example.

ECM: Electronic Countermeasures. Anything that garbles enemy attempts at locking on to/detecting your aircraft or ship. For example, take infared scramblers for use against AAMs.

ECCM: Electronic Counter-Countermeasures. Anything designed to bypass ECM.

Tag.

Updated the definition for BINGO (thanks, Cyberutopia) and added ARCLIGHT.


TEO

Snafu: Situation Normal All Fouled Up. This is during a military operation in which a normal situation should exist, but everything goes wrong.

Fubar: Fouled Up Beyond All Repair (or Recognition).

D-Day: Day scheduled for the beginning of a miliary operation.

H-Hour: Hour scheduled for the beginning of a military operatio

ASDIC: stands for "anti-submarine detection investigation committee"

Tally-Ho: code meaning target visually intercepted. Originally a hunting cry to signify when a fox has been sighted.

BTW, I think tube is primarily used to refer to rocket artillery not to all artillery... I could be mistaken.

In addition, air superiority is in primarily used to state the fact of having control of the skies rather than of a type of aircraft.

Got one more.

Deuce-and-a-Half: Two-and-a-half ton truck, used for shuttling supplies and infantry around. The backbone of any mechanized infantry or supply group.

Oh yeah, and I'm with 5CN on the "tude" thing, but there are "air superiority aircraft" such as the F-15 that are designed solely for fighting other aircraft.

Should someone put down various Army groupings? Or, since various nations use different terminology even in RL, should we just forget about that?

Nice lists.

You might want to look at the DOD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms (http://www.dtic.mil/doctrine/jel/doddict/).

Tally Ho is already on the list. I've updated the entry for ASDIC, and added Crimmond's link to the DoD Military Dictionary and Deuce and a half.


The redlegs I used to hang out with in Panama referred to their guns as tubes. Rocket artillery was called something else.


TEO

Little help please
whats an LSO
could you give arun down of force sizes IYO
Squad
Platoon
Company
Battalion
Regiment
Brigade
Division
Corps
Army

Ive got a fair idea but ive seen Regiments from 400(British 1800s) to 1000(British 1640s)to2000((U.S.504Airborne)shoot up over Sicily by own troops)to potentially 6000 under Gustav Adolphus(30 years war)
Help
A squadron was generally a cavalry thing aye what size are we looking at and Airforce squadrons too.

Should someone put down various Army groupings? Or, since various nations use different terminology even in RL, should we just forget about that?

The topic is worth discussing, so long as we restrict it to existing and historical RL military structure.

In order to make it easier to compare units. please make any posts on this subject in the pattern I use: Place the smallest unit first, then list successively larger units.

*****

The usual ground-units for the US military:

Squad

Section

Platoon

Company

Battallion

Brigade (or Regiment)

Division

Corps

Army

*****

Not sure how accurate this is, but I believe the Roman Empire organized the Legions so:

Maniple

File

Century

Cohort

Legion

Army

*****

Other contributions (and any corrections) will be welcome.


TEO

[QUOTE=Five Civilized Nations]
Snafu: Situation Normal All Fouled Up. This is during a military operation in which a normal situation should exist, but everything goes wrong.

Fubar: Fouled Up Beyond All Repair (or Recognition).
QUOTE]
Some of my Favourites

D-Day: Day scheduled for the beginning of a miliary operation.
QUOTE]
Thats what i thought until i was informed it ment day or nothing day which is kind of funny as D-day was set for the 5th but bad weather postponed it Hah

The topic is worth discussing, so long as we restrict it to existing and historical RL military structure.

In order to make it easier to compare units. please make any posts on this subject in the pattern I use: Place the smallest unit first, then list successively larger units.

*****

The usual ground-units for the US military:

Squad

Section

Platoon

Company

Battallion

Brigade (or Regiment)

Division

Corps

Army

*****

Not sure how accurate this is, but I believe the Roman Empire organized the Legions so:

Maniple

File

Century

Cohort

Legion

Army

*****

Other contributions (and any corrections) will be welcome.


TEO
Ahh apart from the Section(what is it heard; of it) we are similar no?
Apart from Regiment/Brigade going back to British(1800s)regiments were in brigades 2 maybe 3 but mostly 2
Do you have numbers?

yeah Roman stuff
Thought of that or the Greek system
Century 80 men (i know) :p
Cohort 600
Legion 4000-6000 though most were 4500 and concided full strength
Army 22,000 and up for a good force
Auxilleries from tributries supplying archers/cavalry maybe 10th of army guess it may fill in the rest of a century.

