Part 40 (1/2)
About the Author
Jake Tapper is the senior White House correspondent for ABC News. He is the author of Down and Dirty: The Plot to Steal the Presidency. Down and Dirty: The Plot to Steal the Presidency. He lives in Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C., with his wife, daughter, and son. He lives in Was.h.i.+ngton, D.C., with his wife, daughter, and son.
ALSO BY JAKE TAPPER
Down and Dirty: The Plot to Steal the Presidency Body Slam: The Jesse Ventura Story
Glossary and Military Terms
Operational Units of the U.S. Army:
Field Army (comprising three to five corps) Corps (two to five divisions) Division (four brigades, or approximately ten thousand to eighteen thousand soldiers) Battalion or Squadron (three to five companies, or five hundred to six hundred soldiers) Company or (for Cavalry) Troop (three to four platoons, or one hundred to two hundred soldiers) Platoon (three to four squads, or sixteen to forty soldiers) Squad (four to ten soldiers)
OFFICERS:
General (four or five stars) Lieutenant General (three stars) Major General (two stars) Brigadier General (one star) Colonel Lieutenant Colonel Major Captain First Lieutenant Second Lieutenant
NONCOMMISSIONED:
Sergeant Major of the Army Command Sergeant Major or Sergeant Major First Sergeant or Master Sergeant Sergeant First Cla.s.s Staff Sergeant Sergeant Corporal or Specialist Private First Cla.s.s Private E-2 Private 1-32 Infantry-The 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, is part of the 3rd Brigade Combat Team of the 10th Mountain Division. The unit served in Regional Command East in 20062007 and again in 20092010.
1-91 Cav-The 1st Squadron, 91st Cavalry Regiment (Airborne), is a light airborne reconnaissance squadron based out of Schweinfurt, Germany, and part of the 173rd Airborne Brigade, based out of Italy. Bulldog Troop was a.s.signed to Combat Outpost Keating from 2007 to 2008.
3-61 Cav-The 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, is part of the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, based out of Fort Carson, Colorado. Black Knight Troop was a.s.signed to Combat Outpost Keating in 2009.
3-71 Cav-The 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, is part of the 10th Mountain Division, based out of Fort Drum, New York. Able Troop was a.s.signed to Combat Outpost Keating (then known as PRT Kamdesh or Combat Outpost Kamdesh) in 2006, after Barbarian and Cherokee Troops had helped establish the outpost.
6-4 Cav-The 6th Squadron, 4th Cavalry Regiment, is part of the 3rd Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, and was at the time based out of Fort Hood, Texas. Blackfoot Troop was a.s.signed to Combat Outpost Keating in 2008.
10th Mountain Division-a light infantry division of the U.S. Army designed for quick deployment and harsh conditions, based out of Fort Drum, New York, and a.s.signed to Regional Command East in 20062007.
A-10 Warthog-A single-seat straight-wing jet aircraft with superior maneuverability at low speeds and low alt.i.tudes, designed specifically to provide close air support for troops on the ground. The Army says Warthogs are primarily used for the cannon on the front, but the aircraft has the ability to be outfitted with precision munitions.
Afghan Border Police (ABP)-a division of the Afghan National Police that is responsible for securing the country's more than thirty-four hundred miles of borders as well as its airports, and also for overseeing immigration. As of 2009, the ABP boasted some twelve thousand troops.
Afghan National Army (ANA)-the primary military branch of the Afghan government, supervised by the Ministry of Defense in Kabul. Training ANA soldiers has been one of the greatest challenges of the war for the coalition, and statistics regarding precise troop strength and ability have proved to be extremely unreliable. As of 2009, there were roughly ninety thousand ANA soldiers.
Afghan National Police (ANP)-the national police force of the Afghan government, supervised by the Ministry of Interior in Kabul. As of 2009, there were approximately ninety-three thousand Afghan police.
Al Qaeda-a global network of Muslim extremists that uses terrorist tactics to try to defeat countries and governments that its leaders consider to be evil. Al Qaeda leaders, in particular Osama bin Laden, planned the 9/11 attacks on the United States while living in Afghanistan.
Apache-The four-blade, two-rotor, two-engine Boeing AF-64 Apache helicopter is the U.S. Army's primary attack helicopter and has been compared to a ”flying tank.” It is typically armed with a 30-millimeter M230 chain gun, h.e.l.lfire missiles, and Hydra rockets and manned by a two-person crew consisting of a pilot and a copilot/gunner.
AT-4-a recoilless ant.i.tank weapon that fires 84-millimeter grenades.
