I nodded. He wasn’t asking the impossible. “Okay. What’s the probs and stats?”
“The war-garners art: talking eighty percent casualties if they send Six.”
“That’s awful damn high.”
“Things have changed since you were CO. It’s a lot more cumbersome to do business. Plans go through layers of management—they get screwed up.”
“So you want me to go instead.”
He nodded. “There are those of us who figure you can keep the casualties to forty percent.”
I smiled wryly. “It’s nice to know some people still care enough to send the very best. Under what conditions would I operate?”
“Since you’d be going after legitimate military targets, the best condition is. you put your old uniform back on. That way, everything’s official—we’re talking military targets, after all.”
“Three-word answer: screw you, cockbreath. No way. This asshole shit-for-brains geek has learned the hard way. The Navy spent millions trying to screw me once. I’m not gonna give it a second chance Oy going back into uniform.”
Merc held up his hand. “Understood, Dick. I knew that’s what you’d say, but I was under orders to ask.” He sipped his drink. “So—under what conditions would you consider taking the job?”
I thought about it for a while. “My choice of men, my rules. Unlimited budget. You tell me the objective. You give me the timetable. Then you leave me alone.”
“I’ll carry the message back.” He reached forward and turned the radio volume down, stood, stretched, and retrieved his coat from the chair where I’d tossed it. “Keep the faith. bro. We’ll be in touch.”
My furlough ended the night of December 26, when I surrendered myself to the convivial and ever-amusing Federal Bureau of Prisons facility at Petersburg. January 15 came, and went. Operation Desert Shield became Operation Desert Storm. I’m still behind bars. But things may not be as farfetched as they seem: Tony did finally get back to me.
A Valentine’s Day card with familiar handwriting made it through the prison system. The cryptic message inside was short and sweet. “Dear French Fuck—Cease,” it read. “But always remember what Tommy H told you.” It was signed “Until We Meet Again Under Better Conditions.” I shredded the card and deep-sixed it down the head.
In phonetic French, “Fuck Cease” becomes Phoque Six—SEAL Six.
And Thomas Hayward was the chief of naval operations who gave me my command. It was he who told me, “Dick, you will not fail.”
And “better conditions”? Oh, I liked that thought a lot.
So, doom on you, Navy—strong message follows. I’ll be back … but not in uniform. And I will not fail.
Glossary
ALUSNA:
Air Liaison, U.S. Naval Air (naval attaché for air).
Baader-Meinhof:
also known as Red Army Faction (RAF); operations are primarily in the Federal Republic of Germany.
balaclava:
a knitted hood commonly used by CT operators to conceal facial features.
Bearcat:
radio-frequency scanner, available at Radio Shack, etc.
black:
synonym for any covert or clandestine activity.
BlackHawk:
H-60 Army chopper (troop transport).
Boomer class:
U.S. Navy strategic nuclear submarine.
BUPERS:
BUreau of PERSonnel.
C-130:
Hercules turboprop transport aircraft, originally made by Lockheed in 1951 and still flying all over the world.
C-141:
Lockheed’s StarLifter, a jet transport with a range of up to five thousand miles.
C-3:
a yellowish, solid plastic explosive of pre-Vietnam War vintage, used in Mk-135 satchel charges.
C-4:
white plastic explosive. It is so stable you can ignite it and nothing bad will happen. Just don’t stamp on it to put the fire out.
C-5A:
no explosives here—this is the Air Force’s biggest transport plane.
Christians In Action:
SEAL slang for Central Intelligence Agency or its personnel.
Chu-hoi:
(Vietnamese) defector. Chu-hois were often used in Provincial Reconnaissance Units (see PRU).
CINC:
Commander-IN-Chief.
CINCLANT:
Commander-IN-Chief, AtLANTic.
CINCLANTFLT:
Commander-IN-Chief, AtLANTic FLeeT.
CINCPAC:
Commander-IN-Chief, PACific.
