Battlecraft (2006) s-3 Read online

  Another special couple was Chad Murchison and his girlfriend Penny Brubaker. She was stationed in Afghanistan with a UN relief team and was on furlough for the holidays. Both were from wealthy families and had grown up together in Boston amidst affluence, luxury, and privilege. But they were not in the least turned off by the plain surroundings of the Fouled Anchor. His SEAL service and her time in the wilderness had taken the edges off their inbred snobbery.

  Mike Assad was there with his pal Dave Leibowitz. They were double-dating a couple of National City girls, but everyone kept asking Mike if he'd heard from Hildegard Keppler since he'd gotten back Stateside. His date was beginning to turn cold toward him and it looked like he might not get lucky that night. Dave started to worry because if Mike's girl became angry and wouldn't be in a romantic mood, then his date probably wouldn't either. Luckily, Mike came up with a story that Ms. Keppler was a middle-aged, unattractive missionary working in a refugee camp in Pakistan. He enhanced the falsehood by saying she was teaching girls who had been victimized by the Taliban. The poor children were illiterate, and old Ms. Keppler was preparing them for a life of fulfillment and independence.

  Everyone had the holiday season to look forward to, and the only damper on the situation was the new orders that had come down. After the first of the year, the entire detachment would be shipped back to the USS Dan Daly in Middle Eastern waters as a permanent assignment. That would mean a minimum of a year's deployment overseas. Consequently, most of them would be taking furloughs to visit family and friends in their hometowns before reporting for their new duties.

  Most of the wives would wait for their men in the San Diego area where their kids attended school. Frank Gomez's wife was the exception. She was already four months pregnant and wanted to go home to have their baby in the bosom of her family.

  Before they went through the buffet line, everyone charged their glasses while Lieutenant Wild Bill Brannigan, with his arm around his wife Lisa, proposed a toast.

  "Here's to the camaraderie we all enjoy as SEALs," he began. "We are honored that our country has called on us to serve her in this great cause of freedom. We don't fight for conquest, plunder, or empty glory. We fight to maintain our liberty and to bring it to others less fortunate than us." He raised his glass. "To the United States Navy SEALs and everything the trident badge represents."

  "Hear! Hear!" came the yells as the drinks were downed.

  Retired Chief Petty Officer Salty Donovan gave the crowd a look of stem fondness, then shouted, 'The mess deck is open!"

  The stampede toward the food was fierce, loud, and rowdy in a good-natured way.

  .

  GLOSSARY

  2IC: Second in Command

  AA: Anti-Aircraft

  ACV: Air-Cushion Vehicle (hovercraft)

  AFSOC: Air Force Special Operations Command

  AGL: Above Ground Level

  AKA: Also Known As

  Angel: A thousand feet above ground level; i. E., Angels Two is two thousand feet.

  ARG: Amphibious Ready Group

  ASAP: As Soon As Possible

  ASL: Above Sea Level

  AT-4: Antiarmor rocket launchers

  Attack Board (also Compass Board): A board with a compass, watch, and depth gauge used by subsurface swimmers

  AWOL: Away Without Leave, i. E., absent from one's unit without permission, aka French leave.

  BOQ: Bachelor Officers' Quarters

  Briefback: A briefing given to staff by a SEAL platoon regarding their assigned mission. This must be approved before it is implemented. BDU: Battle Dress Uniform

  BUD/S: Basic Underwater Demolition SEAL training course C4: Plastic explosive

  CAR-15: Compact model of the M-16 rifle

  CATF: Commander, Amphibious Task Force

  CDC: Combat Direction Center aboard a ship

  CNO: Chief of Naval Operations

  CO: Commanding Officer

  Cover: Hat, headgear

  CP: Command Post

  CPU: Computer Processing Unit

  CPX: Command Post Exercise

  CRRC: Combat Rubber Raiding Craft

  CS: Tear gas

  CSAR: Combat Search and Rescue

  CVBG: Carrier Battle Group

  DPV: Desert Patrol Vehicle

  Det Cord: Detonating cord

  DJMS: Defense Joint Military Pay System

  Draeger Mk V: Underwater air supply equipment

  DZ: Drop Zone

  E&E: Escape and Evasion

  EPW: Enemy Prisoner of War

  ESP: Extra-Sensory Perception

  ETS: End of Term of Service

  FLIR: Forward-Looking Infrared Radar

  French Leave: See AWOL

  FRH: Flameless Ration Heater

  FTX: Field Training Exercise

  GPS: Global Positioning System

  Gunny: Marine Corps for the rank of Gunneiy Sergeant E-7

  H&K MP-5: Heckler & Koch MP-5 submachine gun

  HAHO: High Altitude High Opening parachute jump

  HALO: High Altitude Low Opening parachute jump

  HE: High Explosive

  Head: Navy and Marine Corps term for toilet; called a latrine in the Army Hors de combat: Out of the battle (French expression)

