Land of Promise (37 page)

MAPEX: Map Exercise.

Masorati
: Hebrew word for observant (‘tradition keeping”) Jews. See :
Dati
and Observant.

Max: Slang contraction for Maximum.

MBT: Main Battle Tank.

MCT: Modular Combat Turret.

MDA:
Magen David Adom
. The Israeli affiliate organization of the International Red Cross /Red Crescent. The organization’s insignia is a red Star of David.

Med: Slang contraction for Mediterranean Ocean and its surrounding nations.

Mensa: The World’s largest High Intelligence Quotient (IQ) organization, limited to members who score in the 98
^th
or higher percentiles on IQ tests.

Meshiach
: Hebrew for Messiah.

Meshichim
: Hebrew word (plural) for Messianic.

MDI: Monolitic Domes International. (Fictional.)

MET: Short for Meteorological.

MG3: A German belt-fed light machinegun, chambered in 7.62mm NATO.

MG4: A German belt-fed light machinegun, chambered in 5.56mm NATO.

MH-60: U.S. Special Forces variant models of the UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter.

MI: Military Intelligence. See also: CI, HUMINT, and SIGINT.

MID: Miniature Imaging Detector.

Mimiyah
: Canteen.

Mini-14: A 5.56mm NATO semiauto carbine made by Ruger.

Minimi: See M249.

MKEK: Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation. (Turkish:
Makina ve Kimya Endüstrisi Kurumu
.) A Turkish arms-making conglomerate. They are the makers of licenses copies of the U.S. Mk19 40mm automatic grenade launcher.

MLW: Maximum Landing Weight.

Mog: Slang contraction for Unimog. See Unimog.

MOIS: Ministry of Intelligence and Security, the Iranian spy agency. See also: VEVAK.

MOLLE: Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment.

Molotov Cocktail: A hand-thrown firebomb made from a glass container filled with gasoline or thickened gasoline (napalm).

MOS: Military Occupational Specialty.

Moshav
: A type of Israeli town or settlement, in particular a type of cooperative agricultural community of individual farms pioneered by the Labour Zionists during the second wave of
aliyah
. A resident or a member of a
moshav
can be called a
moshavnik
. (WP.) See also:
Kibbutz
.

Mossad: Israel’s national intelligence agency. The literal meaning of
Mossad
is “Institute”, which is short for
HaMossad leModiʿin uleTafkidim Meyuḥadim
--meaning “Institute for Intelligence and Special Operations.”

Moshavnik
: See
Moshav.

Moth STOL: A low observable (LO) ducted fan composite aircraft (with drone variants) built by Pilatus. Originally designed for trainer, utility and Search and Rescue (SAR) roles, but modified by the Ilemis to be an air-to-air and air to surface missile and 30mm cannon platform, and for use in gathering SIGINT and IMINT. (Fictional.)

MoU: Memorandum of Understanding.

MP: Military Police.

MRAP: Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (vehicle).

MRE: Meal, Ready to Eat. See also: IMP and CR1M.

MRI: Magnetic Resonance Imaging.

MSF:
Médecins Sans Frontières
(aka Doctors Without Borders.)

MSG90A1: A militarized variant of the PSG1, that is both strengthened and lightened. The PSG1 and MSG90 have different trigger packs. The MSG90 uses a modified version of the push pin trigger packs of H&K roller locked select-fire assault rifles. The composite shoulder stock of the MSG90 is adjustable for height (cheek), length of pull (shoulder), and is smaller and lighter than that of the PSG1. MSG90s have a slightly shorter contoured barrel to help with harmonic stabilization and consistent whip instead of the PSG1’s heavy barrel, but remain free-floating. As a result, these particular MSG90 A1’s have a threaded barrel capable of attaching a suppressor, which is an advantage over the PSG1. (WP.)

MTBE: Methyl tert-butyl Ether. An oxygenating additive for gasoline.

MTI: Moving Target Indicator(s). See also: SLAR.

MTOW: Maximum Takeoff Weight.

Mufti
: An Islamic scholar who is an interpreter or expounder of Islamic law (
Sharia
and
fiqh
). A
muftiate
or
diyanet
is a council of muftis. (WP.) Also used in British slang to indicate someone in costume or disguise. (“In
mufti
.”) See also:
Fatwa
.

