LCDR — Lieutenant Commander
LCPO — Leading Chief Petty Officer
LPO — Leading Petty Officer
LT — Lieutenant
LZ — Landing Zone
MCM — Mine Countermeasures, also used to denote Mine Countermeasure ship
MCMRON — MCM Squadron
MCS — Mine Warfare Command Ship
MER — Missile Ejection Rack
MHC — Mine Hunter, Coastal
MNV — Mine Neutralization Vehicle
MRE — Meal Ready to Eat
MU — Mobile Unit
NAS — Naval Air Station
NAVSCOLEOD — Naval School Explosive Ordnance Disposal
NCIS — Naval Criminal Investigative Service
NGO — Non-Governmental Organization
OOD — Officer of the Deck
OIC — Officer in Charge
OPCON — Operational Control
P1 — The primary Tech working on a problem
P2 — The secondary Tech working on a problem, assists the P1
PD — Police Department
PERSTEMPO — Personnel operational Tempo
POTUS — President of the United States
PQS- Personal Qualification Standards
PT — Physical Training
READIMPT — Readiness Improvement Training
RHIB — Rigid Hull Inflatable Boat
RONEX — Squadron Exercise
ROV — Remote Operated Vehicle
RSP — Render Safe Procedure
SEAL — Sea, Air, Land commandos of Naval Special Warfare
SCI — Secret Compartmentalized Information
SMUT — Small Unit Tactics
SOP — Standard Operating Procedures
SWO — Surface Warfare Officer
SWOS — Surface Warfare Officer School
TACON — Tactical Control
TECHDIV — Technical Division
TEU TWO — Training and Evaluation Unit TWO
TSD — Technical Support Division
UCMJ — Uniform Code of Military Justice
UDT — Underwater Demolition Team
U/I — Under Instruction
USA — United States Army
USMC — United States Marine Corps
USNS — United States Naval Ship
USS — United States Ship
USSS — United States Secret Service
VLS — Vertical Launch System
XO — Executive Officer, the second in command
About the author:
Stephen Phillips served in the United States Navy as a Special Operations Officer and Explosive Ordnance Disposal Technician at EOD Mobile Units Six, Ten, and Eight. During his naval career he deployed to Haiti, Somalia, the Arabian Gulf, the Balkans, and the Global War on Terrorism. He currently lives in the Washington DC metro area with his wife and two sons.