AWOL: Absent Without Official Leave.
BAH: Basic Allowance for Housing.
BATFE: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (a U.S. federal government taxing agency).
BBC: British Broadcasting Corporation.
BC: British Columbia.
BCD: Bad Conduct Discharge. Also sometimes jokingly called a Big Chicken Dinner.
BDU: Battle Dress Uniform. Also called “camouflage utilities” by the USMC. Most BDUs were made in the woodland camouflage pattern.
Big Chicken Dinner: See BCD.
Black: Depending on context: either a classified program or a designation applied to information systems, and to associated areas, circuits, components, and equipment, in which national security information is encrypted or is not processed. See also Red and Red/Black.
Black Rifle/Black Gun: Generic terms for a modern battle rifle—typically equipped with a black plastic stock and forend, giving these guns an “all-black” appearance. Functionally, however, they are little different from earlier semiauto designs.
BLM: Bureau of Land Management (a U.S. federal government agency that administers public lands).
BMG: Browning Machine Gun. Usually refers to .50 BMG, the U.S. military’s standard heavy machine-gun cartridge since the early twentieth century. The .50 BMG cartridge is now often used for long-range precision countersniper rifles.
Body-Cam: A body-mounted camera, typically worn by law enforcement officers.
BUD/S: Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (school). See also SEAL.
BX: Base Exchange.
C1: The Canadian Army’s version of the L1A1 FAL variant.
C2: The Canadian Army’s version of the L2A1 heavy-barrel FAL variant.
C4: Composition 4. A plastic explosive.
C7: The Canadian Army’s version of the M16A4 rifle. Produced by Diemaco, and later by Colt Canada. Also issued by Denmark, Holland, and Sweden.
C8: The Canadian Army’s version of the M4 Carbine.
CAR-15: See M4.
CARB: California Air Resources Board.
Cat: Slang contraction for Caterpillar (tracked tractor).
CAT: Combat Application Tourniquet.
CB: Citizens Band radio. A VHF broadcasting band. No license is required for operation in the United States. Some desirable CB transceivers are capable of SSB operation. Originally twenty-three channels, the Citizens Band was later expanded to forty channels during the golden age of CB, in the 1970s.
CBC: Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.
CBLTV: Canadian Border Logistics and Training Volunteers network. Spoken “Cable TV.”
CBP: Customs & Border Protection.
CENTCOM: Central Command. Nicknamed SADCOM by its detractors.
CG: Center of Gravity.
CGF Gallet: The French manufacturer of SPECTRA ballistic helmets. See also SPECTRA.
CHU: Containerized Housing Unit.
CI: Counterintelligence. See also HUMINT.
CIA: Central Intelligence Agency.
CLEP: College-Level Examination Program.
Closed Storage: The storage of SCI material in properly secured GSA-approved security containers within an accredited SCIF. See also Open Storage and SCIF.
CLP: Cleaner, Lubricant, Protectant. A Mil-Spec lubricant, sold under the trade name “Break Free CLP.”
CM: Chinese Mandarin.
CMCS: COMSEC Material Control System.
CN: Canadian National (railroad).
CO: Commanding Officer.
CO2: Carbon dioxide.
Collateral SCI: See SCI and SAP.
COMINT: Communications Intelligence.
COMSEC: Communications Security. The measures used to protect both classified and unclassified traffic on military communications and computing networks.
CONEX: CONtinental EXpress. The ubiquitous twenty-, thirty-, and forty-foot-long steel cargo containers used in multiple transportation modes.
CONFIDENTIAL: The security classification applied to information, the unauthorized disclosure of which reasonably could be expected to cause damage to national security.
Continuous Operation: This condition exists when a SCIF is staffed twenty-four hours every day.
Controlled Area/Compound: Any area to which entry is subject to restrictions or control for security reasons.
Controlled Building: A building to which entry is subject to restrictions or control for security reasons.
CONUS: Continental United States.
COPD: Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease.
Co-Utilization: Two or more organizations sharing the same SCIF.
CP: Command Post.
CPR: Depending on context, Canadian Pacific Railway or Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation.
CR1M: Combat Ration, One Man. (Spoken “Crim.”) The Australian equivalent of the U.S. MRE field ration. See also MRE and IMP.
