CQ — Short for charge of quarters. This is a noncommissioned officer who is put on duty at company level during nonduty hours. He is responsible for the maintenance of unit rules and regulations and is the point of contact for receiving and passing important information at the company.
Division — A major military organization that consists of brigades and/or regiments and can have a personnel strength as low as 6,500 men or as high as 20,000, depending on the type.
Hummer (also Hummvee and HMMWV) — Popular name applied to the high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle (hence HMMWV). The hummer has replaced the old jeep as the Army's four-wheel-drive all-purpose utility truck.
M-1/M-1A1 Abrams Tank — The Army's primary ground weapon system for closing with and destroying enemy forces using fire power, mobility, and shock effect. The tank weighs 61 tons for the basic M-1 and 63 for the M-1A1 fully combat-loaded. The M-1 is equipped with a 105mm rifled cannon of British origin, while the M-1A1 has a 120mm smooth bore of German origin. The tank also has a secondary armament of one caliber- .50 M-2 heavy-barreled machine gun (the commander's weapon), a 7.62mm machine gun coaxially mounted with the main gun controlled by the gunner, and a 7.62 machine gun mounted at the loader's position. The crew consists of a commander, a gunner, a loader, and a driver. Equipped with a 1,500-horsepower turbine engine, the M-1 is capable of 45 mph when the engine is governed. Earlier models that did not have governors on their engines reportedly reached speeds of 70 mph and were duly ticketed by the authorities. Not only does the M-1/M-1 A1 have special armor that increases survivability, but fuel and ammunition are stored in special armored compartments away from the crew, further increasing the chances of survival in the event an enemy round penetrates into the tank's interior.
M-16 — The standard rifle of U.S. ground combat forces, the M-16 fires a 5.56mm round either semiautomatically or fully automatically and is gas operated, magazine fed, and air cooled. The M-16A2, now being fielded, eliminates the automatic mode and fires a three-round burst instead and has several other improvements, including a heavier barrel that allows greater accuracy at longer ranges.
M-60A3 — Last of the M-60 series Patton tanks which were initially introduced into active service in 1960, the M-60 A3 is a highly modified version that includes a sophisticated fire-control system, onboard stabilization for the main gun, and either thermal or passive night sights. The tank weighs 53 tons fully combat-loaded. The M-60A3 is equipped with the same 105mm rifled cannon as the basic M-1, a secondary armament of one caliber- .50 M-85 machine gun (the commander's weapon), and a 7.62mm machine gun coaxially mounted with the main gun. The crew consists of a commander, a gunner, a loader, and a driver. Equipped with a 750 horsepower diesel engine, the M-60A3 is capable of a breathtaking 20 mph. Armor consists of rolled homogeneous armor up to four inches thick, but no special armor. Most active Army units have had the M-60 A3 tanks replaced by the M-1 or the M-1A1, with National Guard and Army Reserve units receiving the M-60A3 to replace both the M-48A5 and the M-60/M-60A1. A number of foreign nations, including Egypt, have purchased the M-60A3.
M-113 — A fully tracked armored personnel carrier that resembles a metal shoebox. Introduced in the late 1950s, the M-113 was the primary personnel carrier for American infantry unit until the introduction of the M-2 Bradley. Weighing 12.1 tons, the M-113 has a top speed of 40 mph, a cruising range of 300 miles, a crew of one (the driver), and can carry eleven passengers. Still the workhorse, the M-113 is used for a variety of tasks and has been modified to carry mortars and antitank guided missiles, as a battlefield ambulance, for command and control (the M-577 is nothing more than a built-up M-113), and for general cargo hauling to and from the battlefield.
M-577 — A fully armored and tracked command post carrier. Used in tactical units, battalion/task-force level and above, by the unit staff for planning and command and control. One or more of these used in a command post configuration by the unit's operations staff compose the tactical operations center, TOC for short.
Mechanized — Term used in the U.S. Army to refer to infantry units equipped with armored personnel carriers or infantry fighting vehicles. In the Red Army, these units are referred to as motorized rifle units.
MiG — Short for Mikoyan, the company that has been producing first-rate fighters for the Red Air Force since before World War II.
Motorized Rifle — Term used in the Red Army to refer to infantry units equipped with armored personnel carriers or infantry fighting vehicles. In the U.S. Army, these units are referred to as mechanized units.
NATO — Acronym for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which includes Norway, Denmark, the Federal Republic of Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Italy, Great Britain, Spain, Portugal, Canada, and the United States.
NCO — Short for noncommissioned officer or sergeant.
OPFOR — Short for opposing force, a term used to describe the enemy used during maneuver training exercises.
Orders Group — Selected commanders and staff officers who receive the mission/operations order from their higher headquarters. These people, in turn, with assistance from the rest of the unit's staff, will produce the necessary orders at their level to accomplish the mission assigned to them.
Overwatch — A term applied to a tactical method of movement in which part of a unit remains stationary, watching for enemy activity, while another part of the unit moves forward. It is the task of the overwatch element to engage any enemy forces that threaten the element in motion.
PERSCOM — Short for Personnel Support Command, the agency at the Department of the Army responsible for the management of all Army personnel, including assignments and career management.
Platoon — A military organization that consists of as few as nine men and three tanks, in the case of a Soviet tank platoon, or as many as fifty men, in some U.S. platoons.
Regiment — A military organization similar to a brigade but more rigid in its organization. It usually consists of one type of unit, such as an infantry regiment or an armor regiment. All battalions within a regiment carry the same regimental number.
SAM — See Surface-to-Air Missile.
S-3 — The "S" stands for "staff" in battalion-and brigade-sized units in the U.S. Army. The S-l is responsible for personnel matters; the S-2 is the intelligence officer; the S-3 is operations, plans, and training; and the S-4 is supply and maintenance. At division and Corps level, the "S" is replaced by a "G," which stands for "general staff." When more than one service is involved, as in a joint Army and Navy operation, staffs use "J" for joint staff.
Special Forces (SF) — Popularly known as the Green Berets, these special operations forces have missions that include assisting foreign nations with internal defense through training, unconventional warfare, strategic reconnaissance, and strike operations (or raids).
Squad — The smallest military organization, normally commanded by a sergeant and consisting of nine to twelve men.
Surface-to-Air Missile (SAM) — An antiaircraft guided missile that is launched from a ground platform against aircraft. SAMs come in a wide variety, running from the man-portable Stinger missile, with a range of 4 kilometers and fired by a single man, to the Hawk, whose range exceeds 40 kilometers.