Death in the Jungle (38 page)

Azimuth:
The azimuth of an object is its bearing from the observer, measured as an angle clockwise from true North.

Back water:
Command given to oarsmen to reverse usual rowing motion.

Bitter end:
The free end of a line, wire, or chain.

Boston Whaler:
Eighteen feet in length and powered by assorted outboard motors. In 1967/68 the Chrysler 105-horsepower outboard engine was used. Its draft was two feet. It carried one SEAL squad of seven men and two Boat Support Unit crewmen. Using the power propeller, the Boston Whaler could speed along at about 35 knots, fully loaded. It was great for insertions and extractions, and was occasionally called upon for fire support.

Bulkhead:
One of the vertical, wall-like structures enclosing a compartment.

Bunker:
A protective structure made of mud, sticks, and logs. Easily made and repaired, a bunker was like a beaver dam in its ability to resist destruction. Small home bunkers were made to hold all family members, and sometimes had a tunnel leading to an escape route. The larger bunkers built in VC/NVA camps could house ten to fifteen men.

Chain of command:
Succession of commanding officers through which command is exercised from superior to subordinate. Also called command channel.

Command:
A term applied to a naval unit or group of units under one officer; a definite and direct form of an order.

Commanding Officer (CO):
The “Old Man” of the command. In a SEAL Team, he was delegated the responsibility and authority to accomplish all tasks assigned to him and his command by NOSG (Naval Operations Support Group), which later became NSWG (Naval Special Warfare Group). During the Vietnam War, the CO was a lieutenant commander (O-4) in rank. After the war, the rank was changed to commander (O-5).

Compartment:
Space enclosed by bulkheads, deck, and overhead; corresponds to a room in a building.

Compass:
Instrument to indicate geographic directions.

Compass man:
Usually the patrol leader, and follows the point man. The point man guides on his direction.

Coxswain:
Enlisted man in charge of a boat, usually acts as helmsman.

CPO:
Chief petty officer (E-7).

C rations:
Individual meals for use in the field when a field mess was not available. They were balanced and sufficient. The
only
ingredient that was much needed and not furnished with the meals was Tabasco sauce. If the flavor of the meal was not quite up to snuff—just add some Tabasco sauce! One disadvantage was weight. SEAL platoons generally had to carry
all
of their food and water. “LRRP rats” (LRRPs) were light; however, because they were dehydrated they required the better part of a quart of water for each meal. Unfortunately, LRRPs required a
lot
of Tabasco sauce. Take your choice.

Crossing the line:
Crossing the earth’s equator.

Crossed over the bar:
When a seaman had passed from this life to the next one.

Danger area:
An area (i.e., river, road, hootch, base camp, mined area, etc.) that decreases the patrol’s cover and concealment, security, and firepower because of terrain features, man-made obstacles, enemy forces, et cetera. SEAL patrols established SOPs for danger areas that maximized cover and concealment, security, and firepower.

Davy Jones’ locker:
The bottom of the sea.

Dead ahead:
Directly ahead of the ship’s bow; bearing 000 degrees relative.

Deck:
On a ship, corresponds to the floor of a building on land.

Decontaminate:
Act of removing residue of nuclear or chemical attack. Also included removing leeches and, especially, black ants that plagued the Rung Sat.

Deep:
The distance in fathoms between two successive marks on a lead line, as “By the deep, four.”

Deeps:
In a lead line, the fathoms which are not marked on the line.

Deep six:
A term meaning to dispose of by throwing over the side of a ship.

Dexamil:
A stimulant in capsule form that was issued to SEALs to be used as a “stay-awake” pill while on ambush site. The platoon corpsman issued one per man per night.

Dinghy:
Small, handy boat, sixteen to twenty feet in length, propelled either by oars or by sail.

Ditty bag, ditty box:
Small container used by sailors for stowage of personal articles or toilet articles.

Dock:
Artificial basin for ships, fitted with gates to keep in or shut out water; water area between piers.

