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Military Argot

The military has always had its own argot (slang), the armies of the far future should be no different. Some of these terms are from the real U.S. Army, others are from GW's fluff and some are my own invention.

AFV Armored Fighting Vehicle
Amasec A widely available and highly alcoholic beverage distilled from wine.
AO Area of Operation
APC Armored Personnel Carrier
Aquilla The Imperial Two-Headed Eagle
ASAP As Soon As Possible
AT Anti-tank
Augmetic Cybernetic/Bionic, usually in the sense of body implants or repairs.
Baby Ogryn Catachan trooper
Barracks Ghost A trooper who never leaves the barracks for anything other than duty, drills or chow and then complains how boring the duty post is.
BBs Batteries and Beans, supplies.
Bin Rats Quartermaster Corps personnel, notorious for refusing to issue anything ("it's called stores because we store stuff! If we was meant to issue it, we'd call it issues wouldn't we?")
Black Eagle Brotherhood Imperial Guard, especially troopers from regiments other than one’s own.
Bleed Out To die of blood loss before medical attention can be given.
Blueskins Tau
Blunt Sanctioned Psyker slang for a non telepath
Bone 'Ead An Ogryn sergeant with surgically enhanced intelligence who can interpret orders for his less advanced squad mates. Also used as a term of abuse for anyone given to taking orders too literally to the detriment of their subordinates.
Broken Toys Battlefield hulks, wrecked vehicles
Bugs Tyranids
Calling Friends To request artillery support
Calling Friends in High Places To request ortillery support
CAP Combat Air Patrol
Casualty Both wounded & dead personnel
Catachan Kiss A head butt
CCP Casualty Collection Point
CDR Commander
CFV Cavalry Fighting Vehicle
Charlie Chaos
Charlie Mike Chaos Marines
Chart Desk/Chart Table A small, portable easel-like device for displaying tactical hololithic maps and three dimensional terrain models. A chart desk is a heavier and usually non-portable version
CinC Commander in Chief
CO Commanding Officer
Cogitator Device empowered by the Machine Spirit to perform complex calculations and battlefield metriculations. Also Codifier or Logic Engine
COL Colonel
'Commissioned By Mom' An incompetent officer of noble origins (by way of explaining how he achieved officer rank
ComSec Communications Security (scrambling, channel hopping, limiting signal interception, etc.)
Cooker Portable Fusion Gun also called a Melta gun
Counterseptic Antiseptic and analgesic fluid used to combat infection.
CP Command Post
CPL Corporal
CPT Captain
Dataslate Hand held device used to store and transfer information, imagery and orders
DC Damage Control
Det-Tape Tape peeled off to detonate tube charges (time delay determined by length tape is trimmed to). Also used as a general purpose detonator material.
'Do A Yarrick' To take a trophy from a dead enemy.
DZ Drop Zone
Emperor's Benediction Euphemism for a Mercy Killing.
Empyrean Warp-Space
Engineseer A Techpriest of the Adeptus Mechanicus charged with the responsibility of tending the machine spirits of a regiment's vehicles.
EOD Explosives Ordnance Disposal
EPW Enemy Prisoner of War
Feth (v) to copulate (vulgar, Tanith)
Flak Board General Purpose Sheet Material for defense and repair. Fitted to the inside walls of defensive positions to prevent spalling material dislodged by weapon impacts causing injury.
FNG Fraking New Guy
FO Forward Observer. (Occupies the OP & watches for enemy movement, also directs Artillery strikes)
Found Wanting Euphemism for field execution by a Commissar; "He was found wanting at the front line."
'Foxed' Destroyed, from call sign 'November Foxtrot' or Non-Functional
Frak (v) copulate (vulgar, Valhallan)
Frag (n)Fragmentation grenade; (v)Throw a frag grenade; (v)To kill an unpopular NCO or Officer
Freak Abhuman, sanctioned psyker or non human
Freak Squad Abhuman, Sanctioned Psyker or non human unit (such as Ratling Snipers, Ogryns or Kroot mercenaries)
Freek Frequency (radio; also, freq)
FUBAR Fraked Up Beyond All Recognition
Fyceline Principal chemical ingredient used in the manufacture of standard Imperial Guard explosives.
Gak (n) excrement (vulgar, Valhallan)
Garri-trooper Rear Echelon personnel, particularly those who try to pass themselves off as something more.
Ghosts Troopers from a planet that has been destroyed or lost to Chaos.
Greenskin Slang for an Orkoid
Grunt Infantryman
Gun Baby Whiteshield, or Conscript.
HALO High Altitude, Low Opening (refers to parachuting)
Hell World Planet lost to Chaos
Hive A massive archology, a city housed in a single mega-structure
Hololithic Three Dimensional Imagery.
'How copy?' Did you recieve/understand the transmission? Proper response is, "Good copy."
IFV Infantry Fighting Vehicle
Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer Standard text manual issued to every Guardsmen, containing proper procedure for everything from marching to bayoneting techniques. Also includes prescribed prayers and hymnals.
ImpNav Imperial Navy
'in country' The battle zone/Area of Operations in a foreign country/region/world
Interior Guards General Term for internal security forces, a world's PDF or a Guard Regiment given colonial duties.
JAFO Just Another Fraking Observer
Jar-heads Marines
Juvenat As in "Juvenat Processes" or "Juvenant Drugs" Techniques of prolonging youth and virility. Usually highly expensive and reserved for senior officers or Imperial Nobility.