Mujirah
: A female IS member.

Mullah
: An Islamic cleric.

MultiCam: See OCP.

MURS: Multi Use Radio Service. A VHF two-way radio service that does not require a license. See also: FRS and GMRS.

Mushrikun
: Arabic word for non-believers in Islam.

Muezzin
: The man appointed at a mosque to lead, and recite, the call to prayer for every event of prayer and worship in the mosque. (WP.) See also:
Adhan
,
Imam
, and
Salat
.

NAI: New Ayalon Institute. An Ilemi small arms ammunition maker. (Fictional, but based on the historic Ayalon Institute of the 1940s.)

NAP: Non-Aggression Principle.

Napalm: Thickened gasoline, used in some flame weapons.

Nations of Refuge Confederation. A loose association of nations including Australia, Ecuador, The Ilemi Republic, India, Israel, Kenya, Kiribati, Namibia, The Philippines, Poland, Rwanda, South Sudan, and Zambia. (Fictional.)

NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

NBC: Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical.

NCO: Noncommissioned Officer.

NE: Short for NEuro. (See also: NEuro.)

Net: Slang expression for the Internet

NEuro: New Euro. A global currency issued only in electronic form. (Fictional.)

Newton Bores: A South African well-drilling company. (Fictional.)

NGO: Non-Government Organizations.

Nguni
: A hybrid cattle breed developed in South Africa and Namibia.

Niqab
: A scarf which covers the face as a part of sartorial
hijab
. It is worn by some Muslim women in public areas. See also:
Chador
and
Hijab
.

NSIS: National Security and Intelligence Service (of Sudan).

Non-Observant: A synonym for secular Jews in Israel. See also:
Masorati
, and
Dati.

Norinco: A Chinese conglomerate that produces small arms and military vehicles.

Notzrei
: Contemporary Israeli Hebrew term for a Christian (singular). A reference to the branch of the Nazarene.

Notzrim
: Contemporary Israeli Hebrew term for Christians (plural).

NiCd: Nickel Cadmium (rechargeable battery).

NiMH: Nickel Metal Hydride (rechargeable battery) improvement of NiCd.

NIST: National Institute of Standards and Technology.

NOC: Nonofficial cover. Clandestine agent.

Norinco: The China North Industries Corporation. A weapons and military vehicle maker.

NO-TIPS: Mnemonic memory aid acronym for “No Tracer, Incendiary, or Pyrotechnic Signals” use during the Ilemi dry season, to reduce the risk of brushfires. (Fictional.)

NVGs: Night Vision Goggles.

NWO: New World Order.

Nyala: A South African mine-proof wheeled APC, designated RG-31, that can carry up to ten troops, depending on configuration.

Nyangatom: A tribe of western Kenya, also sometimes called the Donyiro, or derisively “Bume” (meaning “Dirty”) by Ethiopians.

OAS: Organization of African States.

OB: Order of Battle.

Observant: See
Masorat
i.

OCONUS: Outside the Continental United States.

OCP: Operational Camouflage Pattern. This standard U.S. Army camouflage is commonly called by its predecessor civilian trade name, MultiCam, which was developed by Crye Precision, Inc. Note, however, that OCP was actually a military adoption of the slightly different Crye Scorpion W2 Pattern. Limited issue began in 2008, and service-wide issue began in 2014.

OCS: Officer Candidate School.

O Dark Thirty: Military slang for pre-dawn hours.

OFAC: Office of Foreign Assets Control. A division of U.S. Department of the Treasury which administers and enforces foreign assets control in support of U.S. Sanctions programs, including organizations and individuals that sponsor terrorism, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Old Man: Slang for Commanding Officer. See also: CO.

One-Time Pad: A manual one-time cryptosystem produced in pad form.

Onion Router: See Tor.

OONI: Open Observatory of Network Interference. A free software, global observation network for detecting censorship, surveillance and traffic manipulation on the Internet.

OP: Observation Post. See also: LP/OP.

OPORD: Operations Order.

OPSEC: Operational Security. The systematic and proven process by which potential adversaries can be denied information about capabilities and intentions by identifying, controlling, and protecting generally unclassified evidence of the planning and execution of sensitive activities. The process involves five steps: identification of critical information, analysis of threats, analysis of vulnerabilities, assessment of risks, and application of appropriate countermeasures.

