Power Games: Operation Enduring Unity I (38 page)

Part I: Cold War

“
Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant to step the ocean and crush us at a blow? Never! All the armies of Europe, Asia, and Africa combined, with all the treasure of the earth (our own excepted) in their military chest, with a Bonaparte for a commander, could not by force take a drink from the Ohio River or make a track on the Blue Ridge in a trial of a thousand years.

At what point then is the approach of danger to be expected? I answer: If it ever reach us it must spring up amongst us; it cannot come from abroad. If destruction be our lot we must ourselves be its author and finisher. As a nation of freemen we must live through all time or die by suicide.”

― Abraham Lincoln,
Lyceum address
(1838)

You can read a larger free sample on the product page at:

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00LL1S5NQ

.50 Cal
:
M2 .50 caliber (12.7mm) machine gun. Large and heavy, almost always mounted on a vehicle because it requires three soldiers to carry the weapon, tripod and just a small supply of ammo.

Relatively poor accuracy and a slow rate of fire compared to most machine guns, but its ability to throw a half-inch slug with the force to penetrate a brick wall or light-armored vehicle at over a mile makes it a favorite among all branches of the Service. Barely changed in design since World War 2.

2-oh-3
: Single shot, 40mm grenade launcher. Attaches underneath a M16 or M4. Official designation: M203. Usually just called the 2-oh-3.

2-40
: M240b 7.62mm medium machinegun. Normally referred to simply as the “2-40.” About 10 pounds heavier than the SAW. Just barely able to be carried and effectively used by a single soldier, it’s usually mounted on a vehicle or, if dismounted, an extra soldier is assigned to carry the ammo.

3-20
: M320 grenade launcher. Fires 40mm “normal” or 25mm “smart” grenades, slowly replacing M203.

AT-4
: Single use, disposable bazooka-like weapon. Standard unguided anti-tank rocket used by US Army. Swedish made, it is dirt cheap but deadly against light armored vehicles/fortifications. Effective range only 300 meters.

AHA
:
Ammunition holding area. Ammo dump. When not in the field, anything that goes boom, from small arms rounds to artillery shells, are stored there.

AMRAAM
: Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile. A beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile. The most modern versions have a range of 100 miles.

Apache
: AH-64 attack helicopter. Fast, armored and heavily armed, this chopper also boasts a 128x Forward Looking Infrared Radar sensor system. Whether used as scouts, quick reaction fire support, or just flying snipers, the Apaches are probably the most feared and respected helicopter in the world. Primary disadvantage is the small fuel capacity, leading to relatively short on station times (1-3 hours, depending on equipment load-out).

APC
:
Armored Personnel Carrier. Lightly armored/armed vehicle used for support tasks. Examples: Armored ambulances, mobile command vehicles, transporting combat engineers.

B-2:
“Flying wing” stealth strategic bomber. Costing $2 billion a pop, they’re the most expensive aircraft in the inventory.

COMSEC
: Communications security. Referring specifically to the daily changing cryptographic code groups used by the encrypted radios.

DPICM
: Dual Purpose Improved Conventional Munitions. Generic term for a variety of artillery and airdropped sub-munitions that bridge the gap between anti-vehicle and anti-personnel explosives.

FRAGO
: Fragmentary order. A modification to the original mission plan that doesn’t alter the core objectives, just how they should be achieved.

HARM
: High-Speed Anti-Radar Missile. Radar seeking missile that homes in on enemy air-defense radars.

HEMTT
: Heavy Expanded Mobility Tactical Truck. An eight-wheel drive, diesel-powered, 10-ton cargo truck. Standard supply truck of the US Army.

Humint/Sigint
: Human and Signals (electronic) intelligence. Information collected by interrogating people or eavesdropping on electronic communications.

IBA
: Standard issue body armor. Each letter pronounced. Stands for the trade name, “Interceptor Body Armor.”

Weighs about 35 pounds. Double-lapped Kevlar strips give moderate shrapnel protection across most of the upper torso and, with mission-specific attachments, the groin, neck, shoulder and upper arms as well.

In addition, four “ballistic inserts,” made up of special ceramics and a thin steel backing, cover the upper chest/back and lower sides of the rib cage. Providing protection against even armor piercing small arms rounds (usually).

IED
: Improvised Explosive Devices. Unfortunately, infinite variety in size, composition, triggering mechanisms, delivery means and concealment methods. Fall broadly in three general categories:

Claymore-like
(anti-personnel): At its simplest, just a small bomb designed to throw out lots of shrapnel in a specific direction. Sometimes combined with homemade napalm, poisonous gases and/or acids because some people think bombs are just not lethal enough.

Shaped charge
(anti-vehicle): Sometimes just a single, large convex copper plate in a tube with an explosive propellant in the closed end. Other times, sophisticated multi-battery arrays of different slugs. Intended to do one thing: hurl superheated armor-penetrating projectiles at close range into passing vehicles. Often kills occupants without destroying the vehicle.

Blast
(anti-everything): From a simple artillery shell in a trash bag on the side of the road to multi-ton truck bombs and everything in between. Usually employed against buildings, fortified positions (ex. checkpoints, heavily armored vehicles) or for pure terror purposes.

Tragically, there is no rule stating that an IED can’t combine elements of all the above.

