Hercules: See C130
Hesco Bastion: Square metal meshed cubes lined with Hessian and filled with rubble and/or sand. Used as defensive ramparts to protect bases and platoon houses from fire
HIDAS: Helicopter Integrated Defensive Aid System – protection from SAMs
HIG: Hezb-I Islami Gulbuddin – major group of the old Mujahideen with ties to Osama bin Laden referred to in this book as Taliban
HLS: Helicopter Landing Site
Hot: Air speak for clearance or acknowledgment that live bombs can be dropped
HQ: Headquarters – The nerve centre for planning and execution of operations
HRF: Helmand Reaction Force – 2 Apaches and a Chinook full of soldiers on standby at Bastion used to bolster any troops on the ground quickly
HumInt: Human Intelligence – intelligence provided by human sources; spies, snitches, etc.
I Bar: See Steering Cursor
ID: Identification
IED: Improvised Explosive Device – homemade bombs or multiple mines strapped together
IRA: Irish Republican Army – Northern Irish Para-military group
IRT: Incident Response Team – Apaches, Chinooks, doctors, medics and ATO responsible for the immediate recovery of personnel in danger or injured
ISAF: International Security Assistance Force – multi-national military force in Afghanistan
ISI: Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence – Pakistan’s Intelligence Agency
ISTAR: Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance
IX Battlegroup: The Information Exploitation Battlegroup – Magowan’s troops
JDAM: Joint Direct Attack Munition – Inertial Navigation and GPS guidance system bolted onto a 500 to 2000lb bomb to make it an accurate all-weather weapon
Joint Helicopter Command: The UK-based command headquarters and operating authority for all British military helicopters in the UK and abroad
JHF: JHF (A) – Joint Helicopter Force in Afghanistan – ‘Main’ at Kandahar and ‘Forward’ at Camp Bastion – the Afghanistan helicopter headquarters operating under authority for the JHC
JOC: Joint Operations Cell – the functioning control centre of operations in the Helmand province
JTAC: Joint Terminal Attack Controller – soldier responsible to his commander for the deliverance of air ordnance from combat aircraft onto a target. The airspace controller above a battle, normally callsigns Widow or Knight Rider
Klicks: Military slang for kilometres
KIA: Killed in action
Knight Rider: Callsign for the BRF JTAC’s
Lance Bombardier: Artillery Rank – the second rung on the ladder after private/marine
LCpclass="underline" Lance Corporal – rank – the second rung on the ladder after private/marine
Leakers: Taliban that are attempting to escape (leak) from a target area
Lima Charlie: Phonetic alphabet for LC – air speak for Loud and Clear
Loadie: Loadmaster responsible for passengers and equipment in military troop-carrying helicopters or transport aircraft
Longbow: The Longbow Radar is the Apache’s Fire Control Radar. It looks like a large Swiss cheese and sits on top of the main rotor system
LS: Landing Site
LSJ: Life Support Jacket – survival waistcoat
Lynx: British Army Light Battlefield Helicopter – used for movement of small teams
M230: The cannon on the underside of the Apache; 30mm chain fed
ManPADS: Man Portable Aid Defence System – shoulder-launched heat-seeking missile
MC: Military Cross – awarded in recognition of exemplary gallantry during active operations against the enemy on land.
MI6: Military Intelligence Section 6 – nickname for the British Government’s Secret Intelligence Service
MIA: Missing in action
MiD: Mentioned in Despatches – award for gallantry or otherwise commendable service
MIRC: Military Internet Relay Chat
MoD: Ministry of Defence
Monocle: The pink see-through glass mirror over an Apache pilot’s right eye that displays green symbology and images from the onboard computers and sights
Mosquito: Taliban slang for the Apache
MPD: Multi-Purpose Display – 5-inch screen on the console in the Apache
MSR: Main Supply Route – route for equipment and personnel
Mujahideen: Afghan opposition groups – fought the Soviets during the Soviet invasion and each other in the Afghan Civil War – plural for the word mujahid meaning ‘struggler’
NAAFI: Navy, Army and Air Forces Institute – a British military shop and café
NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organisation – multi-national military force
Negative: Air speak for No
Nimrod MR2: Royal Air Force large-bodied jet that is used as a spy plane
NSA: National Security Agency – US Government’s communications intelligence (same as GCHQ)
NVG: Night Vision Goggles – night sights that magnify light by 40,000 times
OC: Officer Commanding – Major in charge of a Squadron or Company group
Ops: Operations – as in Ops tent, Ops room, Ops Officer or literally an operation
ORT: Optical Relay Tube – the large console in the front seat with PlayStation type grips on either side
P Company: Gruelling fitness tests used by the Parachute Regiment to test suitable candidates for parachute training and airborne forces
Para: Nickname for a soldier from the Parachute Regiment or the Regiment itself
Paveway: Laser Guided Bomb (LGB) – the laser guidance system bolted onto 500–2000 lb bombs
Pepper-Potting: One patrol goes firm. The other passes it and goes firm. Then the original patrol passes and goes firm. On and on – one foot on the ground at all times advancing forward or backwards
Pinzgauer: Small 4x4 All Terrain Utility Truck
Piss Boy: The loser of a game who has to make the tea and coffee
PJHQ: Permanent Joint Headquarters – located at Northwood; Commands overseas joint and combined military operations and provides military advice to the Ministry of Defence.
PK: Soviet designed General Purpose Machine Gun – 7.62mm bipod machine gun
PNVS: Pilot’s Night Vision System – the thermal camera that sits above the TADS on the Apache’s nose
Pongo: Derogatory slang used by the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force for Army soldiers
Port: Left-hand side of an aircraft or vessel
Predator: Large US UAV that contains sophisticated sights and radios similar to those on the Apache. It can be armed with Hellfire
PX: Post Exchange – huge US Military shop that sells almost anything
QHI: Qualified Helicopter Instructor – flying instructor
R and R: Rest and Recuperation – break from combat
RAF: Royal Air Force