Ahh apart from the Section(what is it heard; of it) we are similar no?

Do you have numbers?


Some US military units have an intermediate unit grouping between squad and platoon. A platoon would be divided into two or three sections, each under a corporal.


The usual ground-units for the US military:

Squad= 10 to 12 soldiers

Section= 20 to 24 soldiers (2 Squads)

Platoon= 48 to 60 soldiers (2 or 3 sections/4 or 5 squads)

Company= 200 to 300 soldiers (4 or 5 platoons)

Battallion= 800 to 1,200 soldiers (4 to 6 companies)

Brigade (or Regiment)= 4,000 to 6,000 soldiers (5 or 6 battallions)

Division= 12,000 to 15,000 soldiers (2 to 4 brigades)

Corps= 50,000 to 75,000 soldiers (4 or 5 divisions)

Army= 3 or more Corps


These are all rough figures, and the figures get rougher the larger the unit. Brigades and larger units might well have far more troops than I have listed here, and I am not certain there is a maximum number for a Corps or Army.

TEO, isn't a regiment a division of a brigade?

TEO, isn't a regiment a division of a brigade?

Not exactly.

One of the contributors to this thread (who didn't make the jump to Jolt and whose name is therefore lost) posted some good information on the make-up of a regiment. I'll post it below, but the original post is on page 6.

*****

Some notes on the use of "regiment" and army unit hierarchies:

Infantry

In Britain unit designations depend on the service (infantry, armour, artillery, engineers and so on). In the infantry, we have:

- Section
- Platoon
- Company
- Battalion (of a Regiment; see below)
- Brigade
- Division
- Corps
- Army (not since World War II)
- Army Group (not since World War II)

Regiments are purely ceremonial 'holding' units for battalions, providing a shared identity and history. For example, The Parachute Regiment never fights as such, but it is 'parent' to several battalions that take their name from it - e.g. 1st Battalion The Parachute Regiment. Standard infantry units follow the same rules - e.g. 1st Battalion King's Own Scottish Borderers. These names are general shortened to numeral and acronym/abbreviation - e.g. 3 Para or 2 KOSB.

Armour

Armour units are made up as follows:

- Troop (also Sabre Troops, which may be armoured cavalry)
- Squadron
- Regiment
(Brigade, Division etc)

Hence, an armoured regiment is equivalent in size to an infantry battalion, and fights as a single regiment of squadrons (i.e. company equivalents). The name indicates the fact it's a coherent unit - e.g. 1st Royal Tank Regiment.

SAS

The SAS operates the same as armour. IIRC, even the unit names are the same. So, for example, you'd have 22nd Special Air Service Regiment. Of course, SAS units fight as small patrols, not as entire massed ranks.

Support arms

Support arms units (such as artillery or engineers) manage to confuse things further by combining both methods. You'll have a number of regiments-the actual operational kind-with a ceremonial parent unit also called a regiment. So, for example, you'll get 16 Fd Regt RA, which is short for 16th Field Regiment of the Royal Regiment of Artillery (Royal Artillery or RA for short). Regiments in artillery and air defence are made up of batteries rather than squadrons.

There are dozens of Royal Regiments of support arms - the Royal Artillery (RA), the Royal Horse Artillery (RHA), Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME), Royal Veterinary Corps (RVA), Royal Army Medical Corps (RAMC), Royal Logistics Corps (RLC) and so on.

Royal Marines

The RM aren't technically part of the Army, and have their own unit names. There's 3 Commando Brigade (Royal Marines), which consists of three commandos (basically, the RM equivalent of infantry battalions) plus support arms. So you might see the name 40 Commando (RM) identifying a Royal Marine unit.

Regiments in the USA

In the US military, a regiment is roughly analogous in size to a brigade. However, a Marine regiment is a single fighting unit, usually with three battalions named after the regiment (e.g. 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment). US Army regiments are more like British Army regiments in that they're traditional or ceremonial formations, with battalions that fight independently as part of mixed-arms brigades. For example, one hypothetical armoured brigade might have the 1st Battalion, 4th Armour, the 3rd Battalion, 15th Infantry (Mechanised) and the 2nd Battalion, 17th Infantry (Mechanised).

