| Charlie Company |
(C Co). The unit that Moriarty, Pink & Bazzi are in. Their unit—C Company, 3rd of the 172nd Infantry (MOUNTAIN) Regiment is one of only four MOUNTAIN Infantry units in the entire U.S. Army. |
| Haji |
An Arabic term of respect for someone who has made the pilgrimage to Mecca. Often used as slang by American soldiers to refer to all Iraqis. |
| Hooah |
US military slang referring to or meaning anything and everything but no. |
| Humvee |
Wide-bodied Army vehicles that replaced the jeep as the all-purpose military ground transport. Humvees have a gun turret outfitted with either/or both a .50-cal. machine gun and a MK-19 automatic grenade launcher. In a Humvee there are three assigned positions: the gunner, the driver, and the team leader. Squad leaders were in charge of three Humvees. Bazzi and Pink were team leaders. Moriarty was a gunner. |
| IP |
Iraqi Police |
| IED |
Improvised Explosive Device. A roadside bomb. |
| KBR |
Kellog, Brown & Root, defense contractor, subsidiary of Halliburton. |
| LSA Anaconda |
LSA Anaconda is one of the largest U.S. bases in Iraq. Located near Balad, approximately 45 miles northwest of Baghdad in the Sunni Triangle. Nicknamed “Mortaritaville” because of the frequency of mortar/rocket attacks on the base. |
| MK19 |
(Mark 19). A belt-fed grenade launcher mounted on vehicles. Rapidly fires armor-piercing 40mm rounds. |
| MSR |
Major Supply Route |
| Outside the wire |
Outside the base. |
| REMF |
“Rear Echelon Mother Fucker.” Term for those who work “inside the wire.” Often held in low regard by those who go “outside the wire.” |
| RPG |
A Russian-made Rocket Propelled Grenade, fired from the shoulder, used by insurgents. |
| SAW |
Squad Automatic Weapon. A hand carried, belt fed machine gun |
| TCN |
Third Country National—an employee who is not a citizen of the home or host country. For example, a Turkish national working for a U.S. company in Iraq. Many KBR convoy truck drivers are TCNs. |
| VBIED |
Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device—a car bomb. |
| .50 CAL |
Machine gun mounted on vehicles. Can poke a grapefruit-sized hole in a cinderblock wall. |