Land of Promise (39 page)

SIG: Schweizer Industrie Gesellschaft. A major Swiss conglomerate that was a gun maker until the 1980s.

SIG MPX: A Swiss submachinegun chambered in 9mm Parabellum.

SIGINT: Signals Intelligence.

Sikorsky: An American Helicopter manufacturer, founded by Ivanovich Sikorsky, a Russian émigré. See also: UH-60.

Silmo: Silver Ilemi Monetary Ounce. The currency unit adopted by the Ilemi Republic, in coin form only. The coins are commonly called “Silver Ilemis.” A Silmo was constitutionally defined as 1 Troy ounce of .999-fine silver with 10% antimony hardener added, to make the coins hold up to rigors of circulation. Silmos were intended to be minted in full ounces, 1/2 , ¼ and 1/10-ounce sizes. See also: Centime, Gilmo, and Pilmo. (Fictional.)

SLAR: Side-looking airborne radar. See also: MTI.

SLEP: Service Life Extension Program.

Shpitz
, describing a great soldier (“He’s the
Shpitz
.”
)

SMG: Submachinegun.

SMS: Short Message Service. Commonly called “Texting.”

SMS4Tor: A self-destructing messaging service, on Tor.

SOCOM: Special Operations Command.

SOF: Special Operations Forces.

Sof ha’olam smola
: A Hebrew phrase, translated: “at the end of the world, turn left!”, meaning “in the middle of nowhere.”

SoilShooter: A rotor-powered device mounted on a 10-ton truck that propels soil and gravel to distances up to 70 feet. (Fictional.)

Solus Christus: The capital city of The Ilemi Republic, named in honor of one of the five Reformed solas: “In Christ alone.” (Fictional.) See also: Five Solas.

SOP: Standard Operating Procedure.

SPECTRA: The synthetic material similar to Kevlar used in ballistic helmets issued to French, Canadian, and Danish military units. In France, the SPECTRA helmet is also known as the CGF Gallet Combat Helmet. See Also: CGF Gallet.

Spoor
: Sign that is found while tracking an animal or man. (An Afrikaans word.)

SRB: Solid Rock Builders. A road and bridge contracting firm from Australia. (Fictional.)

SRC: Space Research Corporation.

SRRs: Split-Ring Resonators. See also: RAM and Jaumann Shell.

SSB: Single Sideband; an operating mode for CB and amateur radio gear.

SSO: Special Security Officer.

SSTV: Southern Sudan Television.

Stealth: See LO.

Steyr AUG: The Austrian army’s 5.56mm “bullpup” infantry carbine. Also issued by the Australian army as their replacement for the L1A1. Called the AUS-Steyr in the variant issued by the Australian Army.

Stick: An airmobile infantry squad.

STOL: Short Takeoff and Landing. See also: V/STOL.

Strat: Slang for Strategic.

STU: Secure Telephone Unit. (Spoken “Stew.”) See also: STE and NSTS.

STU-III: A third-generation STU phone. (Spoken “Stew Three.”) See also: STE and NSTS.

SUV: Sport Utility Vehicle.

SVD: The Dragunov SVD-63 sniper rifle (
Snayperskaya Vintovka sistem’y Dragunova obraz’tsa 1963 goda)
, officially “Sniper Rifle, System of Dragunov, Model of the Year 1963”) is a semi-automatic sniper/designated marksman rifle chambered in 7.62×54mmR and developed in the Soviet Union. (WP)

S&W: Smith and Wesson.

SWAT: Special Weapons and Tactics. SWAT originally stood for Special Weapons Assault Team until that was deemed politically incorrect.

SWILL: See Project SWILL.

SWOT: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

Tablet: Short for Tablet Computer.

Tash
:
: to chill out or relax.

TAT: Tulloch Air Transport. (Fictional.)

Tavor: A bullpup configuration Israeli-made carbine chambered in 5.56mm NATO that is compatible with standard NATO (M16) magazines.

TAWS: Terrain Awareness and Warning System.

