Death in the Jungle (40 page)

Rig:
General description of a ship’s upper works; to set up, fit out, or put together.

Rigging:
General term for all ropes, chains, and gear used for supporting and operating masts, yards, booms, gaffs, and sails. Rigging is of two kinds: standing rigging, or lines that support but ordinarily do not move; and running rigging, or lines that move to operate equipment.

Ropeyarn Sunday:
A time for repairing clothing and other personal gear. (Usually Wednesday afternoon at sea.)

Sampan:
A small Vietnamese boat propelled by paddle or motor.

Scow:
Large, open, flat-bottomed boat for transporting sand, gravel, mud, et cetera.

Scullery:
Compartment for washing and sterilizing eating utensils.

Scuttlebutt:
Container of drinking water, or a drinking fountain. Also, a rumor, usually of local importance.

Sea lawyer:
Enlisted man who likes to argue, usually one who thinks he can twist the regulations and standing orders around to favor his personal inclinations.

SEAL Teams:
SEAL Teams 1 and 2 were commissioned on 1 January 1962, and were located at Coronado, California, and Little Creek, Virginia, respectively. All of the original SEALs were formerly UDTs. However, as the Vietnam War escalated, some individuals were assigned directly to a SEAL Team from the training unit. Shortly thereafter, UDT training was renamed BUDS (Basic Underwater Demolition SEAL). SEAL is an acronym formed from sea, air, and land. SEALs can attack from the sea, the air, and the land. SEAL Teams are organized, trained, and equipped to conduct unconventional warfare, counter-guerrilla, and clandestine operations in maritime areas and riverine environments. This includes, but is not limited to, the following: demolitions, intelligence collection, and training and advising friendly military and paramilitary forces in the conduct of Naval Special Warfare.

Seaworthy:
Capable of putting to sea and meeting usual sea conditions.

Secure:
To make fast; to tie; an order given on completion of a drill or exercise, meaning to withdraw from drill stations and duties.

Semaphore:
Code indicated by the position of the arms; hand flags are used to increase readability.

Service stripes:
Diagonal stripes on the lower left sleeve of an enlisted man’s uniform denoting periods of enlistments. Usually referred to as “hash-marks.”

Set:
Direction of the leeway of a ship or of a tide or current.

Shellback:
Man who has crossed the equator and been initiated.

Shipshape:
Neat, orderly.

Shore patrol:
Naval personnel detailed to maintain discipline, to aid local police in handling naval personnel on liberty or leave, and to assist naval personnel in difficulties ashore.

Sick bay:
Ship’s or command’s hospital or dispensary. On Monday the dispensary is filled; on Friday the dispensary is empty.

Skivvy:
Slang for underwear.

Slick:
Common, cross-service slang for a UH-1 “Huey” helicopter armed only with two M-60 machine guns, located on each side and aft of the passenger/cargo area. Each slick can carry one squad, or seven men, with full combat gear.

Smoking lamp:
A lamp aboard old-time ships used by men to light their pipes; now used in the phrase, “The smoking lamp is lit (or out),” to indicate when men are allowed (or forbidden) to smoke.

Snipes:
Slang for members of the engineering department.

Sonar (sound navigation and ranging):
Device for locating objects under water by emitting vibrations similar to sound, and measuring the time taken for these vibrations to bounce back from anything in their path.

SOP:
Standing operating procedure based upon lessons learned and military wisdom.

Sound:
To measure depth of water by means of a lead line. Also, to measure the depth of liquids in oil tanks, voids, blisters, and other compartments or tanks.

Squad:
A subdivision of a platoon. The squad was made up of seven men. There were two squads in each SEAL platoon.

Squall:
Sudden gust of wind.

Square away:
To get things settled down or in order.

STAB (SEAL Team Assault Boat):
Twenty-six feet in length, powered by two 325-horsepower motors, and drew four feet of water. Its maximum range was 450 nautical miles. It was manned by Boat Support Unit personnel and used to insert and extract one squad of SEAL personnel. It was also used for fire support.

Staff officer:
Officer of staff corps, (medical, dental, supply, et cetera), whose duty was primarily within his specialty, and not of a military character. Also, a line officer when assigned to the staff, or group of assistants, of a high-ranking officer.

Stage:
Platform rigged over ship’s side for painting or repair work.

Stand by:
Preparatory order meaning “Get ready,” or “Prepare to.”

Starboard:
Right side of a ship looking forward.

Stateroom:
Officer’s shipboard bedroom.

Stern:
After part of a ship.

Stow:
To put gear in its proper place.

Striker:
Enlisted man in training for a particular rating.

Swab:
A rope or yarn mop.

Sweepers:
Men who use brooms in cleaning ship when “clean sweep down” is ordered.

