Founders. Part 21

FAMAS: Fusil d'a.s.saut de la Manufacture d'Armes de Saint-etienne. The French army's standard-issue bullpup carbine, chambered in 5.56mm NATO.

FBO: Fixed base operator. Typically, a small private airport's refueling facility.

FEMA: Federal Emergency Management Agency, a U.S. federal government agency. The acronym is also jokingly defined as: "Foolishly Expecting Meaningful Aid."

FFL: Federal firearms license.

FIST: Fire support team.

FLOPS: Flight operations.

FN/FAL: A 7.62mm NATO battle rifle originally made by the Belgian company Fabrique Nationale (FN), issued to more than fifty countries in the 1960s and 1970s. Now made as semiauto-only "clones" by a variety of makers. See also: L1A1.

FOB: Forward operating base.

FORSCOM: U.S. Army Forces Command.

FRS: Family Radio Service.

FUBAR: Fouled up beyond all recognition.

Galil: The Israeli battle rifle, based on Kalashnikov action. Most were made in 5.56mm NATO, but a variant was also made in 7.62mm NATO in smaller numbers.

GAZ: Gorkovsky Avtomobilny Zavod. A Russian car and truck maker.

GB: Gigabyte.

GCA: The Gun Control Act of 1968. The law that first created FFLs and banned interstate transfers of post-1898 firearms, except "to or through" FFL holders.

GDP: Gross domestic product.

Glock: The popular polymer-framed pistol design by Gaston Glock of Austria. Glocks are a favorite of gun writer Boston T. Party.

GMRS: General Mobile Radio Service, a licensed UHF-FM two-way radio service. See also: FRS and MURS.

GMT: Greenwich Mean Time.

Gold Cup: The target version of Colt's M1911 pistol; has fully adjustable target sights, a tapered barrel, and a tighter barrel bus.h.i.+ng than a standard M1911.

GOOD: Get out of Dodge.

GPS: Global positioning system.

Ham: Slang for amateur radio operator.

H-E or HE: High explosive.

HF: High frequency. A radio band used by amateur radio operators.

HIMARS: High mobility artillery rocket system. The wheeled variant of the MLRS rocket launcher, which is normally mounted on tracked carriers.

HK or H&K: Heckler und Koch, the German gun maker.

HK91: Heckler und Koch Model 91. The civilian (semiautomatic-only) variant of the 7.62mm NATO G3 rifle.

HQ: Headquarters.

HR: Ham radio shorthand for "Here."

Humvee: High-mobility multipurpose wheeled vehicle, spoken "Humvee."

IBA: Interceptor body armor.

ID: Identification.

IED: Improvised explosive device.

IFV: Infantry fighting vehicle.

IV: Intravenous.

K: Ham radio shorthand for "Go ahead."

Kevlar: The material used in most body army and ballistic helmets. "Kevlar" is also the nickname for the standard U.S. Army helmet.

KJV: King James Version of the Bible.

KL: Ham radio nickname of Kaylee Schmidt.

KN: Ham radio shorthand for "Go ahead." (But only the station that a ham is already conversing with.) L1A1: The British army version of the FN/FAL, made to inch measurements.

LAW: Light Ant.i.tank Weapon.

LC-1: Load Carrying, Type 1. (U.S. Army load-bearing equipment, circa 1970s to 1990s.) LDS: Latter Day Saints, commonly called the Mormons. (Flawed doctrine, great preparedness.) LF: Launch facility.

LLDR: Lightweight laser designator rangefinder.

LP: Liquid propane.

LP/OP: Listening post/observation post.

LRRP: Long-range reconnaissance patrol.

M1A: The civilian (semiauto-only) equivalent of the M14 rifle.

M1 Abrams: The United States' current main battle tank, with a 120mm cannon ("main gun").

M1 Carbine: The U.S. Army semiauto carbine issued during World War II. Mainly issued to officers and second-echelon troops such as artillerymen for self-defense. Uses ".30 U.S Carbine," an intermediate (pistol-cla.s.s) .30 caliber cartridge. More than six million were manufactured. See also: M2 Carbine.