CINCPACFLT:
Commander-IN-Chief, PACific FLeeT.
CNO:
Chief of Naval Operations.
cobra feast:
Cambodian ceremony that makes snake-eaters eat beaucoup snake.
cockbreath:
what SEALs call people who only pay lip service.
COD:
Carrier On-board Delivery aircraft.
COMNAVSPECWARGRU:
COMmander, NAVal SPECial WARfare GRoUp. There are two of these: ONE, based at Coronado, California; TWO, based at Little Creek. Virginia.
COMPHIBTRALANT:
COMmander, AmPHIBious TRAining Command, AtLANTic.
CSO:
Chief of Staff Officer.
CTJTF:
CounterTerrorist Joint Task Force.
DCM:
(State Department) Deputy Chief of Mission.
di-di-mau:
(Vietnamese) get outta here.
dip-dunk:
nerdy asshole (see NILO).
diplo-dink:
cookie-pushing diplomat apparatchik type.
dirtbag:
grungy blue-collar look favored by SEALTeam Six.
DOD:
Department Of Defense.
doom on you:
corruption of Vietnamese phonetic for “go fuck yourself.”
Draeger:
German-manufactured oxygen rebreather unit (it produces neither bubbles nor sound and is therefore perfect for clandestine SEALinsertions).
du-ma-nhieu:
(Vietnamese) go fuck yourself (see DOOM ON YOU).
dumbshit:
expression of affection used by chiefs to describe their favorite people.
E-5:
an E-2 is an airplane. So is an E-4 (the military designation for a 747). But an E-5 . . . is a Navy rank, equivalent to an Army or Marine sergeant.
EC-130:
A C-130 configured by the Navy (or Air Force) as a command/control/communications (C3) aircraft.
Ekernforde:
home of the German Frogmen.
EOD:
Explosives Ordnance Disposal.
ERA:
(Equal Rights Amendment) Marcinko’s philosophy about people: Treat them all the same-JUST LIKE SHIT.
F-111:
Air Force aircraft that can kick ass wherever there is air.
F-14:
Navy aircraft that can kick ass wherever there is air, and land on a carrier.
Fakahani:
the district in West Beirut where the PLO made its headquarters.
flat:
configuration of parachute (it glides and sails).
four-striper:
U.S. Navy captain (equal in rank to a colonel).
frags:
fragmentation grenades.
FUBAR:
Fucked Up Beyond All Repair (see GOATFUCK).
FUC:
Female Ugly Commander. GED: General Equivalency Diploma (high-school equivalency).
geek:
dumbshit (see MARCINKO).
GIGN:
Gendarmerie Nationale (Groupement d’Intervention de la Gendarmerie Nationale). French counterterror unit.
GIGO:
computerese for Garbage In/Garbage Out.
GIS:
Italian carabinieri CT unit (Groupe Interventional Spciale). Known as grappa drinkers.
goatfuck:
FUB
AR
GSG-9:
Grenzchutzgruppe-9, West German CT unit.
HAHO:
High Altitude, High Opening.
HALO:
High Altitude, Low Opening.
HH-53H:
a Sikorsky H-53 Sea Stallion helicopter outfitted for SpecWar operations.
HK:
Heckler & Koch weapon, usually a 9mm submachine gun.
hop and pop:
this is what you’re about to do if you’re a SEALcarrying an HK and going out of an aircraft.
HUMINT:
HUMan INTelligence, gathered by an agent or agents.
hush-puppy:
silencer (suppressor) for a weapon.
Hydra-Shok:
extremely lethal hollow-point ammunition manufactured by Federal Cartridge Company.
IBL:
Inflatable Boat, Large.
IBS:
Inflatable Boat, Small.
IED:
Improvised Explosive Device.
Intelbabble:
bureaucratic gobbledygook often used by NILOs.
JSOC:
Joint Special Operations Command.
