Delta Glossary of Terms
AAR - after-action report
Actual - the [Marine] unit commander. Used to distinguish the commander from the radioman when the call sign is used.
AGL - above ground level
AO - area of operations
BDA - bomb damage assessment
BZ (beaten zone) - area where the majority of bullets will strike when a machine gun is laid-in to cover a part of a defensive perimeter or part of an ambush zone.
Bird - any aircraft, but usually refers to helicopters
Blue feature (also known as Drink)- any water feature. So called because of the color used to designate water on topographic maps.
Boot - a soldier just out of boot camp; inexperienced, untested
C-4 - plastic, putty textured explosive carried by infantry soldiers. It burns like sterno when lit, and was used to heat C-rations in the field.
Cherry - slang term for youth and inexperience; a virgin.
Clacker - a small hand-held firing device for a claymore mine or C-4 package.
Clay – (short for Claymore) an antipersonnel mine carried by the infantry which, when detonated, propelled small steel cubes in a 60-degree fan-shaped pattern to a maximum distance of 100 meters
Comm - shorthand for "communications”.
Contact - firing on or being fired upon by the enemy
Diddy-bopping - walking carelessly across a location to draw enemy fire.
DTs - defensive targets, enemy soft targets that are defending a location.
Dust-off – term used to describe a Helicopter tactic. When a Helicopter “Dust’s-off” a location, it will scatter DT’s and reveal enemy locations.
HALO - high-altitude, low-opening jumping for insertion of troops behind enemy lines. The jump is begun from 15,000 feet.
Hooch - a hut or simple dwelling, either military or civilian. Also spelled hootch.
Hook - a radio; a radio handset
Hot - area under fire or attack
Insert - to be deployed into a tactical area by helicopter
Kill zone – (or Kill Box) the radius of a circle around an explosive device within which it is predicted that 95 percent of all occupants will be killed should the device explode
LZ - landing zone. Usually a small clearing secured temporarily for the landing of resupply helicopters. Some become more permanent and eventually become base camps.
Most ricky-tick - immediately, if not sooner
Point - the forward man or element on a combat patrol
Rock'n'roll - firing a weapon on full automatic
Sapper - a commando armed with explosives and heavy ordnance
Shape charge - an explosive charge, the energy of which is focused in one direction
Sit-rep - situation report
SOP - standard operating procedure
TOC - tactical operations center