Glossary...

Glossary of Commonly Used Terms...

This listing defines words, terms and acronyms which may not be familiar to all readers...

A -

A&C Grenadier - One of the world's more satisfying cigars in the affordable category...

AAA - Anti aircraft artillery...

AAR - After Action Report...Sometimes called Ship Action Report in the US Navy...

Abwehr - German military intelligence unit...
Allied Powers - Primarily Great Britain ANZAC and the USSR plus the USA, without which the first three would have been crushed...
Anchorage - A body of water with docking facility deep enough for large ships, and protected from storms by surrounding land masses or reef areas...

APO - Army Post Office...
Arisaka - Refers to the outdated bolt-action rifle used by the Japanese infantry in WWII...

Armament - The weaponry installed on an aircraft, vehicle or vessel for firing on an enemy...

Armor - The protective shielding (usually steel) installed on an aircraft, vehicle or vessel as protection against enemy firepower...
Attorney - A sometimes useful parasite drawn to the smell of money...It can be deadly if allowed to linger...
Axis Powers - Primarily Germany, Italy and Japan, plus to a lesser effective degree their weak partners, France, Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Iraq...

B -

BATFE - Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms & Explosives...

Battle Star - Awarded to a ship and its crew after participation in a sea battle...

BBW - Acronym meaning Big Beautiful Woman...Almost always erroneously used by women who mistakenly think their fat makes them beautiful...

BDA - Bomb Damage Assessment...

BEF - British Expeditionary Force...

Bingo - Signifying an aircraft is low on fuel, and must withdraw...

BMG - Browning Machine Gun...In .50 caliber, always the first choice in close-in defense for air, sea or ground...

Book - A form of information storage still preferred by many in the computer age...

Bridge - Deck from which a ship is commanded...

Briefing/Debriefing - A meeting in which pertinent intelligence is exchanged between essential personnel...

Bushido - Code of honor observed by the Japanese Samurai warriors, sometimes perverted to dishonorable use by those who only think of themselves as warriors...

C -

Callsign - An identifying name, designed for easy understanding, used by air, ground and Navy crew radio operators...

Campaign - A widely encompassing military activity with a specific goal conducted within a theater of war...

CAP - Combat air patrol...

Capitalism - The only economic system in existence which gives equal opportunity for success or failure to all...

Capital punishment - A sentencing option which, as presently used, practically guarantees a long life of ease to felons at public expense...

Censor - A military specialist trained to prevent leakage of valuable information to the enemy in outgoing mail, or press dispatches...

CHL - Concealed Handgun License, alternately called LTC (License To Carry)...

Chowline - Where the hungry military meet to eat...

CIC - Commander In Chief...

CINCPAC - In WWII, Commander in Chief Pacific Fleet...Modern: Commander in Chief Pacific Command...

CMH (also CMoH, MoH) - Congressional Medal of Honor...

CNO - Chief of Naval Operations...

Coastwatcher - Military intelligence operatives assigned to small islands for observing and reporting enemy activity...Both military and civilians performed these duties...

Combined Fleet - The deepwater component of the JIN...

Commander-in-Chief - The guy who ultimately gets all the blame, or all the credit...
Communism - An unworkable economic theory granting power and comfort to totalitarian masters, with only misery and poverty to the masses...

Condition Red - A level of alertness in which an enemy attack is considered imminent...

Cougar - A euphemism applied to women trying to regain their lost youth by dating younger men...
Crew Muster Roll - The daily roll call report aboard a ship...

D -

DDDF - Drug, Drama, Disease Free, a description used By CraigsList lurkers to be taken with extreme caution...

DEA - Drug Enforcement Agency...

Debark - Transferring from aboard ship to dockside, as in following a sea journey...
Deck - Separate level of a ship dedicated to a particular purpose...
Decommission - Remove from active service for placement into reserve status private ownership, or scrapping...

Degaussing - The removal of unwanted magnetism from a steel ship's hull...Rendering a steel object magnetically neutral to avoid magnetic attraction...
De-mil - Remove all militarily useful features...Render unsuitable for military or combat use...
Department store - An almost defunct retail outlet wherein consumers may purchase handtools, underwear and hot cashews without being searched for contraband upon exit...

Depot refitting - Major overhaul and upgrading...

Diabetes - An insidious, parasitic disease which destroys from the inside out, just like socialism...

Dictator - A self-deluding tyrant convinced of having the people's mandate to destroy their own nation...
Dink - Slang name given to enemy Vietnamese by US personnel...

Discreet - Undertaken with the utmost secrecy...

Discrete - Choice taken selectively...

Displacement - The volume of space taken up by an object in the media for which it was designed...Measured in tons of seawater for ships...

DMZ - De-militarized zone...

