Trident's First Gleaming

GLOSSARY

AK: Abbreviated form of AK-47 and its variants.

AK-47: Contraction of Russian, Automat Kalashnikova abraztsa 1947 goda (Kalishnikov’s 1947 automatic rifle). Holds thirty rounds of .308 (7.62 × 39 mm) ammunition.

Bint: Arabic for girl or daughter.

BUD/S training: Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training. Where all prospective SEALs must begin training, located in Coronado, California.

C&D: Command and Decision, the brains of a weapon control system, which includes missiles.

Delta Force: US Army’s Special Forces Operational Detachment — Delta. Has used cover name of Combat Applications Group (CAG) and Army Compartmented Elements (ACE), but its men simply refer to it as the Unit. Recruits mostly from top performing Army Rangers and Green Berets. Similar to SEAL Team Six, Delta Force is the Army’s Tier One unit that conducts counter-insurgency and counterterrorism operations. For the most sensitive operations, they also work under the CIA’s umbrella of Special Operations Group (SOG).

DEVGRU: Development Group, one of the cover names for SEAL Team Six.

Dip-dunks: Pejorative term for diplomats.

E&E: Escape and Evasion. For each mission, SEALs make an E&E plan for what to do when they can’t make it to the extraction. They also carry a small kit to help them escape and evade the enemy.

Gator: Interrogator.

Inshallah: “God’s will” or “God willing.”

JSOC: Joint Special Operations Command has operational control over Special Mission Units (SMU) such as SEAL Team Six and Delta.

Klick: Kilometer.

Kydex: A strong thermoplastic material used to make holsters that is waterproof and holds its shape better than leather.

Mate: Short for teammate. Because of British SAS influence on the formation of SEAL Team Six and Delta Force, British usage of some vocabulary such as mate has also been adopted by these units.

MP7: A Heckler & Koch (German) submachine gun. Fires an HK 4.6 × 30 mm round. Extremely quiet when used with sound suppressor.

QRF: Quick Reaction Force.

SEAL: U.S. Navy commandos who operate in the environments of SEa, Air and Land. The odd-numbered SEAL Teams (1, 3, 5 and 7) are based in Coronado, California, and the even-numbered Teams (2, 4, 6, 8 and 10) are based at Little Creek, Virginia. (If the Teams expanded, Team 9 would probably be created next.)

SEAL Team Six: Team Six selects from the best SEALs to serve in its Tier One unit, also known as DEVGRU. Team Six SEALs conduct counter-insurgency and counterterrorism operations. For the most sensitive operations, they work under the CIA’s umbrella of Special Operations Group (SOG).

Selection: The course for weeding out who would become a Delta operator and who wouldn’t.

Shabiha: Ghosts. An armed militia that work for the Al-Assad family. Shabiha began sneaking food and cigarettes into Lebanon to sell on the black market for a much higher price. The shabiha paid a percentage to the Assads. The shabiha also smuggled drugs, guns, and expensive cars from Lebanon into Syria — all sanctioned by the Assad family, who, again, received their cut.

SIGINT: Signal Intelligence. SIGINT collects human and electronic signals and can break encryptions and analyze who is sending/receiving signals and the quantities of signaling.

SOG: Special Operations Group conducts high-threat military and intelligence operations that the US government may deny knowledge of, such as SEAL Team Six’s raid of bin Laden’s headquarters. Each Team Six SEAL signed a contract temporarily placing him under SOG’s command. SOG also utilizes Army Delta Force operators and others.

SOP: Standard Operating Procedure.

Spook: Slang for CIA officer.

Tango: Terrorist.

Unit: Delta Force.