There are exceptions (of course), but that's roughly right, I think. My understanding, in ascending order:

Infantry: 3 or 4 squads form a platoon, and 3 or 4 platoons plus supporting arms (such as heavy weapons) form a company. Three or four companies form a battalion, which is usually the highest single integrated unit unless you're a Marine. Three or four battalions form a brigade (Army) or regiment (Marines), and usually three brigades form a division - in peacetime a division might have two regular brigades and one "round-out" National Guard brigade in times of war. Any number of divisions, but usually three or four, form a corps, and corps are grouped into armies and then into army groups (but not in recent years!). For example, XVIII Airborne Corps often contained the 82nd Airborne, the 101st Air Assault and the 24th Infantry (Mechanised) Divisions.

Armour units are similar but have individual tanks in a platoon. Armoured cavalry units use the traditional cavalry designations of a squadron for a company and a troop for a platoon (armoured cavalry in the modern age being focused on the roles of reconnaissance and "delaying forces", using firepower and mobility to blunt enemy attacks until larger and better-armed units can be mobilised - during the Cold War, it was the US Army's Armoured Cavalry Regiments [ACRs] that would have been first to fight against a Warsaw Pact thrust).


TEO

TEO, isn't a regiment a division of a brigade?

hmmm ive seen this i thought a Brigade was a grouping of Regiments but ive got really old information from Napolanic war era.
a brigade is just a pick and mix of regiments they might have no history towards each other and in the next war maybe battle theyll find they are allocated to another brigade as in 4th 18th and 21st might be together but no relationship.18th British were Irish and captured part of Sevestopel in Crimean war got no more orders so they got drunk with locals and fought between themselves.21st were only regiment not to have Honours so leader sent them on a suicide run at Ombuds.. something.

Anyway

TEO i agree with alot of what your saying in todays terms.

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned, but Regiments are primarily ceremonial in Britain, and we can assume in many monarchies.

1st Lancashire Regiment, 2nd Fusiliers...

Also, in Russia and the USSR, the main base of the army was the Brigade or something like that, and their divisions were massive.

O.K. i learnt that 101st airborne(U.S.) were converted from a WWI Infantry Division cause i couldnt imagine 101 Airborne Divs

There is a 1st Infantry and a 1st Cavalry(had/has yellow shield, black diagonal stripe and horse head on it)their was also a 63rd Cavalry so where there 63+ U.S. Cavalry Divs or was that converted because i have also seen a 1st and 3rd Armour?(triangle emble in yellow blue and red with cannonish form on it with respective number above)

So does that mean each type of "group" has a 1st and up etc 1st Infantry,1st Cavalry,1st Airbourne,1st Armour or such
Or since the 101 was converted is there just a make it up as you go along?

And who decided which Divs stayed and which got put on hold after WWII?

O.K. i learnt that 101st airborne(U.S.) were converted from a WWI Infantry Division cause i couldnt imagine 101 Airborne Divs

There is a 1st Infantry and a 1st Cavalry(had/has yellow shield, black diagonal stripe and horse head on it)their was also a 63rd Cavalry so where there 63+ U.S. Cavalry Divs or was that converted because i have also seen a 1st and 3rd Armour?(triangle emble in yellow blue and red with cannonish form on it with respective number above)

So does that mean each type of "group" has a 1st and up etc 1st Infantry,1st Cavalry,1st Airbourne,1st Armour or such
Or since the 101 was converted is there just a make it up as you go along?

And who decided which Divs stayed and which got put on hold after WWII?

According to the US Army website, there are four Corps:

I Corps, headquartered in Ft Lewis
III Corps- Fort Hood
V Corps- Headquartered in Heidelberg, Germany
XVIII Airborne Corps- in Fort Bragg

Active army units are broken up into 8 Divisions, 17 Brigades, 9 Groups, 5 Commands, and 2 Regiments.

Many US Army units with large designation numbers are "legacy" units from WWI or WWII, when large numbers of Reserve units were organized and shipped into combat. The 101st Airborne probably started out as an infantry division, converted to the new form of warfare in WWII.

After WWII, many units were decommissioned or converted to reserves. Presumably, there was a master plan to determine which units stayed active, which ones were decommissioned, and which ones were converted to reserve units, but I haven't yet found anything to explain the logic behind the choices.


