FReeper Canteen ~ Military Short Speak ~ July 26, 2004

~ MILITARY SHORT SPEAK ~

The military seems to have a language of its own, with many terms, acronyms, initialisms and abbreviations that aren't generally used in the "civilian world."

What is an acronym? It is a word created from the first letter of a series of other words. It is spoken as one word.

What is an initialism? It is a word created from the first letter of a series of other words, but each letter is spoken separately.

What is an abbreviation? It is a shortened version of a word.

What is Short Speak? It is any and all of the above.

Want to know what they are talking about? Read on...

M, part 1

M mechanized

M1 The U.S. rifle caliber .30 [30-06], M1, is an air-cooled, gas-operated, clip-fed, semiautomatic shoulder weapon. The primary infantry weapon of World War II and Korea. It replaced the Springfield M1903 and was replaced by the M14.

Click here for more info on the M1 Rifle!

M2 "Heavy barrel" .50 cal. machine gun developed just after WWI and still being used into the 21st Century.

For more on the M2, click here!

M14 The U.S. rifle, caliber 7.62 mm [308 Winchester], M14, is an air-cooled, gas-operated, magazine-fed, shoulder weapon. It is designed primarily for semiautomatic fire. An infantry weapon in use between Korea and early Vietnam. It replaced the M1 and was replaced by the M16.

M16 The U.S. rifle, caliber 5.56 mm [223 Remington], M16, is a lightweight air cooled, gas operated, magazine fed, shoulder weapon. It is capable of both semiautomatic and full automatic fire. The basic infantry rifle that replaced the M14 at the start of the Vietnam War. It was designed by Eugene Stoner for the Armalite Company and was produced by Colt.

For more on the M16, click here!

M60 Air cooled, belt fed, gas-operated, fully automatic, shoulder-fired standard infantry machine gun 7.62 mm with bipod and replacement barrels.

More here!

M48A3 tank, combat, full-tracked, 90-mm gun

More here on this and lots of other tanks!

M548 cargo carrier

This supply vehicle is based on the same chassis as the M113 family of armored personnel carriers. This unit is unarmored and it's mission was to supply artillery units with ammunition. The large rear door provides easy loading of material. The tracked chassis provides the ultimate cross country and amphibious capabilities. It is operated by a driver and an assistant.

M88A1 recovery vehicle

To learn more, click here!

MAB Marine amphibious brigade

MACOM Major Command

MACSAT [JP 1-02] multiple access commercial satellite

MACSO Military Airlift Command support office

MAE UAV Medium Altitude Endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

MAGIIC Mobile Army Ground Imagery Interpretation Center

Read about it here!

Mameluke Sword The sword worn on parade and formal occasions by Marine commissioned and warrant officers. The first Mameluke sword was presented to Marine Lieutenant Presley N. O’Bannon by Prince Hamet Bey the Pasha of Tripoli in 1805 during which the United States flag was flown for the first time in the Old World.

Manning The Rails When entering or leaving port or when rendering special honors the ship's compliment will dress in full dress uniforms and stand along the rails or in the rigging at the position of attention.

Want to find out more about what you can do

to help bring POW/MIA's home where they belong?

Click the picture.

Today's Most Confusing Acronym: MC

MC ^¹mission commander, ^²mobility corridor, ^³multichannel, ^⁴magnetic clutch, ^⁵magnetic core, ^⁶major component, ^⁷manual control, ⁸Maritime Commission, ^⁹master clods, ¹⁰master control, ¹¹Medical Corps, ¹²military computer, ¹³molded components, ¹⁴multichip, ¹⁵multiple contact, ¹⁶mission capable, ¹⁷Marine Corps, ¹⁸master controller, ¹⁹medium capacity, ²⁰message center, ²¹military committee, ²²mission computer, ²³mobility control center, ²⁴monitoring center (DDN), ²⁵movement control, ²⁶military construction, ²⁷[TTPIO-ABCS] maneuver control, ²⁸[JP 1-02] military community, ²⁹[JP 2-02] Joint Military Intelligence College, ³⁰[AR 310-50] member of Congress, ³¹[AR 310-50] military characteristics

~ MILITARY REQUESTS ~

Helping our military!!

If you are interested in helping our military, please FReepmail MoJo2001, Brad's Gramma, or Kathy In Alaska for more information. Below is a brief overview of the help that is needed. Thank you!

Operation Semper Fi - Field Hospital in Iraq needs basic necessities and anything else you can think of.

Operation Iraqi Children - An Active Duty FReeper, smaagee, has requested help for children ages 3-11 in Mosul. If you are interested in helping, please contact us. Make sure to put "Operation Iraqi Children" in the subject line.

