Up From the Depths (28 page)

ROE
: Rules of Engagement. Rules that a military unit adheres to when in a specific situation. ROE and EOF usually go hand in hand. See EOF.

ROTC
: Reserve Officer Training Corps. Pronounced ‘ROT-C.’ Usually offered at colleges and universities to students wanting to pursue a career or education opportunities within the military. Most students become commissioned as 2nd Lieutenants or Lieutenant Junior Grade (LTJG) depending on what branch of service they elect to join.

SAC
: Special Agent in Charge. The lead Secret Service or FBI agent in a detail or investigation. An old abbreviation for the US Air Force Strategic Air Command, now defunct having been replaced by the Air Combat Command (ACC).

SALUTE
: Acronym for Size, Activity, Location, Unit, Time, Equipment. This is a specific report sent back to command from units that are either recon dedicated or performing a strategic reconnaissance mission.

SATCOM
: Satellite Communication. A very secure encrypted form of communication, restricted for military use only.

SAW
: Squad Automatic Weapon. See M249, M240.

SDV
: SEAL Delivery Vehicle/Swimmer Delivery Vehicle. Advanced SEAL Delivery Vehicle or ASDV. Normally a ‘wet’ mini-submarine used as a taxi to insert/retrieve SEAL teams to their targets, can be used from surface ships as well. The SDV is flooded, and the swimmers ride exposed to the water, breathing from the vehicle's compressed air supply or using personal SCUBA or Draeger (Re-breather) equipment. SDVs are generally launched from a Dry Deck Shelter (DDS) on the back of a submarine, or from amphibious carriers (surface craft) equipped to launch and recover the SDV. It can be airdropped (unmanned) into an operational area from a C-130 Hercules.

SEA HAWK
: The naval designation and version of the US Army UH-60 Black Hawk. Comes in many various configuration just like the Army versions. US Coast Guard has adopted it as well and designate it the HH-60 Jay Hawk. Replaced the UH-1 ‘Huey.’

SEAL
: SEa, Air, Land. US Naval Special Forces, first formed in 1962.

SERPA
: Serpa holsters are Blackhawk's line of weapon retention holsters. Given that just about everything Blackhawk makes has a name or an acronym, the automatic assumption would be that Serpa is an acronym as well. It actually isn't, it's named after Michael Serpa, who developed the retention system used in this holster design.

SFG
: Special Forces Group. Usually followed by (A), example: 1SFG(A) denoting that group as airborne (that’s the capital ‘A’ part of the unit descriptor) qualified which most if not all US Army Special Forces units are. Example: 1st Special Forces Group, Airborne would be 1SFG(A).

SIG Sauer
: a European manufacturer of small arms. In this context, it is referencing a high quality handgun favored by most SEAL team operators for its reliability and compact size. It is available in a variety of calibers including 9mm, .40 caliber or .45 caliber. See SEAL

SITT
: Shipboard Integrated Tactical Team. Essentially a SWAT team for US Navy vessels.

SITREP
: Situation Report. A term used by the military and requested by command about the disposition of a unit.

STICK
: An airborne term referring to 10-12 soldiers (a squad) that are grouped together prior to jumping from an aircraft. A platoon could have 4 or more 'sticks' known as a ‘chalk’ which might be broken down by squad with a 'stick' leader usually a senior NCO as squad leader. Forming the paratroopers into sticks and chalks makes it easier for the jumpmaster to know how many people are on the plane and in what order/formation they will be exiting the plane. These terms come from the common use of white chalk on the sides of planes and vehicles to mark and update numbers of personnel and equipment being emplaned. See NCO.

Stoner SR25 SD Rifle
: Developed by Knights Armament Company and Eugene Stoner the creator of the M16 and Stoner Weapons Systems. The SR 25 was the AR-15 rifle scaled up to shoot 7.62x51 / .308 Winchester ammunition, with up to 60% of parts of the new rifle being interchangeable with standard AR-15 components. In 2005, a modified version of the SR-25 / Mk.11 rifle won the US Army Semi-Automatic Sniper Rifle or Special Application Sniper Rifle (M110 SASR) competition, and today it is being issued to US Army snipers, in an attempt to replace the venerable M24 Sniper Weapon System.

SOCOM
: Special Operations Command. It encompasses all branches of service and their specific special operations forces.

SOTIC
: Special Operations Target Interdiction Course. A school that special operators from any branch of service can attend similar to the Marine Corps Scout/Sniper School.

