Hunting Down Saddam (41 page)

GWOT:
Global War on Terror

Halon:
a halocarbon, used as a fire-extinguishing agent

HAMAS:
“Harakat al-Muqawama al-Islamia”—the Islamic Resistance Movement and also a term indicating courage and bravery; operates primarily in the Ghaza district

Hardball:
Army slang for asphalt

HDR:
Humanitarian Daily Ration

HE:
High Explosive

Herringbone formation:
a formation created when an armored column turns half of its vehicles (usually odd numbered) to the left and the other half (even) to the right, thus allowing attack from or defense of both flanks

Hesco Bastions:
concrete barriers brought in by Army Engineers

Hi-Lux:
Four-wheel-drive Toyota truck

HOT:
a long-range antitank weapon system that can be operated from a vehicle or helicopter

HQ:
Headquarters

HUMINT:
human intelligence (sources)

Humvee:
High Mobility, Multi-Purpose, Wheeled Vehicle, also known as a “Hummer,” and by the acronym HUMMWV or HMMWV—a rugged, four-wheel-drive vehicle that can be set up in numerous configurations including ambulances, “pickup” trucks, communication “rat rigs,” and TOW missile launchers

HVT:
High-Value Target

HVT #1:
Saddam Hussein

HVT #2:
Qusay Hussein

HVT #3:
Uday Hussein

HVT #4:
Abid Hamid Mahmud

ID:
Infantry Division

IED:
Improvised Explosive Device

INF:
infantry, sometimes just IF

Infil:
infiltrate, infiltration

Irbil:
city in Iraq, also spelled Arbil

ISU:
Integrated Site Unit

IV:
intravenous

IVIS:
Image Visualization and Infrared Spectroscopy

IZ:
Enemy Territory

Javelin Weapons System:
a man-portable, shoulder-fired, antitank missile system with a range of 2500 meters

JDAM:
Joint Direct Attack Munitions

JFACC:
Joint Forces Air Component Command

JSOC:
Joint Special Operations Command

JSOTF:
Joint Special Operations Task Force

KAZ:
Kurdish Autonomous Zone

KBR:
Kellogg, Brown & Root

KDP:
Kurdistan Democratic Party

Kevlar:
a protective fabric (proprietary of DuPont Corporation)

KIA:
Killed in Action

Kiowa:
a light scout/gunship helicopter based on the Bell Jet Ranger

Kurds:
indigenous people of northern Iraq/Kurdistan, Eastern Turkey, Syria, and western Iran

Levee(s):
Soldier(s). In the context of this book, an Iraqi that the U.S. troops pressed into service for his nation's future; the British used the term during the 1800s

Little Bird:
the OH-58 helicopter gunship that usually supports SOF

LOA:
Line of Attack

LT:
Lieutenant

LTC or LT COL:
Lieutenant Colonel

LTG:
Lieutenant General

LZ:
Landing Zone

M1:
Abrams tank

M1A1:
Abrams Main Battle Tank

M2HB:
M2 Heavy Barrel machine gun

M-4:
the shortened, heavy-barrel carbine version of an M16A2 used primarily by SOF and vehicle crews

M-16:
the standard issue rifle of the U.S. Army, a lightweight weapon that fires a burst of small-caliber bullets with a controlled dispersion pattern

M-203:
the 40mm single-shot grenade launcher mounted under the barrel of an M16A2 assault rifle

M-240B:
SAW Squad automatic weapon—a 5.56mm light machine gun

MAC:
Military Airlift Command

MAJ:
Major

Man-pack:
a weapon system small enough to be carried by a person

Mark-19:
the M19 40mm belt-fed automatic grenade launcher, which can be fired from a tripod or vehicle mounted

MC-130:
the “Combat Talon,” the transport plane used primarily by SOF, a variation of the standard C-130 design

Medevac:
medical evacuation

MG:
Major General

MH-53J:
technologically advanced heavy-lift helicopter used primarily by Special Operations Forces; nickname: “Pave Low III”

MI:
Military Intelligence

MIB:
Military Intelligence Battalion

MK-19:
automatic belt-fed 40mm grenade launcher

MO:
modus operandi

Mobility ODA:
fast-moving, vehicle-mounted, heavy-weapons QRF/ recon unit used on an ad hoc basis in the U.S. Army Special Forces

MOPP:
Mission-Oriented Protective Posture

MOS:
Military Occupational Specialty

MP:
Military Police

MSG:
Master Sergeant

NASA:
National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NATO:
North Atlantic Treaty Organization

NBC:
Nuclear, Biological, Chemical; also National Broadcasting Company

NCO:
Noncommissioned Officer

NGO:
Non-Government Organization

NRO:
National Reconnaissance Office

NVGs:
Night Vision Goggles

OCS:
Officer Candidate School

ODA:
Operational Detachment Alpha

ODB:
Operational Detachment Bravo

OEF/OIF:
Operation ENDURING FREEDOM/Operation IRAQI FREEDOM

OH-58 Little Bird:
a two-pilot helicopter, used in two variations: a transport/utility model (MH-6) and an attack model (AH-6)

OP:
Observation Post

Operation DESERT SHIELD:
the initial stage of liberating Kuwait from the control of Iraqi invaders, begun in August 1990 by President George H. W. Bush

Operation DESERT STORM:
the offensive action to liberate Kuwait from the control of Iraqi invaders, begun in January 1991

Operation JOINT ENDEAVOR:
U.S. peacekeeping effort in the former Yugoslavia, deployed in 1995

