by M. L. Maki
Commodore: USN Officer rank. Equivalent to current Rear Admiral Lower half or Brigadier General. This rank was reauthorized in 1942 and discontinued after the war. It has been brought back, changed, and discarded since for the rank Rear Admiral Lower Half. If a unit of ships does not have an Admiral in charge, the senior or assigned Captain can take the title Commodore to designate that they are in charge of the group. This does not involve any change of pay or rank.
Company: Army/Marine tactical unit. Generally Commanded by a Captain. They are made up of a number of platoons and are organized into Battalions. Generally, companies are too small to function independently.
CORPS: Army tactical unit. Normally commanded by a Lieutenant General or General. It is a group of divisions and/or other units. Corps are not permanently assigned their divisions but rather receive and lose units based on need.
COTAC: Copilot Tactical Coordinator. Antisubmarine duty on S-3 Viking Aircraft.
Decimal: On radio the word ‘Decimal’ is used to indicate tenths. Thus, fuel at 9 decimal 2 is 9,200 pounds. Fuel is always given as weight.
Diesel Dyke: Nickname for women in the engineering fields, regardless of their rating. Obviously, it is not a term of respect and isn’t tolerated in the modern Navy.
Division (Army/ USMC): Army and Marine Corps organizational unit. Army/USMC Divisions are tactical units commanded by a Brigadier or Lieutenant General that command a number of Brigades and supporting units. They are sometimes armor, infantry, airborne specific but contain all those other units needed to be an independent military unit.
Division (Navy): Naval organizational unit. Naval units are divided into Departments and Divisions. Divisions are functionally oriented units with all the enlisted members typically of one rating.
Eject: Order to initiate the ejection sequence for abandoning a doomed aircraft. Once ordered everyone must eject.
Electric Boat: Submarine Manufacturing firm based in Groton and other New England towns. In 1952 it merged with General Dynamics. Most US submarines are made by Electric Boat.
ELT: Navy Enlisted trade. Some MM’s are qualified Engineering Laboratory Technician (Nuclear). They are chemistry and radiation specialists, though they also stand normal mechanical watches.
EM: Navy Enlisted rate. Electrician’s Mate. Electricians operate the electrical distribution system on the ship, and also maintain all the electrical equipment. EMFN through EMCM.
EMP: Electro-Magnetic Pulse. A powerful change in the magnetic field. An EMP could damage or destroy electronic and electric gear.
Engine Room: Space where the main engines, electrical generators, and water distilling unit are located. This equipment is operated and maintained by Machinist Mates.
ENS: Ensign: Naval Officer rank (O-1). Junior most officer. Sometimes called a butter bar for their rank insignia which is a single gold bar.
EOOW: Engineering Officer Of the Watch. Watch stander in charge of the propulsion plant. Normally a Lt. on a nuclear ship. Sometimes a senior or master chief on conventional powered ships.
ETA: Estimated Time of Arrival.
F-14: The Tomcat. An all-weather interceptor and fleet defense fighter.
Faking hose: Laying out a hose or line in parallel lines so the hose can be safely charged, or the line let go without jamming.
Far CAP: Combat Air Patrol. Far CAP is a defensive position away from the fleet.
Feuerwerkermaat: Kriegsmarine (German Navy) enlisted rat and rank. Boiler worker mate.
Fire room: Location of the boilers in a fossil fueled steam ship.
Fire Team: An Army and USMC tactical unit consisting of two to four people and generally commanded by a Corporal. A squad will typically have two to four fire teams.
Flight Lieutenant: Royal Air Force Officer rank. Equivalent to Lieutenant Junior Grade (Navy) or Lieutenant (Army, USMC).
Flight Sergeant: RAF senior enlisted rank. Equivalent to Master Sergeant. May or may not be air crew.
Flying Officer: Royal Air Force Officer rank. Equivalent to Ensign or Second Lieutenant.
FN: Navy Enlisted rank. Fireman (E-3). A non-designated engineering striker. If designated his rate would precede his rank.
FOD Walk Down: Walking the flight deck looking for FOD (Foreign Object Damage) that could damage aircraft.
Fox (number): Part of NATO brevity code. It is a call announcing the firing of a missile. The number designates the type of missile. 1 is short to intermediate range radar guided missile. 2 is a short-range heat seeking missile. 3 is a long-range radar guided missile.