Operation Military Families - Many military family members have been affected by the deployments. As with many places in the United States, it has taken quite a toll on the population in general. In Indiana, "close" to 100,000 Active Duty and Reservists have left the State. Many of those family members left behind are having a hard time, if you are interested in helping then contact us.

Donations For Our Troops - If you'd like to help send care packages without having to shop, we've found a reliable FRiend to help you. Please contact patriciaruth in FReepmail. She has been doing this for a long time and would be happy to have the help.

Operation Convoys - Our military folks that are members of those Transportation companies need help with the basic necessities and items to hold them over until they return back to base. We've all heard about roadside bombings. Please help make their life a little easier.

Operation Emails, FReepmail, and SNAIL MAIL - So? You don't have the time or money to send anything, how about an email or snail mail? You can even send a FReepmail. We would be happy to send it forward.

WALTER REED & BETHESDA HOSPITALS - FReeper TruthNtegrity visits our Troops in the hospital as often as possible. She needs some help getting them pre-paid phone cards and something to pass the time by. (Such as games, magazines, etc..). If you are interested in helping, please FReepmail her. Thank you!

Operation Care Packages - If you'd like to bring a smile to any of our brave heroes, send them a little something from home. It will go a long way to lifting their morale. It's a long road to killing all the terrorists. Don't let our brave heroes forget that we care about them. FReepmail us if you'd like to help.

Are you not sure what to send or do?

CLICK TO VISIT THE CANTEEN POST OFFICE!!

Thank you!

Birthdates which occurred on your SELECTED date of July 27:
1768 Charlotte Corday assassin of Jean-Paul Marat
1801 George Biddle Airyy 7th Astronomer Royal
1824 Alexandre Dumas fils France, playwright/novelist (Camille)
1835 GiosuŠ Carducci Italy, poet (Nobel 1906)
1857 Jos‚ Celso Barbosa Puerto Rico, found Federalist Party in 1900
1867 Enrique Granados L‚rida Spain, composer (Maria del Carmen)
1870 Joseph Hilaire Belloc England, author (Path to Rome)
1877 Ern” (Ernst von) Dohn nyi Hungary, composer (Msg to Posterity)
1880 Donald Crisp Scotland, actor (How Green Was My Valley, Pollyana)
1880 Joseph Tinker baseball Hall of Famer, 1/3 of fame double play combo
1899 Harl McDonald near Boulder Colorado, composer (Santa F‚ Trail)
19-- Gwynne Gilford LA Calif, actress (Linda Harris-Waverly Wonders)
19-- Kimberley Simms actress (Mindy-Guiding Light)
19-- Mark Geary heavy metal rocker (Dangerous Toys-Hellacious Aces)
19-- Michael Evans actor (Douglas Austin-Young & Restless)
19-- Simon Jones Willshire England, comedian (The News is the News)
1904 Anton Dolin dancer (Girl From Petrovka)
1906 Leo Durocher Mass, baseball manager (Brooklyn Dodgers, NY Giants)
1912 Igor Markevitch Kiev Ukraine, conductor (Le Paradis Perdo)
1916 Kennan Wynn NYC, actor (Dr Strangelove, Absent Minded Professor)
1918 Leonard Rose Washington DC, concert cellist (NY Phil 1943-51)
1920 Beatrice Pearson Texas, actress (Moving Finger)
1922 Lillian Hayman Balt Md, actress (Leslie Uggams Show)
1922 Norman Lear TV writer/producer (All in The Family)
1924 Vincent Canby critic (NY Times)
1929 Harvey Fuqua vocalist (Moonglows-Sincerely)
1931 Jerry Van Dyke Danville Ill, actor (My Mother the Car, Coach)
1932 Diane Webber LA Calif, playmate (May, 1955 & Feb, 1956)
1937 Chuck Jackson Latta SC, singer (Any Day Now)
1937 Don Galloway Brooksville Ky, actor (Arrest & Trial, Ironside)
1938 Shirley Anne Field England, actress (Alfie, War Lover)
1939 Irv Cross NFL sportscaster (CBS-TV)
1939 James Victor Puerto Rico, actor (Boulevard Night, Streets of LA)
1942 Barbara Ferris London England, actress (Nice Girl Like Me)
1942 John Pleshette NYC, actor (Richard-Knots Landing, 7th Avenue)
1943 Stu Gilliam Detroit, actor/comedian (Roll Out, Harris & Company)
1944 Bobbie Gentry Mississippi, what did Billi-Jo throw off the bridge
1947 Betty Thomas St Louis Mo, actress (Lucy Baines-Hill Street Blues)
1948 Peggy Fleming San Jose Cal, ice figure skater (Olympic-gold-1968)
1949 Maureen McGovern Youngstown Oh, singer (Got to be a morning after)
1951 Janet Eilber Detroit Mich, actress (Hard to Hold, Romantic Comedy)
1960 Jo Durie England, tennis player
1967 Sasha Mitchell LA Calif, actor (Spike of Bensonhurst)

