Danger Close

Glossary

AAGS. Army air-ground system. A-FAC. Airborne forward air controller; also known as FAC/A or air FAC. AFARN. Air force air request net; the radio channel used for calling in CAS requests. AFSOC. Air Force Special Operations Command. AI. Air interdiction; air strikes against forces or fixed targets far away from friendly forces. ALO. Air liaison officer. ANGLICO. Air and naval gunfire liaison company. AOC. Air operations center; also known as CAOC. Apache. AH- attack helicopter. APC. Armored personnel carrier. ARCENT. Army Central Command. ASOC. Air support operations center. ASOG. Air support operations group. ASOS. Air support operations squadron. ATO. Air tasking order; the master schedule of all air activity for any given day. AWACS. Airborne warning and control system. BALO. Battalion air liaison officer. BCD. Battlefield coordination detachment. BDA. Battle damage assessment; also known as bomb damage assessment . Bingo. Fuel level at which you need to head home so you won’t run out of gas. BMP. A Soviet-era APC. Bradley fighting vehicle M-2/M-3. Commonly referred to as the Bradley or the Brad. America’s primary armored personnel carrier . First fielded in , the M- is a cavalry variant designed for scouting. Glossary 242 Glossary BRDM. A Soviet-era APC. BUFF. Nickname for B-. CAOC. Combined air operations center; also known as AOC. CAS. Close air support. CBU. Cluster bomb unit; antipersonnel cluster bomb, used against armor, personnel, and equipment. CENTAF. Central Command, Air Force. CENTCOM. Central Command, higher headquarters running the war in Afghanistan and Iraq. Cleared hot. Radio call giving an aircraft approval to release ordnance. Click. Slang for  kilometer. CO. Commanding officer. Coax. A .-mm machine gun mounted “coaxially,” that is, on the same axis as the main gun on M- tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles. Danger close. Code word meaning the enemy is so close to friendly positions that fragments from bombs or artillery dropped on the enemy might also hit friendly forces. DSHK (pronounced “DISH-ka”). Soviet-era heavy machine gun, similar to an American . caliber. E-BALO. Enlisted battalion air liaison officer. EPW. Enemy prisoner of war. ETAC. Enlisted tactical air controller. Exfil. Exfiltration; leaving a position and returning to friendly territory; also used as a verb, “to exfiltrate.” FAC/A. Forward air controller/airborne; also known as A-FAC or air FAC. FARP. Forward arming and refueling point. FSCL. Fire support coordination line. FSO. Fire support officer. GAU-5. Tactical variant of an M-; similar to an M-. GBU-10. Two-thousand-pound LGB. GBU-12. Five-hundred-pound LGB. GPS. Global positioning system. HEAT round. High-explosive antitank munition fired by the M-’s main gun. Glossary 243 HLZ. Hot (as in hostile) landing zone; a landing zone being defended by the enemy. ID. Infantry division. IED. Improvised explosive device; a homemade bomb. Infil. Infiltration; going into a position, often by covert means; also used as a verb, “to infiltrate.” IR. Infrared. JDAM. Joint direct attack munition. JSTARS. Joint surveillance target attack radar system; sometimes called Joint STARS. KICAS CONOPS. Killbox interdiction/close air support concept of operations (pronounced “kick-ass con-ops”). Kill box. A free-fire area (within the bounds of the rules of engagement, of course). LD. Line of departure; a starting point; also used as a verb, “to cross a line of departure.” LGB. Laser-guided bomb. LOCs. Lines of communication; supply routes. Log trains. Logistical support. LZ.Landing zone; where a helicopter lands to drop off personnel or supplies . M-1 Abrams. U.S. main battle tank, first fielded in . M-4. Carbine variant of the M-. M-16. U.S. standard rifle firing .-mm ammunition. It has been in use since the Vietnam era. M-113. A Vietnam-era APC; it is not as well armored as a Bradley; often called a “track.” M-240. A .-mm machine gun; replaced the old M- .-caliber. mIRC. A shareware internet relay chat client. Mk (usually pronounced “mark”). Term that begins practically every weapon nomenclature, as in Mk-. Why “Mark”? I haven’t a clue. Mk-19. A -mm grenade “machine gun,” MLRS. Multiple launch rocket system. 244 Glossary NCO. Noncommissioned officer; a sergeant. NCOIC. Noncommissioned officer in charge; top NCO noncommand supervisory position. Nine-line. Pilot’s briefing; the standard format used by a controller to pass key information to a pilot in a CAS mission. NOD. Night optical device; also known as NVGs. NTC. National Training Center. NVG. Night...