Operation JOINT FORGE:
a peacekeeping force in Bosnia–Herzegovina that followed the NATO-led Stabilization Force in 1998

Operation JUST CAUSE:
U.S.-led action in Panama, which ultimately ousted Manuel Noriega from power

Operation UPHOLD DEMOCRACY:
multinational military operation in Haiti in the early 1990s that restored a democratically elected presidency

Operator:
short for Special Operator; a slang term to describe SOF personnel

OPS:
Operations

OPSEC:
Operational Security

Out of hide:
taken from existing resources

Overwatch:
a system that detects and precisely locates active enemy firings (snipers, direct fire weapons, mortars) in real-time to support ground forces in complex urban terrain

PAO:
Public Affairs Officer

Patriot:
missile

Pesh:
short for Peshmerga

Peshmerga:
indigenous group of Kurdish minorities

Pinkies:
British term for Land Rovers

PLDC:
Primary Leadership Development Course

PMCS:
Preventative Maintenance Checks and Services

POW:
Prisoner of War

PPSH-41:
a Russian submachine gun

PSAB:
Prince Sultan Air Base

PSG:
Personal Security Guard

PSYOPS:
Psychological Operations

PUK:
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan

Q-Beam:
a laser beam

QRF:
Quick Reaction Force

Raid:
a lightning-fast assault

RB-15:
(Zodiac) rubber boat

R/C:
remote control

Recon:
reconnaissance

Republican Guard:
the elite Iraqi ground forces, tasked originally with regime protection

RH-53:
a Sikorsky helicopter

Road arms:
suspension components used on BFVs and M1A1 Abrams tanks

Roland:
missile system

RPG:
rocket-propelled grenade

RPK:
light machine gun

RR:
Recoilless Rifle

S-2:
battalion or brigade intelligence staff officer

S3:
battalion or brigade operations staff officer

SA-7:
AAA missile

SALUTE:
Size, Activity, Location, Unit/Uniform, Time, Equipment

SAM:
Surface-to-Air Missile

SAS:
Special Air Service

SATCOM:
Satellite Communications

SAW:
Squad Automatic Weapon

Screaming Eagles:
moniker of the 101st Airborne Division (AASLT)

SCUD:
a long-range, surface-to-surface missile

SCUDNET:
system of SCUD missile emplacements

SEAL:
(Sea, Air, Land) elite Navy soldier

SF:
Special Forces

SFC:
Sergeant First Class

SFG:
Special Forces Group

SFOD-D:
Special Forces Operational Detachment–Delta

SGM:
Sergeant Major

Shi'ite:
a member of the branch of Islam that regards Ali and his descendants as the legitimate successors to Muhammad and rejects the first three caliphs

SIGINT:
Signals Intelligence

SMU:
Special Missions Unit

SOAR:
Special Operations Aviation Regiment

SOCOM:
Special Operations Command

SOF:
Special Operations Forces

SOG:
Special Operations Group

SOP:
Standard Operating Procedure

Sortie:
a mission flown by a fighter or bomber

SOSB:
Special Operations Support Battalion

SOTF:
Special Operations Task Force

SPC:
Specialist

Special Operations:
operations conducted by specially organized, trained, and equipped military and paramilitary forces to achieve military, political, economic, or informational objectives by unconventional military means in hostile, denied, or politically sensitive areas; also called SO

Special Operator:
slang for SOF personnel

Spectre:
moniker of the AC-130 gunship

SPF:
Security Protection Force

Spider hole:
a hole in the earth

SPT:
Support

SS-30:
rocket

SSG:
Staff Sergeant

SSM:
Surface-to-Surface Missile

SSS:
the Iraqi Special Security Service (also called SSO—Special Security Organization, or the Presidential Affairs Department); or Al Amn al-Khas

Supay:
the Kurdish word for “unit”; a Kurdish Supay has from a couple hundred to a couple thousand men

SUV:
Sport Utility Vehicle

TAC-P:
Tactical Air Control Party

TAI:
Targeted Area of Interdiction

Talon:
moniker of the MC-130 transport plane

Task Force 7:
code name for the British task force in Iraq

Task Force 20:
code name for the first U.S. task force that hunted Saddam and other high-value targets

Task Force 121:
an elite Special Forces group of Army Delta Force members, Navy SEALs, CIA paramilitary operatives, and other personnel; captured Saddam Hussein

Task Force DAGGER:
the code name for CJSOTF-W; this code name was resurrected from the war in Afghanistan, where it was last used

Task Force VIKING:
the code name for CJSOTF-N

Team Leader:
the soldier in charge of an ODA, often a CPT, sometimes an MSG

Team Sergeant:
the highest-ranking NCO on an ODA

TF:
Task Force

TF 1AD:
Task Force First Armored Division

TF SPT:
Task Force Support

TIA:
Target Interdiction Area

TIP:
Target Interdiction Point

TNT:
trinitrotoluene, a yellow crystalline compound used mainly as a high explosive

TOC:
Tactical Operations Center

Tornado:
all-weather, day and night tactical reconnaissance British plane

TOW:
Tube launched, Optically tracked, Wire guided

UAE:
United Arab Emirates

UN:
United Nations

USAF:
United States Air Force

USASOC:
United States Army Special Operations Command

USMC:
United States Marine Corps

USO:
United Service Organizations

U.S. SOCOM:
United States Special Operations Command

UW:
Unconventional Warfare

Vic:
vicinity