SOTV
: Special Operations Tactical Vehicle. A generic abbreviation and term that identifies a vehicle modified for special operations use. Sometimes there is a numerical designation accompanying the abbreviation.

SPECOPS
: Special Operations. Generic term used to identify military forces trained for special operations without identifying any specific unit or branch.

SPECWAR
: Special Warfare. Commonly referred to as NAVSPECWAR, or Naval Special Warfare (NSW).Designated naval warfare specialty that conducts operations in the coastal, riverine, and maritime environments. The emphasis is small, flexible, highly mobile units that can operate under, on, or from the sea. These operations are characterized by stealth, speed, and precise application of force, encompassing SEAL, SDV, and SWCC units. See NSW, SEAL, SDV, SWCC.

SQT
: SEAL Qualification Training. This training comes after graduating BUD/S. It is like a finishing school for SEALs and takes approximately 18 months to complete. See BUD/S, SEAL.

SSGN
: SSGN is the United States Navy hull classification symbol for a nuclear-powered cruise missile submarine. The SS denotes "Ship, Submersible" (submarine), the G denotes "Guided Missile," and the N denotes "Nuclear Powered." Several “boomers”, Ship, Submersible, Ballistic, Nuclear, (SSBN), that carried Inter-Continental Ballistic Missiles (ICBM) were converted to carry cruise missiles from 2002 to 2008. 22 of the 24 missile tubes were converted to carry 7 Tomahawk Cruise missiles each. The remaining two tubes are converted to Lock Out Chambers (LOC) to be used by Special Operations personnel. This allowed the former SSBN to become a deployment/support platform for special operations units. The submarine (fictional) mentioned within the story has had all missile tubes removed and that space converted to a large dive out locker and storage area. For more information on SSGNs, see this link: http://www.specialoperations.com/Navy/SSGN/

SWCC
: Special Warfare Combatant Crewman. Pronounced ‘swick’. The brown water navy, a term that goes back to the Vietnam War where naval riverine forces operated along the Mekong River, a body of water known to be brown. Primarily, SWCC is a taxi and support service for the SEALs and may use RHIBs or other smaller watercraft to support naval special operations in a maritime environment. Also known as The River Rats as they operate, usually along coastlines, inland waterways and rivers. See RHI(B), SEAL.

Tac-Sat
: Tactical Satellite communications.

TBI
: Traumatic Brain Injury.

TOC
: Tactical Operations Center. Usually a temporary, portable, or transportable facility, building, tent, vehicle, or location that military personnel will use to communicate and interface with other units during a tactical situation.

UAV
: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. Essentially, it is a large remote control plane. The most recognizable would be the Predator and Reaper models, but there are numerous versions from the small man portable WASP III designed to be used by a single infantryman on the battlefield, to the jet powered Global Hawk designed for high altitude long endurance surveillance. The US has placed Air to Ground guided missiles on the Reaper and Predator with great success in the Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts.

UCMJ
: Uniform Code of Military Justice. Articles set forth by congress that define how military personnel should act and what is against the rules; a set of laws to be adhered to by all military personnel or face charges from punitive to court martial.

UDT
: Underwater Demolition Team. Historical precursor to the SEALs. The last UDT team was decommissioned in the 1980s. See SEAL.

UGV
: Unmanned Ground Vehicle, the most common of such vehicles mentioned within the story is the MULE or Multifunctional Utility/Logistics and Equipment. The MULE is a 2.5-ton Unmanned Ground Vehicle.

UHF
: Ultra High Frequency. Radio waves and broadcast bandwidth within the frequency range of 450 MHz to 952 MHZ.

UM84
: Universal holster made by Bianchi replacing the old leather style, made with ‘ballistic’ nylon and several other features. A bit more comfortable to wear and can be extended to a tactical carry when wearing a field jacket and/or body armor.

USAMRIID
: US Army Medical Research Institute for Infectious Disease. This is the group that finds the germ, virus, biological agent, etc., and then attempts to develop a vaccine or antidote. The military medical bio-defense unit. Sometimes referred to as ‘the RID’.

VHF
: Very High Frequency. Radio waves and broadcast bandwidth within the frequency range of 89.00 MHz to 216 MHZ.

VSTOL/VTOL
: Vertical/Short Takeoff and/or Landing. Usually performed by a helicopter. Very few fixed wing aircraft are capable of absolute and vertical immediate lift or drop. Currently, the AV8 Harrier and the AV/MH-22 ‘Osprey’ tilt rotor are the most common aircraft capable of performing such an evolution.

