Wings of Gold Series

by Tappan, Tracy

  ♠ Oscar Mike: stands for On the Move, using the phonetic alphabet. Marine Corps slang.

  ♠ Squawking 7700: This is the universal transponder code that informs Air Traffic Control of an onboard emergency.

  ♠ Whiskey Tango Foxtrot: stands for “What the fuck?” using the phonetic alphabet.

  ♠ Bingo: stands for the minimum fuel required to return to base, plus mandatory reserves.

  ♠ TACAN: stands for Tactical Air Navigation system. This is a navigation system used by military aircraft, and provides the pilot with the bearing and distance to a ground or ship-borne station.

  ♠ IFF: stands for Identification, Friend or Foe. It is an identification system for air traffic control (both military and civilian) which allows them to detect aircraft and determine their range and bearing.

  ♠ Down-chit: When applied to an aviator, a “down-chit” means not allowed to fly. This can be for a variety of reasons: medical, personal, disciplinary, etc.

  ♠ Doppler: This refers to the Doppler effect, which is the increase (or decrease) in the frequency of sound, light, or other waves as the source and observer move toward (or away from) each other. In this case, “up Doppler” means the contact (the drug sub) is moving toward whatever sonobuoy is currently being monitored.

  ♠ Sonobuoy: This is a buoy equipped to detect underwater sounds and transmit them by radio to the helicopter or ship for processing.

  ♠ LOFAR: stands for Low Frequency Analysis and Recovery sonobuoy.

  ♠ Sierra Hotel: stands for “shit hot” using the phonetic alphabet.

  ♠ AIRPAC: stands for Commander, Naval Air Forces, Pacific. AIRPAC commands all naval aviation units assigned to the Pacific and is responsible for providing operationally ready air squadrons and aircraft carriers to the fleet.

  ♠ UA: stands for Unauthorized Absence. After 30 days of UA, a person becomes AWOL (Absent WithOut Official Leave).

  ♠ ORM: stands for Operational Risk Management. Questions are asked—anything from readiness issues to personal matters—by the HAC or anyone on the crew as a part of pre-briefing to determine if a pilot is safe for flight.

  ♠ Lieutenant JG: stands for Lieutenant Junior Grade. This is one rank higher than Ensign, the lowest officer rank.

  ♠ AN/PRC-112G® CSAR Radio: This is a survival radio that allows for air-to-land communications and also acts as a transponder, supplying ranging and personnel identification.

  ♠ SPIE: stands for Special Patrol Insertion/Extraction. Generally, the SPIE rope is lowered into the pickup area from a hovering helicopter. Patrol personnel, each wearing a harness with a safety closure link, hook up to a D-ring attached to the SPIE rope. The helicopter lifts vertically from an extract zone until the rope and personnel are clear of obstructions, then proceeds in forward flight to a secure zone.

  ♠ Radar run-ins: is a method aircrewman utilize to find and intercept a moving ship, using only radar when they are unable to see the ship. This method is employed during bad weather, at night when the ship has no lights, or during attack runs on surface ships.

  ♠ HSC-85: stands for Helicopter Sea Combat, squadron number 85. This squadron is slated for decommissioning later in the year 2016.

  ♠ DPV: stands for—as stated—Diver Propulsion Vehicle. The Navy SEALs (which stands for Sea, Air, and Land—the three theaters of the commandos’ operations. This is the Navy’s special warfare division) actually operate a DPV different from the one described in this story.

  ♠ CSEL: stands for Combat Survivor Evader Locator. This radio provides recovery forces with precise geo-positioning information and secure two-way communications capabilities with the radio user. It is the radio Seahawk helicopter pilots wear in their survival vests.

  ♠ Chinook: This is the name of the CH-47 Army helicopter which has tandem rotor blades. The primary mission is troop transport.

  ♠ Tip caps: These are just what they sound like—caps put on the ends of helicopter rotor blades. They are used for noise attenuation (i.e. they quiet the rotor noise).