Fregattenkapitän: Kriegsmarine (German Navy) rank equivalent to Commander.
Fuel state: How much fuel you have on board in thousands of pounds. (10 decimal 1 = 10,100lbs.)
‘G’s: Gravities. One ‘G’ is equal to normal earth gravity. Two is twice earth gravity etc.
General Quarters: The call to man battle stations and prepare the vessel to fight.
Gertrude: Nick name for a short-range underwater phone.
GMG: Navy Enlisted rate. Gunners Mate Guns. Gunner’s Mates operate and maintain the weapons on a ship. The rate is split between Gunner’s Mate Guns (GMG) and Gunner’s Mate Missiles (GMM). GMGSA through GMGMC.
GMM: Navy Enlisted rate. Gunners Mate Missiles. Gunner’s Mates operate and maintain the weapons on a ship. The rate is split between Gunner’s Mate Guns (GMG) and Gunner’s Mate Missiles (GMM). GMMSA through GMMMC.
Gold Eagle: Official nickname of the Carl Vinson. Every Navy ship is given an official nickname. The crews often give an unofficial nickname. In our novel series we sometimes use these as radio call signs. That would not normally be true ship to ship, but often used in air operations.
Group Captain: Royal Air Force Officer rank. Commander or Lieutenant Colonel.
GySGT: Gunnery Sergeant. USMC enlisted rank. (E-7) Generally an assistant Company commander or assistant to a higher rank officer or enlisted. As an assistant company commander, they are responsible for training the company commander and all servicemen under them. It is a critical and important job.
Hauptsturmführer: Paramilitary and Waffen-SS rank in the Nazi party roughly equivalent to an army captain.
HT: Navy Enlisted rate. Hull Technician. HT’s are Damage control and repair experts. They also operate the sewer system on the ship earning them the undesirable nickname “turd chaser”. HTFA through HTMC.
HY-80: Hardened steel used for special applications by the Navy. 3/8” will stop most rifle bullets.
ILS: Instrument Landing system. An aircraft system that helps pilots line up with a runway they cannot see.
Kapitänleutnant: Kriegsmarine (German Navy) rank equivalent to Lieutenant Commander.
Khaki: Navy slang term for chiefs and officers because they wear khaki colored uniforms.
Knight (number): Call sign of fighters flying for VFW-154, the Black Knights.
Landing Signal Officer: A pilot positioned near the rear of the carrier to help guide pilots in. The LSO also grades landings.
Law of Continuity of Suckage: Submarine phrase. Once the hatch is shut suckage can neither be created or destroyed. Meaning when one person gets a good deal another gets screwed. This is what happens when you lock a bunch of nukes in a tube for months on end.
Laze: Use a laser to designate where ordinance is to drop.
LCDR: Naval Officer rank. Lieutenant Commander (O-4).
Leutnant zur See: WWII German Kriegsmarine (Navy) rank. Equivalent to Lt.JG.
Low pressure blow: Procedure for emptying water from submarine ballast tanks with low pressure air while on the surface.
LPO: Naval enlisted position. Leading Petty Officer is the “Foreman” for a division. Usually an E-6.
Lt: Army and USMC rank. (O-2) Lieutenants are generally platoon officers or assistants to the commander of a larger unit.
Lt.: Naval officer rank. Lieutenant (O-3). Generally, a Division Officer in smaller units a lieutenant might be the XO or even CO.
Lt. COL: Arm
y and USMC rank. (O-5) Generally commands a Battalion sized unit or serves as an assistant to the commander of a larger unit.
Lt. JG: Naval Officer rank. Lieutenant Junior Grade. (O-2.) Generally, a division officer or assistant to a more senior officer.
MA: Navy Enlisted rate. Master at Arms. Similar to Military police MA’s enforce uniform and behavior rules. As such they are generally disliked. MA3 through MACM.
Magic (number): Call sign for an EA-6B Prowler, radar jamming aircraft of VAQ-133 Wizards.
MAJ: Major: Army and USMC rank. (O-4) Majors are sometimes company commanders but more often serve as assistants to higher rank officers. In the Pentagon you can’t throw a stick without hitting a Major.
