Sandra Hill (34 page)

boondockers.
Heavy boots.

BUD/S.
Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training.

Budweiser.
The trident pin worn by Navy SEALs.

CENTCOM.
Central Command.

collateral damage.
Inadvertent casualties and destruction inflicted on civilians in the course of a military operation.

Coronado (California).
The West Coast site of the U.S. Naval Amphibious Base and the Naval Special Warfare Center, where BUD/S are trained. The other SEAL training center is located in Little Creek, Virginia. Coronado is also home to the famous Hotel del Coronado.

cover your six.
Cover your back.

DOR.
Drop on request.

FUBAR.
Fucked up beyond all recognition.

Gig Squad.
A punishment inflicted during BUD/S where a SEAL trainee is forced to spend hours, after the evening meal and a long day of training, outside the officers’ headquarters, doing many strenuous exercises, including the infamous duck squat.

grinder.
The blacktopped area where PT takes place, along with the O-course, on the SEAL training arena at Coronado.

high and tight.
Standard military haircut.

Look and See.
Reconnaissance mission whereby the operators penetrate enemy territory, identify the targets, and depart without being seen.

MRE.
Meal ready to eat.

NSW.
Naval Special Warfare.

O-course.
Obstacle course on the training compound, also referred to as the Oh-My-God course.

PT.
Physical training.

scruffies.
Lowest of the low in military training.

SEAL.
Acronym for Sea, Air and Land, est. 1962.

Sims.
Short for Simunitions, paint bullets that emulate live ammunition, down to short-range ballistics and cyclic rates of fire.

snafu.
Situation normal all fucked up.

SOCOM.
U.S. Special Operations Command.

SOF.
Special Operations Forces.

tango.
Terrorist or bad guy.

UA.
Unauthorized absence, modern version of AWOL.

WARCOM.
Warfare Command, as in Naval Special Warfare Command.

XO.
Executive officer.

Althing.
An assembly of free people that makes laws and settles disputes. It is like a Thing but much larger, involving delegates from various parts of a country, not just a single region.

Birka.
Market town where Sweden is now located.

braies.
Long, slim pants worn by men, usually tied at the waist; also called breeches.

drukkinn.
Drunk.

gunna.
Long-sleeved, ankle-length gown for women, often worn under a tunic or surcoat or long, open-sided apron.

Hedeby.
Market town where Germany is now located.

hird.
Troop, war band.

Hordaland.
Norway.

jarl.
High-ranking Norseman, similar to an English earl or a wealthy landowner; could also be a chieftain or minor king.

Jorvik.
Viking-age York in Britain.

Jutland.
Denmark.

karl.
One rank below a jarl.

nithing.
One of greatest of Norse insults, indicating a man is less than nothing.

Norsemandy.
Vikings ruled what would later be called Normandy. To them, it was Norsemandy.

odal right.
Law of heredity.

sagas.
Oral history of the Norse people, passed on from ancient history onward.

sennight.
One week.

skalds.
Poets or storytellers who composed and told the sagas, which were the only means of recording ancient Norse history, since there was almost no written word then.

straw death.
To die in bed (mattresses stuffed with straw), rather than in battle, which was more desirable.

Thing.
An assembly of freemen called together to discuss problems and settle disputes; forerunner of the English judicial system; like district courts of today.

thrall.
Slave.