by R A Peters
7.62mm MG (loader)
Bradley: M-2 Bradley. The Army’s heavy Infantry Fighting Vehicle. More than a “battle taxi,” it’s intended to fight alongside the 6 man (9 in a pinch) infantry squad it transports. Crew of 3. Armor several times stronger than that of a M113, but a fraction of a true tank.
Basic Armament: 1x 25mm Bushmaster automatic cannon (2,000m effective range)
1x 7.62mm coax M240B (400m effective range)
2x TOW Antitank guided missiles (2000m effective range)
FRAGO: Fragmentary order. Important change to the existing plan, but doesn’t alter original objective.
M-4: An M-16 with a slightly shorter barrel and “collapsible” buttstock. The standard rifle of the infantry and most combat arms branches (Infantry, Armor, Artillery, Combat Engineers).
M113: The Army’s generic, turret-less APC. Simple armored box on treads. Lightly armored and lightly (if at all) armed. Essentially a “battle taxi.” Quite adaptable, however, with dozens of modified variants. Most commonly used as: transport for front-line, but non-combat support personnel, mortar carrier, armored ambulance or mobile command center. Minimum crew of 2. Unlike most US equipment, it is cheap and easily maintained.
MBT: Main Battle Tank. Extremely heavily armored and armed tank. Does not carry infantry internally.
MOPP Suit: Mission Oriented Protective Posture. Standard issue, ruggedized set of protective clothing and equipment, including gas mask, that provides head to toe protection against chemical agents and radioactive dust.
NBC: Nuclear, biological, chemical warfare. The really nasty stuff.
NCO: Generic term for all sergeants, from E-5 to E-9’s. Stands for Non-Commissioned Officer. Each letter always sounded out for some reason. Never called “Noncoms” in the modern military.
NODs: Night vision goggles. Officially, Night Observation Devices. Pronounced “nahds.”
OPFOR: Opposing Force. Mainly called so in training.
OpOrder: Operations Order. Radio speak for general plan. In comparison to FRAGO, a new OPORDER signals a change to the overall objective, and not just tweaking the plan.
QRF: Quick Reaction Force.
Reaper drone: MQ-9 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. The latest hunter-killer variety of the famous Predator surveillance drone. Can deliver 3,800 lbs of ordinance out to a range of 1,150 miles.
ROE: Rules of engagement. General guidelines for the use of force, usually accompanied by a list of situational specific do or don’t shoot rules. Always prefaced with the disclaimer, “Nothing in these Rules of Engagement limits your right to take appropriate action to defend yourself and your unit.”
SAW: M249 Squad Automatic Weapon. Standard light machine gun, 5.56mm. Replaced the Vietnam-era M-60. Pronounced simply “saw.” Fires the exact same ammo as the M16, but belt-fed, and from a 100 or 200 round drum. Can fire from a standard magazine in a pinch, but that drastically ups the failure to feed rate (jamming).
S-X: The command staff of a unit. Starting at battalion level and higher, each unit’s headquarters staff has six “S Shops.” Divisions and Corps designations start with “G-x”
– S-1: Personnel and general administration. Roughly equivalent to civilian HR.
– S-2: Intelligence/counter-intelligence.
– S-3: Operations & Training. The largest section. Responsible for turning the commander’s general directives into detailed plans and “managing” the battle.
– S-4: Supply & Maintenance
– S-5: Civil Affairs/Psychological Operations.
– S-6: Signal (communications/IT)
TC: Track (or vehicle) commander. Every military vehicle has a minimum crew of 2: driver and track/vehicle commander.
TOC: Tactical Operations Center. Fancy way to say command post.
TOW: Tube launched, Optically tracked, Wire guided missile. Most powerful ground-launched anti-tank missile in the arsenal. The modern varieties can be guided to their target via remote control out to a range of 4.5 km. Mounted on a tripod or vehicle. Delivers tandem shaped charge warheads (5.9 kg HE) that are able to penetrate at least 16 inches of solid steel.
WILCO: Radio speak for “Will comply.” Often used as a way to express displeasure or disagreement with an order without openly stating so.
Table of Contents
Table of Contents
The Shot Heard Round the World
Part I
Chapter 1
New York City
Los Angeles
Washington, DC
Inauguration Day
In the Midnight hour
Chapter 2
St. Augustine, Florida
Gainesville, Florida
Tallahassee, Florida
Downtown Gainesville, Florida
Washington, DC
Jacksonville International Airport, Florida
Chapter 3
Somewhere over the Okefenokee Swamp (Southeast Georgia)
Camp Blanding, Southern Access Road
Camp Blanding Airstrip
Tallahassee, Florida
Camp Blanding, Florida
Chapter 4
Context
Washington, DC
Orlando, Florida
Los Angeles, CA
Santa Monica, California
Manhattan, NY
Chapter 5
Washington, DC
Tampa, Florida
Lake Butler, Florida
Starke, Florida
Atlanta, Georgia
Chapter 6
Northeast Florida
Eufaula, Southeast Alabama
Homestead ARB, Florida
Los Padres National Forest, California
Situation Room, White House
Ocala, Florida
Part II
Chapter 7
Federal mobile command post
USS Gerald R. Ford, CVN
50 miles East of Daytona Beach, Florida
Lake City Municipal Airport
Keystone Heights, Florida
I-75, just north of Gainesville
Sunny Skies over Florida
Chapter 8
20 miles northeast of Lake City, Florida
East side of Lake City
North Side of Lake City
High Tide
Chapter 9
15 miles north of Lake City
Los Padres National Forest, California
Ocala, Florida
Birmingham, Alabama
Part III
Chapter 10
Clearwater, Florida
Huntington Beach, California
Daytona, Florida
Chapter 11
Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada
Fort Bliss, Texas
Las Vegas
Biggs Army Airfield
Austin, Texas
Las Vegas International Airport
Chapter 12
Capitol Building, Tallahassee, Florida
Washington, DC
Havana, Cuba
Sacramento, California
Chapter 13
Sacramento, California
Fort Myers Beach, Florida
A hot spring
Just Another Day in Paradise
Part I: Cold War
Acronyms/Slang/Terminology
ROE
Bradley
SAW
M4
WILCO
K-Pod
IBA
COMSEC
AT-4
Javelin
TOW
M320
Reaper
IED
M240
.50
M1 Abrams
OPFOR
S-3
FRAGO
DPICM
Apache
IFV
M113
HARM
TOC
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