Hellfire (47 page)
After more than two decades in the British Army I couldn’t exactly put a Hellfire missile in my trophy cabinet, but at least I had a couple of suitably muscular timepieces to hand down to my young sons in case they ever need reminding that Dad wasn’t always a boring old fart.
JULY 2009
As I sit writing this from the comfort of my home friends continue to keep me informed about what’s happening in Afghanistan. Andy Wawn sends me regular emails even now, three years beyond that epic tour.
He and his fellow Apache pilots are firing more ammunition and flying more hours than we ever did. Repetition of tours is becoming more frequent, and the team is utterly ball-bagged.
A Major in the US Marines recently informed me that they are currently coming up against particularly heavy resistance in a place called Jugroom Fort. He thanked me for writing
Apache
and giving them a heads up.
1BIT:
one standard 7.62 mm ball round for every one tracer round (1Ball1Tracer = 1BIT)
2i/c:
second in command
30 mil:
30mm High Explosive Dual Purpose Apache cannon rounds
.50 cal:
British Forces L1A1 Heavy Machine Gun - 12.7 mm (.50 inch) calibre tripod-mounted or vehicle-mounted automatic
A109:
Agusta 109 helicopter used by the SAS
AA:
Anti-Aircraft - known as ‘Double A’. A large calibre gun used against low-flying aircraft
AAC:
Army Air Corps - corps of the British Army that operates helicopters and fixed wing aircraft
ABFAC:
Airborne Forward Air Controller
ACC:
Army Catering Corps
ACTI:
Air Combat Tactics Instructor
AK47:
Soviet assault rifle - 7.62 mm automatic
ALPC:
Arming and Loading Point Commander
Altitude:
Height above sea level, rather than ground level
AMTAT:
Air Manoeuvre Training and Advisory Team - senior instructors with expertise in multiple disciplines who were
there to train, coach and test to ensure see that the Apache was worked up to its full fighting potential prior to being declared fully operational
ANA:
Afghan National Army
ANP:
Afghan National Police
ANSF:
Afghan National Security Force
Apache:
Apache AH Mk1 - the British Army Apache Attack Helicopter - built by AgustaWestland and fitted with the Longbow radar
APC:
Armoured Personnel Carrier
APU:
Auxiliary Power Unit - an engine used to power up the main engines or to provide power to an aircraft on the ground
AQ:
Al-Qaeda
Armée de l’Air:
French Air Force
ASE:
Aircraft Survival Equipment
ATO:
Ammunition Technical Officer
Attack helicopter:
A helicopter that is designed around being a complete weapon system, rather than a weapon system designed to fit a helicopter
B1:
B1 Lancer bomber - US Air Force high altitude long-range supersonic strategic bomber
Bag, the:
A blacked-out cockpit used to teach Apache pilots how to fly at night with sole reference from the monocle
Battlegroup:
A battalion-sized fighting force
BATS box:
BATUS Asset Tracking System Box. A transponder that transmits to the exercise controllers the exact position of a vehicle during live firing training on BATUS
BATUS:
British Army Training Unit Suffield - training unit at Canadian Air Force base, Suffield, Alberta
BC:
Battery Commander
BDA:
Battle Damage Assessment
Bergen:
Army slang for a rucksack
Berm:
A man-made ridge of earth, designed as an obstacle
Bird table:
A table (often strewn with maps) that all of the main players gather around to discuss and brief the details of operations
Bitching Betty:
The Apache’s female cockpit voice warning system
Black brain:
The black kneeboard Apache pilots fly with on their thigh that contains everything that can’t be committed to memory and may be needed instantly in flight
Bob-up box:
A piece of symbology displayed in the monocle that remains fixed in space. It allows the crew to know how far they are from a self-generated known point in space they were hovering over when it was created.
Bonedome:
Helmet
Brick:
A term used in Northern Ireland for a four man patrol
Broken Arrow:
A base or fort that has been overrun by the enemy
BRU:
Boresight Reticule Unit
C-17:
RAF transport plane
CAG:
Combined Air Ground
Calibre:
The inside diameter of the barrel of a weapon
Carbine:
Short-barrelled SA80 with an additional grip at the front - used by Apache pilots and tank crews - 5.56 mm automatic
CAS:
Close Air Support
Casevac:
Casualty Evacuation
CH47:
Chinook - a large wide-bodied helicopter with two rotors on the top. Used by many countries for carrying troops - may also carry equipment inside or underslung below.
Chicken fuel:
Just enough fuel to make it back direct and land with the minimum fuel allowance
Chicken plate:
Triangular armoured plate to shield the vital organs within the chest cavity from bullets and shrapnel
Chippies:
De Havilland Chipmunk T10 training aircraft
Choke point:
A point where a natural narrowing occurs in a route - like a bottleneck.
