Glossary of Terms (The Delta Code)

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