TBD: To Be Determined.

TDY: Temporary Duty.

Technical (Truck): A pickup truck equipped with a pedestal-mounted machinegun attached to its bed.

Terr/Terrs: Slang contraction for Terrorist(s).

TFTI: Trees for The Ilemi.

Thawb
: Traditional full-length modest garment for women in Sudan and Ethiopia.

Thermite: A mixture of aluminum powder and iron rust powder that when ignited causes a vigorous exothermic reaction. Used primarily for welding. Also used by military units as an incendiary for destroying equipment.

Thirdist(s): (in Arabic:
Ath-Thàlith),
the Third Branch of Islam, aka “The Third Way.” Unlike ISIS, which rejects modern technology, the Thirdists embrace high technology as a tool for subjugation. In the 2040s, the Thirdists fully subsumed
both
the Sunnis and the Shiites to unite under a new flag emblazoned “3-12” (which stands for the 3rd Way of the 12th Imam). (Fictional.)

THOMAS: Temperature, Humidity, and Oxygen Management Automation System. (Fictional.)

TIA: This Is Africa.

Tiffin: British slang for lunch or a snack.

TIG: Tungsten Inert Gas. A welding method.

Tig-Tig: See TTGG-TGG.

TLD: Top level domain. For Internet domains.

TNT: 2,4,6-trinitrotoluene is a colorless or pale yellow and odorless crystalline high explosive.

TOC: Tactical Operations Center.

TO&E: Table of Organization and Equipment.

Topo: Short for topographical.

Tor: The Onion Router--a Deep Web browsing tool. See also: Deep Web.

TorBox: A hidden mailbox service only accessible from TOR. There is no connection between TorBox and the public Internet. All the messages are sent and received within TorBox.

Tourist Non-Citizens (of The Ilemi Republic): 30-day stay limit on Tourist Visa. No more than three entries in any calendar year without switching to a Resident Work Permit. Not jury eligible. Not eligible to vote. Not eligible to buy land. Not eligible to hold a bank account. They have no right to bear arms for self-defense, but they are permitted to carry guns for hunting or firearms training if escorted by any adult Ilemi Citizen, and only on privately-owned land. IRDF Service not allowed.

Trans-African Highway Network: The transcontinental road projects in Africa being developed by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the African Development Bank (ADB), and the African Union (AU) in conjunction with regional international communities. They aim to promote trade and alleviate poverty in Africa through highway infrastructure development and the management of road-based trade corridors. The total length of the nine highways in the network is 56,683 km (35,221 mi). In some documents the highways are referred to as “Trans-African Corridors” or “Road Corridors” rather than highways. The name Trans-African Highway and its variants are not in wide common usage outside of planning and development circles, and as of 2014 one does not see them signposted as such or labeled on maps, except in Kenya and Uganda where the Mombasa–Nairobi–Kampala–Fort Portal section (or the Kampala–Kigali feeder road) of Trans-African Highway 8 is sometimes referred to as the “Trans-Africa Highway”. (WP)

TTGG-TGG: To The Greater Good, To God’s Glory. (Spoken “Tig-Tig.”)

TTL: Tribal Trust Land(s).

Twelver: Shi’a Islam adherents who believe in The Twelve Imams, and that the returned Twelveth Imam will be The
Mahdi.
See also:
Mahdi.

UATV: Utility All-Terrain Vehicle.

UAV: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. See also: RPV and drone.

UAVIED: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Improvised Explosive Device. An acronym coined by JWR.

UGS: Unattended Ground Sensor.

UH-60: The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a four-bladed, twin-engine, medium-lift utility helicopter manufactured by Sikorsky Aircraft. It entered U.S. Army service in 1979. (WP) See also: HH-60, MH-60, and S-70.

UHF: Ultra High Frequency.

UHMWPE: Ultra High Molecular Weight Poly Ethylene. A recently-developed material used in some body armor.

UK: United Kingdom.

UMP:
Universale Maschinen Pistole
. A submachinegun made by Heckler & Koch.