CMDS:
Counter Measures Dispensing System
CO:
Commanding Officer - Lieutenant Colonel in charge of a regiment, battalion or the Joint Helicopter Force
Collective lever:
The flying control to the left-hand side of the pilot’s seat; held in the left hand; when raised the Apache climbs and when lowered it descends
ComAO:
Combined Air Operation
Co-op:
Co-operative rocket shoot - both of the Apache’s crew working together to fire the rockets at the target
Cow:
Taliban slang for the Chinook helicopter
Crabs:
Slang term for the RAF
CRV7:
Canadian Rocket Vehicle 7 - the Apache’s rockets
CTAF Net:
Common Tactical Air Frequency Net
CTR:
Conversion To Role
CTT:
Conversion To Type
Cyclic stick:
The flying control between the pilot’s legs, held by the right hand and used to speed up, slow down, dive and turn the Apache
Danger close:
The proximity to a weapon’s effect that is considered the last safe point when wearing body armour and combat helmet
Dasht-e-Margo:
Desert of Death
DC:
District Centre - the commercial/political/military centre of a particular area. Usually a building that once held power
Deliberate Operations:
Preplanned operations like escort missions and deliberate strikes
Delta Hotel:
Phonetic alphabet for DH - air speak for Direct Hit - call made when a weapon system hits its intended target accurately
Dfac:
American Dining Facility
Dishdash: Loose kaftan-style outfit worn by many Afghan men
DoS:
Days of Supply
DTV:
Day television - black and white TV image generated from the day camera in the TADS
DVO:
Direct View Optics
ECM:
Electronic Counter Measures
ETA:
Estimated Time of Arrival
ETD:
Estimated Time of Departure
EWI:
Electronic Warfare Instructor
Excon:
Exercise Control
FAC:
Forward Air Control/Controller
FARMC:
Fuel, Ammunition, Rockets, Missiles, Countermeasures (farm-c)
Fast air:
Offensive military jet aircraft
FCR:
Fire Control Radar - the Apache’s Longbow radar
Fenestron:
A tail rotor that is housed in a Venturi
FIBUA:
Fighting In a Built-Up Area
Flares:
Hot flares fired to attract heat-seeking missiles, luring them away from the Apache
Flechette:
Five-inch tungsten darts fired from a rocket travelling above Mach 3.3
Flick:
Military slang. When something has been signed over to you and you are held accountable for it
FLIR:
Forward Looking Infrared - Sights that generate a thermal picture - an image produced by an object’s heat source above absolute zero
FOB:
Forward Operating Base
Frag:
Fragments of hot metal that break away from a shell when it explodes
FRV:
Final Rendezvous point
GAFA:
Great Afghan Fuck All - Dasht-e-Margo - the Desert of Death
Gazelle:
British Army helicopter - generally employed for training, liaison and reconnaissance
GMPG:
British Forces General Purpose Machine Gun - 7.62 mm bipod machine gun
GPS:
Global Positioning System - satellite navigation equipment
Greenie tech:
Nickname for an aviation technician. Aviation technicians are responsible for all electrical equipment on an aircraft
Green Zone:
Lush habitation of irrigated fields, hedgerows, trees and small woods on either side of the Helmand River, bordered by arid deserts
Ground crew:
People who work with aircraft when they are on the ground, but not technicians
Groundie:
Military slang for ground crew
Ground school:
Academic lessons on flying and all to do with flying: meteorology, law, engines, etc.
Gunship:
An aircraft that has the capability of firing its cannon/s from the side instead of having to strafe head-on
Gun tape:
The video tape put into an Apache that records what the selected sight sees
HALS:
Hardened Aircraft Landing Strip: small runway
Harrier:
British designed military jet aircraft capable of Vertical Short Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) - often called the ‘Jump Jet’
HEDP:
High Explosive Dual Purpose (Hedpee) - 30 mm cannon rounds
Height:
The height above the ground expressed in feet
HEISAP:
High Explosive Incendiary Semi-Armour Piercing (high-sap) - kinetic rocket fired by the Apache
Hellfire:
AGM-114K SAL (Semi-Active Laser) Hellfire is a laser-guided Hellfire missile fitted to the Apache
Hesco Bastion:
Square metal meshed cubes lined with hessian and filled with rubble and/or sand. Used as defensive ramparts to protect bases and platoon houses from fire
H Hour:
The moment offensive action begins - first bullet, bomb or the moment troops walk towards their intended target to attack
HIDAS:
Helicopter Integrated Defensive Aids System - protection from SAMs
HIG:
Hezb-I Islami Gulbuddin - major group of the old Mujahideen with ties to Osama bin Laden
HLS:
Helicopter Landing Site
HMD:
Helmet Mounted Display
Hot:
Air speak for clearance or acknowledgement that live bombs can be dropped
HQ:
Headquarters - the nerve centre for planning and execution of operations
HRF:
Helmand Reaction Force - two Apaches and a Chinook full of soldiers on standby at Bastion used to bolster any troops on the ground quickly
IAT:
Image Auto-Track
IAT:
International Air Tattoo. Now RIAT (Royal International Air Tattoo)
Icom:
A make of radio scanner used by coalition and the Taliban to monitor each other’s transmissions
ID:
Identification
IDM:
Improved Data Modem
IED:
Improvised Explosive Device - home-made bombs or multiple mines strapped together
IEFAB:
Improved Extended Forward Avionics Bay (eefab) The slabs that stick out either side of Longbow Apaches below the cockpits
IntO:
Intelligence Officer
IOC:
Initial Operating Capability
IPT:
Integrated Project Team
IRA:
Irish Republican Army - Northern Irish paramilitary group
IRT:
Incident Response Team - Apaches, Chinooks, doctors, medics and Ammunition Technical Officer (ATO) responsible for the immediate recovery of personnel in danger or injured
ISAF:
International Security Assistance Force - multinational military force in Afghanistan
ISTAR:
Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance
JDAM:
Joint Direct Attack Munition - inertial navigation and GPS guidance system bolted onto a 500 to 2000-lb bomb to make it an accurate all-weather weapon
JHC:
Joint Helicopter Command - the UK-based command headquarters and operating authority for all British military helicopters in the UK and abroad
JHF:
Joint Helicopter Force
JHF(A):
Joint Helicopter Force Afghanistan - ‘Main’ at Kandahar and ‘Forward’ at Camp Bastion - the Afghanistan helicopter headquarters operating under authority of the Joint Helicopter Command (JHC)