James Rawles - Liberators

Accredited/Accreditation:The formal approval of a Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility (SCIF) that meets prescribed physical, technical, and personnel security standards.

Acoustic Security:Security measures designed and used to deny aural access to classified information. See also SCIF.

ACP:Automatic Colt Pistol.

ACU:Army Combat Uniform. The U.S. Army’s predominantly gray “digital” pattern camouflage uniform that replaced the BDU.

AFB:Air Force Base.

AFCENT:Allied Forces Central Europe. (A military command.)

AGL:Above Ground Level.

AI:Artificial Intelligence.

Air Gap: See High Side and Low Side.

AK:Avtomat Kalashnikov. The gas-operated weapons family invented by Mikhail Timofeyevitch Kalashnikov, a Red Army sergeant. AKs are known for their robustness and were made in huge numbers, so that they are ubiquitous in much of Asia and the Third World. The best of the Kalashnikov variants are the Valmets that were made in Finland, the Galils that were made in Israel, and the R4s that are made in South Africa.

AK-47:The early generation Kalashnikov carbine with a milled receiver that shoots the intermediate 7.62x39mm cartridge. See also AKM.

AK-74:The later generation AK carbine that shoots the 5.45x39mm cartridge.

AKM: Avtomat Kalashnikova Modernizirovanniy . The later generation 7.62x39 AK with a stamped receiver.

ALAT: Aviation Légère de l’Armée de Terre. (Light Aviation of the Land Army.)

AM:Amplitude Modulation.

Ammo:Slang for ammunition.

AO:Area of Operations.

AP:Armor Piercing.

APC:Armored Personnel Carrier.

AR:Automatic Rifle. This is the generic term for semiauto variants of the Armalite family of rifles designed by Eugene Stoner (AR-10, AR-15, AR-180, etc.).

AR-7:The .22 LR semiautomatic survival rifle designed by Eugene Stoner. It weighs just two pounds when disassembled. Still in production, it has been manufactured by several American makers since the 1960s.

AR-10:The 7.62mm NATO predecessor of the M16 rifle, designed by Eugene Stoner. Early AR-10s (mainly Portuguese, Sudanese, and Cuban contract, from the late 1950s and early 1960s) are not to be confused with the present-day semiauto-only “AR-10” rifles that are more closely interchangeable with parts from the smaller-caliber AR-15. See also AR, AR-15, and LAR-8.

AR-15:The semiauto civilian variants of the U.S. Army M16 rifle.

ASA:Army Security Agency.

ASAP:As Soon As Possible.

ATC:Air Traffic Control.

ATF: See BATFE.

AUG: See Steyr AUG.

AUS-Steyr: See Steyr AUG.

Authorized Personnel:Those holders of active security clearances who are fully cleared and indoctrinated for SCI, have a valid need to know, and have been granted access to a SCIF. See also SAP and SCIF.

AVGAS or avgas:Aviation Gasoline. The most commonly used aviation gasoline is hundred-octane, low-lead (100LL).

AWOL:Absent Without Official Leave.

BAH:Basic Allowance for Housing.

BATFE:Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (a U.S. federal government taxing agency).

BBC:British Broadcasting Corporation.

BC:British Columbia.

BCD:Bad Conduct Discharge. Also sometimes jokingly called a Big Chicken Dinner.

BDU:Battle Dress Uniform. Also called “camouflage utilities” by the USMC. Most BDUs were made in the woodland camouflage pattern.

Big Chicken Dinner: See BCD.

Black:Depending on context: either a classified program or a designation applied to information systems, and to associated areas, circuits, components, and equipment, in which national security information is encrypted or is not processed. See also Red and Red/Black.

Black Rifle/Black Gun:Generic terms for a modern battle rifle—typically equipped with a black plastic stock and forend, giving these guns an “all-black” appearance. Functionally, however, they are little different from earlier semiauto designs.

BLM:Bureau of Land Management (a U.S. federal government agency that administers public lands).

BMG:Browning Machine Gun. Usually refers to .50 BMG, the U.S. military’s standard heavy machine-gun cartridge since the early twentieth century. The .50 BMG cartridge is now often used for long-range precision countersniper rifles.

Body-Cam:A body-mounted camera, typically worn by law enforcement officers.

BUD/S:Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL (school). See also SEAL.

BX:Base Exchange.

C1:The Canadian Army’s version of the L1A1 FAL variant.

C2:The Canadian Army’s version of the L2A1 heavy-barrel FAL variant.

C4:Composition 4. A plastic explosive.

C7:The Canadian Army’s version of the M16A4 rifle. Produced by Diemaco, and later by Colt Canada. Also issued by Denmark, Holland, and Sweden.

C8:The Canadian Army’s version of the M4 Carbine.

CAR-15: See M4.

CARB:California Air Resources Board.

Cat:Slang contraction for Caterpillar (tracked tractor).

CAT:Combat Application Tourniquet.

CB:Citizens Band radio. A VHF broadcasting band. No license is required for operation in the United States. Some desirable CB transceivers are capable of SSB operation. Originally twenty-three channels, the Citizens Band was later expanded to forty channels during the golden age of CB, in the 1970s.

CBC:Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.

CBLTV:Canadian Border Logistics and Training Volunteers network. Spoken “Cable TV.”

CBP:Customs & Border Protection.

CENTCOM:Central Command. Nicknamed SADCOM by its detractors.

CG:Center of Gravity.

CGF Gallet:The French manufacturer of SPECTRA ballistic helmets. See also SPECTRA.

CHU:Containerized Housing Unit.

CI:Counterintelligence. See also HUMINT.

CIA:Central Intelligence Agency.

CLEP:College-Level Examination Program.

Closed Storage:The storage of SCI material in properly secured GSA-approved security containers within an accredited SCIF. See also Open Storage and SCIF.

CLP:Cleaner, Lubricant, Protectant. A Mil-Spec lubricant, sold under the trade name “Break Free CLP.”

CM:Chinese Mandarin.

CMCS:COMSEC Material Control System.

CN:Canadian National (railroad).

CO:Commanding Officer.

CO 2 :Carbon dioxide.

Collateral SCI: See SCI and SAP.

COMINT:Communications Intelligence.

COMSEC:Communications Security. The measures used to protect both classified and unclassified traffic on military communications and computing networks.