CR5M: Combat Ration, Five Man.
CRKT: Columbia River Knife & Tool.
CRYPTO: The marking or designator identifying COMSEC keying material used to secure or authenticate telecommunications carrying classified or sensitive U.S. government or U.S. government–derived information.
CSA: Cognizant Security Authority. The single principal designated to serve as the responsible official for all aspects of security program management with respect to the protection of intelligence sources and methods.
CSIS: Canadian Security Intelligence Service.
CSS: Cyber Security Service.
CTS: Computerized Telephone System. Also referred to as a hybrid key system, business communication system, or office communications system.
CTTA: Certified TEMPEST Technical Authority.
CUT: Coordinated Universal Time.
Db.: Decibel. A measurement unit of sound intensity.
DC: Depending on context, Direct Current or District of Columbia (D.C.).
DCI: Director of Central Intelligence.
DCIPS: Defense Civilian Intelligence Personnel System.
DCS: Defense Clandestine Service.
DCS Task Group Tall Oak: Previously called DIA Project Tall Oak.
DD: Department of Defense (typically used as a prefix for form numbers). See also DOD.
Det Cord: Short for detonating cord—a plastic tube filled with PETN. It is typically used for connecting multiple explosive charges, so that they detonate almost simultaneously.
DF: Direction Finding.
DHS: Department of Homeland Security.
DIA: Defense Intelligence Agency. See also JBAB.
DIAC: Defense Intelligence Analysis Center.
DIAM: Defense Intelligence Agency Manual.
DIOCC: Defense Intelligence Operations Coordination Center. (Part of the DIAC.)
DJ: Disc Jockey.
DLI: Defense Language Institute.
DMV: Department of Motor Vehicles.
DMZ: Demilitarized Zone. In the context of a SCIF, the perimeter network segment that is logically between internal and external networks. Its purpose is to enforce the internal network’s IA policy for external information exchange and to provide external, untrusted sources with restricted access to releasable information while shielding the internal networks from outside attacks. A DMZ is also called a “screened subnet.” See also IA and SCIF.
Document: Any recorded information regardless of its physical form or characteristics, including, without limitation, written or printed matter, data-processing cards and tapes, maps, charts, paintings, drawings, photos, engravings, sketches, working notes and papers, reproductions of such things by any means or process; and sound, voice, magnetic, or electronic recordings in any form.
DOD or DoD: Department of Defense. See also DD.
DPM: Disruptive Pattern Material. A British military camouflage pattern, with colors similar to the U.S. Army’s defunct woodland BDU pattern.
DRM: Direction du Reseignement Militaire. The French Directorate of Military Intelligence.
DRSN: Defense Red Switch Network.
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br /> DSArms: An American gunmaking company, founded by Dave Selvaggio.
DShK: Degtyaryova-Shpagina Krupnokaliberny, or “Degtyaryov-Shpagin Large-Caliber”—a 12.7mm Russian machine gun, later produced in several other communist nations. Informally called a “Dashika” by some users.
DSS: Diplomatic Security Service.
E Division: The RCMP division that polices all of British Columbia except Vancouver.
E&E: Escape and Evasion.
ELINT: Electronic Intelligence.
ELT: Emergency Locator Transmitter.
EMSEC: Emissions Security. Protection resulting from measures taken to deny unauthorized individuals information derived from intercept and analysis of compromising emanations from crypto-equipment or an information system. See also TEMPEST.
EPA: Environmental Protection Agency.
EQ2050: A Chinese Humvee equivalent vehicle.
E-Tool: Entrenching tool. (A small folding shovel.)
ETS: Expiration of Term of Service.
FAA: Federal Aviation Administration.
FAL: See FN/FAL.
FAMAS: Fusil d’Assaut de la Manufacture d’Armes de Saint-Étienne. The French army’s standard-issue bullpup carbine, chambered in 5.56mm NATO. See also FÉLIN.
FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation.
FBO: Fixed Base Operator. Typically used to describe a small private airport’s refueling facility.
FÉLIN: Fantassin à Équipement et Liaisons Intégrés (Integrated Infantryman Equipment and Communications). The French infantry combat system of the 2000s. See also FAMAS.
