by Harold Coyle
M-577 — A fully armored and tracked command post carrier. Used by battalion staffs and above for their command post, or tactical operations center See TOC/. Mechanized-Term used in the U.S. Army when referring to infantry units equipped with armored personnel carriers or infantry-fighting vehicles. In the Red Army, these units are referred to as motorized rifle units.
MILES — Short for "multiple integrated laser engagement system." The system uses eye-safe lasers mounted on all weapons and sensors attached to all personnel and equipment. The lasers and sensors are set at different frequencies that only allow a "kill" to be achieved in training by weapons capable of inflicting a "kill" in reality. For example, an M-16 rifle MILES laser can "kill" an exposed soldier but not a tank.
Mine Roller/Plow — Devices attached to the front of tanks and designed to detonate antitank mines without damaging the tank pushing the device. In this way, path can be cleared through a mine field even when covered by fire from defending units.
Motorized Rifle — Term used in the Red Army when referring to infantry units equipped with armored personnel carriers or infantry-Fighting vehicles. In the U.S. Army, these are referred to as mechanized units.
NATO — Acronym for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which includes Norway, Denmark, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Italy, Great Britain, Spain, Portugal, Canada and the United States.
NCO — Short for "noncommissioned officer"-a sergeant.
OP FOR — Short for "opposing force," a term used to describe the enemy during maneuver training exercises.
Orders Group — Selected commanders and staff officers who receive the mission operations order from their higher headquarters. These people, in turn, with assistance from the rest of the unit's staff, will produce the necessary orders at their level to accomplish the mission assigned to them.
Overwatch — A term applied to a tactical method of movement in which part of unit remains stationary, watching for enemy activity, while another part moves forward. It is the task of the over watch element to engage any enemy forces that threaten the element in motion.
Platoon — A military organization that consists of as few as 9 men and 3 tanks in the case of a Soviet tank platoon or as many as 50 men in some U.S. platoons.
Point Element — A small group of soldiers or vehicles that moves well in advance of the main body of troops. This element is responsible for ensuring that the route is clear and navigable. Should the point element be ambushed, the main body will not be involved, provided the point was out far enough.
Reactive Armor — Not really armor in the conventional sense, reactive armor consists of numerous small metal boxes arranged on a tank's exterior and filled with explosives. If a HEAT round (See HEAT) hits this, the explosive in the reactive armor detonates and, without damaging the tank, prevents the jet stream of the HEAT round from forming.
Regiment — A military organization similar to a brigade but more rigid in its organization. It usually consists of one type of unit, such as an infantry regiment or an armor regiment. All battalions within a regiment carry the same regimental number.
RO-RO Ships — Cargo ships designed to allow for wheeled and tracked vehicles to be driven on and off. This eliminates the need for cranes and fully operational port facilities at the point of debarkation.
Round-out Unit — The current U.S. Army force structure does not allow the Army to have enough personnel on active duty to fill all authorized slots in active units. Some active-duty units are missing entire subordinate units. National Guard and Reserve units therefore are identified to fill out those active-duty units that are short when necessary. These Guard and Reserve units are referred to as round-out units.
RRF (Ready Reserve Fleet) — Civilian-owned merchant ships that are on short-notice recall by the U.S. Navy for use in transporting supplies and equipment in the event of mobilization or war.
S-1, etc. — The "S" stands for "staff" in battalion- and brigade-sized units in the U.S. Army. The S-1 is responsible for personnel matters, the S-2 is the intelligence officer, the S-3 is operations, plans and training, and the S-4 is supply and maintenance. At division and corps level, the "S" is replaced with a "G," which stands for "general staff." When more than one service is involved, as in a joint Army and Navy operation, staffs use "J," for "joint staff."
Sabot — The word is French, meaning "shoe." In the U.S. Army, it is short for "fin-stabilized armor-piercing discarding sabot," which is the primary armor defeating round used by tanks. A Sabot is a kinetic energy round that literally punches its way through the armor of the targeted tank. Though the round is fired from a large-caliber gun, the actual penetrator, made of depleted uranium or a tungsten nickel alloy, is small, being only a fraction of the gun's bore diameter. This penetrator is seated in a base that equals the diameter of the gun tube and keeps the gases produced by the propellant behind the round. This base plate is the shoe, or Sabot. After the penetrator leaves the gun tube, the base plate falls away.
SAW — Squad automatic rifle. The M249 SAW is a 5.56mm. light machine gun now replacing the M-60 machine gun. The weapon weighs 22 pounds with a full, 200-round magazine attached, and has a cyclic rate of fire of 700 rounds per minute.
Security Element — A force responsible for providing protection, security or early warning to a larger force.
Self-propelled Artillery — Field artillery that is mounted on a tracked vehicle and usually provides armored protection for the crew.
Squad — The smallest military organization, normally commanded by a sergeant and consisting of 9 to 12 men.