TEO

FUBAR: fucked up beyond all recognition

- Armour units are similar but have individual tanks in a platoon. Armoured cavalry units use the traditional cavalry designations of a squadron for a company and a troop for a platoon (armoured cavalry in the modern age being focused on the roles of reconnaissance and "delaying forces", using firepower and mobility to blunt enemy attacks until larger and better-armed units can be mobilised - during the Cold War, it was the US Army's Armoured Cavalry Regiments [ACRs] that would have been first to fight against a Warsaw Pact thrust).


TEO

Just a couple of notes, just saw this thread, well done.
SALUTE- a reconnaisance/scouting term for things to remember in a report- size, activity, location,unit, time, equiptment.
Also, cavalry in the US army , a regiment is brigade sized, and a single fighting unit. Squadrons are not company sized, they are the battalions of an armored cavalry regiment(3 of them normally)
Edit: I meant to say a cavalry regiment is brigade sized and a single fighting unit. Infantry regiments are as noted, mostly ceremonial, and their battalions usually do not fight as part of a regiment, rather as a brigade.
Also the main difference between brigade and regiment is usually that the brigade has attached more support units.

About the 101st issue there, I’m guessing it could partly be an attempt at deception. If someone intercepts a communication about 101st Airborne they’ve then got to ask themselves “How many other airborne units are there?”. This was exactly the plan in the creation of the British 6th Airborne; there wasn’t any legacy as such behind it instead the numerical designation was chosen to confuse anyone observing communications. Simple, eh?

Not sure if somebody's already mentioned this but you might want to add

AAA: Anti-Aircraft Artillary (Flack guns). As in He got shot down by a triple A battery.

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned, but Regiments are primarily ceremonial in Britain, and we can assume in many monarchies.

1st Lancashire Regiment, 2nd Fusiliers...

Also, in Russia and the USSR, the main base of the army was the Brigade or something like that, and their divisions were massive.

The fmr. Soviet army, or Red Army, had armies in the place of corps in western, or at least US terminology. Their divisions were smaller than US divisions, not really massive, but more up-front firepower, and less support, so they were built to fight, and basically be spent, and replaced by follow-on echelons. By support I mean, the units usually attached to assist the combat forces..logistics primarily, which in the Red Army's case were held at a higher command level, and less accesible to lower levels of the force(divisions, regt, etc)
So a Red Army formation would be, as an example,
30th Tank Army, composed of 2 tank divisions and a MR division, each division composed of 3-4 regts. Attached support units such as artillery, engineers, logistics, air defense, etc, would be attached to the division level at best case(arty sometimes, AD usually) and the army level in most cases.

MIA=Missing In Action
WIA=Wounded In Action
KIA=Killed In Action

IFV: Infantry Fighting Vehicle. A lightly armored, multi-purpose vehicle designed to move infantry around, and allow them to fight from within the vehicle. Generally armed with several machine guns, light cannon and some form of rocket or grenade launcher. The American M2 Bradley or Soviet BTR series is an example.

CFV: Calvary fighting vehicle. A vehicle that may resemble an IFV, but holds less men and weapons, and more recon equipment. Designed for tank and mechanized infantry units in order to facilitate recon just ahead of the main formation.

FUBAR: fucked up beyond all recognition

It's not on the first page, but there is a list of acronyms and slang with the worst of the language edited out. Read through the thread and you'll see it.


TEO

Not sure if somebody's already mentioned this but you might want to add

AAA: Anti-Aircraft Artillary (Flack guns). As in He got shot down by a triple A battery.

I have AA listed. I will add AAA to the AA listing.


TEO

MIA=Missing In Action
WIA=Wounded In Action
KIA=Killed In Action

Thanks, I'll add 'em.


TEO

IFV: Infantry Fighting Vehicle. A lightly armored, multi-purpose vehicle designed to move infantry around, and allow them to fight from within the vehicle. Generally armed with several machine guns, light cannon and some form of rocket or grenade launcher. The American M2 Bradley or Soviet BTR series is an example.

CFV: Calvary fighting vehicle. A vehicle that may resemble an IFV, but holds less men and weapons, and more recon equipment. Designed for tank and mechanized infantry units in order to facilitate recon just ahead of the main formation.

I already have both IFV and APC listed. I have never heard of a CFV, however. What military uses this term?


TEO

IFV: Infantry Fighting Vehicle. A lightly armored, multi-purpose vehicle designed to move infantry around, and allow them to fight from within the vehicle. Generally armed with several machine guns, light cannon and some form of rocket or grenade launcher. The American M2 Bradley or Soviet BTR series is an example.

