James Rawles - Expatriates

N/SEAS: Monocular night vision device (NVD). Standard issue for the Australian Defence Force. It is very similar to the U.S. military’s AN/PVS-14 monocular NVD.

NTXT: No Text.

NVG: Night Vision Goggles.

NWO: New World Order.

OBTW: Oh, by the way.

OC: Oleoresin capsicum. The main ingredient in pepper spray.

OCONUS: Outside the Continental United States.

OCP: Operation Enduring Freedom Camouflage Pattern. Commonly called by its civilian trade name, MultiCam.

OEF: Operation Enduring Freedom.

OP: Observation Post. See also LP/OP.

Op Order: Operations Order.

OPSEC: Operational Security.

Oz: Slang for Australia.

PCS: Permanent Change of Station.

PDA: Personal Digital Assistant.

PEACHS: Protection, Existing tracks, Camouflage and concealment, Hardstanding and Space. A field logistic site selection process.

Pekiti-Tirsia Kali: One category of the Filipino Martial Arts (FMAs.)

PETN: Pentaerythritol tetranitrate. Also known as PENTA. The explosive filler used in detonating “det” cord. See also Det Cord.

PFC: Private First Class.

PHP: Philippine Peso.

P.I.: Slang contraction for Philippine Islands.

Pindad: An Indonesian arsenal that produces military firearms and ammunition.

Pindad SS2: The Pindad Senapan Serbu 2 is an Indonesian variant of the FN FNC 5.56 mm battle rifle. Made in four variants. See also FNC.

PKK: Pembebasan Perombakan Komando (Liberation Demolition Commando), Indonesia.

PKS: Partai Keadilan Sejahtera (Justice Welfare Party), Indonesia. See also FPI.

PM: Prime Minister.

PMV: Protected Mobility Vehicle.

PN: Philippine Navy (Hukbong Dagat ng Pilipinas).

PNG: Papua New Guinea.

PNGDF: Papua New Guinea Defence Force.

Pogue: A term of derision for military men assigned to support positions rather than front-line units.

POL: Petroleum, Oil, and Lubricants. A category of products used by U.S. military.

POST: Passive Optical Seeker Technique. See also Stinger and RMP.

POW: Prisoner of War.

PR1M: Patrol Ration One Man (spoken “Prim”). Similar to a CR1M, but with some more palatable freeze-dried components.

Pre-1899: Guns made before 1899—not classified as firearms under U.S. law.

Pre-1965: U.S. silver coins with 1964 or earlier mint dates, usually with little or no numismatic value. They are sold for the bullion content. These coins have 90 percent silver content. Well-worn pre-1965 coins are sometimes derisively called junk silver by rare-coin dealers.

Primacord: See Detonating/Detonation Cord.

ProvGov: Provisional Government.

PSYOP: Psychological Operations.

PT: Physical Training.

Purple Patch: Australian slang for good luck.

PV: Photovoltaic (solar power conversion array). Used to convert solar power to DC electricity, typically for battery charging.

Qantas: Originally acronym for Queensland and Northern Territory Aerial Services Limited, 1920–1947.

QRP: Ham radio shorthand for low-power (less than 5-watt) transmitters.

QRT: Quick Reaction Team.

RAAF: Royal Australian Air Force.

RAN: Royal Australian Navy.

RTTY: Radio Teletype.

RBS 70: A Swedish-made pedestal-mounted surface-to-air missile.

RCG: Restoration of the Constitution Government.

RCS: Radar Cross Section. The unit of measurement that defines how detectable an object is with radar.

RDX: Research Department Explosive. A nitroamine-based high explosive (cyclonite or cyclotrimethylene trinitramine) that is more powerful than TNT. It is the main component in C-4 plastic explosive.

Reg: Short for Regulation.

Remington: An American gun maker.

RI: Republic of Indonesia.

RMN: Royal Malaysian Navy.

RMP: Reprogrammable Microprocessor. See also Stinger and POST.

ROF(F): Royal Ordnance Factory, Fazakerly, England.

RORO: Roll-on Roll-off. A type of ship specifically designed for transporting vehicles.

RPG: Rocket-Propelled Grenade.

RQ-7B Shadow 200: An Australian UAV with a sixteen-foot wingspan. They weigh 458 pounds. See also UAV and Wulung.

RRA: Rock River Arms. A firearms maker headquartered in Colona, Illinois, that specializes in AR-15 and AR-10 variants.

RTA: Radio Traffic Analyst. See also TA.

RTB: Return to Base.

Ruger: An American gun maker.

SALW: Small Arms and Light Weapons.

SAS: Special Air Service, British Army.

SATCOM: Satellite Communications.

SBI: Special Background Investigation.

SCI: Sensitive Compartmented Information.

SCUBA: Self-Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus.

SERCO: Service Corporation.

SH: Student Handbook.

SIG: Schweizerische Industrie Gesellschaft, the Swiss gun maker.

SIGINT: Signals Intelligence.

Skype: A commercial Voice Over OP (VOIP) video-telephone service.

SLR: Self-Loading Rifle. The generic term used by Australia for the L1A1 rifle.

SMLE: Short Magazine Lee-Enfield rifle.

SOCAUST: Special Operations Commander, Australia.

SOCOMD: Special Operations Command.

SOP: Standard Operating Procedure(s).

SPF: Sun Protection Factor.

SS2: See Pindad SS2.

SSB: Single Sideband. An operating mode for CB and amateur radio gear.

Steyr AUG: The Austrian army’s 5.56 mm “bullpup” infantry carbine. Also issued by the Australian Army as the model F88, as their replacement for the L1A1. This AUG variant is often called the Austeyr.

Stinger: An American-made shoulder-fired surface-to-air missile. See also POST and RMP.

Strac or Strack: A complimentary term for a military member who is well disciplined. Also sometimes applied to a field gear locker box—a “Strack Box.” The origin of this word is debated. Some say that it is an acronym for “Strictly Regular Army Commission” (STRAC), while others attribute it to the family name of Army Air Corps (later USAF) Brigadier General Harold Arthur Strack.

S&W: Smith & Wesson.

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

TA: Traffic Analyst. See also RTA.

TAB: Tactical Advance to Battle. Tactical movement is often called tabbing in Commonwealth countries.