T-80 — The current Red Army main battle tank. The T80 has a three-man crew consisting of the tank commander, the gunner and the driver. An automatic loader eliminates the need for a human loader. The T-80 is armed with a 125mm. smooth-bore gun, a 12.7mm. machine at the commander's station and a 7.62mm. mace gun mounted coaxially with the main gun. The T-80 weighs 39.3 tons, has a top speed of 50 mph and a range of 310 miles and uses special armor as well as add-on reactive armor. The T-72 and the T-64, both of which are earlier versions of the T-80, are similar to it in appearance and have the same general performance data.
Thermal Sight — A sighting system that detects heat emissions and transforms them into an electronic image.
TOC — Tactical operations center. This is the command post where the operations and intelligence staff monitors and controls the battle, receives reports from subordinate units, sends reports to higher headquarters and develops operations orders an intelligence estimates based on information coming from higher and lower sources. Other elements, such as the artillery fire-support officer, or FSO, are normally part of the TOC.
TOE — Pronounced T-O-E, not toe, it stands for "table of organization and equipment," a document that prescribes how much and what type of equipment and personnel a unit is supposed to have. A unit that has its full TOE has all assigned equipment and personnel. An MTOE is a modified TOE used in units whose mission requires special equipment.
TOW — Short for "tube-launched, optically tracked wire-guided." The TOW is the primary heavy antitank guided missile for both the U.S. Army and the U.S. Marine Corps. It has an effective range of 3,750 meters and cane fired from a variety of platforms ranging from a ground tripod to attack helicopters. Introduced in 1970, it has seen service in Vietnam and in the Middle East, where it was a decisive factor in the 1973 Arab-Israeli war.
Tracers — Ammunition containing a chemical substance that leaves a luminous trail when fired, enabling the firer to see whether his rounds are reaching the target. Machine gun ammunition is usually issued with one tracer round for every four rounds of ball ammunition. Large-caliber rounds for direct-fire weapons, 20mm. and above, normally have a tracer element on every round.
Traffic Regulator — Personnel in the Soviet Army who direct the flow of traffic. They are usually placed at critical points where convoys must turn, to ensure that the convoy turns in the pro
per direction or to sort out traffic jams. Turret Defilade-A defensive posture assumed by a fighting vehicle that allows its personnel to view its assigned sector of responsibility without exposing the bulk of the vehicle.
UH-60 Blackhawk — A combat assault transport, or utility helicopter. This helicopter is currently replacing the Vietnam-era UH-1, or Huey. The Blackhawk has a crew of three and can carry eleven fully armed troops, six wounded in litters or four tons of cargo that can be sling-loaded. It has maximum speed of 184 mph, a cruising speed of 167 mph and an operational range of 373 miles that includes a thirty-minute reserve.
Warthog — See A-10.
Watchcon Level — Level of military-intelligence activity used to indicate the amount and nature of intelligence that will be gathered. As the Watchcon level increases, more intelligence assets are used to gather information concerning a possible threat or to provide early warning.
Wizzo — An Air Force slang term used to refer to the radar weapons-systems operator in the backseat of a dual-seater aircraft. Also called a backseater, 'gator, fighter gator guy-in-back, and ace of gauges.
XO — Short for "executive officer," the officer second in command of a unit. Sometimes the XO is referred to as a deputy commander, as in the Red Army.
Acknowledgments
In putting this project together, I was assisted by a number of references and people. While it is not possible to name all the sources or people, I would like to acknowledge those books that were most useful and those people who were most helpful.
Those books that were invaluable, in order of priority, were:
Iran: A Country Study (DA PAM 550-68), fourth printing, edited by Richard F. Nyrop, published by the U.S. Government Printing Office.
U.S.-Soviet Military Balance, 1960–1980, by John M. Collins, published by McGraw-Hill Book Company.
Whirlwind, by James Clavell, published by William Morrow and Company, Inc.
Revolutionary Iran: Challenge and Response in the Middle East, by R. K. Ramazani, published by The John Hopkins University Press.
How to Make War, by James Dunnigan, published by William Morrow and Company, Inc.
The U.S. Rapid Deployment Forces, by David Eshel, published by Arco Publishing, Inc.
USAF.E.: A Primer of Modern Air Combat in Europe, by Michael Skinner, published by Presidio Press.
A number of people assisted in the effort by reading, editing and commenting on the rough drafts as well as providing technical assistance. I owe a great deal to them for their patience, their assistance and their willingness to give of their time. They include Tom Clancy, mentor; Jan Ciganick, good friend; William L. Nash, Lieutenant Colonel, Armor; David Hilliard, Major, Field Artillery; Mat Kriwanek, Major, Infantry; Don King, Major, Mississippi National Guard, Field Artillery; Kevin Grady, Major, U.S. Air Force; Joanne Moore, Major, U.S. Air Force; Mark Gumpf, Captain, Airborne Infantry.
Finally, I owe a great deal to my wife, Pat, for her encouragement and tolerance, and to my children for patience above and beyond the call of duty.
To all those who contributed and assisted in making this book a reality, thanks.
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