DoD - Department of Defense...

Draft - (1) Military conscription, accepted by many; avoided by others either by voluntary enlistment, or by fleeing the country in cowardice to return after the war to a political career...(2) Distance from waterline to bottom of keel on a ship...

Dreadnought - Refers to a classification of fast, all big gun battleships...Named for the HMS Dreadnought...

DRV - Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam)...

DRW - Dual Rear Wheels...

E -

Egress - To exit a combat or mission area...

Einsatzgruppen - Specialized mass murder squads of the Nazi SS...

ELINT - Electronic Intelligence...

Embark - Boarding a ship, as in preparation for leaving port...
Engine Room Force - Those crewmembers directly responsible with propulsion performance, and fuel delivery...Also called the "black gang"...
EWO - Electronic Weapons Officer...

Execute - To commence a planned operation...

Extraction - Safe egress from a mission area by the action of others ordinarily by air...

F -

Fall Gelb - Case Yellow, the WWII German plan for the invasion of France...
Fascism - Thinly disguised collectivism in which the existence of the state is placed above its people in importance...

Fathom - Nautical measurement equal to six feet...

FBI - Federal Bureau of Investigation...

FPO - Fleet Post Office...
France - An insignificant and weak nation whose loyalty varies with the direction of the wind...Sometimes spelled in all lowercase letters...

Franking - The application of a device to outgoing mail indicating its eligibility for delivery...IE: stamp...
French - Refers to a barely human sub-species interested entirely in their own subsistence regardless of the cost to others...

Fuehrerbunker - A reinforced concrete and steel structure two stories under the Reich Chancellery building...

G -

Gaullist - One who supports the French cause as long as someone else is willing to die for it, and do the heavy lifting...
Gefreiter - The German equivalent of Corporal...

General Quarters - Call to action for all hands aboard to report to battle stations...
Ghillie suit - A garment, usually of the user's own making, worn to blend with the environment...

GIB - Guy In Back (refers to weapons/radar officer sitting behind pilot in two-seat fighter aircraft)...

Gun camera - A recording device activated by aircraft guns to verify and study battle reports...

Gunman - A meaningless and erroneously applied term frequently misused by a pandering press...

H -

Handloading - The process by which superior quality ammunition is manufactured using new, or a combination of new and recycled components...
Hedgehog depth charge - Barrage of 24 anti-submarine explosive devices fired simultaneously over a wide area...

Heer - The army of Nazi Germany...

HMS - His/Her Majesty's Ship...

Honor - A hard-earned, easily lost quality, the focus on which can distort its image...

Horsepower - A rate measurement for work produced...Originally equal to 550 foot-pounds per second...

HQ - Headquarters...

Hull symbol - An alpha-numeric method of classifying ships...

Hun - Slang name given the North American F-100 jet derived from its numerical designator (hundred)...

I -

ICE - Immigration & Customs Enforcement...

Ingress - To enter a combat or mission area...

Insertion - In military terms, the transportation and emplacement of friendly forces to the scene of expected action, ordinarily by air...

Internment - A restrictive containment variously interpreted as protective custody, or imprisonment...

J -

JIA - Japanese Imperial Army, existing until Japan's defeat in WWII...

JIN - Japanese Imperial Navy, existing until Japan's defeat in WWII...

Jolly Green - Sikorsky HH-3E helicopter...

K -

KIA - Killed In Action...

Kenya - A typically backward African nation in which the few at the top grow fat while watching those at the bottom starve to death, inducing dramatic tears, but never open checkbooks from those who report the suffering...

Knot - Nautical measurement of speed equal to 1.15078 US miles per hour...

Kriegsmarine - Nazi Germany's deepwater navy...

L -

LCI - Landing Craft Infantry...

LCT - Landing Craft Tank...

Liberty Ship - An example of the industrial might faced by America's enemies...2,711 were produced during WWII...

Life without parole - A court ordered sentence from which it is hoped that death will eventually become desired by the inmate...

Littoral - Refers to coastal waters including river inlets to the seas...Sometimes referred to as "brownwater"...

LST - Landing Ship Tank...

Luftwaffe - German air force...

M -

MARAD - The US Maritime Administration...
Marshaling yard - Large area of connecting RR tracks where trains are assembled...

Mess - Term used for food consumption by military members...From the French mes, meaning "serving of food"...

MIA - Missing In Action...

Microfiche - A document reduction and storage system predating digitalization...

MiGCAP - Combat air patrol in the presence of Soviet-built MiG aircraft...

Mike-Mike - Military Alpha code for millimeter (MM)...

Military Police - Those charged with enforcing military law (includes Shore Police and Air Police)...Often abbreviated MP, SP and AP...

