MEZ: Missile Engagement Zone. Any hostile contacts that make it into the MEZ are engaged only with missiles. Friendly aircraft must stay clear in order to avoid a blue on blue engagement, i.e. fratricide.
MiG: A production line of aircraft manufactured by Mikoyan in Russia. MiG fighters are owned by many nations around the world.
Murphy, law of: The factor most often not considered sufficiently in military planning. If something can go wrong, it will. Naval corollary: shit happens.
national assets: Surveillance and reconnaissance resources of the most sensitive nature, e.g. satellites.
NATOPS: The bible for operating a particular aircraft. See Envelope.
NFO: Naval Flight Officer.
nobrainer: Contrary to what copy editors believe, this is one word. Used to signify an evolution or decision that should require absolutely no significant intellectual capabilities beyond that of a paramecium.
Nomex: Fire-resistant fabric used to make “shirts.” See Shirts.
NSA: National Security Agency. Primarily responsible for evaluating electronic intercepts and sensitive intelligence.
OOD: Officer of the Day, in charge of the safe handling and maneuvering of the ship. Supervises the conning officer and other underway watchstanders. Ashore, the OOD may be responsible for a shore station after normal working hours.
Operations specialist: Formerly radar operator, back in the old days. Enlisted technician who operates combat detection, tracking, and engagement systems, except for sonar. Abbreviated OS.
OTH: Over the horizon, usually used to refer to shooting something you can’t see.
P-3’s: Shore-based anti-submarine warfare and surface surveillance long-range aircraft. The closest you can get to being in the Air Force while still being in the Navy.
Phoenix: Long-range anti-air missile carried by U.S. fighters.
Pipeline: Navy term used to describe a series of training commands, schools, or necessary education for a particular specialty. The fighter pipeline, for example, includes Basic Flight then fighter training at the RAG (Replacement Air Group), a training squadron.
Punching out: Ejecting from an aircraft.
purple shirts: See Shirts.
PXO: Prospective Executive Officer — the officer ordered into a command as the relief for the current XO. In most squadrons, the XO eventually “fleets up” to become the commanding officer of the squadron, an excellent system that maintains continuity within an operational command — and a system the surface Navy does not use.
rack: A bed. A rack-monster is a sailor who sports pillow burns and spends entirely too much time asleep while his or her shipmates are working.
red shirts: See Shirts.
RHIP: Rank Hath Its Privileges. See collar count.
RIO: Radar Intercept Officer. See NFO.
RTB: Return to base.
S-3: Command and control aircraft sold to the Navy as an anti-submarine aircraft. Good at that, too. Within the last several years, redesignated as “sea control” aircraft, with individual squadrons referred to as torpedo-bombers. Ah, the search for a mission goes on. But still a damned fine aircraft.
SAM: Surface to Air missile, e.g. the Standard missile fired by most cruisers. Also indicates a land-based site.
SAR: Sea-Air Rescue.
SCIF: Specially Compartmented Information. Onboard a Carrier, used to designate the highly classified compartment immediately next to TFCC.
Seawolf: Newest version of Navy fast attack submarine.
SERE: Survival, Evasion, Rescue, Escape; required school in pipeline for aviators.
Shirts: Color-coded Nomex pullovers used by flight deck and aviation personnel for rapid identification of a sailor’s job. Green: maintenance technicians. Brown: plane captains. White: safety and medical. Red: ordnance. Purple: fuel. Yellow: flight deck supervisors and handlers.
Shoe: A black shoe, slang for a surface sailor or officer. Modernly, hard to say since the day that brown shoes were authorized for wear by black shoes. No one knows why. Wing envy is the best guess.
Sidewinder: Anti-air missile carried by U.S. fighters.
Sierra: A subsurface contact.
sonobuoys: Acoustic listening devices dropped in the water by ASW or USW aircraft.
Sparrow: Anti-air missile carried by U.S. fighters.
Spetznaz: The Russian version of SEALS, although the term encompasses a number of different specialties.
spooks: Slang for intelligence officers and enlisted sailors working in highly classified areas.
SUBLANT: Administrative command of all Atlantic submarine forces. On the West Coast, SUBPAC.
sweet: When used in reference to a sonobuoy, indicates that the buoy is functioning properly, although not necessarily holding any contacts.
TACCO: Tactical Control Officer: the NFO in an S-3.
Tactical circuit: A term used in these books that encompasses a wide range of actual circuits used onboard a carrier. There are a variety of C&R circuits (coordination and reporting) and occasionally for simplicity’s sake and to avoid classified material, I just use the word tactical.
tanked, tanker: Navy aircraft have the ability to refuel from a tanker, either Air Force or Navy, while airborne. One of the most terrifying routine evolutions a pilot performs.
TFCC: Tactical Flag Command Center. A compartment in flag spaces from which the CVBG admiral controls the battle. Located immediately forward of the carrier’s CDC.
Tombstone: Nickname given to Magruder.
Top Gun: Advanced fighter training command.
Undersea Warfare Commander: in a CVBG, normally the DESRON embarked on the carrier. Formerly called the ASW commander.
VDL: Video Downlink. Transmission of targeting data from an aircraft to a submarine with OTH capabilities.
VF-95: Fighter squadron assigned to Airwing 14, normally embarked on USS Jefferson. The first two letters of a squadron designation reflect the type of aircraft flown. VF = fighters. VFA = Hornets. VS = S-3, etc.
Victor: Aging Russian fast attack submarines, still a potent threat.
VS-29: S-3 squadron assigned to Airwing 14, embarked on USS Jefferson.
VX-1: Test pilot squadron that develops envelopes after Pax River evaluates aerodynamic characteristics of new aircraft. See Envelope.
White shirt: See Shirts.
Wilco: Short for Will Comply. Used only by the aviator in command of the mission.
Winchester: In aviation, it means out of weapons. A Winchester aircraft must normally RTB.
XO: Executive officer, the second in command.
yellow shirt: See Shirts.