Mañana sera mejor Balboan politico-military song. Tomorrow will be better.
Coastal Defense Submarine under development by the Legion
Multiple Rocket
Launcher
Mujahadin Arabic: Holy Warriors (singular: mujahad)
Mukhabbarat Arabic: Secret Police
Mullah Holy man, sometimes holy, sometimes not.
Na'ib 'Dabit Arabic: Sergeant Major
Naik Corporal
Naquib Arabic: Captain
Nongovernmental
Organization
Noahs Aliens that seeded Terra Nova with life, some from Old Earth, some possibly from other planets, some possibly genetically engineered, in the dim mists of prehistory. No definitive trace has ever been found of them.
Ocelot Volgan-built light armored vehicle mounting a 100mm gun and capable of carrying a squad of infantry in the back.
Precious Metal Certificate. High Denomination Legionary Investment
Vehicle
Progressivine A fruit bearing vine found on Terra Nova. Believed to have been genengineered by the Noahs. The fruit is intensely poisonous to intelligent life.
Push As in "tactical push." Radio frequency or frequency hopping sequence, so called from the action of pushing the button that activates the transmitter.
Pickup Zone. A place where helicopters pickup troops, equipment and supplies to move them somewhere else.
Rocket Grenade Launcher
Radio-Telephone
Operator
Sayidi Arabic form of respectful address, "Sir."
Self Propelled Anti-Tank Heavy Armor. A legionary tank destroyer, under development
Self Propelled Laser Air Defense. A developed legionary anti-aircraft
system
Subadar Major
Surah A chapter in the Koran, of which there are 114
Tercio Spanish: Regiment
Tranzitree A fruit bearing tree, believed to have been genengineered by the Noahs. The fruit is intensely poisonous to intelligent life.
Trixie A species of archaeopteryx brought to Terra Nova by the Noahs.
Yakamov A type of helicopter produced in Volga. It has no tail rotor.
Yizya Special tax levied against non-Moslems living in Moslem lands.
Appendix B: Legionary Rank Equivalents
Dux, Duque: indefinite rank, depending on position it can indicate anything from a Major General to a Field Marshall, Duque usually indicates the senior commander on the field.
Legate III: Brigadier General or Major General. per the contract between the Legion del Cid and the Federated States of Columbia, a Legate III is entitled to the standing and courtesies of a Lieutenant General. Typically commands a deployed legion, when a separate legion is deployed, the air alae or the naval classis, or serves as an executive for a deployed corps.
Legate II: Colonel, typically commands a tercio in the rear or serves on staff if deployed.
Legate I: Lieutenant Colonel, typically commands a cohort or serves on staff.
Tribune III: Major, serves on staff or sometimes, if permitted to continue in command, commands a maniple.
Tribune II: Captain, typically commands a maniple
Tribune I: 1st Lieutnant, typically serves as second in command of a maniple, commands a specialty platoon within the cohort's combat support maniple, or serves on staff
Signifer: 2nd Lieutenant or Ensign, leads a platoon. Signifer is a temporary rank and signifers are not considered part of the officer corps of the legions except as a matter of courtesy.
Sergeant Major: Sergeant Major with no necessary indication of level
1st Centurion: Senior non-commissioned officer of a maniple
Senior Centurion: Master Sergeant but almost always the senior man within a platoon.
Centurion, J.G.: Sergeant First Class, sometimes commands a platoon but is usually the second in command
Optio: Staff Sergeant, typically the second in command of a platoon
Sergeant: Sergeant, typically leads a squad
Corporaclass="underline" Corporal, typically leads a team or crew or serves as second in command of a squad
Legionario, or Legionary, or Legionnaire: private through specialist
Note that in addition, under pending Legion regulations, a soldier may elect to take what is called "Triarius Status." This will locks the soldier into whatever rank he may be, but allow pay raises for longevity to continue. It is one way the legion may flatten the rank pyramid in the interests of reducing careerism. Thus, one may someday hear or read of a "Triarius Tribune III," typically a major-equivalent who will have decided, with Legion accord, that his highest and best use is in a particular staff slot or commanding a particular maniple. Given that the Legion—with fewer than fifteen hundred officers, including signifers—has the smallest officer corps of any significant military formation on Terra Nova, and a very flat promotion pyramid, the Triarius system seems, perhaps, overkill. If adopted, regulations may permit but not require Triarius status legionaries to be promoted one rank upon retirement.
[1] If true and sincerely held, perhaps the good archbishop entered the priesthood to avoid committing incest.
[2] Indeed, communist cosmopolitanism's circle is usually drawn by killing – quickly, via rope or bullet, or slowly, via Gulag – those who do not fit within it. It has generally done so with a forthright ruthlessness that even the Nazis could only stand back and admire. Religions do this, too, of course, but they're amateurs in comparison to communism. One is tempted to say that communism draws its circle with headstones . . . but this would be wrong as the mass graves are almost invariably unmarked.
[3] You may have noted that families have parents and children, the parents being in charge. Have you ever noticed how often people who use phrases like "Family of Man" tend to think of themselves as the parents? Guess who they think of as children.
[4] And paid for by you. You know the ones: "feed, clothe and educate poor little Maritza for twenty-seven cents a day?" It doesn't work that way. Little Maritza, if she gets clothed, fed and educated at all, typically gets it from strings-attached government grants. Sadly, for the men and women who claim to be feeding little Maritza, those strings tend to exclude things like paying for mansions in Darien. In most unenlightened fashion, when governments give money to feed Little Maritza they actually insist that little Maritza be fed. Likewise stays at five star resorts for conferences are out. Likewise, flying first class to those conferences is out. That's where your no-strings-attached twenty-seven cents a day comes in. It can be used for the important things, mansions, luxury conferences, and first class airline seats. See: The Road to Hell, Michael Maren, The Free Press, 1997.
[5] Oh, yes, the mullahs take care of their own. This is one similarity between religious cosmopolitanism and non-religious cosmopolitanism.
[6] So do the Chinese communists. In fact, they're especially good at taking care of their own. They put mere mullahs and simple Tranzis in the shade. From an article by Carsten A. Holz, in Far Eastern Economic Review, April, 2007: "Article after article pores over the potential economic reasons for the increase in income inequality in China. We ignore the fact that of the 3,220 Chinese citizens with a personal wealth of 100 million yuan ($13 million) or more, 2, 932 are children of high-level cadres. Of the key positions in the five industrial sectors—finance, foreign trade, land development, large-scale engineering and securities—85% to 90% are held by children of high-level cadres."