160th SOAR: Special Operations Aviation Regiment.  Army helicopter unit which flies Special Operations missions, often delivering Special Operations soldiers to their targets.

AAR: After Action Review. Soldiers typically conduct an AAR post-mission to evaluate what was done wrong and how to improve performance for the next mission.

AK-103: An updated form of the AK-47 rifle that can be fitted with a variety of different optics.

AK-47: Avtomat Kalashnikova-1947, following the standard Soviet weapons naming convention. Avtomat meaning the type of rifle: automatic. Kalashnikov comes from the last name of the inventor, Mikhail Kalashnikov and the year 1947 is when the rifle went into production. The AK-47 is the world’s most ubiquitous battle rifle, having been used in virtually every conflict since the Cold War.

An-125: Large Russian-made cargo airplane.

AO: Area of Operations.

APC: Armored Personnel Carrier.

AQ: Al Qaeda.

BW: Blackwater.  A now defunct private security company.

C-27J: Medium-sized military transport aircraft.

C4: Composition Four plastic explosives.

Carl Gustav: Recoiless rifle.

CH-47: Twin rotor military transport helicopter.

CI: Counter-Intelligence.

SOP:Standard Operating Procedure

CIA: Central Intelligence Agency

CIF: Commander’s In-Extremis Force

CISEN: Mexican Intelligence Agency

Commo: Communications

CQB: Close Quarter Battle

CYPRES: Emergency device on a Military parachute.

DARPA: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

Delta Force: US Army Counter-Terrorism unit.  Also known as Combat Applications Group, Task Force Green, or simply The Unit.

Dev Group: US Navy SEAL Counter-Terrorism unit.  Also known as Task Force Blue, Naval Special Warfare Development Group, and more recently, TACDEVRON.

DUI: Driving While Intoxicated.

E&E: Escape and Evasion.

ECT: Explosive Cutting Tape.  A type of explosive used for breaching targets.

EMP: Electro-Magnetic Pulse.

EOD: Explosive Ordinance Disposal.

Exfil: Exfiltrate.

FDA: Food and Drug Administration

FN-FAL: Belgium 7.62 rifle.

FRP: Final Reference Point, used as a known point that can be paced off to help find a previously hidden cache.

FSA: Free Syrian Army.

FSB: Russian intelligence agency.

G3 Communications: Fictional security firm.

GPS: Global Positioning System.

GROM: Polish Counter-Terrorism unit.

Ground Branch: CIA para-military unit.

GRS: Global Response Staff, CIA contractor that often escort and protect case officers in dangerous parts of the world.

GSG-9: German police unit that conducts counter-terrorist operations.

HAHO: High Altitude, High Opening.

HALO: High Altitude, Low Opening.

HERF: High-Energy Radio Frequency.

HK 417: Heckler and Koch 7.62 gas piston operated rifle.

HK USP: Series of Heckler and Koch pistols.

HME: Home Made Explosives.

HQ: Headquarters.

HUMINT: Human Intelligence.

IED: Improvised Explosive Device.

Infil: Infiltrate.

ISA: Intelligence Support Activity.  A classified Army unit which collects intelligence information, often to support SEAL Team Six and Delta Force operations.

ISU-90: US military enclosed pallet for transporting equipment.

J2: Joint Staff Intelligence.

JCET: Joint Combined Exchange Training.

JPL: Jet Propulsion Laboratory.

JSOC: Joint Special Operations Command.

LED: light-emitting diode.

Liquid Sky: Fictional mercenary strike force.

LPC: Leather Personnel Carriers (ie: boots).

M4: Standard issue US military rifle.

MAC-10: Sub-Machine Gun.

MC-5: HALO/HAHO military parachute.

MEK: Iranian terrorist organization sponsored by the United States.

MFF: Military Free Fall.

Mk 48: A 7.62 machine gun that is smaller and lighter than the M240B.

MO: Method of operation.

MSS: Chinese intelligence agency.

NASA: National Air and Space Association.

NGO: Non-Governmental Organization.

NODS: Night Optical Device.

NPA: New People’s Army.

NSA: National Security Agency.

OD: Olive Drab.

OGA: Other Governmental Organizations such as Ground Branch or Global Response Staff.

ONI: Office of Naval Intelligence.

OP: Observation Point.  A vantage point for snipers of reconnaissance troops to use to over watch enemy movements.

OPB: Operational Preparation of the Battlefield.

Operator: Soldier assigned to SEAL Team Six or Delta Force.

OPSEC: Operational Security.

PIN: Personal Identification Number.

PKM: Belt fed Russian made machine gun.

PMC: Private Military Company.

PT: Physical Training.

PTSD: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder.

PVS-14: Night vision monocle.

QRF: Quick Reaction Force.

R&R: Rest and Relaxation.

Rangers: US Army elite airborne light infantry unit.

Raufoss: Armor piercing explosive incendiary rounds.

RDX: Research Development Explosives.

RFID:Radio-frequency identification.

RPG: Rocket Propelled Grenade.

RPK: 7.62 light machine gun.

RUMINT: A non-official humorous term meaning Rumor Intelligence.

SA-7: Russian shoulder fired anti-aircraft missile.

Samruk International: A fictional Private Military Company based out of Kazakhstan.

SCUBA: Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus.

SEAL: SEa, Air, and Land.  US Navy maritime commando unit.

SEAL Team Six: US Navy SEAL Counter-Terrorism unit.  Also known as Task Force Blue, Naval Special Warfare Development Group, and more recently, TACDEVRON.

SIGINT: Signals Intelligence.

SIM: Subscriber Identity Module.

SOF: Special Operations Forces.

SOTIC: Special Operations Target Interdiction Course, now knows as the Special Forces Sniper Course.

Special Forces: Also known as Green Berets, specialize in training indigenous forces.  A separate unit from SEALs, Rangers, and Delta Force

SPG-9: 73mm recoiless rifle.

SSE: Sensitive Site Exploitation.

T-72: Russian main battle tank.

TACDEVRON: US Navy SEAL Counter-Terrorism unit.  Also known as Task Force Blue, Naval Special Warfare Development Group, and more recently, TACDEVRON.

TF Blue: See Dev Group.

TF Green: See Delta Force.

TORDS: Tandem Offset Resupply Delivery System.

TTL: Tag, Track, and Locate.

UAE: United Arab Emirates.

VBIED: Vehicular Borne Improvised Explosive Device.

VDO: Vehicle Drop Off.

WMD: Weapon of Mass Destruction.

ZPU: Russian anti-aircraft machine gun.