James Rawles - Liberators

Strat:Slang for Strategic.

STU:Secure Telephone Unit. (Spoken “Stew.”) See also STE and NSTS.

STU-III:A third-generation STU phone. (Spoken “Stew Three.”) See also STE and NSTS.

SUV:Sport Utility Vehicle.

S&W:Smith and Wesson.

SWAT:Special Weapons and Tactics. (SWAT originally stood for Special Weapons Assault Team until that was deemed politically incorrect.)

TA:Traffic Analyst/Analysis. Study of communications patterns to determine unit relationships and dispositions. See also RTA.

Tactical SCIF:An accredited secure area used for actual or simulated war operations for a specified period of time.

Tall Oak: See Project Tall Oak. (Later renamed Task Group Tall Oak.)

TARP:Depending on context, Threat Awareness and Reporting Program or Troubled Asset Relief Program.

Task Group Tall Oak: See Project Tall Oak.

TAWS:Terrain Awareness and Warning System.

TBAS:Tiered Body Armor System (Australian army issue).

TBD:To Be Determined.

TDY:Temporary Duty.

Technical Truck:A pickup truck equipped with a pedestal-mounted machine gun.

TEMPEST:Telecommunications Electronics Material Protected from Emanating Spurious Transmissions. The now unclassified U.S. government code word for emanations security. See also EMSEC.

TEP:TEMPEST Endorsement Program.

Thermite:A mixture of aluminum powder and iron rust powder that, when ignited, causes a vigorous exothermic reaction. Used primarily for welding. Also used by military units as an incendiary for destroying equipment.

Third Department:The PLA’s signals intelligence-gathering and analysis arm.

TIG:Tungsten Inert Gas. (A welding method.)

TNT:2,4,6-trinitrotoluene is a colorless or pale yellow and odorless crystalline high explosive.

TO:Tall Oak.

TOC:Tactical Operations Center.

TO&E:Table of Organization and Equipment.

Topo:Short for topographical.

TOP SECRET:The security classification applied to information, the unauthorized disclosure of which reasonably could be expected to cause exceptionally grave damage to the national security. See also TS and SCI.

TPZ:Transportpanzer. A variant of the six-wheel Fuchs (Fox) APC.

TRU:Thompson Rivers University.

TS:Top Secret.

TSCM:Technical Surveillance Countermeasures (Surveys and Evaluations). A physical, electronic, and visual examination to detect technical surveillance devices, technical security hazards, and attempts at clandestine penetration. See also TEMPEST and EMSEC.

TSEC:The system for identifying the type and purpose of certain items of COMSEC material.

Type 92: See QSZ-92.

Type 95: See QBZ-95.

UAV:Unmanned aerial vehicle. See also RPV.

UDT:Underwater Demolition Team.

UN:United Nations.

UN-MNF:United Nations Multinational Force.

UNPROFOR:United Nations Protection Force (Security Assistance Command).

UPS:Uninterruptible Power Source.

U.S.:United States.

USB:Universal Serial Bus.

U.S.-Controlled Facility:A base or building to which access is physically controlled by U.S. individuals who are authorized U.S. government or U.S. government contractor employees.

USMC:United States Marine Corps.

VAB: Véhicule de l’Avant Blindé (Armored Vanguard Vehicle).

VAC:Volts, Alternating Current.

Valmet:The Finnish conglomerate that formerly made several types of firearms.

Vault: See SCIF.

VBCI: Véhicule Blindé de Combat d’Infanterie .

VBT:Very Bad Thing.

VCI: Véhicule de Combat d’Infanterie (infantry combat vehicle). A variant in the VBCI family of wheeled APCs.

VCP:Vehicle Control Point.

VDC:Volts, Direct Current.

VEVAK: Vezarat-e Ettela’at va Amniyat-e Keshvar . The Iranian intelligence service See also MOIS.

VPC: Véhicule Poste de Commandement (command post vehicle). A variant in the VBCI family of wheeled APCs.

VTT: Véhicule de Transport de Troupes (troop transport vehicle). A variant in the VBCI family of wheeled APCs.

VW:Volkswagen.

WAN:Wide Area Network.

WD-1:U.S. military-issue two-conductor insulated field telephone wire.

Wi-Fi:Wireless Fidelity.

XL:Extra Large.

Z-9:A Chinese military utility helicopter. It is a license-built version of the French Eurocopter AS365 Dauphin , manufactured by Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation. The attack variants have fixed-mount 23mm cannons.

Z-10:An attack helicopter developed by the People’s Republic of China.

Z-19:A Chinese reconnaissance/attack helicopter developed by Harbin Aircraft Manufacturing Corporation for the People’s Liberation Army Air Force and the Ground Force Air Force.

Special thanks to Mrs. X., who articulated the dilemma of those trapped in and near the D.C. Beltway, bound by golden handcuffs.

Also, thanks to “Joe Snuffy.” Despite having his own successful career in military intelligence, and many job offers, he chose to live a simpler life, and avoided the golden handcuffs.

This book’s title is a shared homage in honor of:

• The veterans of the U.S. Army Fourteenth Armored Division (“The Liberators”);

• Those who designed and built the Consolidated B-24 and PB4Y-1 “Liberator” heavy bombers;

• The aircrewmen who flew B-24 Liberator bombers in World War II. In particular, I thank Lt. Col. Alvin G. “Al” Millspaugh, whom I met when I was a teenager;

• George Hyde, the German-born designer of the American FP-45 Liberator pistol made during World War II;

• And Cody Wilson, the inventor of the twenty-first-century “Liberator” 3D-printed pistol.

This novel is also dedicated to the memory of famed cattleman Richmond P. Hobson Jr., the author of Grass Beyond the Mountains , which describes the early cattle ranch settlement of the interior of British Columbia in the 1930s. The largely roadless country north of Anahim Lake is still one of the last frontier regions in North America.

I also want to express my thanks to the many other folks who encouraged me, who contributed technical details, who were used for character sketches, and who helped me substantively in the editing process. They include: Fred Burton (a former DSS counterintelligence agent, now Stratfor’s vice president for intelligence), Roxanne B., Frank B., Dave B., Cheryl, Mr. C. in Cocolalla, the DCS Guy, E. in Afghanistan, Erin in Bella Coola, Frank and Fern, “Enola Gay,” Harry, Josh H., Buddy Hinton, Hugh, Jeff C., Jerry J., the intrepid float-plane pilot Rob J., Reggie Kaigler (“DEMCAD”), Steve K., “Ken and Terry Layton,” Norm of Anahim Lake, Mr. O. of the Secwepemc, J.I.R., Patrice, Randy R., S. in Kamloops, Brian S., Tamara, an unnamed fellow ASA veteran, and an unnamed defense attaché.