Unimog: A type of multi-purpose auto four-wheel drive medium trucks produced by Mercedes-Benz, a division of Daimler AG. In the United States and Canada, the Unimog was sold as the Freightliner Unimog. The name
Unimog
is an acronym for the German
“UNIversal-MOtor-Gerät”
. (
Gerät
is the German word for
machine
or
device
.) Daimler Benz took over manufacture of the Unimog in 1951 and they are currently built in the Mercedes truck plant in Wörth am Rhein in Germany. The first model was designed shortly after World War II was a tractor used in agriculture as a self-propelled machine providing a power take-off to operate saws in forests or harvesting machines on fields. The original track width of 1,270 millimeters was equivalent to two rows of potatoes. Sometimes called a “Mog” for short. (WP)

Unsat: Slang military contraction for unsatisfactory.

Unseen: A secure and private communications web service headquartered in Iceland. (
www.unseen.is
) Unseen provides encrypted e-mail, data storage, and video conferencing services.

UN: United Nations.

UNECA: United Nations Economic Commission for Africa.

UNHCR: United Nations High Commission on Refugees.

UNPoA: UN Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects.

UPS: Uninterruptible Power Source.

U.S.: United States.

USB: Universal Serial Bus.

USMC: United Sates Marine Corps.

USML: United States Munitions List.

USSTRATCOM: U.S Strategic Command.

UV: Ultraviolet.

UW: Unconventional Warfare.

VAC: Volts, Alternating Current.

Valmet: The Finnish conglomerate that formerly made several types of firearms.

VBIED: Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device.

V-Chat: Short for Video Chat.

VCP: Vehicle Control Point.

VDC: Volts, Direct Current.

Vektor R4: See R4.

VEVAK:
Vezarat-e Ettela’at va Amniyat-e Keshvar
. The Iranian intelligence service. See also: MOIS.

VFW: Veterans of Foreign Wars.

VHF: Very High Frequency.

VIP: Very Important Person.

VOIP: Voice Over IP (Internet Protocol).

VOIR: Voice Of The Ilemi Republic. (Fictional.) See also: I2DL.

VPN: Virtual Private Network(s).

V/STOL: Vertical or short takeoff and landing. See also: STOL.

VTDP: Vectored Thrust Ducted Propeller (VTDP).

VW: Volkswagen.

Wadi
: Arabic for a stream or streambed.

Wahhabi
: A sect of Sunni Muslims that rigidly adhere to a strict interpretation of the Koran.

WAN: Wide Area Network.

Wassenaar Arrangement: See End User/End Use Certificate.

Water Splitter: Slang expression for a producer of hydrogen.

WD-1: U.S. military-issue two conductor insulated field telephone wire.

Wet-EX: An annual Ilemi Republic Defense Force training exercise, held the last two weeks of October, culminating with Independence Day live fire. See also: Dry-EX.

Wi-Fi: Wireless Fidelity.

Willy-Pete: Nickname for White Phosphorous. See WP.

WIS: World Islamic State. Also known as The Second IS and the Global Caliphate.

WIS-MOIS: World Islamic State Ministry of Intelligence and Security. (Fictional.)

WMD: Weapons of Mass Destruction.

WP: Depending on context, Wikipedia (as in this Glossary) or White Phosphorus, sometimes referred to by its slang name “Willy-Pete”.

WZ-523: A Chinese-produced six-wheeled Armored Personnel Carrier.

XL: Extra Large.

XO: Executive Officer

Yawm al-qiyamah
: Arabic for Day of Judgment. Literally, the Day of Resurrection. See also:
Mahdi
.

Yazidi
(or
Yezidi
). A Kurdish ethnoreligious group. They live primarily in the Ninevah Province of Iraq. Additional
Yazidi
communities in Armenia, Georgia, and Syria have been in decline since the 1990s as a result of significant migration to Europe, especially to Germany. Some
Yezedis
follow a syncretic religion, while others are Christians. (WP)