Rogue Forces

WEAPONS AND ACRONYMS

AMARG—Aerospace Maintenance and Regeneration Group (the “Boneyard”), a U.S. Air Force facility near Tucson, Arizona, that stores, dismantles, and recovers parts from out-of-service aircraft

AOR—Area of Responsibility

AQI—Al-Qaeda in Iraq, an Iraqi offshoot of Osama bin Laden’s terrorist organization

“battle rattle”—personal equipment necessary for combat operations

bullseye—a designated point from which range and bearing information to an objective can be transmitted on open frequencies without revealing one’s own location

C4I—Command, Control, Communications, Computers, and Intelligence

Çancaya—the seat of government of the Republic of Turkey

CHU—Containerized Housing Unit, a mobile living space resembling a cargo container used by U.S. soldiers in Iraq

CHUville—an area of a large number of CHUs

DFAC—Dining Facility

ECM—Electronic Countermeasures

EO—Electro-Optical, sensors that can electronically distribute or enhance optical images

FAA—Federal Aviation Administration, U.S. aviation regulatory agency

FOB—Forward Operating Base, a military base close to or in enemy territory

Fobbits—slang for staff and support personnel

Fobbitville—slang for the headquarters building

FPCON—Force Protection Condition, a rating of the enemy or terrorist threat level for a military installation (formerly THREATCON)

GP—Geneal Purpose (gravity bomb or vehicle)

IA—Iraqi Army

IED—Improvised Explosive Device

IIR—Imaging Infrared, a heat sensor with enough resolution to form images

ILS—Instrument Landing System, a radio beam system that can guide aircraft to land in severe weather conditions

IM—Instant Messaging, transmitting text messages between computers

IR—Infrared

Klicks—kilometers

KRG—Kurdistan Regional Government, the political organization that administers the autonomous Kurdish region of northern Iraq

LLTV—Low-Light TV

LRU—Line Replaceable Units, components of aircraft systems that can be easily removed and replaced on the flight line if it malfunctions

Mahdis—slang term for any foreign fighter

Mission-adaptive technology—system of automatically shaping aircraft surfaces to allow greater flight control capabilities

Modes and codes—settings for different aircraft identification transponder radios

MTI—Moving Target Indication, a radar that tracks moving vehicles on the ground from a long distance

Netrusion—transmitting false data or programming into an enemy computer network via digital communications, datalinks, or sensors

NOFORN—No Foreign; a security classification that restricts foreign nationals from acessing data

PAG—Congress for Freedom and Democracy, an alternate name of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party

PKK—Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan, Kurdistan Workers' Party, a Kurdish separatist organization seeking to form a separate nation from the ethnic Kurdish regions of Turkey, Iran, Syria, and Iraq; recognized as a terrorist organization by several nations and organizations

ROE—Rules of Engagement, the procedures and limitations for a combat operation

SAM—Surface-to-Air Missile

SEAD—Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses, using jammers and weapons to destroy an enemy air defense weapon, radar, or command and control facilities

triple-A—antiaircraft artillery

AGM-177 Wolverine—air-or ground-launched autonomous attack cruise missile

CBU-87 Combined Effects Munition—an air-dropped weapon that releases antipersonnel and antivehicle mines over a wide area

CBU-97 Sensor-Fuzed Weapon—an air-dropped weapon that can detect and destroy numerous armored vehicles at one time over a wide area

CID—Cybernetic Infantry Device, a manned robot with enhanced strength, armor, sensors, and combat capabilities

Cobra gunship—U.S. Army second-generation weaponized light helicopter

CV-22 Osprey—a medium transport aircraft that can take off and land like a helicopter but can then swivel its rotors and fly like a fixed-wing aircraft

JDAM—Joint Direct Attack Munition, a bolt-on kit for gravity bombs that give them near-precision accuracy using Global Positioning System navigation information

KC-135R—latest model of the Boeing 707 family of aerial refueling tanker aircraft

Kiowa—light helicopter that carries advanced sensors used to spot targets for helicopter gunships

MIM-104 Patriot—American-made ground-based antiaircraft missile system

SA-14—second generation Russian-made shoulder-fired antiaircraft missile

SA-7—first generation Russian-made shoulder-fired antiaircraft missile

Slingshot—high-powered laser defensive system for aircraft

Stryker—an eight-wheeled multirole armored personnel carrier of the U.S. Army

Tin Man—a soldier outfitted with advanced body armor, sensors, and strength augmentation systems to increase his combat capabilities

XC-57 “Loser”—a flying-wing aircraft originally designed for the U.S. Air Force’s Next Generation Bomber, but converted to a multimission transport aircraft when the design lost the contract competition