FEMA: Federal Emergency Management Agency (a U.S. federal government agency). The acronym is also jokingly defined as: “Foolishly Expecting Meaningful Aid.”
FFL: Federal Firearms License.
FHJ: 84A twin-barrel 62mm incendiary rocket launcher used by the Chinese PLA.
Field SCIF: See Tactical SCIF.
FIST: Fire Support Team.
FLB: Forward Logistics Base.
FLIR: Forward-Looking Infrared. A camera that can detect body heat as well as the heat vehicle engines.
FNC: a 5.56mm NATO battle rifle originally made by the Belgian company Fabrique Nationale (FN). See also Pindad SS2.
FN/FAL: A 7.62mm NATO battle rifle originally made by the Belgian Company Fabrique Nationale (FN), issued to more than fifty countries in the 1960s and 1970s. Now made as semiauto-only “clones” by a variety of makers including DSArms. See also L1A1.
FN-MAG: A 7.62mm NATO belt-fed light machine gun developed by FN of Belgium. It has been issued by more than eighty countries. The U.S. military uses several variants of the gun, under the designation M240. See also M240.
FOB: Forward Operating Base.
FOUO: For Official Use Only.
FRS: Family Radio Service.
FS: Field Station.
FSB: Federalnaya Sluzhba Bezopasnosti. The main successor to the KGB.
FSMA: Food Safety and Modernization Act.
Galil: The Israeli battle rifle, based on Kalashnikov action. Most were made in 5.56mm NATO, but a variant was also made in 7.62mm NATO, in smaller numbers.
GAZ: Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod. A Russian car and truck maker.
GB: Gigabyte.
GCA: The Gun Control Act of 1968. The law that first created FFLs and banned interstate transfers of post-1898 firearms, except “to or through” FFL holders.
GDP: Gross Domestic Product.
GG: The “Excepted Service” pay-grade category for intelligence and national security positions. (GG pay-grade numbers are roughly equivalent to General Schedule [GS] civil servant pay grades.)
Glock: The popular polymer-framed pistol design by Gaston Glock of Austria.
GMRS: General Mobile Radio Service. A licensed UHF-FM two-way radio service. See also FRS and MURS.
GMT: Greenwich Mean Time. Also known as Coordinated Universal Time (CUT).
GPS: Global Positioning System.
Green Door: Slang used in the intelligence community for restricted access to information and/or locations.
GS: General Schedule.
GTK: Gepanzertes Transport Kraftfahrzeug. A variant of the German eight-wheeled Boxer APC.
Ham: Slang for amateur radio operator.
HAROPA: The functionally combined ports of Le Havre, Rouen, and Paris.
H-E or HE: High Explosive.
HEI: High Energy Ignition.
Hesco: A military contractor best known for its prefabricated wire and fabric ballistic protection bastions.
HF: High Frequency. A radio band used by amateur radio operators.
High Side: A network for classified traffic. High-side networks are always physically disconnected (“air gapped”) from unclassified “low-side” networks. This prevents inadvertent or intentional “copy/paste” of classified information into low-side messages. See also Low Side.
HK or H&K: Heckler und Koch, the German gun maker.
HK91: Heckler und Koch Model 91. The civilian (semiautomatic-only) variant of the 7.62mm NATO G3 rifle.
HMMWV: High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, also commonly called a Humvee, or in civilian trim, a “Hummer.”
HQ: Headquarters.
HUMINT: Human Intelligence. See also CI.
Humvee: High-Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle spoken “Humvee.”
Hydro: Canadian slang for grid power or a power company, or a power bill. In Canada, all grid power is generically called “hydro” power, regardless of its actual origin.
IA: Depending on context, Information Architecture, Information Assurance, or Internal Affairs.
IBA: Interceptor Body Armor.
ICE: Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
ID: Identification.
IDS: Intrusion Detection System. A security alarm system to detect unauthorized entry to a secure facility.
IED: Improvised Explosive Device.
IFV: Infantry Fighting Vehicle.
IH: International Harvester.
IMP: Individual Meal Pack. Canada’s standard field ration containing precooked entree packed in heavy-duty plastic-foil retort pouch. The equivalent of a U.S. Military Meal Ready to Eat (MRE).