KIA Killed In Action
Klick Kilometer
Lamp Pack Standard Guard Issue, compact lamp with internal (limited) power supply, designed to be hand held, or fixed onto lasgun's bayonet lugs.
Leftovers An incomplete squad built from the remnants of squads that have suffered casualties.
Leg Infantryman (nickname given to ground soldiers by Airborne troops)
LEO Low Earth Orbit
Lho Sticks An addictive, mild, narcotic rolled into a compact tube and smoked by guardsmen. Officio Medicae personnel have warned that they may cause respiratory damage.
Longlas Any model lasgun modified or designed for sniper use. (As the name implies, they are usually longer than standard pattern weapons.)
Lords of Space Marines (derogatory)
LOS Line Of Sight
LP Listening Post
LRM Long Range Missile
LRRP Long Range Recon Patrol
LTC Lieutenant Colonel
LZ Landing Zone
Magnoculars Powerful optical device for the magnification of distant objects. Can be modified to varying levels of complexity, with range finders, azimuth metriculators and heat sensing equipment.
MBT Main Battle Tank
MIA Missing In Action
Microbead (also Micro bead link, micro bead intercom) small, short range Vox system for inter-trooper communications in the field.. Generally only found on regiments from civilized or industrialized worlds. Usually a small ear plug with a tiny wire mouthstalk
MIF Mechanized Infantry Force
Mike Minutes
MilInt Military Intelligence
MRL Multiple Rocket Launcher
MM Mini Missile
MRM Medium Range Missile
MSGT Master Sergeant
Multikey Universal key/lock pick
NCO Non Commissioned Officer, i.e. Enlisted
'Nine Seventies' Imperial Guard issue entrenching tool, derived from its standard Imperial catalog number 'M-970'
Obscura An illegal, highly addictive Narcotic
One way Ticket Assignation to a grav chute landing. "To be given a one way ticket."
OP Observation Post
OpFor Opposing Force
OpSec Operational Security (not giving/making available to the enemy information about your plans, movements, state of repair/supply, etc.)
Ortillery Orbital Artillery, Orbital Bombardment of a target
'Out' All radio transmissions end in "Out" when the sender does not expect a reply from the receiver
'Over' All radio transmissions end in "Over" when the sender expects a reply from the receiver
Padre Chaplain (without regard to religious affiliation)
PDF Planetary Defense Forces
PFC Private First Class (or, Private Frakin' Civilians)
Pict A video feed equivalent of vox.
Plank Idiot, also a derogatory term for an Ogryn.
POW Prisoner Of War. (See EPW).
Promethium A general term for fuel, but commonly used to refer to the highly volatile and incendiary jelly used as fuel in flamer units. Designed to adhere to the target and rapidly immolate them. Promethium reaches extremely high temperatures within seconds of ignition, and even burns underwater.
PT Physical Training, typically 1 Hour or more of mixed workout (running, cardio, strength exercises).
REMF Rear Echelon Mother Frakker (used by combat troops to insultingly refer to supply, maintenance, admin, etc. personnel.)
Resuscitrex Offico Medicae device incorporating a number of specialized devices, most frequently used to fibrillate patients who have suffered Cardiac Arrest.
ROE Rules Of Engagement
'Roger' Vox shorthand for "I understand"
RPG Rocket Propelled Grenade
Ruinous Powers Chaos gods
SAD Search And Destroy
SAR Search And Rescue
Savlar A thief or drug addict.
SAW Squad Automatic Weapon
Scope General term for powered spotter sights. May be the telescopic sights on a longlas, or a hand held "telescope" used by an officer.
Scrambled Insane, shell shocked.
Screamer-Killer Tyranid "Carnifex" genus.
SEAL Sea, Ether, Air & Land; type of special forces troops
SFC Sergeant First Class
SGT Sergeant
Shell Carapace Armor.
Short A trooper nearing the end of his enlistment
Sierra Sniper
SitRep Situation Report
Skellies Necrontyr
Slap Disciplined by a senior officer for minor infraction (possession of unauthorized publications, for instance.)
SMG Sub-Machinegun
Smoked Destroyed, also a particularly one sided engagement as in 'We smoked the Tau at Gatorsville'
SNAFU Situation Normal, All Frakked Up
SP Self propelled (often used to classify whether and artillery piece is "towed" or "self propelled")
Spook Tyranid "Lictor" Genus
Spoonheads Tau
Spyerers Upper class Hive-worlders
Squawk Transmit
SRM Short Range Missile
SSG Staff Sergeant
'Stand By' Wait for instructions/approval.
'Stand Ready' Get prepared for action.
'Stand To' Proceed to action/battle stations & be ready to take action if warranted by situation.
Sweeper/Sweeper Set/Sweeper Broom Man-portable Mine Detector.
Tango Traitor
Tango-9 T-9 explosive (makes C-4 look wimpy)
'The Emperor Protects' Common soldiers' blessing or refrain.
The Green (Catachan Phrase) Jungle Terrain., Deathworld Class Jungle.
Titans War machines of the Collegio Titanicus
Toasters Necrontyr
TOC Tactical Operations Center
Torch Flamer
Toy Soldiers, Glory Boys Storm Troopers, Special Operations teams
Tread Fether