IFV
: Infantry Fighting Vehicle. Heavily armored and well-armed vehicle intended to not just deliver infantry to the fight, but fight alongside them. Almost always tracked.

Javelin
: Expensive and heavy super-bazooka. Fire and forget, it has the options of direct or “top attack” modes. Max effective range: 2500 meters.

Kevlar /K-pod
: Nicknames for the standard issue Kevlar helmet.

LZ
: Landing Zone

M1 Abrams
: 72-ton US main battle tank. Armor made out of laminated strips of steel, special ceramics and depleted uranium making it the most heavily armored tank in the world.

Behind that armor sits a massive, German-designed cannon coupled with an extremely accurate fire control computer allowing a decently trained crew to hit a moving target, while the tank itself is moving, at over a mile. Effective range from a stationary position is unknown, but from Gulf War experience, at least four miles.

Also, propelled by a modified F-16 jet turbine engine, making it the fastest moving tracked vehicle on the battlefield.

Basic Armament: 120mm smoothbore cannon (Effective range: 6000m+)

7.62mm coax MG

.50 Cal MG (turret ring)

7.62mm MG (loader)

Bradley
: M-2 Bradley. The Army’s heavy Infantry Fighting Vehicle. More than a “battle taxi,” it’s intended to fight alongside the 6 man (9 in a pinch) infantry squad it transports. Crew of 3. Armor several times stronger than that of a M113, but a fraction of a true tank.

Basic Armament: 1x 25mm Bushmaster automatic cannon (2,000m effective range)

1x 7.62mm coax M240B (400m effective range)

2x TOW Antitank guided missiles (2000m effective range)

FRAGO
: Fragmentary order. Important change to the existing plan, but doesn’t alter original objective.

M-4
: An M-16 with a slightly shorter barrel and “collapsible” buttstock. The standard rifle of the infantry and most combat arms branches (Infantry, Armor, Artillery, Combat Engineers).

M113
: The Army’s generic, turret-less APC. Simple armored box on treads. Lightly armored and lightly (if at all) armed. Essentially a “battle taxi.” Quite adaptable, however, with dozens of modified variants. Most commonly used as: transport for front-line, but non-combat support personnel, mortar carrier, armored ambulance or mobile command center. Minimum crew of 2. Unlike most US equipment, it is cheap and easily maintained.

MBT
:
Main Battle Tank. Extremely heavily armored and armed tank. Does not carry infantry internally.

MOPP Suit
: Mission Oriented Protective Posture. Standard issue, ruggedized set of protective clothing and equipment, including gas mask, that provides head to toe protection against chemical agents and radioactive dust.

NBC
: Nuclear, biological, chemical warfare. The really nasty stuff.

NCO
: Generic term for all sergeants, from E-5 to E-9’s. Stands for Non-Commissioned Officer. Each letter always sounded out for some reason. Never called “Noncoms” in the modern military.

NODs
: Night vision goggles. Officially, Night Observation Devices. Pronounced “nahds.”

OPFOR
: Opposing Force. Mainly called so in training.

OpOrder
: Operations Order. Radio speak for general plan. In comparison to FRAGO, a new OPORDER signals a change to the overall objective, and not just tweaking the plan.

QRF
: Quick Reaction Force.

Reaper
drone
: MQ-9 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. The latest hunter-killer variety of the famous Predator surveillance drone. Can deliver 3,800 lbs of ordinance out to a range of 1,150 miles.

ROE
: Rules of engagement. General guidelines for the use of force, usually accompanied by a list of situational specific do or don’t shoot rules. Always prefaced with the disclaimer,
“Nothing in these Rules of Engagement limits your right to take appropriate action to defend yourself and your unit.”

SAW
: M249 Squad Automatic Weapon. Standard light machine gun, 5.56mm. Replaced the Vietnam-era M-60. Pronounced simply “saw.” Fires the exact same ammo as the M16, but belt-fed, and from a 100 or 200 round drum. Can fire from a standard magazine in a pinch, but that drastically ups the failure to feed rate (jamming).

S-
X
: The command staff of a unit. Starting at battalion level and higher, each unit’s headquarters staff has six “S Shops.” Divisions and Corps designations start with “G-x”

– S-1: Personnel and general administration. Roughly equivalent to civilian HR.

– S-2: Intelligence/counter-intelligence.

– S-3: Operations & Training. The largest section. Responsible for turning the commander’s general directives into detailed plans and “managing” the battle.

– S-4: Supply & Maintenance

– S-5: Civil Affairs/Psychological Operations.

– S-6: Signal (communications/IT)

TC
: Track (or vehicle) commander. Every military vehicle has a minimum crew of 2: driver and track/vehicle commander.

TOC
: Tactical Operations Center. Fancy way to say command post.

TOW
: Tube launched, Optically tracked, Wire guided missile. Most powerful ground-launched anti-tank missile in the arsenal. The modern varieties can be guided to their target via remote control out to a range of 4.5 km. Mounted on a tripod or vehicle. Delivers tandem shaped charge warheads (5.9 kg HE) that are able to penetrate at least 16 inches of solid steel.

WILCO
: Radio speak for “Will comply.” Often used as a way to express displeasure or disagreement with an order without openly stating so.