CFV: Calvary fighting vehicle. A vehicle that may resemble an IFV, but holds less men and weapons, and more recon equipment. Designed for tank and mechanized infantry units in order to facilitate recon just ahead of the main formation.

American infantry do not fight from within the M-2 Bradley. The Bradley does usually mount TOW missiles and already has it's main gun armament, so it can fight independently, just as a tank, with it's infantry inside.
The Bradley IFV can carry more men than the Bradley used by the cavalry(but still considered an IFV), the version carrying normal infantry, is used as more of a transport, dropping its troops off, then covering them with its weapons. The cavalry version is the version that normally fights with its troops(usually only 4-5)inside, as the cavalry are designed for more mobile operation, and usually will rarely dismount in combat operations.

I believe the US military uses the term CFV. I read a book about US military operations in the Gulf War, and CFVs were used by tank divisions for recon and arty spotting purposes.

I believe the US military uses the term CFV. I read a book about US military operations in the Gulf War, and CFVs were used by tank divisions for recon and arty spotting purposes.
I have heard the term, and nothing wrong with it, but usually we just call them IFVs.

Mods, please sticky this!

tag

AP-Armour Piercing

Tag

AP-Armour Piercing

AP is already on the list.


TEO

Oh MRE-Meals Ready to Eat(Meals Rejected by Etheopians) :D

Oh MRE-Meals Ready to Eat(Meals Rejected by Etheopians) :D


Added. I have no idea how I missed that one. Thanks.


TEO

Added DU, EMP, Hard Target, Hardened, Joe, KEW, updated other entries.


TEO

Added some nautical terminology:

Aft
Bow
Casualty
Port
Starboard
Stern


TEO

bump

Added:

Buzz-bomb
Hog
Redleg
Secure


TEO

Well, since this thread is still in use, I won't be accused of grave-digging if I go back to a post from last Oct.

Not sure how accurate this is, but I believe the Roman Empire organized the Legions so:

Maniple

File

Century

Cohort

Legion

Army

Nope, sorry, not even close. :)

The Roman infantry's smallest unit was the centuria (century), usually consisting of 60-80 mîlitês (singular mîles) or soldiers. Two centuriae made up a manipulus (maniple). Three manilpulî made a cohors (cohort), and there were ten cohortês to the legiô (legion; plural legiônês). This gives 60 centuriae to the legiô, or 4800 men at full strength (and less than 4200 was not unusual, especially in a protracted war).

"File" was not a term for a unit, but for the physical layout of the infantry ready for battle. There was no official unit larger than the legiô.

The cavalry had a unit, the decuria (plural decuriae), which was ten horsemen; I can't just now find anything about larger cavalry units.

Mind you, this is after the Camillan reforms (the Marian reforms principally did away with the maniple); earlier and (much) later forms of the Roman army may have used slightly different units and names. The real change in the Roman army, with time, is the layout on the battle field.

But that's another subject entirely. ;)

wow havent seen this in a while.

The Roman infantry's smallest unit was the centuria (century), usually consisting of 60-80 mîlitês (singular mîles) or soldiers. Two centuriae made up a manipulus (maniple). Three manilpulî made a cohors (cohort), and there were ten cohortês to the legiô (legion; plural legiônês). This gives 60 centuriae to the legiô, or 4800 men at full strength (and less than 4200 was not unusual, especially in a protracted war).

"File" was not a term for a unit, but for the physical layout of the infantry ready for battle. There was no official unit larger than the legiô.

The cavalry had a unit, the decuria (plural decuriae), which was ten horsemen; I can't just now find anything about larger cavalry units.

Mind you, this is after the Camillan reforms (the Marian reforms principally did away with the maniple); earlier and (much) later forms of the Roman army may have used slightly different units and names. The real change in the Roman army, with time, is the layout on the battle field.

But that's another subject entirely. ;)

Cool. Thanks for the input.

I have a question, however. There was (or should have been) a term for groupings of ten men (who each carried a section of their communal tent in their packs). Does anyone know what it was (or if I just don't know what the Hell I'm blabbering about)?


TEO

wow havent seen this in a while.

I try to dig up some new terms every month or so, just to keep it fresh.


