Expatriates (28 page)

PMV
: Protected Mobility Vehicle.

PN
: Philippine Navy
(Hukbong Dagat ng Pilipinas).

PNG
: Papua New Guinea.

PNGDF
: Papua New Guinea Defence Force.

Pogue
: A term of derision for military men assigned to support positions rather than front-line units.

POL
: Petroleum, Oil, and Lubricants. A category of products used by U.S. military.

POST
: Passive Optical Seeker Technique.
See also
Stinger and RMP.

POW
: Prisoner of War.

PR1M
: Patrol Ration One Man (spoken “Prim”). Similar to a CR1M, but with some more palatable freeze-dried components.

Pre-1899
: Guns made before 1899—not classified as firearms under U.S. law.

Pre-1965
: U.S. silver coins with 1964 or earlier mint dates, usually with little or no numismatic value. They are sold for the bullion content. These coins have 90 percent silver content. Well-worn pre-1965 coins are sometimes derisively called junk silver by rare-coin dealers.

Primacord
:
See
Detonating/Detonation Cord.

ProvGov
: Provisional Government.

PSYOP
: Psychological Operations.

PT
: Physical Training.

Purple Patch
: Australian slang for good luck.

PV
: Photovoltaic (solar power conversion array). Used to convert solar power to DC electricity, typically for battery charging.

Qantas
: Originally acronym for Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited, 1920–1947.

QRP
: Ham radio shorthand for low-power (less than 5-watt) transmitters.

QRT
: Quick Reaction Team.

RAAF
: Royal Australian Air Force.

RAN
: Royal Australian Navy.

RTTY
: Radio Teletype.

RBS 70
: A Swedish-made pedestal-mounted surface-to-air missile.

RCG
: Restoration of the Constitution Government.

RCS
: Radar Cross Section. The unit of measurement that defines how detectable an object is with radar.

RDX
: Research Department Explosive. A nitroamine-based high explosive (cyclonite or cyclotrimethylene trinitramine) that is more powerful than TNT. It is the main component in C-4 plastic explosive.

Reg
: Short for Regulation.

Remington
: An American gun maker.

RI
: Republic of Indonesia.

RMN
: Royal Malaysian Navy.

RMP
: Reprogrammable Microprocessor.
See also
Stinger and POST.

ROF(F)
: Royal Ordnance Factory, Fazakerly, England.

RORO
: Roll-on Roll-off. A type of ship specifically designed for transporting vehicles.

RPG
: Rocket-Propelled Grenade.

RQ-7B Shadow 200
: An Australian UAV with a sixteen-foot wingspan. They weigh 458 pounds.
See also
UAV and Wulung.

RRA
: Rock River Arms. A firearms maker headquartered in Colona, Illinois, that specializes in AR-15 and AR-10 variants.

RTA
: Radio Traffic Analyst.
See also
TA.

RTB
: Return to Base.

Ruger
: An American gun maker.

SALW
: Small Arms and Light Weapons.

SAS
: Special Air Service, British Army.

SATCOM
: Satellite Communications.

SBI
: Special Background Investigation.

SCI
: Sensitive Compartmented Information.

SCUBA
: Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus.

SERCO
: Service Corporation.

SH
: Student Handbook.

SIG
: Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft, the Swiss gun maker.

SIGINT
: Signals Intelligence.

Skype
: A commercial Voice Over OP (VOIP) video-telephone service.

SLR
: Self-Loading Rifle. The generic term used by Australia for the L1A1 rifle.

SMLE
: Short Magazine Lee-Enfield rifle.

SOCAUST
: Special Operations Commander, Australia.

SOCOMD
: Special Operations Command.

SOP
: Standard Operating Procedure(s).

SPF
: Sun Protection Factor.

SS2
:
See
Pindad SS2.

SSB
: Single Sideband. An operating mode for CB and amateur radio gear.

Steyr AUG
: The Austrian army's 5.56 mm “bullpup” infantry carbine. Also issued by the Australian Army as the model F88, as their replacement for the L1A1. This AUG variant is often called the Austeyr.

Stinger
: An American-made shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile.
See also
POST and RMP.

Strac or Strack
: A complimentary term for a military member who is well disciplined. Also sometimes applied to a field gear locker box—a “Strack Box.” The origin of this word is debated. Some say that it is an acronym for “Strictly Regular Army Commission” (STRAC), while others attribute it to the family name of Army Air Corps (later USAF) Brigadier General Harold Arthur Strack.

