Agent Orange
a
chemical herbicide and defoliant use by
the U.S. military to destroy crops or to defoliate
enemy sanctuaries. During the war in Southeast Asia
"Operation Ranch Hand" spread Agent Orange from 1961 to
1971.
Alpha Strike a Navy term to describe a major air
strike operation involving many aircraft.
Arc Light
was the name for a B-52 raid.
Normally, it was composed of two flights of three
B-52 bombers.
Generally, each aircraft carried 108 bombs. Some of which were
750-pound and some were 500-pound bombs. They dropped from
high altitude. Consequently,
people on the ground could not hear them coming until the
bombs started to explode. It was an eye watering
thing.
artillery adjustment
terms:
·
“Add
100”
means to increase the range of the shot along the gun-target
line by 100 meters.
·
“Drop
100”
means to decrease the range of the shot 100 meters.
·
“Right/Left
100”
means to move the shot left or right 100 meters.
·
“Splash“
the
time and/or place where the projectile will hit.
·
“Fire
for
effect” means deliver the requested number of shots as fast
as possible.
Army
units
(Unit sizes vary due to administrative staff and mission):
·
Corps a
major army grouping comprised of two or more divisions. Normally commanded
by a 3-star general. (Approximately 30,000 soldiers).
·
Division a
large military unit normally comprised 3 brigades or
regiments and commanded by a 2-star general. (Approximately
10,000 soldiers).
·
Brigade
or Regiment
an army unit normally comprised of three battalions. Often commanded by
a 1-star general or colonel. (approximately 3000 soldiers).
·
Battalion an
army unit normally comprised 3 companies and commanded by a
lieutenant colonel. (approximately 500 soldiers).
·
Company an
army unit normally comprised of 3 platoons and commanded by
a captain. (approximately 120 soldiers).
·
Platoon an
army unit comprised of 3 squads, normally commanded by a
lieutenant (approximately 30 soldiers).
·
Squad an
army unit normally comprised of 10 soldiers.
AO acronym for Area of
Operations.
ARVN an
acronym for the Army, Republic of Vietnam. It is often
pronounced ARVIN.
auger-in
means to die in an airplane crash.
bingo
fuel enough fuel remaining to return to base
call
sign
is the coded name for a unit or person used over the radio. For example, the
Forward Air Controllers of the Americal Division had the
name Helix. A
particular FAC might be Helix 21.
CBU
an acronym for Cluster Bomb Units, a series of many little
bombs dispensed in a cluster or along a line.
"Charlie" a
nick name for the Viet Cong.
Cherry
flight first
flight after check out with no instructor.
“cleared
hot”
the term used by the FAC that gave the attacking pilot
clearance to drop live ordnance.
CONUS
an acronym for the Continental United States.
daisy
cutter
is a large bomb fused to detonate instantaneously on contact
and fitted with 30 or so inches of pipe welded to the nose
fuse. Such a bomb will actually detonate on the
surface without making a crater. The objective was
to cut down small trees, set-off possible booby traps and
create an instant helicopter landing zone.
DASC
is
an
acronym for Direct Air Support Center. It is the
controlling agency for strike aircraft in a given area.
Dust-off
the
call
sign for the medical evacuation helicopters.
FAC an
acronym for Forward Air Controller.
feet
wet
means to fly along the coast over water, a safe place to
fly.
flown
West
means passed away, deceased, on longer living.
free
fire
zone
an area where political clearance to shoot is not required.
gook a
derogatory term for a person of Vietnamese ethnicity
head
shed
a command center, a headquarters.
High
Drags
aka Snakeye a bomb fitted with panels that extend
when the bomb is dropped.
The panels act to slow the bomb so that the delivery
aircraft is able to escape the bomb blast. Such weapons are
delivered from a shallow pass at low altitude and high
speed.
“Hit
my
smoke.”
Normally, the FAC marked the target with a white phosphorous
smoke rocket. If his mark was accurate, he could
describe where he wanted the bomb to impact by saying, "Hit
my smoke."
hooch (also hootch) improvised quarters, often a
raised plywood floor surrounded by plywood and screen wire
walls and topped with corrugated metal or canvas roof.
(2) informal
for poor quality and/or illicit whiskey.
in-Country the
combat zone or theater, specifically Vietnam.
indian
country
an area controlled by the Viet Cong.
Jack
Benny’s
age informal
code
for the number 39.
Jolly
Green
Giant
a nick name for the Sikorsky HH3 search and rescue
helicopter. It
cold be refueled in the air, which made it able to rescue
downed aircrew deep in enemy territory.
Klick also click
informal for 1000 meters or 0.62 miles.
LRRP
(pronounced lerp) an acronym for Long Range Reconnaissance
Patrol. Normally
an 8-man squad inserted deep in to Viet Cong controlled
territory for the purpose of gathering intelligence, not to
start a fight.
LZ an
acronym for Landing Zone.
A “hot LZ“ is one that is defended. An LZ Prep
an LZ treated with daisy cutters prior to a helicopter troop
landing.
MACV
acronym for Military Assistance Command Vietnam.
Mark
82
(MK 82) a 500-pound streamlined general purpose bomb
developed by the Navy.
It is known as a “slick” unless it is fitted with
retarding fins. Then
is known as a high drag or snakeye.
Mark
117
(M-117) a 750-pound general purpose bomb. It came as a slick
or a high drag configuration.
number
one
means very good, can’t get better, the best.
number
ten
means very bad, the worse.
people
sniffer
a device that detects human urine.
Project
Ranch
Hand
the name of the defoliation effort with “Agent Orange.”
“Puff,
the
Magic Dragon.”
aka “Spooky” was a C-47, a World War II vintage cargo
plane fitted with three mini-guns. Each of these guns
fired 2,000 rounds per minute. With such a firing
rate, the tracer rounds resembled a red death ray. It could stay on
station for several hours.
Spooky was very successful. No village or
hamlet defended by Spooky was ever lost.
push an
army tern for a particular radio frequency.
Sandy
call
sign for and a generic term for search and rescue efforts of
the A1E aircraft out of Pleiku.
SAR
an
acronym for search and rescue
short
round
ordnance that missed it intended target often killing
friendly personnel.
skosh
slang for low or short on, little bit
Snakeye
a
bomb fitted with panels that extend to slow the bomb when it
is dropped. See
“High Drags.”
“same
same”
slang for “equals"
TDY
an acronym for temporary duty, an assignment of short
duration.
"twenty mike mike" informal for twenty millimeter
cannon. Most of the fighters strafed with twenty
millimeter cannon or fifty caliber machine guns.
“troops-in-contact” a
phrase meaning troops have made contact with the enemy and
are engaged in a fire fight.
This phrase raises a request for an immediate air
strike to the highest priority.
Tunnel
rat
a soldier who armed with a flash light and a pistol crawls
into the enemy’s tunnel to see what is there.
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