TEO

Cool. Thanks for the input.
My pleasure. :)

I have a question, however. There was (or should have been) a term for groupings of ten men (who each carried a section of their communal tent in their packs). Does anyone know what it was (or if I just don't know what the Hell I'm blabbering about)?
TEO

OK, what you're talking about is part of the later Marian reforms (at least, that's where the book I'm using mentions it). The contubernium was a group of 8 men (not 10). It was allowed one mule to carry their heavier items, such as their leather tent and their mill-stones---yes, the mîlitês had to grind the grain they were given in their rations.

Two notes:
1) each mîles carried 35-45 kg of stuff (weapons, armor, shield, bedroll, 3+ days rations of grain and hard-tack, stake, sickle, pickaxe, etc.)
2) contubernium was also the name of the tent --- and also could mean "concubinage", "marriage of slaves" and "slaves' hovel". One suspects calling the group of mîles this was not a term of praise. ;)

I suggest adding FAE [fuel-air explosive]
and while your at it, MOAB [Massive Ordinace, AirBurst. (informally: Mother Of All Bombs)]

and while your at it, MOAB [Massive Ordinace, AirBurst. (informally: Mother Of All Bombs)]

The T-12 (http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/t12-pics.htm) twice[/i] the size of the MOAB at 44,000lbs versus 21,700] is the mother of all bombs, you [b]heathen!

The T-12 (http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/t12-pics.htm) twice[/i] the size of the MOAB at 44,000lbs versus 21,700] is the mother of all bombs, you [b]heathen!
please don't flame the messenger.
MOAB (http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/munitions/moab.htm)

OK, what you're talking about is part of the later Marian reforms (at least, that's where the book I'm using mentions it). The contubernium was a group of 8 men (not 10). It was allowed one mule to carry their heavier items, such as their leather tent and their mill-stones---yes, the mîlitês had to grind the grain they were given in their rations.

Two notes:
1) each mîles carried 35-45 kg of stuff (weapons, armor, shield, bedroll, 3+ days rations of grain and hard-tack, stake, sickle, pickaxe, etc.)
2) contubernium was also the name of the tent --- and also could mean "concubinage", "marriage of slaves" and "slaves' hovel". One suspects calling the group of mîles this was not a term of praise. ;)

contuberium was the term I meant, although I didn't remember the term and obviously got some of the details wrong.

Thanks for clearing that up.


TEO

I suggest adding FAE [fuel-air explosive]
and while your at it, MOAB [Massive Ordinace, AirBurst. (informally: Mother Of All Bombs)]

Good suggestions. I'll add 'em both.


TEO

contuberium was the term I meant, although I didn't remember the term and obviously got some of the details wrong.
Thanks for clearing that up.
TEO
My pleasure. :)

BTW, if there's interest, I could cull a more scholarly book re. Roman military, and give a short run-down on the organization, across time. It should go in another thread, I think.

My pleasure. :)

BTW, if there's interest, I could cull a more scholarly book re. Roman military, and give a short run-down on the organization, across time. It should go in another thread, I think.

I think that would get a lot of interest. I'd read it.


TEO

I think that would get a lot of interest. I'd read it.
TEO
Sorry I didn't notice this; I've been busy the last few days. I'll try to post something along these lines in the next couple of days.

Sorry I didn't notice this; I've been busy the last few days. I'll try to post something along these lines in the next couple of days.

Oy! Sorry, things got even busier. Anyway, I finally got it up. I put it in its own thread: http://forums.jolt.co.uk/showthread.php?t=427844

Hope you all enjoy it. ;)

NATO

1. n. North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

2. adj. Milk and two sugars. To have one's tea or coffee NATO.

Added NATO (both definitions). Hadn't heard the second one before.

Thanks.


TEO

Where is the Canadian stuff.I could add some Canadian radio call signs and stuff.

By all means, please post some.


TEO

<Please don't quote huge posts - Mod>


Okay, the quoted was updated last September, and I didn't feel like reading the entire 11 pages, so I figured I'd throw in some comments. CIWS is 20 MM, not 30. TOP is also the Marine Corps' nickname for any Sergeant Major. Artillery is not 155 and up, Since for the Army and Marines in the US, 155 is as high as it goes. Artillery includes (when applicable) 75mm, 105mm, 127mm, and 155mm. 75 and 127 are only used aboard US Navy vessels (the 75mm being deployed aboard Perry class frigates, the 127, known as the Mk. 45, is deployed aboard Burke, Spruance, and Ticonderoga class Cruisers.) Another definition for SWAG I've heard is "Scientific Wild-Ass Guess".