Warpig
: A highly modified M1078 LMTV or Light Medium Tactical Vehicle that has replaced the older 2.5 ton truck. The Warpig is a modified for Special Operations vehicle that has had the cab removed to increase visibility and arcs of fire. It is usually used in a support role and sometime referred to as ‘the Mothership’ as it carries supplies, equipment and ammunition.

XO
: Executive Officer. The second in command beneath the Commanding Officer (CO).

Zodiac
: Combat Rubber Raiding/Reconnaissance Craft (CRRC). Pronounced ‘crick.’ RHIB is the manufacturer of inflatable boats used by civilians, naval forces and other military units. The name ‘Zodiac’ has become synonymous with the CRRC in popular culture.

Acknowledgements

This is the area where I extol the virtues of the people that have helped make this book a reality. There are many people who have gone above and beyond the call and those people include, Chip Denton who designed alternate cover images and provided his time and insight as a test reader.

S.P. Durnin, author of
The Crowbar Chronicles
. I’ve known S.P. for a while now and he never ceases to make me laugh with his input about my work. Many thanks my friend. Tony Monchinski, author of the
Eden
series and many other fictional and non-fictional works. Tony is an author I met through another site, did a review of his work and then started talking to him online. Tony is a great guy and his work is phenomenal. That brings us to the site and its owner that I post reviews. Stuart Conover of Buyzombie.com. Thanks to Stu I’ve been exposed to author of the likes of Jessica Meigs, Craig DiLouie and many, many others.

I want to especially thank John O’Brien, author of
The New World
series. Without John’s help and guidance with aircraft and especially the technical aspects of a C-130, those sequences would be total crap. Another author who had helped me along the way is Stephen Knight. Stephen is the author
The Rising Dead
,
Gathering Horde
series of books and he was kind enough to read through one of the first iterations of my book and offer his notes and suggestions to make it better.

I’d like to thank my sources of military information because without them, this series would not have been possible. The JAG office at JBLM for taking time to help me understand the Posse Comitatus Act and how it affects the use of Military Units within the borders of CONUS. The PAO office at Joint Base Lewis/McChord, WA for answering several hundred questions and remaining polite throughout the ordeal. Thanks to the 17
th
Coast Guard District Public Relations office who took my repeated calls and answered my questions about Coast Guard operations with professionalism even when I’m sure it was frustrating for them. Thanks to the Marine Security Detachment at Bangor, WA for allowing me entry into their ‘inner sanctum’, answering my questions and allowing me a ‘hands-on’ of some the equipment and weapons they use. A big thank you goes out to the ‘Gold’ crew of one of the boomers stationed in the Bangor area for allowing an inside peek at their boat and describing how the subsurface fleet lives and operates.

Thank you goes out to Lieutenant Colonel Emory Lehman (RET), Master Sergeant Ernest Appleby (RET), Staff Sergeant Joseph Carter (RET), Staff Sergeant Michael Liebel (RET), and Sergeant Richard Webber of the 3/161 INF (M) based out of Kent, WA for their help in describing National Guard operations and methods. Their introduction to a particular retired master sergeant helped form one character within the story. I want to thank the service members and civilian staff of Camp Murray, WA who allowed me relative free rein of their facility. Thanks goes out to the staff of Bldg 1, the 10
th
MSD/WMD, 111
th
ASOC, TSGT Mike Lilla of the Washington Air National Guard, the staff of the Washington State Emergency Management office located at Camp Murray, WA and the offices of the Adjutant General of both the Washington National Guard and the Washington Air National Guard for extending every courtesy to me during my visit there. Special thanks to SGTs Sigafoos and Balding for their enlightened input.

A big thanks goes out to the men, and women, of the 1st Special Forces Group(A) also stationed at JBLM for granting me access to their personnel.

This series would not be complete without the help and guidance of Rich Restucci, Sara Gray, Evin Ager, Alan Brooks, Doctor Andrew Dill, MD. (Thanks Doc), and many, many others who provided insight, answers to medical technical issues and provided extremely detailed reviews of each book, pointing out errors and other problems.

Finally, I want to thank you, the reader for encouraging me to continue the series when I was at a point that I felt it should have ended.

Of course, there are many others who I missed and I want to thank them for all their contributions to this project. If you were missed in this book, don’t worry, I’ll get to you in another one.