So, you want to learn some Military Jargon? Well you've come to the right place. Here you can learn what a "Stern" is. So just park you Aft in that chair and talk military.
First we'll do the basic stuff. Aft: Any section of a warship that is behind the bridge. ACM: Air Combat Maneuvers. Pilots who go to Key West, mainly new crack pilots from Pensacola, to learn and practice these. Wildcat: A portion of a warship's anchor. Capstan: See above. Stern: The farthest aft section of a warship. On a Destroyer, it would be the Helicopter flight deck. Bow: Forward section of a warship. Usually where the anchors are located. Port: Left side of a warship. The side that most always faces the docking pier. Starboard: the right side of a warship. This side sometimes faces the pier, but not always. VFA: Naval term for Aviatin-Fighter-Attack. The V for the navy is Aviation, whereas the Marine Corps know it as Fixed-wing. VMFA: Marine term for Fixed-wing-Marine-Fighter-Attack. VMFAT: Mairne term for Fixed-Wing-Fighter-Attack-Traning. MAW: Marine Air Wing. MAG: Marine Air Group. MEU: Marine Expiditionary Unit. Meatball: This little term is used for carrier landings. The "Meatball" is the way a pilot knows if he is below or above the carriers "Glide slope." If he is above the Slope he will miss the arresting wires. If he is below the Slope, he will crash into the stern of the carrier and become what is called "Ramproast." Aressting wires: These steel cables ensure a pilot a safe landing on a carrier. The wires, when counted, start form the stern to just behind midship. The pilots try to catch the 3 wire for it ensures the safest landing and the highest landing grade. Midship: Middle of a ship. Usualy between smoke stacks. Fighting snakes in the Cockpit: This is the term for when a pilot has trouble landing his plane on the deck and almost crashes. AIM-9L Sidewinder: Standard missle for most fighters. AIM-54 Pheonix: The only true Long range missle; carried by the F-14 Tomcat. AIM-7 Sparrow: One of the only long range missles in use. The range of the Aim-7 is not as great as the Pheonix, but still good. M61A1 rotary cannon: The standard machine gun for the F-18. F-18A: This version is for Fighting in air-to-air combat and bombing. F-18B: This is primarily for training/bombing. CF-18: Canadian version of the F-18. GE F404-400: The standard engine of most F-18s. Canada is the primary user of this engine. The U.S. uses the GE F404-402's. GE F404-402: This engine is said to have more thrust in it than the 404 does. Glass cockpit: Most aircraft cockpits nowadays have computer screens for radar, fuel status, and engine function. In WWII those were measured by gauges. A-12: General Dynamics/McDonnell Doudlas A-12 Avenger a 1990's Navy program for a stealthy carrier aircraft, canceled due to cost over-runs and program mismanagement. AAA: Anti-Aircratf Artillery also called "triple-A" or "flak" (from the German "fliegerabwehrkanone" or air defense gun). AAQ-13/14 LANTIRN: Low Altitude Navigation Targeting Infrafed for Night. A pair of sensor pods mounted on F-15E and certain F-16C/D aircraft. A version of the AAQ-14 targeting pod with an internal GPS/INS system is used aboard the F-14 Tomcat. ACC: Air Combat Command. Major command of the USAF formed in 1992 by the merger of Strateigic Air Command (SAC. Bombers and tankers) and Tactical Air Command (Fighters). ACESII: Standard U.S. ejection seat built by Boeing, based on an original design by the Weber Corps. ACES is a "zero-zero" seat, which means that it can save the crew persons' life (at risk of some injury) down to zero airspeed and zero altitude, as long as the aircraft is not inverted. Humorously known as the "hostage delivery system". ACM: Air Combat Maneuvering, the art of getting into position to shoot the other guy, preferably from behind, before he cna shoot you. A vital but expensive part of advanced flight training for fighter pilots, ACM is the most effective on an instumented radar range with "playback" facilities for debriefing.
Links to other sites on the Web
*DISCLAIMER*
This page has definetly NOT been authorized by the DOD.