JTF:
Joint Task Force.
jumpmaster:
the operator responsible for the safe conduct of parachute operations.
Kampfschwimmerkompanie:
(German) combat swimmers (equivalent of SEALs).
KATN:
Kick Ass and Take Names.
KC-135:
USAF flying gas station.
KH-11:
NSA spy-in-the-sky satellite.
KlA:
Killed In Action.
KISS.
Keep It Simple, Stupid.
Langley.
CIA headquarters.
LANTFLT:
AtLANTic FLeeT.
LDO:
Limited Duty Officer (or, in SEALslang, Loud, Dumb, and Obnoxious).
LSD:
Landing Ship/Dock (amphibious ship).
LSP:
Louisiana State Police.
LURPs:
Rations used on LRRP (Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol) missions.
LZ:
Landing Zone.
M16:
basic .223-caliber weapon used in Vietnam.
M60:
a machine gun that fires 7.62mm ammunition.
MAC-1Os:
submachine guns favored by drug dealers.
MAC:
Military Air Command (also known as trash haulers—you call, they haul).
Marcinko:
see DUMBSHIT. Marvin:SEAL rhyming slang for Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) personnel.
MC-130:
USAF special operations aircraft.
Memcon:
MEMorandum of CONversation written by intelligence or diplomatic officers after meeting with any contacts.
MEP:
Movement for the Ejaculation of Palestine.
Mini-14s:
Ruger’s ubiquitous .223-caliber semiautomatic rifle.
MNF:
Multinational Force
MOB-6:
MOBility-6. SEAL Two’s counterterror unit, a precursor of SEAL Team Six.
Mossad:
Mossad Letafkidim Meouychadim, or the Central Institute for Intelligence and Special Duties. Israel’s foreign-intelligence organization.
MP5:
an HK submachine gun favored by CT units including SEAL Team Six and GSG-9.
Navyspeak:
redundant, bureaucratic naval nomenclature, either in written nonoral, or nonwritten oral, mode, indecipherable by non-military (conventional) individuals during interfacing configuration conformations.
NCA:
National Command Authority. The top-level chain of command consisting of the president and the secretary of defense.
NCO:
Noncommissioned Officer.
NILO:
Naval Intelligence Liaison Officer (see DIP-DUNK). NIS:Naval Security and Investigative Command (see SHITFOR-BRAINS).
NMN:
Navyspeak for No Middle Name.
Nung:
Chinese mercenary.
NVA:
North Vietnamese Army.
OP-06:
Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Plans, Policy, and Operations.
OP-06B:
Assistant Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Plans, Policy, and Operations.
OP-06D:
formal Navy designation for the Red Cell.
OPSEC:
Operational SECurity. Very important in black ops.
PBR:
Patrol Boat/River. The Jacuzzi-powered plastic battleship used on the Vietnamese rivers.
Peary, Camp:
CIA training facility near Williamsburg, Virginia, also known as The Farm.
pencil-dicked:
a no-load, bean-counting pain-in-the-ass.
phoque:
(French) seal.
phoquee:
he or she who gets screwed by SEALs.
plastique:
plastic explosive (see C-4 and SEMTEX).
PLF:
1. Parachute Landing Fall (how not to bust your ass). 2. Palestine Liberation Front. The terrorist group led by Muhammed al Abbas that hijacked the cruise ship Achille Lauro.
plink:
discriminating single shot, usually a kill shot to the head.
PLO:
Palestine Liberation Organization.
PO:
Petty Officer. According to Ev Barrett, petty officers are petty until they become chief petty officers. Then they rule the world.
PO2:
Petty Officer Second Class (same as a staff sergeant).
PO3:
ditto, but Third Class (equivalent to a corporal).
PRC-101:
man-portable satellite communications.
PROCOM:
PROvincial COMmander. An ARVN officer who was nominally in charge of a specific province. prowl and growl: see KATN.