Door:
Opening between compartments; see hatch.

Dory:
Small, flat-bottomed pulling boat, used chiefly by fishermen.

Douche kit:
Another name for ditty bag.

Ebb tide:
Tide falling or flowing out.

Eddy:
A small whirlpool, especially in river streams.

Even keel:
Floating level; no list.

Executive Officer (XO):
Subordinate to the CO. He is responsible for carrying out the policies of the CO. During the Vietnam War, the rank of a Team XO was lieutenant (O-3). After the war, the required rank was changed to lieutenant commander (O-4).

Extra duty:
Additional work assigned as mild punishment.

Fag:
Frayed or untwisted end of rope.

Fair wind:
A favoring wind.

Fantail:
Main deck section in the after part of a flush-deck ship.

Fathom:
A six-foot unit of length.

Feather:
Turning the blade of an oar horizontally at the finish of a stroke to reduce resistance of air or water; changing the pitch of a variable-pitch propeller on an airplane to vary amount of bite into the air.

Field-strip:
To disassemble, without further breakdown, the major groups of a piece of ordnance for routine or operating cleaning and oiling; as opposed to detailed stripping, which may be done only by authorized technicians.

Fire superiority:
Gained by directing an accurate and heavy volume of fire so as to cause the enemy’s return fire to cease or become ineffective.

Fire team:
A subdivision of a squad. There were two fire teams per SEAL squad.

Flankers:
Men of elements deployed to the sides of a moving formation to provide early warning of an enemy ambush.

Flank speed:
A certain prescribed speed increase over standard speed; faster than full speed, but less than emergency full speed.

Flood tide:
Tide rising or flowing toward land.

Fore and aft:
Running in the direction of the keel.

Forward:
Toward the bow; opposite of aft.

Founder:
To sink.

Gale:
A wind between a strong breeze and a storm; wind force of 28 to 55 knots.

Galley:
The ship’s kitchen or any area designated as such by Team personnel.

Gangplank or brow:
Moveable bridge leading from a ship to a pier, wharf, or float; usually equipped with rollers on the bottom
and handrails on the side. Occasionally used at Team parties as punishment/reward for one reason or another.

Gangway:
Opening in the bulwarks or the rail of the ship to give entrance; also, an order to stand aside and get out of the way.

Garble:
An unintentional mix-up of a message’s contents.

Gear:
General term for lines, ropes, blocks, fenders, et cetera; personal effects.

General alarm:
Sound signals used for general quarters and other emergencies.

General quarters:
Battle stations for all hands.

Go adrift:
To break loose; a teammate’s getting hooked on wine, women, or booze.

Granny knot:
A knot similar to a square knot; does not hold under strain. Some individuals could be considered no better than a granny knot.

Grenadier:
Usually carried an M-79 grenade launcher or an M-16/XM-148. There were usually at least two grenadiers per SEAL platoon, and they were placed near the center of the patrol for tactical mobility. The grenadier’s main responsibility was to neutralize heavy pockets of enemy resistance as directed by the patrol leader.

Gunwale:
Upper edge or rail of a ship’s or boat’s side. Pronounced “gunnel.”

Hail:
To address a nearby boat or ship. Also a ship or man is said to hail from such-and-such a home port or home town.

Hangfire:
Gun charge that does not fire immediately upon pulling the trigger, but some time later. Occasionally, hangfires happened to Team ammo that had spent too much time in water.

Hatch:
An opening in the ship’s deck, for communication or for handling stores and cargo.

Head/john/latrine:
Compartment of a ship or plane, or any designated area, having toilet facilities.

Headroom:
Clearance between decks.

Headway:
Forward motion of a ship, boat, rubber raft, et cetera.

Heave:
To throw or toss; to pull on a line.

Hitch:
General class of knots by which a line is fastened to another object, either directly to or around it. Also, a term of enlistment (slang).