  ♠ Super JO: This is a senior lieutenant who has been pegged early on in his or her career as a front runner in the aviation community. He or she is groomed for the best positions and early promotion, and are often given jobs generally reserved for officers above his or her rank.

  ♠ SWO: stands for Surface Warfare Officer.

  ♠ CHENG: (pronounced “chang”) stands for Chief Engineer.

  ♠ AT: stands for Aviation Electronics Technician. These are the enlisted personnel in charge of maintaining communications, radar, navigation, Anti-Submarine Warfare sensors, and other electronics on a helicopter.

  ♠ XOI: stands for Executive Officer Inquiry. Before a sailor who is in trouble gets taken to a Court Martial or Captain’s Mast, he or she will often first face an XOI, where evidence is heard and then a decision made as to whether or not the charges should ultimately be brought against the sailor.

  ♠ Air Boss: This is the Commander in charge of a carrier’s flight pattern and flight deck. During flight operations the Air Boss is located in the tower in the carrier’s “island,” and runs flight ops in the immediate vicinity of the carrier, where his word is law. He believes that humiliation is a great teacher, so if a pilot has landed after making some airborne flub, the pilot (along with everyone on the flight deck) is likely to hear some choice words over the loudspeakers referring to his aviation skills while he crosses the flight deck.

  ♠ Wolf Pack: This is the call sign for HSM-75 (Helicopter Maritime Strike, squadron number 75), a helicopter squadron stationed out of North Island, San Diego. They fly the Romeo class of Seahawk helicopter.

  ♠ LSE: stands for Landing Signal Enlisted.

  ♠ Skittles: This is the slang term used to refer to the sailors who work the flight deck of a carrier, so named for the different colored jerseys they wear.

  ♠ Bingo: This is a term used to refer to the minimum fuel required to return to base, plus mandatory reserves.

  ♠ Small boy: This is the term referring to smaller class ships, such as destroyers and frigates. Helicopter detachments are often deployed on ships such as these.

  ♠ Geedunk: This is the slang term used to refer to the gift and snack store on board.

  ♠ AW: stands for Aviation Warfare System Specialist. This is the enlisted aircrewman in the back of the aircraft, who is a jack of all trades. In the Romeo model of SH-60 helicopter, he mans the anti-submarine warfare computers and the M50 machine gun, plus monitors radar, and is also a search and rescue swimmer.

  ♠ NATOPS Pilot’s Pocket Checklist: NATOPS are the rules and regulations governing safe and correct operation of all naval aircraft and related activities. The manual itself is hugely thick, whereas the pocket checklist is smaller and covers matters of a more emergent nature.

  ♠ RAST: stands for Recovery, Assist, Secure and Traverse. This is the system that helps the H-60 Seahawk helicopter land on the back of ships. Based on a “bear trap” system, steel “claws” clamp shut around a probe at the bottom of the aircraft in order to stabilize the helo once it’s on deck.

  ♠ USNS: USS and USNS are both ship prefixes used to identify United States vessels. USS stands for “United States Ship” and is always used to identify a commissioned United States Navy vessel owned AND operated by the United States Navy (meaning that the crew of the vessel is United States Navy sailors). On the other hand, USNS stands for “United States Naval Ship” and is used to identify a non-commissioned ship that is owned by the United States Navy but is operated by the Military Sealift Command (meaning that the crew of the vessel is primarily civilian).

  ♠ UNREP: stands for Underway Replenishments, such as food, fuel, etc.

  ♠ FOD: stands for Foreign Object Damage. Small, loose objects have the potential to get inside jet engines and cause serious damage. It is an important part of aviation safety protocol to remove all potential FOD from wherever aircraft operate.

  ♠ Daily and Turn: This is a series of special checks an
d inspections done on a helicopter in order to prep it for the next flight. Maintenance personnel usually perform these checks, except when away from home base, and then it is the duty of the AW.

  ♠ HM3: stands for Hospital Corpsman, Third Class. This is a rate of E4.

