SEAL TALK
MILITARY GLOSSARY
Aalvin: Small U.S. two-man submarine.
Admin: Short for administration.
Aegis: Advanced naval air defense radar system.
AH-1W Super Cobra: Has M179 undernose turret with 20mm Gatling gun.
AK-47: 7.63-round Russian Kalashnikov automatic rifle. Most widely used assault rifle in the world.
AK-74: New, improved version of the Kalashnikov. Fires the 5 .45mm round. Has 30-round magazine. Rate of fire: 600 rounds per minute. Many slight variations made for many different nations.
AN/PRC-l17D: Radio, also called SATCOM. Works with Milstar satellite in 22,300-mile equatorial orbit for instant worldwide radio, voice, or video communications. Size: 15 inches high, 3 inches wide, 3 inches deep. Weighs 15 pounds. Microphone and voice output. Has encrypter, capable of burst transmissions of less than a second.
AN/PUS-7: Night vision goggles. Weigh l.5 pounds.
ANVIS-6: Night vision goggles on air crewmen’s helmets.
APC: Armored personnel carrier.
ASROC: Nuclear-tipped antisubmarine rocket torpedoes launched by Navy ships.
Assault Vest: Combat vest with full loadouts of ammo, gear.
ASW: Anti-Submarine Warfare.
Attack Board: Molded plastic with two hand grips with bubble compass on it. Also depth gauge and Cyalume chemical lights with twist knob to regulate amount of light. Use for underwater guidance on long swim.
Aurora: Air Force recon plane. Can circle at 90,000 feet. Can’t be seen or heard from ground. Used for thermal imaging.
AWACS: Airborne Warning And Control System. Radar units in high-flying aircraft to scan for planes at any altitude out 200 miles. Controls air-to-air engagements with enemy forces. Planes have a mass of communication and electronic equipment.
Balaclavas: Headgear worn by some SEALs.
Bent Spear: Less serious nuclear violation of safety.
BKA: Bundeskriminant: German’s federal investigation unit.
Black Talon: Lethal hollow-point ammunition made by Winchester. Outlawed some places.
Blivet: A collapsible fuel container. SEALs sometimes use it.
BLU-43B: Antipersonnel mine used by SEALs.
BLU-96: A fuel-air explosive bomb. It disperses fuel oil into the air, then explodes the cloud. Many times more powerful than conventional bombs because it doesn’t carry its own chemical oxidizers.
BMP-1: Soviet armored fighting vehicle AFV, low, boxy, crew of 3 and 8 combat troops. Has tracks and a 73mm cannon, an AT-3 Sagger antitank missile, and coaxial machine gun.
Body Armor: Far too heavy for SEAL use in the water.
Bogey: Pilots’ word for an unidentified aircraft.
Boghammer Boat: Long, narrow, low, dagger boat, high-speed patrol craft. Swedish make. Iran had 40 of them in 1993.
Boomer: A nuclear-powered missile submarine.
Bought It: A man has been killed. Also “bought the farm.”
Bow Cat: The bow catapult on a carrier to launch jets.
Broken Arrow: Any accident with nuclear weapons or nuclear material lost, shot down, crashed, stolen, hi-jacked.
Browning 9mm High Power: A Belgian 9mm pistol, 13 rounds in magazine. First made 1935.
Buddy Line: Six foot long, ties 2 SEALs together in the water for control, help if needed.
BUDS/S: Coronado, California, nickname for SEAL training facility for six-month course.
BUPERS: BUreau of PERSonnel.
C-130 Hercules: Air Force transporter for long haul. 4 engines.
C-2A Greyhound: 2-engine turboprop cargo plane that lands on carriers. Also called COD, Carrier Onboard Delivery. Two pilots and engineer. Rear fuselage loading ramp. Cruise speed 300 mph, range l,000 miles. Will hold 39 combat troops. Lands on CVN carriers at sea.
C-4: Plastic explosive. A claylike explosive that can be molded and shaped. It will burn. Fairly stable.
C-6 Plastique: Plastic explosive. Developed from C-4 and C-5. Is often used in bombs with radio detonator or digital timer.
C-9 Nightingale: Douglas DC-9 fitted as a medical evacuation transport plane.
C-141 Starlifter: Airlift transport for cargo, paratroops, evac for long distances. Top speed, 566 mph. Range with payload, 2,935 miles. Ceiling 41,600 feet.
Caltroops: Small four-pointed spikes used to flatten tires. Used in the Crusades to disable horses.
CamelBack: Used with drinking tube for 70 ounces of water attached to vest.
Cammies: Working camouflage wear for SEALs. Two different patterns and colors, jungle and desert.
Cannon Fodder: Old term for soldiers in line of fire destined to die in the grand scheme of warfare.
Capped: Killed, shot, or otherwise snuffed.
CAR-15: The Colt M-4Al. Sliding stock carbine with grenade launcher under barrel. Knight sound suppresser. Can have AN/PAQ-4 laser aiming light under the carrying handle. .223-round. 20- or 30-round magazine. Rate of fire: 700 to l,000 rds/min.
Cascade Radiation: U-235 triggers secondary radiation in other dense materials.
Cast Off: Leave a dock, port, land. Get lost. Navy: long, then short signal of horn, whistle, or light.
Castle Keep: The main tower in any castle.
Caving Ladder: Roll-up ladder that can be let down to climb.
CH-46E: Sea Knight chopper. Twin rotors, transport. Can carry 22 combat troops. Has a crew of 3.
CH-53D Sea Stallion: Big chopper. Not used much anymore.
Chaff: A small cloud of thin pieces of metal, such as tinsel, that can be picked up by enemy radar and that can attract a radar guided missile away from the plane to hit the chaff.
Charlie-Mike: Code words for continue the mission.
Chief to Chief: Bad conduct by EM handled by chiefs so no record shows or is passed up the chain of command.
Chocolate Mountains: Land training center for SEALs near these mountains in the California desert.
Christians in Action: SEAL talk for not-always-friendly CIA.
CIA: Central Intelligence Agency.
CIC: Combat Information Center. The place on a ship where communications and control areas are situated to open and control combat fire.
CINC: Commander IN Chief.
CINCLANT: Navy Commander IN Chief, AtLANTic.
CINCPAC: Commander-IN-Chief, PACific.
Class of 1978: Not a single man finished BUD/S training in this class. All-time record.
Claymore: An antipersonnel mine carried by SEALs on many of their missions.
Cluster Bombs: A canister bomb that explodes and spreads small bomblets over a great area. Used against parked aircraft, massed troops, and unarmored vehicles.
CNO: Chief of Naval Operations.
CO-2 Poisoning: During deep dives. Abort dive at once and surface.
COD: Carrier On Board Delivery plane.