Oryx: The South African-built variant of the French Puma SA 330 series helicopter. Can carry up to 12 troops.

P2P: Peer to Peer. See also: Darknet.

P5: The Ilemi Republic Passport Office, Patent & Copyright Office, Public Lands Pastoral Management and Brands Registration Office, the Postal and Internet Office, and the Private Property Deeds and Surveys Office. (Fictional.)

PE2P: Possible Exception to Policy.

P90: A bullpup 5.7×28 caliber personal defense weapon featuring a 50-round transverse top-mounted magazine, manufactured by FN.

PAF: Philippine Air Force.

Panga
: The African locally-manufactured equivalent of a machete.

Paracord: A contraction for Parachute Cord.

Parkour: A training discipline using movement that developed from military obstacle course training. The term derives from “
parcours du combattant
”, the classic obstacle-course method of military training proposed by Georges Hébert. Practitioners aim to get from A to B in the most efficient way possible. This is done using only the human body and the surroundings for propulsion, with a focus on maintaining as much momentum as possible while still remaining safe. Parkour can include obstacle courses, running, climbing, swinging, mantling, vaulting, jumping, rolling, quadrupedal movement, and other, similar movements depending on what movement is deemed most suitable for the given situation. Parkour is usually practiced in urban spaces. Parkour involves seeing one’s environment in a new way, and imagining the potentialities for navigating it by movement around, across, through, over and under its features. Developed in France, primarily by Raymond Belle, David Belle, and Sébastien Foucan during the late 1980s, Parkour became popular in the late 1990s and 2000s through films, documentaries, and advertisements featuring these practitioners and others. (WP)

PASGT: Personnel Armor System for Ground Troops. A largely obsolete U.S. military body armor ensemble. Only the PASGT Kevlar helmet is still issued.

Patria AMV: See Badger.

PCS: Permanent Change of Station.

PDD: Presidential Decision Document.

PDW: Personal Defense Weapon.

Peshmerga
: Literally: “one who confronts death” are the military forces of Iraqi Kurdistan. The overall formal head of the
peshmerga
is the President of Iraqi Kurdistan. The
peshmerga
force itself is largely divided and controlled separately by the Democratic Party of Kurdistan and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan, although both pledge allegiance to the Kurdistan Regional Government.
Peshmerga
forces are responsible for defending the land, people and institutions of the Kurdistan Region. (WP) See also: PKK, PYD, and YPG.

PETN: Pentaerythritol tetranitrate.

P.I.: Slang contraction for Philippine Islands.

Pic: Slang contraction for picture.

PII: Personally Identifiable Information. The information that is the target of identity thieves.

Pilatus: Pilatus Aircraft, Ltd. is a Swiss manufacturer of STOL and fighter transition trainer aircraft.

Pilatus Moth: See Moth STOL.

Pilatus Porter: The Pilatus PC-6 is a STOL utility aircraft designed specifically to operate from unprepared, rough, and short airstrips. In continuous production since 1959. it can take off within a distance of 640 feet (195 m) and land within a distance of 427 feet (130 m) while carrying a payload of 2,646 lbs (1,200 kg). An armed gunship/light transport/spotter was built under license in the US by Fairchild in the 1970s, under the USAF designation AU-23A Peacemaker. (WP)

PK:
Pulemyot Kalashnikova
, or “Kalashnikov’s Machinegun”, a 7.62 mm general-purpose machinegun designed in the Soviet Union and currently in production in Russia. It is chambered for the 7.62×54(r) cartridge. The original PK machinegun was introduced in 1961 and then the improved PKM in 1969. See also: PKM: (WP)

PKK:
Partiya Karkerên Kurdistani
—the PKK Kurdish Worker’s Party. A Syrian resistance movement with communist overtones. See also: PYD and YPJ.

PKM:
Pulemyot Kalashnikova
Modernizirovanniy
. Kalashnikov’s Machinegun, Modernized. A stamped receiver variation of PK machinegun. See also: PK. (WP)

PKMS:
Pulemyot Kalashnikova
Modernizirovanniy Stepanov.
A tripod-mounted variant of PKM machinegun, using the Stepanov tripod.

PLA: People’s Liberation Army (China).

PLF: Parachute Landing Fall.