Now, I said I didn't read all 11 pages, so these might be listed, but here's a couple I think should be added...

FUBAR- F*'d Up Beyond All Repair

SNAFU- Situation Normal, All F*'d Up

and some slang terms for equipment....

BUFF- Big, Ugly, Fat F***er, a term for the B-52

Sprucan- Nickname for Spruance class Destroyers

Large, Slow Target- Nickname derived from LST, the designation for Landing Ship Tank

CIWS is 20 MM, not 30.

CIWS systems exist at 20mm [Phalanx], 30mm [Goalkeeper] and 35mm [Millenium Gun], that I'm aware of.

How can folks have missed this bit of jargon?

Phonetic alphabet: spelling or coding messages sent via radio.
[Example, Ack, Beer, Charlie, Don]

SLAMRAAM: Surfaced-Launched Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile

CIWS systems exist at 20mm [Phalanx], 30mm [Goalkeeper] and 35mm [Millenium Gun], that I'm aware of.


Must be talking NS weapons, then, because the only one I'm familiar with is Phalanx. By the way, if you mount a Phalanx on your ship, make sure any super-sensative equipment is mounted in such a way as to dampen vibrations. Even the 20mm CIWS will make a ship vibrate quite noticably.

Must be talking NS weapons, then, because the only one I'm familiar with is Phalanx. By the way, if you mount a Phalanx on your ship, make sure any super-sensative equipment is mounted in such a way as to dampen vibrations. Even the 20mm CIWS will make a ship vibrate quite noticably.
lol? Goalkeeper CIWS is like the Phalanx, but better >.>
One (http://www.royal-navy.mod.uk/server.php?show=nav.2219)
Two (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goalkeeper_CIWS)

I can't be arsed to get a link for the Mill gun, but IIRC it's a nextgen CIWS being developed for the USN (I think?)

I believe IRL the CIWS is actually going to be phased out in favor of the RIM-7 Rolling Airframe Missile.

I believe IRL the CIWS is actually going to be phased out in favor of the RIM-7 Rolling Airframe Missile.

No it isn't.

I've seen things to that tune, but nothing will ever replace the need to have a CIWS. Nothing beats having a big machine gun you can rely on once enemy missiles get inside your countermissile range.

IMO they should have a good mix of both. That way they can intercept at countermissile range, but have the reliability and close-in capabilities of a CIWS.

Correction to earlier, it's the RIM-116, not RIM-7 (Rim-7 is the Sea Sparrow)

According to the Navy Factfile, RIM-116 is...

"The RIM-116 RAM is designed as an all-weather, high-firepower, low-cost, self-defense system against anti-ship cruise missiles and other asymmetric threats. Its original Block 0 design was based on the infrared seeker of the Stinger missile, and the warhead, rocket motor, and fuse from the Sidewinder missile. The Block 0 configuration uses Radio Frequency (RF) for midcourse guidance and transitions to Infrared (IR) guidance for terminal engagement. There is no shipboard support required (i.e. no illuminators) after missile launch. While retaining Block 0 guidance modes, Block 1 incorporates the added capability of autonomous IR-all-the-way guidance, thus countering advanced anti-ship missiles that do not employ onboard radar seekers. RIM-116 has been installed or is planned on the following ship classes: CV/CVN, DD-963, FFG, LHA, LHD, LSD, and LPD-17. The Navy expects to procure approximately 2,000 Block 1 missiles."

from http://www.navy.mil/navydata/fact_display.asp?cid=2200&tid=800&ct=2

Phalanx provides the same thing, but with the addition of being able to attack small surface craft and surface mines through the Man-In-The-Loop system. After checking my facts, I was wrong, it looks as though both will be deployed aboard ships. CVN 21 for example will have Evolved Sea Sparrow Missiles, RIM-116, and Phalanx.

In the US Navy maybe. But AFAIK, the Royal Navy is keeping our world-best (acutally Dutch/British) CIWS system for a long time.

Must be talking NS weapons, then, because the only one I'm familiar with is Phalanx. By the way, if you mount a Phalanx on your ship, make sure any super-sensative equipment is mounted in such a way as to dampen vibrations. Even the 20mm CIWS will make a ship vibrate quite noticably.
I don't think the Millennium Gun is exactly a NS system (http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/systems/ship/systems/mg.htm).

Lockheed Martin's developing it for the USN.