PRU:
Provincial Reconnaissance Unit (Vietnam). U.S.-led, Vietnamese-staffed hunter/killer unit that liked to prowl and growl.
PSC-1:
Portable Satellite Communications terminal.
PT:
physical training. Hoo-yah!
Quantico:
home of FBI Academy and base of their Hostage Rescue Team (HRT).
recon:
reconnaissance.
RFPF (Ruff-puff):
Regional Force/Provincial Force (Vietnam).
RH-53D:
PAVE LOW special operations chopper.
rock and roll:
fun and games, usually with a shitload of hot lead flying.
RPG:
Rocket-Propelled Grenade (Soviet-made).
RVN:
Republic of VietNam.
SAS:
British Special Air Service. Motto: Who dares, wins.
SATCOM:
SATellite COMmunications.
SBS:
British Special Boat Squadron (a unit of the Royal Marines).
SCIF:
Special Classified Intelligence Facility (spook talk). A secure bubble room.
SDV:
Swimmer Delivery Vehicle.
SEALs:
the Navy’s SEa-Air-Land units. The most elite special operations force in the U.S. arsenal. When they were created in 1962, there were only fifty SEALs. In SEAL slang the acronym stands for Sleep, EAt, and Live it up.
Sea wolves:
USN chopper gunships in Vietnam.
SECDEF:
SECretary of DEFense.
SECNAV:
SECretary of the NAVy.
Semtex:
the Czech version of C-4 plastic explosive. If it goes off prematurely, you end up with a canceled Czech.
SFOD-D:
Special Forces Operational Detachment-Delta (Delta Force).
shit:
what happens.
; shit-for-brains:
a real numb-nuts pencil-dicked asshole; or: anyone from NIS.
shoot and loot:
the SEAL version of rape, pillage, and burn.
SIGINT:
SIGnals INTeiligence.
Smith:
a Smith & Wesson pistol, generally a .357-caliber Model 66 stainless-steel revolver with four-inch barrel.
SNAFU:
Situation Normal: All Fucked Up.
SNARE:
horse-collar loop used for snatching SEALs from the water into an IBL.
SOF:
Special Operations Force.
SOSUS:
underwater listening-device network deployed to detect hostile submarines.
Spec War:
Special Warfare.
SR-71:
high-flying intelligence collector (spy plane).
STAB:
SEAL Tactical Assault Boat.
SURFLANT:
SURface Force AtLANTic.
SWAT:
Special Weapons And Tactics.
TAD:
Temporary Additional Duty. (In SEAL slang: Traveling Around Drunk.)
TARFU:
Things Are Really Fucked Up.
TAT:
Terrorist Action Team.
TECHINT:
TECHnical INTelligence.
UDT-21:
Marcinko’s first home away from home.
UDT-22:
Marcinko’s second home away from home.
UDT:
Underwater Demolition Team. (In SEAL slang: UnderDeveloped Twerp, or Urinal Drain Technician.)
UNODIR:
UNless Otherwise DIRected.
USNR:
United States Naval Reserve.
USS:
United States Ship.
VC:
(Victor Charlie) VietCong.
VCNO:
Vice Chief of Naval Operations.
W.G.M.A.T.A.T.S.:
Unofficial SEAL Team Six motto: We Get More Ass Than A Toilet Seat.
WIA:
Wounded In Action.
WPs:
(Willy-Peters) White Phosphorus grenades.
XO:
Executive Officer.
Zulu:
Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) designator, used in all formal military communications.
Index
All entries preceded by an asterisk are pseudonyms.
Abu Jihad, 369
Abu Said (Alpha), 304-06, 308-09, 316
Abu Said (Bravo), 309, 316
Achille Lauro hijacking, 285, 359, 360
Air Force One, 347-56
Aliotti, 51
ambush(es), 21-22, 105, 106, 143, 152
static, 104, 134
Ameche, 12
American embassy, Beirut bombing of, 319
ROGUE WARRIOR® Page 42