T-10:
An operational area within the northeastern portion of the RSSZ (Rung Sat Special Zone). It was composed of very dense vegetation and double-canopy forest. It was generally surrounded by swampy terrain and numerous streams that were very difficult for any foot soldier to penetrate. For these reasons, the United States and its allies rarely penetrated its interior. Even then, it was done carefully and by warriors who were specially trained to deal with the riverine environment. The NVA/VC used the T-10 extensively for an R & R and troop-staging area to include several field hospitals, training camps, et cetera. SEALs preferred operating in the T-10 area because they encountered the enemy on every mission. Success was always good for morale. And last, but not least, a good portion of the T-10 had good, solid, dry land—a luxury in the RSSZ!

Tide:
The vertical rise and fall of the sea, caused by gravitational effect of sun and moon.

TOC:
The tactical operations center. In Vietnam, the Vietnamese TOCs were located in all provincial cities and district villages. These were
always
considered to be compromised. There were also TOCs located in all U.S. military locations, which were considered secure and not penetrated by Vietnamese Communists.

Topside or topsides:
Above decks.

Trades:
Generally, steady winds of the tropics that blow toward the equator. NE in the northern hemisphere, and SE in the southern.

Trice up:
To hitch up or hook up, such as trice up a shipboard bunk/bed.

Turn to:
An order to begin work.

UDT (Underwater Demolition Teams):
Initially formed as the Navy Combat Demolition Unit, after the lessons learned from the amphibious invasion of Tarawa in November of 1942. Later, they were reorganized into UDTs until a much later reorganization in 1983. At that time, the UDTs were decommissioned. On the west
coast, UDT-11 became SEAL Team 5, and UDT-12 became SDV Team 1. On the east coast, UDT-21 became SEAL Team 4, and UDT-22 became SDV Team 2. All UDT/SEALs were graduates of UDT Training until 1968, when it was renamed BUDS (Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL). Today, all Team personnel are graduates of BUDS training at the Naval Amphibious Base located near Coronado, California.

Uncover:
To remove headgear/hat.

Underway:
A ship is underway when not at anchor, made fast to the shore, or aground. She need not be actually moving; she is underway as long as she lies free in the water.

Unit:
An entity in itself, made up of one or more parts. The unit itself is a member part. Thus, two destroyers (units) form a section; two sections form a division; two divisions form a squadron.

VC (Viet Cong):
The South Vietnamese Communist NLF’s (National Liberation Front) regular/guerrilla forces. These poor fellows got much of their training in actual combat. And to add insult to injury, they were generally led by North Vietnamese officers. During the 1968 Tet offensive, the VC military units assigned to attack IV Corps districts and provincial capitals were slaughtered by the U.S. and allied forces. Many of them were forced to serve the Communist cause, and defected to the American and South Vietnamese forces under the
Chieu Hoi
(open arms) program.

Very well:
Reply of a senior (or officer) to a junior (or enlisted man) to indicate that information given is understood, or that permission is granted.

War:
A bitch, except for those professionals who seem to enjoy it. Use of force or violence, by a state or group of states, against another state (or group of states), or by a segment of a people against the established government.

Wardroom:
Officers’ mess and lounge aboard a ship.

Warning Order:
Always precedes a standard patrol order. Its purpose is to provide the men with sufficient information to prepare
adequately for the problem in advance. The basic outline is: 1) a brief statement of the situation; 2) mission of the patrol; 3) general instructions; 4) specific instructions.

Watch:
A period of duty, usually for four hours’ duration. Watches call for a variety of Navy skills, and are of many types: quarterdeck watch, messenger watch, damage-control watch, evaporator watch, signal watch, radio watch, et cetera.

Watchcap:
Knitted wool cap worn by enlisted men below CPO in cool or cold weather; also, a canvas cover placed over a stack when not in use.

Watch officer:
An officer regularly assigned to duty in charge of a watch or of a portion thereof; for example, the OOD, or the engineering officer of the watch.

Webb belt:
A heavy-duty belt made of cotton or nylon. Pistols, magazine pouches, canteens, first aid kits, et cetera, may be attached to it.

Wheelhouse:
Pilothouse; the topside compartment where, on most ships, the OOD, helmsman, quartermaster of the watch, et cetera, stand their watches.

Yard:
Spar attached at the middle to a mast, and running athwartships; used as a support for signal halyards or signal lights; also a place used for shipbuilding and as a repair depot, as Boston Naval Shipyard.

Yardarm:
Either side of a yard.

Yarn:
Twisted fibers used for rough seizings, which may be twisted into strands; also, a story, as to “spin a yarn,” meaning to tell a story not necessarily true.