James Ashcroft - Making a Killing - The Explosive Story of a Hired Gun in Iraq

7.62 short7.62 × 39mm round used by AK-47, RPDand SKS.

9 millyBritish Army slang for 9mm pistol.

AAFESAmerican Army and Air Force Exchange Service, the welfare shopping organisation establishing shops for US Forces around the world on US bases. Commonly known as the PX.

AbramsUS main battle tank M1A2, 120mm cannon, .50 calmachine gun and two 7.62mm GPMG.

AC-130H/UMilitary designation for Spectreaerial gun platform based on a C-130 airframe. It has a 40mm cannon, twin 20mm multi-barrelled Gatling guns and an automatic 105mm artillery piece. Computer guidance allows the aircraft to circle and maintain uninterrupted, accurate fire support on to target. Its radar can track its own 40mm and 105mm projectiles in flight, thus allowing pinpoint adjustment of fire. The software will allow two targets up to 1km apart to be engaged simultaneously.

Actions onTerm used to describe standard operating procedures for any given scenario.

AGCAdjutant’s General Corps.

AH-64See Apache.

AK-47Soviet assault rifle firing 7.62 short, available folding or fixed stock with 30- and 40-round magazines or 75-round drum.

ApacheUS twin-engine attack helicopter military designation AH-64with excellent long-range stand-off optics, armed with a wide variety of air-to-air and ground attack anti-personnel and anti-vehicular munitions.

B6/BVIVehicle armour grading of a level to withstand a limited level of high-velocity rifle and machine-gun fire up to 7.62mm. Not proof against armour piercing rounds, .50 calrounds or RPG.

BIAPBaghdad International Airport.

Blue-force trackerA GPStracking unit that will display a vehicle’s exact location on a digital display both in the vehicle and in the operations room. Only issued to US Forces and PSDs carrying out CFtaskings.

BMPSoviet tracked armoured personnel carrier with turret and medium-calibre weaponry varying according to model.

BradleyBradley M2tracked Infantry Fighting Vehicle, or M3 Cavalry variant, armed with 25mm chain gun, 7.62mm GPMGand TOW missiles. Some variants carry anti-aircraft Javelin or Stinger missiles. Three crew and six passengers.

BrowningBrowning Hi Power pistol, or GP35, a 9mm automatic pistol with a 13- or 20-round magazine. Made by Fabrique Nationale, the Belgian firearms manufacturer who also produced the MAG, the Minimiand many others. Sometimes also used to refer to the Browning M2 .50 calmachine gun.

CasevacCasualty Evacuation.

CFCoalition Forces.

CircuitThe network of men working as Private Security Contractors.

COPClose Observation Platoon.

CPClose Protection, bodyguarding activity.

CPACoalition Provisional Authority, the interim government installed by the US government after the invasion of Iraq. Also refers to the Presidential palace compound later to be known as ‘the Green Zone’ or ‘the International Zone’.

CQBClose Quarter Battle, refers to the weapons and tactics used for close-range fighting.

DragunovSemi-automatic Eastern Bloc sniper rifle firing 7.62 long. Also known as SVD.

FOBForward Operating Base.

FPSFacilities Protection Service.

G3Heckler & Koch automatic rifle, firing 7.62mm NATO.

GlockAustrian 9mm pistol, most commonly the Glock 17 or 19 models with 17- and 15-round magazine capacity respectively.

GPMGGeneral Purpose Machine Gun, such as the MAG made by Belgian manufacturer, Fabrique Nationale. The MAG is an extremely reliable design used all over the world firing 7.62 NATOfrom a disintegrating belt with left-hand feed, recently adopted by US Forces as the M240 or M240G.

GPSGlobal Positioning System, satellite navigation system which can be handheld, the size of a cellphone, or vehicle mounted.

Green ZoneCompound surrounding the CPAand US Embassy palaces, approximately 10 sq. km in the centre of Baghdad. Later known as the International Zone or IZ.

HumveeStandard 4 × 4 utility vehicle of the US Forces. A variety of models, some soft, some with light Kevlar armour and some with heavy armour, often with home-made or factory-built turrets to protect top gunners. Armed with anything from SAWsand 240s to .50 calsand Mk19s.

ICDCIraqi Civil Defence Corps, local troops recruited and trained by CFto carry out military security duties. They had a reputation for being corrupt, with a strong tendency to desert with all their kit.

IEDImprovised Explosive Device. A bomb.

INGIraqi National Guard, replaced the ICDC.

IPIraqi Police, also known as ‘Iraqi 5-Oh’ or ‘Baghdad’s Finest’.

IRAQNAIraqi cellphone network.

JackyDerogative term for Arab/Iraqi, as in ‘Jacky the Iraqi’ (they call us ‘Mister’).

KIAKilled In Action.

KiowaOH58D Kiowa Warrior, single-engine US attack/recce helicopter with two universal weapons pylons capable of accepting combinations of Hellfire missile, the Air-to-Air Stinger (ATAS) missile, 2.75’ Folding Fin Aerial Rocket (FFAR) pods, and a .50 calmachine gun. The extra weight of weapons and avionics has given this airframe a reputation for difficult auto-rotations in the event of engine failure.

KlickMilitary term for kilometre.

LongSlang for rifle, i.e. a long weapon as opposed to a short.

M1See Abramsmain battle tank.

M16Standard battle rifle of US Forces firing 5.56.

M2See Bradley.

M240See GPMG.

M249See Minimi.

M45.56 carbine, compact version of M16rifle.

MCIUS cellphone network set up and used by CFin Baghdad.

MinimiLight machine gun manufactured by Fabrique Nationale of Belgium, firing 5.56mm from a disintegrating belt left-hand feed, also capable of feeding from M16magazines if no belted ammunition is available. A compact and reliable weapon when new. Used by US Forces under the designation M249 SAW.

Mk 1940mm automatic grenade launcher.

MP5SMG family manufactured by Heckler & Koch, also includes MP5K (short) and MP5SD (suppressed). An excellent 9mm SMG.

NGONon-Governmental Organisation, usually a humanitarian aid organisation such as the International Red Cross or the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).

OGAOther Governmental Agency, i.e. the CIA, but don’t tell anyone. It’s a secret.

PEPlastic Explosive.

PKMSoviet GPMGfiring 7.62 longfrom a non-disintegrating belt fed in from the right-hand side. Also known as ‘PKC’ or ‘BKC’ by the Iraqis.