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Deaths which occurred on July 27:
1883 Montgomery Blair lawyer (Dred Scot V Sandford), dies at 70
1974 Lightning Slim blues singer, dies at 61
1976 Ray Brennan becomes 1st to, die of "Legionnaire's Disease"
1980 Shah Mohammed Reza Pahavala of Iran, dies in Cairo at 60
1981 Ray Harrison dancer (American Song), dies at 64
1982 Dan Seymour actor (We the People, Sing it Again), dies at 67
1984 James Mason actor, dies at 75 of a heart attack
1986 Leroy Holmes orch leader (Tonight Show, 1956-57), dies at 72
1990 Bobby Day rocker (Rockin' Robin), dies of cancer at 60
1990 Kim Thomas-Friedland news anchor (FNN), dies at 32

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Reported: MISSING in ACTION
( Expanded with full Bios, history, & MIA report )

1965 BERG KILE D. SEATTLE WA 02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE IN 96 1965 KOSKO WALTER COLUMBIA VA EJECT NO BEEP SEARCH NEG 1965 PURCELL ROBERT B. LOUISVILLE KY 02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98 1967 BARE WILLIAM ORLAN OKLAHOMA CITY OK RADIO CONTACT LOST 1967 CORBITT GILLAND W. DENVER CO RADIO CONTACT LOST 1967 HARDIE CHARLES D. HOUSTON TX 1967 PATTERSON BRUCE M. PORTLAND OR 1968 FULLERTON FRANK E. JONESBORO GA 1968 PATTON WARD K. FONTANA KS
NEW !! POW-MIA Search Engine (Search by Name, DOB, Loss-Date, or Country-State )

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA

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On this day...
432 St Celestine I ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1501 Copernicus formally installed as canon of Frauenberg Cathedral
1586 Sir Walter Raleigh brings 1st tobacco to England from Virginia
1661 Parliament confirms the Navigation Act
1689 Jacobite Scottish Highlanders defeat royal force at Killiecrankie
1694 Bank of England chartered
1789 Congress establishes Dept of Foreign Affairs (State dept)
1816 Fort Blount on Apalachicola Bay Fla, attacked by US Troops
1836 Adelaide, South Australia founded
1837 US Mint opens in Charlotte, NC
1844 Fire destroys the US mint at Charlotte, NC
1861 Union Gen George McClellan took command of Potamic Army
1862 Steamer "Golden Gate" burns & sinks off west coast of Mexico
1866 Atlantic telegraph cable successfully laid (1,686 miles long)
1879 C H F Peters discovers asteroid #200 Dynamene
1880 Battle of Maiwand, at which Dr Watson was wounded, breaks out
1897 37.5 cm (14.75") of rainfall, Jewell, Maryland (state 24-hr record)
1898 Start of Sherlock Holmes "The Adventure of The Dancing Men" (BG)
1905 J Palisa discovers asteroid #569 Misa
1908 A Kopff discovers asteroid #668 Dora
1909 Orville Wright tests 1st US Army airplane, flying 1h12m
1918 Socony 200, 1st concrete barge in US, launched to carry oil, NY
1919 Chicago race riot (15 whites & 23 blacks killed, 500 injured)
1920 Resolute beats Shamrock IV (England) in 14th running of America's Cup
1924 8th Olympic games closes in Paris
1933 G Van Biesbroeck discovers asteroid #1312 Vassar
1933 K Reinmuth discovers asteroid #1284 Latvia
1940 Billboard magazine starts publishing bestseller charts
1941 Japanese forces land in Indo-China
1944 1st British jet fighter used in combat (Gloster Meteor)
1944 US regains possession of Guam from Japanese
1946 Red Sox Rudy York hits 2 grand slams in 1 game
1947 Yogi Berri starts record 148 game errorless streak
1949 Havilland Comet 40-passenger airliner makes maiden flight
1953 Armistice signed ending Korean War
1954 Armistice divides Vietnam into two countries
1955 Austria regains full independence after 4-power occupation
1955 Goethe Link Observatory discovers asteroid #1751 Herget
1960 VP Nixon nominated for pres at Republican convention in Chicago
1962 Mariner 2 launched to Venus; flyby mission
1962 Martin Luther King Jr jailed in Albany Georgia
1968 Race Riot in Gary Indiana
1969 Pioneer 10 launched
1972 NHL star Maurice "Rocket" Richard signs with WHL Quebec Nordiques
1973 Walter Blum becomes 6th jockey to ride 4,000 winners
1974 House Judiciary Committee votes 27-11 recommends Nixon impeachment
1976 8.2 Tangshan earthquake kills estimated 240,000 Chinese
1977 John Lennon is granted a green card for permanent residence in US
1982 Indian PM Indira Gandhi 1st visit to US in almost 11 years
1987 John Demjanjuk, accused Nazi "Ivan the Terrible" testifies in Israel
1988 Boston's worst traffic jam in 30 years
1988 Radio Shack announces the Tandy 1000 SL computer
1989 Atlanta Brave Dale Murphy is 10th to get 6 RBIs in an inning (6th)
1990 Zsa Zsa Gabor begins a 3 day jail sentence for slapping a cop
1991 Rocker Jani Lane, (Warrant-Cherry Pie) marries model Bobbie Brown
1991 TV Guide publishes it's 2000th edition