INFOSEC: Information Security.
Intel: Slang shorthand for intelligence.
IR: Depending on context, Infrared or Intelligence Requirement.
Isolator: A device or assembly of devices that isolates or disconnects a telephone or CTS from all wires that exit the SCIF and that has been accepted as effective for security purposes. See also KSU.
IV: Intravenous.
JAG: Judge Advocate General corps. (Military attorneys.)
JBAB: Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling (JBAB), the headquarters of the DIA, in Washington, D.C.
JBLM: Joint Base Lewis-McChord. (Formerly, Fort Lewis and McChord Air Force Base, Washington.)
JP4: Jet Propellant 4, an aviation fuel.
JP5: Jet Propellant 5, an aviation fuel.
JWICS: Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System.
Kel-Tec: A Florida gun manufacturer specializing in polymer frame guns.
Kevlar: The material used in most body army and ballistic helmets. “Kevlar” is also the nickname for the standard U.S. Army helmet.
KIA: Killed in Action.
KJV: King James Version of the Bible.
KSU: Key Service Unit. An electromechanical switching device that controls routing and operation of an analog telephone system. See also Isolator and Red/Black.
KTM: An Austrian manufacturer of motorcycles. The K and T are for the surnames of the business founders, Kronreif and Trunkenpolz. The M is for Mattighofen, Austria, the name of the town where the motorcycles are built.
L1A1: The British army version of the FN/FAL, made to inch measurements.
LAR-8: A variant of the AR-10 rifle that accepts FN/FAL or L1A1 magazines.
LAW: Light Antitank Weapon.
LC-1: Load Carrying, Type 1. (U.S. Army Load Bearing Equipment, circa 1970s to 1990s
.)
LDS: The Latter-day Saints, commonly called the Mormons. (Flawed doctrine, great preparedness.)
LDSH: Lord Strathcona’s Horse. A regular armored regiment of the Canadian army, headquartered in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Members of the regiment are commonly called Strathconas or Strats, for short.
LGP: Le Gouvernement du Peuple (The People’s Government).
Line Conditioning: Elimination of unintentional signals or noise induced or conducted on a telecommunications or information system signal, power, control, indicator, or other external interface line.
LLDR: Lightweight Laser Designator Rangefinder.
LNO: Liaison Officer.
Low Side: An unclassified network. High-side (classified) networks are always physically disconnected (“air gapped”) from low-side networks. This prevents unintentional or intentional copying and pasting of classified information into low-side messages. See also High Side.
LP: Liquid Propane.
LPCs: Leather Personnel Carriers.
LP/OP: Listening Post/Observation Post.
LRRP: Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol.
LZ: Landing Zone.
M1 Abrams: The United States’ current main battle tank, with a 120mm cannon (“main gun”).
M1 Carbine: The U.S. Army semiauto carbine issued during World War II. Mainly issued to officers and second-echelon troops such as artillerymen, for self-defense. It fires .30 U.S. carbine, an intermediate (pistol-class) .30 caliber cartridge. More than six million were manufactured. The folding-stock version designed for use by paratroopers was designated M1A1. See also M2 Carbine.
M1 Garand: The U.S. Army’s primary battle rifle of World War II and the Korean conflict. It is semiautomatic, chambered in .30-06, and uses a top-loading, eight-round en bloc clip that ejects after the last round is fired. This rifle is commonly called the Garand (after the surname of its inventor, John Garand). Not to be confused with the U.S. M1 Carbine, another semiauto of the same era, which shoots a far less powerful pistol-class cartridge.
M1A: The civilian (semiauto only) version of the U.S. Army M14 7.62mm NATO rifle.
M1911: The Model 1911 Colt semiauto pistol (and clones thereof), usually chambered in .45 ACP.
M2 Carbine: The selective-fire (fully automatic) version of the U.S. Army semiauto carbine issued during World War II and the Korean conflict.
M4: The U.S. Army–issue 5.56mm NATO selective-fire carbine. (A shorter version of the M16, with a 14.5-inch barrel and collapsing stock.) Earlier issue M16 carbine variants had designations such as XM177E2 and CAR-15. Civilian semiauto-only variants often have these same designations, or are called “M4geries.”
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