Marshall of the RAF: Royal Air Force Officer rank. The senior officer of the service. Equivalent to Chief of Naval Operations or Army Chief of Staff.
Master Chief: Naval Enlisted Rank (E-9).
Mini Boss: The air boss’s assistant. They divide the observation duties in PRIFLY.
MM: Navy Enlisted rate. Machinist’s Mate. They operate and maintain the machinery associated with ship’s propulsion, auxiliary gear, and nuclear power systems. MMFA through MMCM. All nukes leave A school as MM3.
MMOW: Machinist’s Mate Of the Watch. Senior watch stander in an engine room. Sometimes called the Engine Room Supervisor. It is a watch station and not a rank.
MOS: Military Occupational Specialty. It is what a soldier or marine is trained to do. Be that infantry, armor, special forces, supply, radio operator, combat engineer or a myriad of other jobs. Generally, it is not used in the way ones’ rate is in the navy. You don’t call a sergeant in the infantry an infantry sergeant. There are some positional title changes for those in special units such as cavalry.
NAM: Navy Achievement Medal. A medal for individual meritorious accomplishment. When a V device is added for valor it signifies the award was for combat actions.
NAVSEA 08: Designation for the leader of the U. S. Navy Nuclear Power Program.
Navy Expeditionary Medal: Medal issued for service in a combat zone designated by congress.
NOE: Nap of earth. Order to fly as low as safely possible.
NTDS: Naval Tactical Data System. A system that shares sensor data with other ships.
Nuke: Nickname for anyone in the nuclear power career field. It is sometime used derisively. It is even said “Fuckingnuke” is one word.
Nuclear waste: Nickname for anyone who fails to complete nuclear training or is otherwise removed from the program. It is generally used with respect by nukes.
MW: Megawatt. One million watts. 1,000,000 watts. Most nuclear power plants are measured in MW.
O-2 Plant: The oxygen generation plant which removes atmospheric oxygen and compresses it into liquid oxygen used by medical and as pilot breathing air.
Oberführer: Paramilitary and Waffen SS rank of the Nazi Party roughly equivalent to a senior Colonel.
Obermaschinenmaat: Kriegsmarine (German Navy) enlisted rate and rank. Senior machinist mate.
Officer Of the Deck (OOD): In charge of the operation and navigation of the ship underway. In port the OOD is in charge of the ship’s duty section and all operations during their watch.
Op-tempo: Rate of operations over time.
OPPE: Operational Propulsion Plant Exam. Same as ORSE for conventionally powered vessels.
ORSE: Operational Reactor Safeguards Exam. Scheduled examination of propulsion plant material condition and operational compliance. A poor grade on ORSE causes career ventilation. It can be a negative mark on every nuke on board.
Passageway: Navy speak for a hallway.
Petty Officer: Colloquial phrase for an E-4 through E-6. Generally, it is only used by officers or master at arms who are about to correct the Petty Officer’s behavior. Instead a sailor will address the Petty Officer with their rate. MM1 instead of PO1.
PFC: Private First Class. (E-3) Army and USMC rank.
Phoenix: AIM-54 Long range air to air missile. The F-14 was designed to carry and fire this missile. In reality the USN never actually fired one at an enemy aircraft.
Platoon: Army and USMC tactical unit consisting of two to four squads. With armor this is three to four tanks. Platoons are generally commanded by a Lieutenant or Second Lieutenant and have a Staff Sergeant, called a platoon sergeant, to train the officer and men.
Plimsoll mark: The Plimsoll mark is an internationally accepted mark to indicate the maximum load or draft of a ship. It is based on the freeboard or distance from the water to the lowest deck opening and also stability. Being below the Plimsoll means the ship isn’t safe for operations.
PQS: Personal Qualification Standard. PQS is the system used by the Navy to qualify sailors to do their jobs.
Propulsion plant drills: Engineering operator training practicing possible casualties and problems. Continuous training is the reality of most sailors. This is to prepare operators for problems that only occur very rarely but have huge consequences if the watch team does not know what they are doing.
PRYFLY: Primary Flight Control. The highest deck in the island structure where all flight deck operations are managed.
QAO: Quality Assurance Officer. The QAO manages inspection paperwork from repairs and also personally inspects critical repairs. No system, or aircraft can be used as designed until the QAO has approved the work.