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Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Puerto Rico : Jos‚ Celso Barbosa Birthday (1857)
Virgin Islands : Hurricane Supplication Day - - - - - ( Monday )
Gilroy, California : Garlic Festival - - - - - ( Friday )

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Religious Observances
RC : Commem of St Pantaleon, martyr/patron of medicine
Orth : Feast of Vladimir, evangelizer of Russia (7/15 OS)
Ang : Commemoration of William Reed Huntington, priest

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Religious History
1741 Birth of Fran‡ois H. Barth‚l‚mon, French Swedenborgian composer. Two of his manyworks later became hymn tunes: AUTUMN (Hail, Thou Once Despised Jesus) and BALERMA (Oh, fora Closer Walk with God).
1861 Birth of Cyrus H. Nusbaum, an American Methodist clergyman who penned the hymn,'Would You Live for Jesus, and Be Always Pure and Good?' (aka 'His Way With Thee').
1901 Death of B.F. Westcott, 76, English N.T. scholar. In 1881, he and colleague F.J.A.Hort published the most precise critical text of the Greek New Testament ever compiled --still in use today.
1903 Death of Caroline (Lina) V. Sandell Berg, 71. Known as the 'Fanny Crosby ofSweden,' her most beloved hymns (in their English translation) include 'Day by Day' and'Children of the Heavenly Father.'
1913 In Oxford, PA, the first Victorious Life Conference closed. Founder Robert C.McQuilkin, inspired by England's Keswick Movement, emphasized in these meetings anattainment of spiritual freedom from the power of every known sin.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.
Additional information supplied by the author. Contact via E-mail: William D. Blake. (pilgrimwb@aol.com)
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Thought for the day :
" Politics is either passing the buck or passing the dough. "

This is being posted for Valin. He has to work early today (Monday). So? He'll be back tomorrow (hopefully) to post his usual stuff. So? Drop him a line and say "THANK YOU".
(Not that he would really want that, but I know how some of you are really bored. Hehe)

PURCELL, ROEBRT BALDWIN

Name: Robert Baldwin Purcell
Rank/Branch: O3/United States Air Force, pilot
Unit: 12th TFS
Date of Birth:
Home City of Record: Louisville KY
Date of Loss: 27 July 1965
Country of Loss: North Vietnam
Loss Coordinates: 210500N 1051400E
Status (in 1973): Returnee
Category:
Aircraft/Vehicle/Ground: F105 D
Missions: 25

Other Personnel in Incident: none

Source: Compiled by P.O.W. NETWORK 06 September 1996 from one or more of the
following: raw data from U.S. Government agency sources, correspondence with
POW/MIA families, published sources, interviews.

REMARKS: 021273 RELEASED BY DRV

SOURCE: WE CAME HOME copyright 1977
Captain and Mrs. Frederic A Wyatt (USNR Ret), Barbara Powers Wyatt, Editor
P.O.W. Publications, 10250 Moorpark St., Toluca Lake, CA 91602
Text is reproduced as found in the original publication (including date and
spelling errors).

ROBERT B. PURCELL
Lieutenant Colonel - United States Air Force
Shot Down: July 27, 1965
Released: February 12, 1973

I was advised by your book committee that the target date for your first
publication would be 4 July 1974. I thought what an appropriate date this
was for some very obvious reasons - and for some that may not be too obvious
to the average reader. What it meant most of all to me was that our
independence was declared on 4 July 1776, but it was not won until the end
of that conflict.

And how our extremely clever and tenacious enemy kept trying to sell us on
the idea that "their war" was the same as our above-mentioned one. The
mechanical processes may have been similar in some cases, but it is my
personal opinion that the final result of our revolutionary endeavors was
truth and law. I lived in the capitol or seat of their revolutionary
endeavors and I saw, heard and felt for 7 1/2 years only lies, deceit and
slander.

My release was declared and won on the same day, 12 February 1973. I am now
fighting my way back into society in what I call my retroactive conflict. I
may even see you on the battlefield someday, so until then, God bless you
and keep you free.

December 1996
Robert Purcell retired from the United States Air Force as a Colonel. He and
his wife Suzanne reside in Texas.

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