Minesweeper - Ship built purposely for clearing shipping lanes of minefields...

Misty - Callsign used with a numerical suffix to identify Operation Commando Sabre aircrews...

MMS - Munitions Maintenance Squadron...

MOH - Congressional Medal of Honor (also called CMOH)...

Mom - A person to whom each of us owes all we have ever had, and all we will ever be...

MS - Multiple Sclerosis...

MTB - Motor Torpedo Boat...Usually referred to as PT Boat...

N -

NARA - National Archives and Records Administration...
National Socialists - The Nazi party of Germany...

Nautical mile - About 6,080 feet...Measurement of distance at sea...Originally one minute of arc at any meridian...

NCO - Non-Commissioned Officer...
Newspaper - An antiquated information dissemination system slowly dying by mismanagement...
NVA- North Vietnam Army...

O -

Occupation - A period of time following cessation of hostilities in which victorious forces work to restore orderly government to the vanquished...

Oflag - German prison camp for captured officers in WWII...
OKW - OberKommando der Wehrmacht - The high command of the armed forces of Nazi Germany...

OKH - OberKommando des Heeres - The high command of the armies of Nazi Germany...

Operation - A military activity with a known goal which has been planned, provisioned, prioritized and approved for action...

OpLog - Operations Log...A daily record of events in the operation of a military unit...
Ordnance - The explosives load carried into combat by fighter and bomber aircraft...

P -

Pacific Ring - The islands and coastal areas forming the outer perimeter of the Western Pacific Ocean...

Para-jumper - A USAF SAR crewmember trained in medical procedures, combat and airborne commando techniques...

Paravanes - A towed device used to disengage underwater mines...
Penetrator - A rescue device lowered by SAR helicopters to penetrate jungle canopy...

Petroleum - The source of much wealth, and often as much conflict, as it is discovered in new locations...
Physician - A professional who, like attorneys, is indispensable when needed, but looked on in distrust at other times...

Pic - Contraction for "picture" or photo...

Plausible deniability - Political maneuver allowing those in charge to both take credit for success, and blame others for failure...

Politics - An oozing cesspool which swallows wealth and destroys character, producing only fumes, noise and the desire for a better system of government...

Porn site - An undesirable by-product of the internet in which pornography is distributed to those unfortunate souls who feel the need for it...

POW - Prisoner Of War...

Pre-ban - Refers to a useless, and now almost forgotten attempt by a power-hungry political faction to limit the 2nd Amendment rights of the American public...

Propaganda - The dissemination of a doctrine to a targeted group through lies and distortion via popular media...

Q -

Quartermaster - Designation for the person or group as-signed to provide living accommodations and provisions for a military unit...

R -

R&R - Rest and relaxation...

RAF - Royal Air Force (British)...

Rations - An apportioned share of available commodities...

Receipt checker - An otherwise unemployable slug stationed at wholesale club exits; the natural progression of the Nazi doctrine...

Reichspost - Postal service of Nazi Germany...

Reichswehr - German defense forces during the Weimar Republic...

Religion - The worship of a Holy Being by those who are grateful to exist...Sometimes perverted by evil souls for political gain...

RESCAP - Combat air patrol in support of a rescue mission of a downed pilot...

RHIP - Rank Has Its Privileges...
RIO - Radar Intercept Officer...

RNZAF - Royal New Zealand Air Force...
Rooskies - Russians, Soviets, Bolsheviks, Reds...A loser by any other name still loses...

RTAB - Royal Thai Air Base...

RTB - Return to base...

S -

S-List - Unwritten document maintained by those in authority containing names of the usual suspects...

SAC - Strategic Air Command...

SAM - Surface to air missile...

Sam's Club - A bloated, overrated business entity slowly consuming its own bulk in its death throes...

Sandy - Callsign for Douglas A1 Skyraiders used in SAR operations during the Vietnam War...

SAR - Search And Rescue...

SBD - A US Navy aircraft, SB signifying Scout/Bomber, D signifying the manufacturer, Douglas Aircraft Co...

SEA - Southeast Asia...

Sea Harrier - A fighter aircraft used by both US and British forces...

Sensory occlusion - A phenomenon occurring under stress when certain senses are ignored by the brain, allowing other senses to be enhanced...

Separate rations - An elective pay option whereby some servicepersons may opt to be paid not to eat in military mess halls, and dine where they choose...

Service Squadron - A mobile repair and resupply facility capable of being moved from one point in the ocean to another without the need of a land base...
SIGINT - Signal Intelligence...

Skank - A lying, cheating person not to be trusted under any circumstances, often not identifiable until divorce action is initiated...

Skeptician - Practitioner of the science of skepticism...

SNAFU - Situation Normal, All Fouled Up...

