After dropping his tray on top of other discarded trays sitting precariously in a pile in an overfull trash can, Dixon turned away and wandered back to the small tent his driver had set up for him. Like a top, his mind continued to spin about the issue of who he was and where he was going. Though he used weapons instead of a hose, Dixon knew that what he did was no different than what his father and grandfather had done. And he also knew, at that moment, that he could do no differently. He was a soldier, a fireman who fought international brush fires. He might abhor what he did — every sane man who had seen battle did. The legacy of those battles was memories of the horrors he had seen and had helped create. Those memories, as vivid now as they had been at the moment, would never go away. Yet he knew in his heart that when the alarm sounded, he would drop everything and rush out to answer the call. For he was a soldier, clear and simple.
GLOSSARY OF MILITARY TERMS
A-16 — A ground-attack version of the F-16 fighter. This conversion of the F-16 has been discussed but not executed as of the writing of this book.
AK — The Avtomat-Kalashnikov assault rifle, the standard rifle of the Red Army, its allies, and client states. The original AK, the famous AK-47, was an air-cooled, 7.62mm rifle capable of either semiautomatic or full automatic firing with a cyclic rate of 600 rounds per minute. Maximum effective range of the AK-47 is 400 meters, while actual rate of fire is close to 90 rounds per minute due to the limit of its 30-or 40-round magazine. The successor to the AK-47, the AK-74, fires a 5.45mm round with a maximum effective range of 500 meters.
Apache (AH-64) — A medium-speed, high-performance, single-rotor, twin-turbine attack helicopter, the agile Apache is equipped with an exceptional suite of sights and night-vision devices, which, coupled with a sophisticated fire-control system and the Hellfire missile, makes it capable and very lethal. Armament includes a 30mm chain gun (maximum combat load of 1,200 rounds), the Hellfire laser guided missile (maximum of 16), and 2.75-inch rockets (maximum of 76). Cruising speed is 175 knots (approx. 190 mph), and has an endurance of 105 minutes without external fuel tanks.
A Team — A 12-man Special Forces team that consists entirely of officers and NCOs, each a highly trained specialist in either light/ heavy weapons, communications, demolitions/engineering, or medicine.
AWACS — Short for airborne warning and control system. The U.S. has two primary versions. The E-3A Sentry system, carried by a modified Boeing 707, is manned by a crew of seventeen and has an endurance of six hours on station. The E-2 Hawkeye, built by Grumman, is a smaller, carrier-based, prop-driven AWACS used by the U.S. Navy and by several other nations. Manned by a crew of five, the E-2 has an endurance of six hours. The Soviet version, NATO codename Candid, is mounted in an Ilyushin 76 jet.
Battalion — A military organization consisting of three to five companies with personnel strength of 350 to 800 men.
Battle-Dress Uniform (BDUs) — Camouflage fatigues worn by U.S. ground forces.
Blackhawk (UH-60) — A high-performance, single-rotor, twin-engine tactical assault helicopter. This helicopter is replacing the venerable UH-1 "Huey" helicopter of Vietnam fame. The Blackhawk, manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft, has a cruising speed of 145 knots, an endurance of two hours without external fuel tanks, a range of 290 nautical miles, and a service ceiling of 5,000 feet. Though it is rated to carry a crew of three and eleven fully armed and loaded combat troops, reliable sources claim that the Blackhawk can carry twenty-two passengers in a crunch.
BMP — The primary infantry fighting vehicle of the Red Army, its allies, and its client states, the BMP-1 is equipped with a 73mm smooth-bore cannon, a 7.62 machine gun coaxially mounted with the cannon, and the SAGER AT-3 antitank guided missile. The BMP-2 has replaced the 73mm cannon with a 30mm cannon and the AT-3 with an AT-4 SPIGOT antitank guided missile. Both versions have a crew of three and carry eight infantrymen. The 11.3-ton BMP is amphibious, has a range of 310 miles, has an active chemical protection system for crew and infantry and a top speed of 34 mph. There are several variations of the BMP, including recon and command and control versions.
Bradley (M-2 or M-3) — Fighting Vehicle A fully tracked, lightly armored infantry fighting vehicle that is replacing the M-113 armored personnel carrier in mechanized infantry and armored cavalry units. The Bradley, BFV for short, is armed with a two-tube TOW antitank guided missile launcher, a 25mm cannon, and a 7.62mm machine gun coaxially mounted with the 25mm cannon. The BFV has a crew of three (commander, gunner, driver), and can carry six infantrymen for dismounted operations.
BRDM — The standard Soviet reconnaissance vehicle. Equipped with a 14.5mm gun and a 7.62mm machine gun, the BRDM-2 weighs 6.9 tons, is fully amphibious, and has a top speed of 62 mph and a range of 400 miles.
Brigade — A flexible organization that consists of two to five combat maneuver battalions and various combat support and combat service support units, such as engineers, air defense artillery, military intelligence, supply, medical, and maintenance.
BTR-60/BTR-80 — A Soviet eight-wheeled armored personnel carrier capable of carrying up to fourteen personnel. It weighs approximately ten tons, is amphibious, and is fielded in several versions, some of which include a small turret armed with a 14.5mm gun and a 7.62mm machine gun.
CENTCOM — Short for Central Command. A unified command (i. E., all services, Army, Navy, Air Force, and USMC, are under a single commander, normally a four-star general or admiral), CENTCOM is responsible for American forces and military operations in Southwest Asia and Africa.
CO — Short for commanding officer.
Combined Arms Army — The Soviet equivalent to a U.S. Army corps in size and purpose, the combined arms has three or four motorized rifle divisions and one or two tank divisions. In addition, combat support units, such as artillery, rocket troops, air defense, attack helicopter, and engineers, as well as supply and transportation units, are attached to the combined arms army to support the combat divisions. The combined arms army is the main weapon of the Red Army at the operational level.
Combined Arms Maneuver Task Force — A battalion that has been permanently tasked, organized with a mix of tank and infantry companies.
Company — A military organization that numbers from 50 to 180 personnel and is normally divided into platoons and/or sections.
Corps — An organization that is comprised of several combat divisions, independent combat brigades, armored cavalry regiments, combat support units, such as artillery, rocket troops, air defense, attack helicopter, and engineers, as well as supply and transportation units. In the West, the corps is a flexible organization that can be added to or subtracted from depending on the corps' missions. The corps is commanded by a lieutenant general, three stars, and can number from 50,000 to over 100,000 men.
CP (Command Post) — The center where commanders and their operations and intelligence staff, along with special staff officers, plan, monitor, and control the battle.