Hold:
Space below decks for storage of ballast, cargo, et cetera.

Holiday routine:
Routine followed aboard ship on authorized holidays and Sundays. In the Teams, it was any day of the week on which to have fun. Every day was a holiday, and every meal was a feast.

Hootch:
In Vietnam, a rural home made mostly of palm thatching. It usually had one or two windows with shutters. It was cool during the dry season, and warm in the rainy season. The floor was usually dirt. Sometimes, a family bunker was constructed inside the hootch. The mamma-san kept it tidy by sweeping the interior daily. The little crock charcoal stove was usually located in the corner of the floor. The simple bed may have been the only other piece of furniture in the home, and it was without a mattress; however, it did have several pillows stuffed with rice chaff.

Hug:
To keep close. A vessel might hug the shore. In the Teams a hug was a form of greeting.

IBS:
A seven-person boat, inflated with carbon-dioxide cartridges, referred to as an “Inflatable Boat, Small” (hence, “IBS”). It was designed and procured by the U.S. Navy as an emergency lifeboat for seagoing vessels. Since its introduction and application to the Navy’s Underwater Demolition and SEAL Teams, it had been utilized for various surface uses. It could also be rigged with a parachute and dropped from an aircraft, or (with minor valve modifications) launched and recovered from the deck of a submerged submarine. The IBS could carry seven men and one thousand pounds of equipment.

Insertion/extraction:
Going into and coming out of danger areas (see danger areas). Some examples of clandestine and covert insertion and extraction vehicles and methods were: boat, sampan, helicopter, truck, jeep, bus, motorcycle, parachute, patrolling, swimming, SDV (swimmer delivery vehicle), Lambretta, rappelling, and even a refrigeration truck.

Inshore:
Toward land.

Irish pennant:
Unseamanlike, dangling loose end of a line or piece of bunting.

Jack-o’-the-dust:
Enlisted man serving as assistant to the ship’s cook.

Jacob’s ladder:
Light ladder made of rope or chain with metal or wooden rungs; used over the side, aloft, or hanging from the bottom of a helicopter.

Jettison:
Goods cast overboard to lighten a ship or boat in distress.

Jetty:
Breakwater built to protect a harbor entrance or river mouth.

Jury rig:
Makeshift rig of mast and sail, or of other gear, as jury anchor, jury rudder; any makeshift device.

K-bar:
A knife long used by the Teams and the Marine Corps. It was not made for knife throwing. It had a nasty tendency to break just forward of the handle.

Keelhaul:
To reprimand severely.

Kill zone:
In a point ambush, the area where the central portion of the enemy force was caught. It was also an area where the AW and the grenadier could inflict the most casualties upon the enemy and, at the same time, maintain fire superiority. All other riflemen would concentrate their semiautomatic fire within the kill zone and maintain a sustained rate of fire.

Knot:
One nautical mile (6080.2 feet) per hour. (Never say “knots per hour.” This would be the same as saying “miles
per hour per hour.”) Also, a knob, tie, or fastening formed with rope.

Ladder:
In a ship, corresponds to stairs in a building.

Landmark:
Any conspicuous object on shore, used for piloting.

Lanyard:
A line made fast to an article for securing it; for example, a knife lanyard, bucket lanyard.

Lash:
To tie or secure by turns of line.

Lay:
The direction of the twist of strands of a rope.

LCPL MK4 and LCPL MK 11:
The Landing Craft, Personnel, Launch. The MK 11 had a lower free board and more stowage area than the MK 4. However the MK 11 was not adapted for lifting by whelin davits, and the hull would not fit in standard shipboard skids. The hull of the MK 11 was constructed of laminated fiberglass and plastic, and was easily maintained. The MK 11 was 36 feet in length, with a draft of 3 feet, 11 inches. It was powered by one 300-horsepower Gray marine diesel engine, with a top speed of 17 nautical miles per hour, and a maximum range of 173 nautical miles.