LDS: The Latter Day Saints, commonly called The Mormons. (Flawed doctrine, great preparedness.)
LP: Liquid Propane
LP/OP: Listening Post/Observation Post.
LRRP: Long-Range Reconnaissance Patrol
M1 Abrams tank: The United State’s current main battle tank, with a 120-mm cannon.
M1 Carbine: The U.S. Army semiauto carbine issued during WWII and the Korean conflict. Mainly issued to officers and second-echelon troops such as artillerymen, for self-defense. Uses ‘.30 U.S Carbine,’ an intermediate (pistol class) .30-caliber cartridge. More than six million were manufactured.
M1 Garand: The U.S. Army’s primary battle rifle of WWII and the Korean conflict. It is semiautomatic, chambered in .30-06, and uses a top-loading, eight-round en bloc clip that ejects after the last round is fired. This rifle is commonly called the Garand. (After the name of its inventor.) Not to be confused with the U.S. M1 Carbine, another semiauto of the same era, which shoots a far less powerful pistol-class cartridge.
M1A: The civilian (semiauto only) version of the U.S. Army M14 7.62-mm NATO rifle.
M1911: The Model 1911 Colt semiauto pistol (and clones thereof), usually chambered in .45 ACP.
M2 Bradley: The U.S. Army’s current tracked APC.
M4: U.S. Army-issue 5.56-mm NATO selective fire carbine. (A shorter version of the M16, with a 14.5" barrel and collapsing stock.) Earlier issue M16 carbine variants had designations such as XM177E2 and CAR-15. Civilian semiauto only variants often have the same designations, or are called “M4geries.”
M9: The U.S. Army-issue version of the Beretta M92 semiauto 9-mm pistol.
M14: The U.S. Army-issue 7.62-mm NATO selective-fire battle rifle. These are still issued in small numbers, primarily to designated marksmen.
M16: The U.S. Army-issue 5.56-mm NATO selective-fire battle rifle. The current standard variant is the M16A2 that has improved sight and three-shot burst control.
M60: The semi-obsolete U.S. Army-issue 7.62-mm NATO belt fed light machinegun that utilized some design elements of the German MG-42.
M240: The current U.S. Army-issue 7.62-mm NATO belt fed light machinegun.
MAC: Military Armament Corporation
MELIOS: Mini Eye-Safe Laser Infrared Observation Set (AN/PVS-6)
Mini-14: A 5.56-mm NATO semiauto carbine made by Ruger.
MOPP: Mission Oriented Protective Posture
MRE: Meal, Ready to Eat (U.S. Army field rations)
NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization
NCO: Non-Commissioned Officer
NFA: The National Firearms Act of 1934. The law that first imposed a transfer tax on machineguns, suppressors (commonly called “silencers”), and short-barreled rifles and shotguns.
Ni-Cad: Nickel Cadmium (rechargeable battery).
Ni-MH: Nickel Metal Hydride (rechargeable battery) improvement of Ni-Cad. Does not develop a “memory,” shortening battery life due to recharging unexhausted batteries.
NRVC: Non-Resident Violator Compact, an agreement signed by more than thirty states, to share records of motor vehicle registrations and driving privilege suspensions in a computer database.
NWO: New World Order
PDW: Personal Defense Weapon
PETN: Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate; a stable, flexible high-order explosive. The filler used in primacord (detonating cord).
Pre-1899: Guns made before 1899—not classified as “firearms” under Federal law.
Pre-1965: 1964 or earlier mint date circulated U.S. silver coins with little or no numismatic value. These coins have a silver content of 90 percent.
PV: Photovoltaic (solar power conversion array). Used to convert solar power to DC electricity, typically for battery charging.
PVC: Poly-Vinyl Chloride (white plastic water pipe)
ROTC: Reserve Officer Training Corps
RPG: Rocket Propelled Grenade
RTV: Room Temperature Vulcanizing
SAW: Squad Automatic Weapon
SINCGARS: Single-Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System. The U.S. military’s current issue frequency-hopping VHF radio transceiver.
SIGINT: Signals Intelligence
SLAP: Saboted Light Armor Projectile
SOP: Standard Operating Procedure(s)
SSB: Single Sideband (an operating mode for CB and amateur radio gear).
Steyr AUG: The Austrian army’s 5.56-mm “bullpup” infantry carbine. Also issued by the Australian Army, as their replacement for the L1A1.
S&W: Smith and Wesson
SWAT: Special Weapons and Tactics. (SWAT originally stood for Special Weapons Assault Team until that was deemed politically incorrect.)
TA-1 & TA-312: U.S. military hard wire field telephones.
Thermite: A mixture of aluminum powder and iron rust, that when ignited, causes a vigorous exothermic reaction. Used primarily for welding. Also used by military units as an incendiary for destroying equipment.
T.K.: Tom Kennedy
TRC-500: A 500-milliwatt VHF FM transceiver formerly marketed by Radio Shack.
USC: University of Southern Colorado
VDC: Volts, Direct Current
VHF: Very High Frequency
VOX: Voice Activated
VW: Volkswagen
WD-1: U.S. military-issue two conductor insulated field telephone wire.
WWCR: World Wide Christian Radio, an international shortwave broadcast radio station.
Y2K: Year 2000 (Coined by David Eddy). The scare associated with the millennial (“Year 2000”) date change that took place at 0001/01/01/2000.
Index
Note: In general, this index covers neither the events nor the characters of this book—for that story, get reading! Instead, here you’ll find major references to tactics, techniques, and technologies.
Abrams tanks, 324–28
Blackout preparations, 56
ACUs (Army Combat Uniforms) camouflage, 44
The Blaster’s Handbook, 50
Blasting supplies and equipment, 50–51, 158–62; storage, 51. See also Grenades Alliance-making, 169, 170–75
Alarms, 153
Blood pressure, 27
Ambushes, preparation, 41, 97–98
Blood transfusions, 27–29, 31
America in Peril (video), 343
Blood types, 27, 28–29
Ammunition, 45, 46, 59, 100, 225, 319–20
Body armor, 49–50
Book codes, 365–66
Antipersonnel mines, 338–39
Bounding technique, 239
Antivehicular trenches, 162
Bradley IFVs (Infantry Fighting Vehicles), 293, 294
A.O.s (Areas of Operations), 173–74
APCs (Armored Personnel Carriers), 293–94, 309, 311
Buckaroo Banzai (movie), 170
Bug out kits, 157
Army field manuals, 160, 162, 324
Bulk purchases, 65
Auto-sears for guns, 63–65
Bullet resistant vests, 49
“Butter knife” guns, 337