Terminology

Here’s a list of terms I have used in my blog, with explanations. If you’re curious about the blog title, check out Five Five Six:

A:

• ACM – Associate of Computing Machinery
• Alpha – see here.

B:

• Bagger – slang for Sandbag, or Irish reserve soldiers. Usually used in a derogatory sense, as in sandbags are useless, but I quite like it. When was the last time you saw a sandbag give up, or retreat. That’s right, never! See RDF, below.
• Bergen – army type 100L rucksack, named for Bergen in Norway. Can withstand tremendous abuse. Has two zip off pouches, see Rocket Pouches below.
• Bivvi – short for bivouac, an open shelter to sleep under.
• Bivvi bag – a waterproof bag which covers you sleeping, makes up for the fact that bivvis don’t offer 100% protection from the elements.
• Boonie – a slightly Aussie-looking hat with an all round brim. Keeps the weather off, rain or shine.
• Bravo – see here.

C:

• Camelbak – a brand of water bladder. A bit like Hoover in it’s ubiquity as a term.
• Charlie – see here.
• Chinagraph pencils – coloured grease pens, for marking routes on laminated maps. They wipe off when you’re done, or, more usually, when you need them not to.
• Civvy – short for civilian, may refer to civilian clothing.

D:

• Delta – see here.
• DPM – Disrupted Pattern Material, fancy name for camouflage.

E:

• Echo – see here.

F:

• FCÁ – Fórsa Chosanta Áitiúla, the now disbanded Irish Local Defence Force (reserves). See Bagger, above, and RDF, below.
• Five Five Six – common term for the 5.56x45mm NATO ammo used in many assault rifles, like the M16, Steyr, etc. Since I’m a bagger, it seemed like a good blog title.
• Foxtrot – see here.

G:

• Golf – see here.
• Gucci – gear that’s better than the previous gear you had, or, in army terms, could be gear bought to supplement issued kit. (The first time someone told me a piece of kit (a kitbag, if I remember correctly) was Gucci, I was so green, I started looking for the Gucci logo.)

H:

• Hanwag – boot manufacturer. I own and love a pair of their Special Forces boots.
• Hi-Speed – kit that’s not necessary, but you have anyway. Might make life easier, usually doesn’t. If it needs batteries, it’s probably Hi-Speed. Used derogatorily, for the positive version, see Gucci, above.
• Hook & pile fasteners – Velcro, but, like Hoover, Velcro is a trademark, so go FOSS and say hook & pile.
• Hotel – see here.

I:

• India – see here.

J:

• Juliet – see here.

K:

• KFS – Knife, Fork, Spoon set. Smaller, less functional versions of cutlery, that clip together.
• Kilo – see here.

L:

• Lima – see here.

M:

• Mess tins – 2 aluminum (aluminium, for you revisionists) rectangular tins,with fold out handles. Used for heating water and food, rather than actually cooking in them. One’s slightly smaller than the other, and fits inside the bigger one.
• Mike – see here.

N:

• NATO – North Atlantic Treaty Organisation, US-led Western alliance, originally founded to fight the Reds in the impending Soviet invasion. It’s current role seems to be maintaining interoperability amongst members. For the less voluntary Soviet version, see Warsaw Pact below.
• Nav Kit – navigation equipment: Compass, map, roamer, at a minimum; could include chinagraph pencils, map marker, route plans, GPS (if you’re Hi-Speed), etc.
• Norgie – woolen jumper issued by many western armies. Has distinctive thumb rings on the sleeves and a zip-up collar. So good, I bought two ex-Brit ones on eBay.
• November – see here.
• NWERC – Northwestern Europe Regional Programming Contest.

O:

• OD – Olive Drab, that dull army green colour.
• OG – Olive Green, that slightly less dull army green colour.
• Oscar – see here.

P:

• Papa – see here.
• Pocket Rocket – ludicrously powerful gas cooker, that has a flame that burns through empty mess tins in about a minute. Boils water damn fast for a brew, though.

Q:

• Quebec – see here.

R:

• RDF – Reserve Defence Forces, the newer, shinier FCÁ.
• Recce – short for Reconnaissance. The yanks tend to call it Recon, but on this side of the water it’s a Recce.
• Rocket pouches – 10L pouches that zip onto a bergen, one on each side. One, or two, can be worn as a day sack when attatched to a Yoke, see below.
• Romeo – see here.
• RTÉ – Raideo Teilifís na hÉireann, Ireland’s national broadcaster.

S:

• Sierra – see here.
• Softie – manufacturer of outdoor clothing and thermals.

T:

• Tango – see here.

U:

• UCD – University College Dublin, the university in Ireland where I study.
• UCD:CS – University College Dublin : Computer Science. Please note, I am the only person who uses this acronym.
• UCDCSKNOF – University College Dublin’s Computer Science Karaoke Night Of Fun
• Uniform – see here.

V:

• Victor – see here.

W:

• Warsaw Pact – the agreement amongst the Eastern and Central European Soviet client states and Mother Russia, pertaining to common defence and other co-operation matter. It was the Soviet NATO, and amazingly the two never fought directly, which is good, because it would have been nuclear.
• Water bladder – basically a plastic bag of water, with a tube to your mouth. Used so you don’t have to fish out and open a water bottle.
• Webbing – pouches arrayed on a belt, held up by a Yoke, see below. Has ammo pouches, water bottle pouches, etc.
• Whisky – see here.

X:

• X-ray – see here.

Y:

• Yankee – see here.
• Yoke – shoulder straps for webbing and rocket pouches.

Z:

• Zulu – see here.