These Dead Lands: Immolation (75 page)

Gun:
A mortar tube or artillery piece. Never used to refer to a rifle or pistol. Military-issued pistols are usually called 9-mils.

Humvee:
The High Mobility Multi-Wheeled Vehicle, the general purpose utility vehicle of the United States Military. Replaced the trusty Jeep in the late 1970s.

IDF:
Indirect Fire, or simply Indirect. Mortars, rockets and artillery. Term generally used to describe enemy action.

Inside/Outside The Wire:
Describes whether you are on or off a base.

ISR:
Intelligence, Security, and Reconnaissance.

JDAM:
(pronounced jay-damn) A bomb dropped from a U.S. aircraft, ranging from 500 to 2,000 pounds.

Joe:
Soldier. Replacement term for GI.

KIA:
Killed in Action, when a soldier is killed in combat.

Kinetic:
Violent. Example: The Pech Valley is one of the most kinetic areas in Afghanistan.

Leaf Eater:
A soldier whose mission does not directly bring them into enemy contact; the opposite of a Meat Eater. Also known as Plant Eater.

M110:
The M110 Semi Automatic Sniper System (M110 SASS) is an American semi-automatic sniper rifle that is chambered for the 7.62×51mm NATO round, developed by U.S. firearm manufacturer Knight’s Armament Company.

M4:
Standard rifle issued to the United States military. Fires 5.56-millimeter rounds from a standard 30-round magazine. Capable of semi-automatic and fully automatic rates of fire.

Mark:
The Mk-19 40mm grenade launcher.

Meat Eater:
Usually refers to Special Forces soldiers whose mission focuses on violence, as opposed to those whose mission focuses on stability and training. See Leaf Eater, Plant Eater.

Medevac:
Medical evacuation of wounded personnel by helicopter.

MRE:
Meal, Ready to Eat. Vacuum-sealed meals eaten by soldiers when no DFAC or local alternative exists. Shelf life is approximately seven years.

NCO:
Noncommissioned Officer, comprised of soldiers in the ranks of Corporal (E-4) through Command Sergeant Major (E-9). As they are not commissioned officers, they are part of the enlisted ranks.

OPCON:
Operational Control.

OPTEMPO:
Operational Tempo, high or low. Describes the pace at which a soldier works, whether that work is combat patrols, making PowerPoint slides or training.

Oxygen Thief:
A useless soldier, or one who loves to hear himself or herself talk.

Pennsylvania Army National Guard (PAARNG):
The Pennsylvania Army National Guard is part of the United States Army National Guard and is based in the U.S. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Together with the Pennsylvania Air National Guard, it is directed by the Pennsylvania Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. The PAARNG maintains 124 armories and is present in 87 communities across the Commonwealth. In
These Dead Lands
, the PAARNG was assigned to several different sites within the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

Pink Mist:
Produced by certain gunshot wounds.

Plant Eater:
See: Fobbit.

POG:
(pronounced pogue) Person Other Than Grunt. Derogatory term for a soldier lacking combat experience. See: Fobbit.

POO:
Point Of Origin. The site from which a rocket or mortar was launched at U.S. forces. Most easily calculated by tracking the projectile’s trajectory with radar. Example: “We’re going out POO hunting.”

Powerpoint Ranger:
A soldier who is tasked primarily with building PowerPoint presentations for commander’s briefings.

Rack Out:
Go to sleep.

Ranger Pudding:
A field-expedient Nilla Wafer made from MRE ingredients. Mix a paste of creamer, sugar and water, apply to a cracker. A chocolate version is possible if cocoa powder is available.

RQ-7B Shadow:
Unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) used by the United States Army and Marine Corps for reconnaissance, surveillance, target acquisition and battle damage assessment. Launched from a trailer-mounted pneumatic catapult, it is recovered with the aid of arresting gear similar to jets on an aircraft carrier. Its gimbal-mounted, digitally stabilized, liquid nitrogen-cooled electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) camera relays video in real time via a C-band line-of-sight data link to the ground control station (GCS).

Rumint:
A combination of rumor and intelligence. Gossip, scuttlebutt.

Secret Squirrel:
Highly classified, top secret. Secrecy confers tremendous status upon soldiers—the most classified missions are often the most prestigious in soldiers’ eyes.

Self-Licking Ice Cream Cone:
A military doctrine or political process that appears to exist in order to justify its own existence, often producing irrelevant indicators of its own success. For example, continually releasing figures on the amount of Taliban weapons seized, as if there were a finite supply of such weapons. While seizing the weapons, soldiers raid Afghan villages, enraging the residents and legitimizing the Taliban’s cause.

SITREP:
Situation Report.

Speedball:
A body bag filled with supplies, usually ammunition and bottled water, dropped from a plane or helicopter to resupply soldiers far afield or in dire need.

Squirter:
A person, assumed to be an enemy, running away from a military attack.

Stryker:
The IAV Stryker is a family of eight-wheeled, armored fighting vehicles derived from the Canadian LAV III and based on the Swiss Piranha III 8×8. Stryker vehicles are produced by General Dynamics Land Systems for the United States Army. It has 4-wheel drive (8×4) and can be switched to all-wheel drive (8×8).

Tango Mike:
Thanks Much.

TIC:
(pronounced tick) Troops In Contact. Usually means a firefight, but can refer to an IED or suicide attack.

Warrant Officer:
A warrant officer (WO) is an officer in a military organization who is designated an officer by a warrant, as distinguished from a commissioned officer who is designated an officer by a commission, and a non-commissioned officer who is designated an officer, often by virtue of seniority. Warrant officers in the United States are classified as officers and are in the "W" category (NATO "WO") and are technical leaders and specialists. Chief warrant officers (CWO) are commissioned by the president of the United States and take the same oath as regular commissioned officers. They may be technical experts with long service as enlisted personnel, or direct entrants, notably for U.S. Army helicopter pilots.

Whiskey Tango Foxtrot:
What The Fuck, Over.

Willy Pete:
White Phosphorus. Delivered by mortar or artillery, this substance burns extremely hot and generates a lot of light. It is only supposed to be used for illumination, as it should be considered a chemical weapon if used against people.

Woobie:
Properly called a poncho liner, this lightly insulated blanket is usually issued to soldiers in basic training. The name references the attachment a baby forms with its blanket.

Title Page

About the Book

Dramatis Personae

Immolation

About the Authors

Glossary Of Terms