  ♠ USNS Mercy: This is the lead vessel of the class of hospital ships in the United States Navy. Her sister ship is the USNS Comfort.

  ♠ TAD: stands for Temporary Additional Duty.

  ♠ ASVAB: stands for Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery. This is the entrance exam taken by all prospective Naval enlistees.

  ♠ GQ: stands for General Quarters.

  ♠ BUD/S: stands for Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL Training. This is the 6-month SEAL training course which starts with five weeks of indoctrination and pre-conditioning, then goes on to three different phases of training. The first phase is the toughest and includes Hell Week, where three quarters of the class will quit.

  ♠ FUBAR: stands for Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition. Although this term originated as slang used by the U.S. Army during World War II, it has now become part of popular culture.

  ♠ Captain’s Mast: This is name of the Navy and Marine procedure used for dealing with non-judicial punishment (NJP) of a soldier. The offending soldier will stand before his or her commanding officer and be judged on the facts. He or she may have a lawyer present, but usually doesn’t, as this is a more informal hearing than a court martial.

  ♠ Little Bird: This is the H-6 helicopter flown by the Army’s elite 160th Special Operations Regiment.

  ♠ HSC-85: stands for Helicopter Sea Combat, squadron number 85, home of the Firehawks. This is the Navy’s special operations aviation unit. At the time of publication of book 1 in the Wings of Gold series, BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY, HSC-85 was scheduled for decommissioning. It has since been taken off the chopping block, but I’ve decided to maintain the decommissioning in ALLIED OPERATIONS for the sake of continuity with BEYOND THE CALL OF DUTY. This squadron is also reservist. It is manned by 30% full-time reservist personnel, but also traditionally pulls 50% of its pilots from active duty Sierra squadrons. They fly the Hotel class of Seahawk helicopter.

  ♠ HSC-4: stands for Helicopter Sea Combat, squadron number 4, home of the Black Knights. This squadron is based out of North Island in San Diego. They fly the Sierra class of Seahawk.

  ♠ SOF: stands for Special Operation Forces.

  ♠ Mensurate: This is SPECOPS lingo referring to information supplied by intelligence personnel to the special operatives about all measurable aspects of a target. For the pilots, this information includes how large a landing zone is, if there are poles or telephone wires nearby, how tall buildings are, etcetera (as Casanova explains).

  ♠ FLIR: stands for Forward-Looking Infrared. The sensors on a FLIR camera use detection of infrared radiation, typically emitted from a heat source, to create a picture on a video output.

  ♠ ROE: stands for Rules of Engagement.

  ♠ SITREP: stands for Situation Report.

  ♠ Autorotation: This is an emergency landing procedure in which the engine is disengaged from the main rotor system, leaving the rotor blades to be driven solely by the upward flow of air. The kinetic energy stored in the rotating blades is used to decrease the rate of descent and make a controlled landing. This procedure is used only in the cases of complete engine failure or catastrophic loss of tail rotor thrust.

  ♠ AMB: stands for Aircraft Mishap Board.

  ♠ Dusty Dog: This is the call sign for HSC-7 (Helicopter Sea Combat, squadron number 7), a helicopter squadron stationed out of Norfolk, Virginia. They fly the Sierra class of Seahawk helicopter.

  ♠ AIRPAC: stands for Commander, Naval Air Forces, Pacific. AIRPAC commands all naval aviation units assigned to the Pacific and is responsible for providing operationally ready air squadrons and aircraft carriers to the fleet.

  ♠ Antar: roughly means “baboon” in Persian.

  ♠ AW: stands for Aviation Warfare Specialist. This is the enlisted aircrewman in the back of the aircraft, who is a jack of all trades. In the Sierra model of SH-60 helicopter, he/she mans the M240D and the GAL-16 machine guns, provides Special Operations (SPEC-OPS) support, and is also an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) and Combat Search and Rescue Swimmer (CSAR).