Quartermaster of the Watch (QMOW): In charge of providing navigational information to the OOD and Conning Officer. The QMOW is required to keep the ship’s position updated on paper and electronic charts.
Rainbow beef: Beef frozen so long it’s starts to break down. This creates an oily, and colorful sheen, on its surface.
Rainbow side boys: The traditional side boys for a senior visitor, only wearing the various flight deck colored jerseys.
Reactor Auxiliary Room (RAR): The RAR is the space where the reactor support and monitoring equipment is located. It shares most of the same functions that a fire room in a conventional vessel would have. Generally, the Naval Reactor is in a separate room inside this room.
Rear Admiral Lower Half: Naval Officer rank. One Star Admiral (O-7). See Commodore for WW2 usage.
Rear Admiral Upper Half: Naval Officer rank. Two Star Admiral (O-8). Called Rear Admiral in WW2.
RIM-7: Rail launched intermediate range air to air missile. Sea Sparrow.
RIO: Radar Intercept Officer. The RIO operates the radar and weapons system in the back seat of the F-14. They are a critical half of the in-flight team for fighting the aircraft.
RM: Navy enlisted rate. Radioman. They operate the radio communications gear for the Navy. They are, generally the most secretive because they are forbidden to share anything of what they see and hear.
Roger Ball (Number): Roger ball means the pilot can see the Fresnel lens glide slope indicator. The number is the total weight of the aircraft in thousands of pounds.
RTB: Return to Base.
Rule of Three: This is from SERE. A person can last three weeks without food, three days without water, three hours without shelter, three minutes without air, and three seconds without hope.
SAM: Surface to Air Missile.
SAR: Search and Rescue.
SERE: Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape training. It is survival and code of conduct training every pilot, air crew, and special forces soldier must go through. Every service has similar training and will take students from other services as well as DoD civilians who need the training.
SFC: Sergeant First Class. Army rank. (E-7) Generally an assistant company commander or assistant to a higher rank officer or enlisted. As an assistant company commander, they are responsible for training the company commander and all servicemen under them. It is a critical and important job.
SGT: Sergeant. (E-5). Army and USMC Rank. A sergeant generally is in charge of a tank, squad, or fire team. That or they serve as the assistant to more senior enlisted or officers. They are the backbone of any service.
SGT MAJ: Army and
USMC enlisted rank. (E-9) Sergeant Major is the senior enlisted rank. They generally serve as senior instructors and advisors to major commands. They may have a staff under them.
SIS: British Secret Intelligence Service. Now called MI6.
SLQ-32: Called the “slick 32” it is a multi-function radar jammer carried on USN ships.
Snap 2: Early supply computer.
SOB: Son of a Bitch. Even cuss words have acronyms.
SOPA: Senior Officer Present Afloat. In a port where more than one Nay ship is present, it is the senior officer. If the senior officer is away from his or her command it devolves to the next senior. No matter who is gone, there is always a SOPA, even if it is an ensign.
SSGT: Staff sergeant. (E-6) Army and USMC Rank. A staff sergeant is generally an assistant platoon leader or assistant to a higher ranked person. In the role of platoon sergeant, they are responsible for training the platoon officer in how to be an effective leader while also training all their subordinate servicemen. It is a vital position.
SSN: Submarine, nuclear powered. An attack, or hunter killer submarine.
Start the Music: NATO Code phrase for commencing jamming.
Squad: Army and USMC tactical unit. Generally made up of two to four fire teams and commanded by a Sergeant. In Armor this is typically one track or vehicle.
Squadron Leader: Royal Air Force Officer rank. Equivalent to Lieutenant or Captain.
Squawked: Identification, friend or foe (IFF) Code signal.
ST: Navy Enlisted rate. Sonar Technician. Responsible for operating sonar systems on ships and submarines. STSA through STMC.
Switch Gear Room: Space where the electrical distribution system is operated. EM’s stand watch in Switch Gear.
TACAN: Radio beacon aircraft use to find the carrier.
TARPS: Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance Pod System. A camera system mounted on a hard point and controlled by the RIO.
TG: Turbine Generator. An electrical Generator powered by steam.
TG/DU: Turbine Generator and Distilling Unit watch. An Engine room watch stood by an MM.
Thwarts ship passageway: A hallway aligned from side to side rather than forward and aft.