S&W
: Smith & Wesson.

SWAT
: Special Weapons and Tactics. SWAT originally stood for Special Weapons Assault Team until that was deemed politically incorrect.

TA
: Traffic Analyst.
See also
RTA.

TAB
: Tactical Advance to Battle. Tactical movement is often called tabbing in Commonwealth countries.

Tavor TAR-21
: A bullpup configuration .223 rifle designed in Israel.

TBAS
: Tiered Body Armour System (Australian Army issue).

TBD
: To Be Determined.

TC
: Training Circular.

TCCC
: Tactical Combat Casualty Care.

TDY
: Temporary Duty.

Thermite
: A mixture of aluminum powder and iron rust powder that, when ignited, causes a vigorous exothermic reaction. Used primarily for welding. Also used by military units as an incendiary for destroying equipment.

TM
: Technical Manual.

TNI-AD
:
Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Darat.
The Indonesian Army.

TNI-AL
: Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Laut
.
The Indonesian Navy.

TNI-AU
: Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Udara
.
The Indonesian Air Force.

TO&E
: Table of Organization and Equipment.

Top End
: Australian slang for the Northern Territory.

TOW
: Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire-guided missile.

Triple 0
:
See
000.

TSA
: Transportation Security Administration (also jokingly defined as: Thousands Standing Around).

UAV
: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle.
See also
Wulung and RQ-7B Shadow 200.

UH-1
: The venerable Huey helicopter. In service from the Vietnam War to the present.

UN
: United Nations.

UNPROFOR
: United Nations Protection Force.

UPS
: Uninterruptible Power Source.

USAF
: United States Air Force.

USB
: Universal Serial Bus.

USD
: United States Dollars.

USMC
: United States Marine Corps.

Ute
: Australian slang for utility vehicle.

VAC
: Volts, Alternating Current.

Valmet
: The Finnish conglomerate that formerly made several types of firearms.

VDC
: Volts, Direct Current.

VOI
: Voice of Indonesia.

VW
: Volkswagen.

WD-1
: U.S. military issue two-conductor insulated field telephone wire.

WIA
: Wounded in Action.

WIB
: Waktu Indonesia Barat (Western Indonesia Time).

Wi-Fi
: Wireless Fidelity.

Winchester
: An American gun maker.

WO1
: Warrant Officer 1.

Wulung
: An Indonesian-built 264-pound propeller-driven UAV with a twenty-foot wingspan, a four-hour flight endurance, and a cruising speed of sixty-nine miles per hour.
See also
UAV and RQ-7B Shadow 200.

XD
: Extreme Duty. A line of pistols with parts made in Croatia, produced by Springfield Armory in the United States.

Yakka
: Australian slang for work or working.

My sincere thanks to my editor, Jessica Horvath. I'd also like to express my thanks to the many other folks who have encouraged me, who contributed technical details, who were used for character sketches, and who helped me substantively in the editing process: Edwin B., Bob G., Danielle, D.L., Dr. Craig in New Zealand, Gil R., Stephen H., Steve G., Josh S., Maid Elizabeth, S.L.M., M.B., M.E.W., Nate, Jerry J., J.I.R., Reggie K., Robert L. in Florida, Alan S. in Australia, S.O. in Australia, Kody, Kory and Owen, the family of the late John Kofler (“John the Bowhunter,” who was mentioned in the credits of my previous novels), and the family of the late Pat Jones (also known as SLR-5000 on FALFiles.com.) Pat was born in Australia but worked and died in America, his adopted home. He personified the greatness of the Australian spirit while at the same time he was a true American patriot.

Lastly, I wish to honor the memory of Major Damon Gause (1915–1944). His daring escape from the Philippines in a small boat during the World War II occupation by the Japanese was the inspiration for one passage in this novel. (I highly recommend his published journal,
The War Journal of Major Damon “Rocky” Gause
, edited by Damon L. Gause, with a foreword by Stephen E. Ambrose, published by Hyperion Books, 1999.)

Former U.S. Army Intelligence officer and survivalist James Wesley, Rawles, is a well-known survival lecturer and author. Rawles is the editor of SurvivalBlog.com—the nation's most popular blog on family preparedness. He lives in an undisclosed location west of the Rockies and is the author of the bestselling
Founders: A Novel of the Coming Collapse
;
Survivors: A Novel of the Coming Collapse
;
Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse
; and a nonfiction survival guide,
How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It.