Social Democrats - A political party prevalent in Pre-WW II Europe...

SOPA - Senior Officer Present Afloat...

SOP(A) - Senior Officer Present Ashore...
Spam - A name given phony e-mail designed to trick unsuspecting users into divulging personal information... Easily identified by knowledgeable people...

Squadron - A military component consisting of aircraft, naval vessels or land based armor including the personnel needed to complete its mission...

Squawk transponder - Electronic device to aid in location and identification of aircraft...

SRO - Standing Room Only...

Stalag - German prison camp for captured NCO's and enlisted men in WWII...
Stars & Stripes - A newspaper published by and for members of the US military...

Strategic - Referring to long term planning involving all foreseeable possibilities involving many units over a large area...

Sugar baby - A term applied to young women only interested in money gained by any means from older, gullible men...

Sugar daddy - A foolish older man who allows himself to be tricked out of his money by a conniving, deceitful younger woman...

Supply line - Provision/logistic system for maintaining armed forces in the field, and the key to any successful military strategy...

T -

TAC - Tactical Air Command...

Tactical - Referring to short term planning for mission activity contained in a limited space...

Task Force - A grouping of vessels with the mission of completing a specific task...

Task Unit - A smaller group within a Task Force assigned to complete a task in support of a larger mission...
Tender - A small mobile ship which tended the supply and maintenance needs of widely dispersed small combat units such as PT boats, seaplanes and submarines...

Term limits - The concept by which politicians should be limited in their careers to one term in office and one in prison...

Terrorism - A cowardly act of aggression initiated by those who hide their pusillanimity behind civilian women and children...

TFW - Tactical Fighter Wing...

Theater - A broad area of combat broken into smaller areas for tactical command, but umbrellaed under one strategic command...

Thud - A darkly humorous name given the Republic F-105 jet, said to be derived from the sound it made when it landed on the floor of the Vietnam jungle...

Toadling - A sycophantic lackey eager to please its master in gratitude for its falsely presumed power...

Totalitarianism - A system of governance in which all power is gathered to the governor and the governor's toadlings, with no choice for the governed...

Track - An assigned circular route at an assigned altitude taken by tanker aircraft to provide inflight refueling...

Trappey's Red Devil - God's gift to scrambled eggs...

Triple canopy - The three layers of overhead foliage covering dense jungle areas...

Truck - The safest and most satisfying mode of personal transportation known to man...

U -

Uni-browed - Having only one eyebrow extending over both eyes...

USAF - United States Air Force...

USAFE - United States Air Forces/Europe...

USCGS - United States Coast Guard Service...

US Constitution - The most perfect set of laws yet devised by man for his own self-governance; second only to the Ten Commandments in its completeness...

USMC - Acronym for United States Marine Corps (also  interpreted as Uncle Sam's Misguided Children)...

USN - United States Navy...

USNS - United States Naval Ship...

USO - United Service Organizations...Then as now dedicated to providing wholesome entertainment alternatives to US military members...

USS - United States Ship...

V -

Vichy - A French town best known as the capital of Nazi collaborationists, and for giving its name to an overpriced bottled water...
VitalChek - A bottomless bucket for disposal of unwanted dollars...

Volunteer - One who raises his right hand first, then raises the right questions later...

VTOL - Vertical TakeOff & Landing...

W -

Waffen SS - The armed divisions of Heinrich Himmler's SS...

Wahine - Polynesian woman, particularly those in Hawaii...

War Diary - Similar to OpLog with the addition of mission descriptions...
Warehouse club - A business model built on distrust of the customer...

WASP - Women Airforce Service Pilots...

Watertender - A now unused US Navy rate signifying one who attends the boilers on steam-powered ships...In WWII a rating for petty officers only...

Wehrmacht - The combined armed forces of Nazi Germany...

Woman - The singular form of women...(Placed here for the educational benefit of CraigsList ad posters)...

Women - The plural form of woman...(Placed here for the educational benefit of CraigsList ad posters)...

X -

X-Day - The planned day of commencement for Operation Downfall, the aborted invasion of Japan in WWII...

Y -

Y2K - An acronym meaning Year 2000...A non-event expected as a huge catastrophe by all except those of us who knew it was just another tick of the clock...

Yahoo - One of the earliest internet-based search engines, also used for e-mail and news by those who haven't looked for anything better...

YGBSM - You Gotta Be Sh***** Me...

Z -

Zero - Identifying name given the Mitsubishi A6M aircraft in WWII by the Allies...Also describes the IQ of those who look for and expect romance on the internet...

Z-gram - The name applied to directives issued by Adm. Elmo Zumwalt during operations in the Vietnam War...

Zig-zag - A deliberately wandering course steered by convoys of ships to avoid enemy detection and interception...