B-1-The Boeing B-1 long-range heavy bomber airplane has a wingspan of 137 feet extended forward, is 146 feet long and 34 feet high, and can fly at speeds of more than nine hundred miles per hour. A B-1 can carry dozens of five-hundred- and two-thousand-pound bombs, Quick Strike naval mines, cl.u.s.ter munitions, joint air-to-surface standoff missiles, and other weapons. The B-1 requires a four-person crew consisting of an aircraft commander, a copilot, and two weapon systems officers.
B-2-The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit, aka the Stealth Bomber, has a wingspan of 172 feet and is 69 feet long and 17 feet high. The B-2 can travel at high subsonic speeds while carrying either conventional or nuclear weapons. It requires a two-pilot crew.
bandah-a small shack, typically used by sheep- and goat-herders and consisting of a crude stone shelter for the herder and a separate pen for his animal.
Black Hawk-The Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk is a utility transport helicopter designed to move a fully equipped eleven-person infantry squad under most weather conditions. It requires a crew of four-two pilots and two crew chiefs-and carries two 7.62-millimeter machine guns.
CAS-”close air support,” describing helicopter or plane support for ground troops in contact with hostile forces.
Chinook-The Boeing CH-47 Chinook helicopter is a big twin-engine chopper with two rotors. Generally used to transport ground forces, supplies, ammunition, and other cargo, it is large enough to carry two Humvees. Two pilots and an observer can sit in the c.o.c.kpit-flying a Chinook requires a pilot, copilot, and another crew member-while the main cabin can hold thirty-three troops in full gear. A Chinook can accommodate three machine guns and has a triple hook system under its belly to carry large external loads. Its normal cruising speed is 149 miles per hour, but it can travel as fast as 184 miles per hour.
Claymore-An M18 Claymore antipersonnel mine measures roughly 8.5 inches wide by 3.25 inches high by 1.5 inches thick and weighs 3.5 pounds. When triggered, the C-4 explosive will propel seven hundred steel b.a.l.l.s in the direction clearly indicated on the casing by the words ”FRONT TOWARD ENEMY.”
Combat Outpost Kamu-the name of Combat Outpost Lowell until 2007.
Combat Outpost Lowell-the outpost established in 2007 near the hamlet of Kamu, east of Combat Outpost Keating, before it was renamed in honor of Private First Cla.s.s Jacob Lowell.
counterinsurgency-An effort to quell a rebellion or insurgency, the tactic of counterinsurgency (or ”COIN”) as applied in Afghanistan is based on separating the insurgency from the general population through a two-p.r.o.nged approach: defeating the enemy militarily while at the same time winning over the rest of the population with a taste of some of the tangible results-schools, government, infrastructure-to be reaped from an alliance with the United States and the Afghan government.
Dushka-a Russian-made heavy antiaircraft machine gun, belt-fed and mounted on a tripod. The name is elaborated from the acronym DShK, for ”Degtyarev Shpagina Krupnokaliberny.” Vasily Alekseyevich Degtyaryov and Georgi Shpagin designed the weapon; Krupnokaliberny Krupnokaliberny means ”large-caliber.” In Russian, the word means ”large-caliber.” In Russian, the word dushka dushka means ”sweetie.” means ”sweetie.”
embedded tactical trainer, (ETT)-a trainer of Afghan troops who lives and works alongside his trainees.
F-15-a highly maneuverable tactical jet fighter armed with a 20-millimeter, six-barrel cannon with 940 rounds of ammunition, heat-seeking, short-range air-to-air missiles, and advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles. With a wingspan of 42.8 feet, the F-15 is 63.8 feet long and 18.5 feet high and can fly at speeds up to 1,875 miles per hour. The F-15A and F-15C require just one pilot; the F-15B, F-15D, and F-15E require two.
Forward Operating Base Bostick-the name of Forward Operating Base Naray from 2008 on. The base, located near Naray in northern Kunar Province, has served as squadron headquarters for troops in the area since 2006. Before that, it was used primarily by Army Special Forces.
Forward Operating Base Fenty-the name of Jalalabad Airfield from 2007 on, named in honor of Lieutenant Colonel Joseph Fenty.
Forward Operating Base Naray-the name of Forward Operating Base Bostick before it was renamed in honor of Captain Tom Bostick, who was killed in 2007.
HESCO-a wire mesh container with a thick fabric liner that can be filled with dirt and joined with others to form a portable, easily constructed barrier.
HIG-Hezb-e-Islami Gulbuddin, an Afghan political party/insurgency founded in the 1970s by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar. Many of the insurgents in Kamdesh District were affiliated with HIG.
Humvee-a ”high-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle” (HMMWV), a four wheel drive vehicle used by the military.
IED-an ”improvised explosive device,”or homemade bomb, often used by insurgents to target U.S. vehicles. homemade bomb, often used by insurgents to target U.S. vehicles.