Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Blues for Allah, Terminology Index

Upon request, I am going to define as many of the military terms as I figure are a problem. If I miss one you don't know, just post a comment and wait for an answer.

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IA = Iraqi Army
AIF = Anti-Iraqi Forces (insurgents)
elements = people, teams, or assets, the board pieces in the chess game per se
Green 6, Warrior 5 = Each person involved has a call sign, like a CB handle, that identifies us on the radio
M1114 = HMMWV, a "hummer", truck
ODA = Special Forces
NB 077847 = Place on a Map
small arms fire = Fire from weapons, from hand carried weapons
NVGs = Night Vision Goggles
AC-130 = Attack Plane
medevac = Medical Evacuation, helicopters are called to retrieve casualties
Intel = intelligence, information that can be gathered
FOB = Forward Operating Base, like the base where I am
C4 = a kind of explosive
UXO = UneXploded Ordinance, anything like grenades, mortars, RPGs, mines
RPG = Rocket Propelled Grenade
KMTB = Kirkush Military Training Base, another name for FOB Caldwell
KIA = Killed In Action
WIA = Wounded In Action
flank = side
OH 58D = helicopter
OBJ = OBJective
F18 = fighter plane
MiTT = tactical teams
IMT maneuvers = buddy maneuvers, soldiers cover while others move
RCT = Regimental Combat Team
LZ = Landing Zone
bird = helicopter
M2 = .50 caliber machine gun. usually mounted atop the HMMWV

3 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Ok. As a trainer, and friend...just let me have it. Is there going to be a quiz later?

19:13  
Blogger mattandriver said...

Ah yes, jargon.
1)Nonsensical, incoherent, or meaningless talk.

2)A hybrid language or dialect; a pidgin.

3)The specialized or technical language of a trade, profession, or similar group. See synonyms at dialect.

4)Speech or writing having unusual or pretentious vocabulary, convoluted phrasing, and vague meaning.

Just a respectful and helpful hint.

JL

21:23  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dear Dorman:

Thank you for the posted comments on my Blog. Is it a wonder that at least one person was looking for a picture of the hotness that teenage boys find in me? 

Out of sheer curiosity I traveled my way to your Blog, only to find it incredibly ironic that my first poster is in the military. In Iraq no less! And I am a profound pacifist.

(A side note: because I think that people often have misconceptions of pacifists and because you are currently stationed at war, I would like the opportunity to express the idea that although I do not support George Bush and his fascist White House Regime, I do support you, the solider living the reality and I sincerely hope that you come home safe, soon.)

So curiosity killed the preverbal cat and I thought to myself… who the heck is this guy and why is he posting to me and let me check out this Blog of his. And then military jargon punched me in the face and I got stunned and confused and had to keep reading.

And then it got me. The existentialist part of you. And I wanted to start a theoretical argument about the necessity of beauty with you right then and there. But your not here. So I thought I would send you an e-mail to convey to you that you were the one who wrote about how miserable you were on a convoy for two days in the same clothes and then you had such utter appreciation for clean, warm clothes later. And I thought, well right there he has the understanding of beauty. He has an appreciation of beauty. Because is not beauty after all perception. And did you not perceive warm clothes at that very moment to be the most beautiful things in the world? To which you would probably argue with me that the clothes were functional and not beautiful at all. So I had the argument by myself.

Oh and here is your answer:

Cleansing the Doors of Perception is written by religion and philosophy scholar Huston Smith in response to his professional and personal experiences with mind-altering drugs. The title is drawn from his friend Aldus Huxley’s book about the mescaline experience called “The Doors of Perception” whose title is based on William Blake’s work. William Blake wrote “The Marriage of Heaven and Hell” and it reads “If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear to man as it is: Infinite”.

Are you sure you’re not a Buddhist?

Sincerley,

Equinoxsky@hotmail.com

http://wander-the-equinox.blogspot.com/

14:26  

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