  HSB: High-Speed Boat

  JSOC: Joint Special Operation Command

  K-Bar: A brand of knives manufactured for military and camping purposes

  KIA: Killed In Action

  KISS: Keep It Simple, Stupid--or more politely, Keep It

  Simple, Sweetheart

  LBE: Load-Bearing Equipment

  LSSC: Light SEAL Support Craft

  Light Sticks: Flexible plastic tubes that illuminate

  Limpet Mine: An explosive mine that is attached to the hulls of vessels

  Locked Heels: When a serviceman is getting a severe vocal reprimand, it is said he is having his "heels locked," i. E., standing at attention while someone is bellowing in his face.

  LSO: Landing Signal Officer

  LZ: Landing Zone

  M-18 Claymore Mine: A mine fired electrically with a blasting cap

  M-60 E3: A compact model of the M-60 machine gun

  M-67: An antipersonnel grenade

  M-203: A single-shot 40-millimeter grenade launcher

  MATC: a fast river support craft

  MCPO: Master Chief Petty Officer

  Medevac: Medical Evacuation

  Mk 138 Satchel Charge: Canvas container filled with explosive

  MRE: Meal, Ready to Eat

  MSSC: Medium SEAL Support Craft

  Murphy's Law: An assumption that if something can go wrong, it most certainly will.

  N2: Intelligence Staff

  N3: Operations Staff

  NAS: Naval Air Station NAVSPECWAR: Naval Special Warfare NCO: Noncommissioned Officers, i. E., corporals and sergeants

  NCP: Navy College Program

  NFL: National Football League

  NVG: Night-Vision Goggles

  OA: Operational Area

  OCONUS: Outside the Continental United States

  OCS: Officers' Candidate School

  OER: Officer's Efficiency Report OP: Observation Post

  OPLAN: Operations Plan. This is the preliminary form of an OPORD.

  OPORD: Operations Order. This is the directive derived from the OPLAN of how an operation is to be carried out. It's pretty much etched in stone.

  PBL: Patrol Boat, Light PC: Patrol Coastal vessel

  PDQ: Pretty Damn Quick

  PLF: Parachute Landing Fall

  PM: Preventive Maintenance

  PMC: Private Military Company. These are businesses that supply bodyguards, security personnel, and mercenary civilian fighting men to persons or organizations wanting to hire them.

  PO: Petty Officer (e. G., POIC is Petty Officer First Class)

  POV: Privately Owned Vehicle

  P. P. P. P.: Piss Poor Prior Planning

  PT: Physical Training

  RHIP: Rank Has Its
Privileges

  RIB: Rigid Inflatable Boat

  RIO: Radar-Intercept Officer

  RPG: Rocket-Propelled Grenade

  RPM: Revolutions Per Minute

  RTO: Radio Telephone Operator

  SAW: Squad Automatic Weapon--M249 5.56 millimeter magazine or clip-fed machine gun

  SCPO: Senior Chief Petty Officer

  SDV: Seal Delivery Vehicle

  SERE: Survival, Escape, Resistance and Evasion

  SITREP: Situation Report

  Snap-to: The act of quickly and sharply assuming the position of attention with chin up, shoulders back, thumbs along the seams of the trousers, and heels locked with toes at a 45deg angle.

  SOCOM: Special Operations Command

  SOF: Special Operations Force

  SOI: Signal Operating Instructions

  SOLS: Special Operations Liaison Staff

  SOP: Standard Operating Procedures

  SPECOPS: Special Operations

  Special Boat Squadrons: Units that participate in SEAL missions

  SPECWARCOM: Special Warfare Command

  T-10 Parachute: Basic static-line-activated personnel parachute of the United States Armed Forces. Primarily designed for mass tactical parachute jumps.

  TDy: Temporary Duty

  UN: United Nations

  Unass: To jump out of or off of something

  U. K.: The United Kingdom (England, Wales, Scotland, and

  Northern Ireland)

  VTOL: Vertical Take Off and Landing

  Watch Bill: A list of personnel and stations for the watch

  Waypoint: A location programmed into navigational instrumentation that directs aircraft, vehicles, and/or vessels to a specific spot on the planet.

  Whaler Boat: Small craft loosely based on the types of boats used in whaling. They are generally carried aboard naval and merchant vessels and are diesel-powered.

  WIA: Wounded in Action

  FB2 document info

  Document ID: 6043814f-46a8-4e0f-baf0-2c52b766bd5e

  Document version: 1

  Document creation date: 14.9.2012

  Created using: calibre 0.8.67, FictionBook Editor Release 2.6.6 software

  Document authors :

  Jack Terral

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