  ♠ BDU: stands for Battle Dress Uniform. These are camouflage-colored fatigues, generally seen in woodland, desert, or blue.

  ♠ Black: Going “black” on ammo, fuel, water, etc. denotes that a particular resource is gone.

  ♠ CAD: stands for Cartridge-Actuated Device. This is a small explosive device triggered during an inflight emergency to shear bolts/wires in order to rapidly jettison equipment/weight such as external fuel tanks, missiles, or cargo.

  ♠ Captain’s Mast: This is name of the Navy and Marine procedure used for dealing with non-judicial punishment (NJP) of a soldier. The offending soldier will stand before his or her commanding officer and be judged on the facts. He or she may have a lawyer present, but usually doesn’t, as this is a more informal hearing than a court martial.

  ♠ Chalk: In military terminology, a “chalk” is a group of paratroopers or other soldiers that deploy from a single aircraft.

  ♠ Chip light: When the “chip light” caution button illuminates on the helicopter’s dashboard, this is an indication of metal particles in the oil, which are the result of either wear on components inside the engine or a catastrophic failure of the engine, transmission, gear box, etc. Pilots follow procedures to clear the particles, and if the particles can’t be cleared, then that is a sign of a severe problem and the aircraft should be landed immediately.

  ♠ CHU (pronounced choo): stands for Containerized Housing Unit. This is a climate-controlled trailer that usually sleeps between two and eight soldiers. It is the primary unit of housing on larger bases.

  ♠ Dustoff: This means a medical evacuation by helicopter. For example, “Dustoff inbound,” means that a medevac helicopter is on the way.

  ♠ E2: The Navy E-2 “Hawkeye” is known as an early-warning aircraft. From an operating altitude above 25,000ft, the Hawkeye can warn of approaching air threats and provide threat identification and positional data. Secondary roles include strike command and control, surveillance, guidance of search and rescue missions and as a relay to extend the range of communications.

  ♠ E&E: stands for Escape and Evasion or Escape and Evade.

  ♠ ELT: stands for Emergency Locator Transmitter. If an aircraft with an ELT device lands harder than 9 G’s (very hard)—or it experiences water emersion—the ELT lights off. This is like a warble on the radio that airborne units can home in on, and it informs them that the aircraft being monitored has crash-landed or hit the water.

  ♠ FOB: stands for Forward Operating Base.

  ♠ Fubar: stands for Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition.

  ♠ HESCO barrier: This is used as a blast wall against explosions or small-arms. It is a container made of collapsible wire mesh and a heavy-duty fabric liner that is filled with sand, soil, or gravel, then stacked together. The placement of the barrier is generally very similar to the placement of a sandbag barrier, but with the advantage that it is quicker and easier to set up.

  ♠ HSC-4: stands for Helicopter Sea Combat, squadron number 4. This squadron is home of the Black Knights, stationed on North Island in San Diego.

  ♠ Kinetic: means violent.

  ♠ Korreh khar: This is an insult in Persian. Closest translation is: “You’re a son of a donkey.”

  ♠ Meat Eater: This term refers to Special Forces soldiers whose mission focuses on violence, as opposed to those whose mission focuses on stability and training.

  ♠ NAB: stands for Naval Amphibious Base, located on Coronado Island in San Diego.

  ♠ Outside/inside the wire: This describes whether a person is off or on base.

  ♠ PCL: stands for Power Control Lever(s). This is another word for the throttles.

  ♠ SERE: stands for Survival Evas
ion Resistance and Escape. This is a school that teaches soldiers what to do if caught behind enemy lines. It is critically important training for anyone who might find himself in this position, such as pilots and Special Operations personnel.

  ♠ SOF: stands for Special Operations Forces.

  ♠ Squirters: This is a SEAL slang term for Taliban terrorists.

  ♠ TIC (pronounced tick): stands for Troops In Contact. This usually means a firefight, but can refer to an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) or suicide attack.

  ♠ T-man: This is a slang term for Taliban.