M1 Garand: The U.S. Army's primary battle rifle of World War II and the Korean conflict. It is semiautomatic, chambered in .30-06, and uses a top-loading, eight-round en bloc clip that ejects after the last round is fired. This rifle is commonly called the Garand (after the surname of its inventor). Not to be confused with the U.S. M1 Carbine, another semiauto of the same era, which shoots a far less powerful pistol-cla.s.s cartridge.

M1911: The Model 1911 Colt semiauto pistol (and clones thereof), usually chambered in .45 ACP.

M2 Carbine: The selective-fire (fully automatic) version of the U.S. Army semiauto carbine issued during World War II and the Korean conflict.

M4: The U.S. Armyissue 5.56mm NATO selective-fire carbine (a shorter version of the M16, with a 14.5-inch barrel and collapsing stock). Earlier-issue M16 carbine variants had designations such as XM177E2 and CAR-15. Civilian semiauto-only variants often have these same designations, or are called "M4geries."

M4gery: A civilian semiauto-only version of an M4 carbine, with a 16-inch barrel instead of a 14.5-inch barrel.

M9: The U.S. Armyissue version of the Beretta M92 semiauto 9mm pistol.

M14: The U.S. Armyissue 7.62mm NATO selective-fire battle rifle. These rifles are still issued in small numbers, primarily to designated marksmen. The civilian semiauto-only equivalent of the M14 is called the M1A.

M16: The U.S. Armyissue 5.56mm NATO selective-fire battle rifle. The current standard variant is the M16A2, which has improved sight and three-shot burst control. See also: M4.

M60: The semi-obsolete U.S. Armyissue 7.62mm NATO belt-fed light machinegun that utilized some design elements of the German MG-42.

MAC: Depending on context, Military Airlift Command or Military Armament Corporation.

MAF: Missile alert facility.

Maglite: A popular American brand of st.u.r.dy flashlights with an aluminum casing.

MG3: A German belt-fed light machinegun, chambered in 7.62mm NATO.

MG4: A German belt-fed light machinegun, chambered in 5.56mm NATO.

Mini-14: A 5.56mm NATO semiauto carbine made by Ruger.

MIRV: Multiple Independently targetable Re-entry Vehicle.

MLRS: Multiple-launch rocket system.

Molotov c.o.c.ktail: A hand-thrown firebomb made from a gla.s.s container filled with gasoline or thickened gasoline (napalm).

MOLLE: Modular lightweight load-carrying equipment.

MP: Military Police.

MRAP: Mine-resistant ambush protected (military vehicles).

MRE: Meal, ready to eat.

MSDS: Material safety data sheet.

MSS: Modular sleep system.

MTBE: Methyl tert-butyl ether. An oxygenating additive for gasoline.

MultiCam: See OCP.

MURS: Multi-Use Radio Service. A VHF two-way radio service that does not require a license. See also: FRS and GMRS.

MVPA: Military Vehicle Preservation a.s.sociation.

MXG: Maintenance group (USAF).

Napalm: Thickened gasoline, used in some flame weapons.

NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

NBC: Nuclear, biological, and chemical.

NCO: Noncommissioned officer.

NFA: The National Firearms Act of 1934. The law that first imposed a transfer tax on machineguns, suppressors (commonly called "silencers"), and short-barreled rifles and shotguns.

NiCad: Nickel cadmium (ni-cad) (rechargeable battery).

NiMH: Nickel metal hydride (rechargeable battery) improvement of NiCad.

NWO: New World Order.

O-CONUS: Outside the Continental United States.

OCP: OperatioEnduring Freedom Camouflage Pattern, commonly called by its civilian trade name, MultiCam.

OP: Observation post. See also: LP/OP.

OPORD: Operations order.

OPSEC: Operational security.

PCS: Permanent change of station.

PERSCOM: U.S. Army Personnel Command.

PFC: Private, first cla.s.s.

Pre-1899: Guns made before 1899-not cla.s.sified as "firearms" under federal law.

Pre-1965: U.S. silver coins with 1964 or earlier mint dates, usually with little or no numismatic value. They are sold for the bullion content. These coins have 90 percent silver content. Well-worn pre-1965 coins are sometimes derisively called "junk" silver by rare coin dealers.

ProvGov: Provisional Government.

PSYOPS: Psychological operations.

PT: Physical training.