Death in the Jungle Read online

  Crossing the line: Crossing the earth’s equator.

  Crossed over the bar: When a seaman had passed from this life to the next one.

  Danger area: An area (i.e., river, road, hootch, base camp, mined area, etc.) that decreases the patrol’s cover and concealment, security, and firepower because of terrain features, man-made obstacles, enemy forces, et cetera. SEAL patrols established SOPs for danger areas that maximized cover and concealment, security, and firepower.

  Davy Jones’ locker: The bottom of the sea.

  Dead ahead: Directly ahead of the ship’s bow; bearing 000 degrees relative.

  Deck: On a ship, corresponds to the floor of a building on land.

  Decontaminate: Act of removing residue of nuclear or chemical attack. Also included removing leeches and, especially, black ants that plagued the Rung Sat.

  Deep: The distance in fathoms between two successive marks on a lead line, as “By the deep, four.”

  Deeps: In a lead line, the fathoms which are not marked on the line.

  Deep six: A term meaning to dispose of by throwing over the side of a ship.

  Dexamil: A stimulant in capsule form that was issued to SEALs to be used as a “stay-awake” pill while on ambush site. The platoon corpsman issued one per man per night.

  Dinghy: Small, handy boat, sixteen to twenty feet in length, propelled either by oars or by sail.

  Ditty bag, ditty box: Small container used by sailors for stowage of personal articles or toilet articles.

  Dock: Artificial basin for ships, fitted with gates to keep in or shut out water; water area between piers.

  Door: Opening between compartments; see hatch.

  Dory: Small, flat-bottomed pulling boat, used chiefly by fishermen.

  Douche kit: Another name for ditty bag.

  Ebb tide: Tide falling or flowing out.

  Eddy: A small whirlpool, especially in river streams.

  Even keel: Floating level; no list.

  Executive Officer (XO): Subordinate to the CO. He is responsible for carrying out the policies of the CO. During the Vietnam War, the rank of a Team XO was lieutenant (O-3). After the war, the required rank was changed to lieutenant commander (O-4).

  Extra duty: Additional work assigned as mild punishment.

  Fag: Frayed or untwisted end of rope.

  Fair wind: A favoring wind.

  Fantail: Main deck section in the after part of a flush-deck ship.

  Fathom: A six-foot unit of length.

  Feather: Turning the blade of an oar horizontally at the finish of a stroke to reduce resistance of air or water; changing the pitch of a variable-pitch propeller on an airplane to vary amount of bite into the air.

  Field-strip: To disassemble, without further breakdown, the major groups of a piece of ordnance for routine or operating cleaning and oiling; as opposed to detailed stripping, which may be done only by authorized technicians.

  Fire superiority: Gained by directing an accurate and heavy volume of fire so as to cause the enemy’s return fire to cease or become ineffective.

  Fire team: A subdivision of a squad. There were two fire teams per SEAL squad.

  Flankers: Men of elements deployed to the sides of a moving formation to provide early warning of an enemy ambush.

  Flank speed: A certain prescribed speed increase over standard speed; faster than full speed, but less than emergency full speed.

  Flood tide: Tide rising or flowing toward land.

  Fore and aft: Running in the direction of the keel.

  Forward: Toward the bow; opposite of aft.

  Founder: To sink.

  Gale: A wind between a strong breeze and a storm; wind force of 28 to 55 knots.

  Galley: The ship’s kitchen or any area designated as such by Team personnel.

  Gangplank or brow: Moveable bridge leading from a ship to a pier, wharf, or float; usually equipped with rollers on the bottom and handrails on the side. Occasionally used at Team parties as punishment/reward for one reason or another.

  Gangway: Opening in the bulwarks or the rail of the ship to give entrance; also, an order to stand aside and get out of the way.

  Garble: An unintentional mix-up of a message’s contents.

  Gear: General term for lines, ropes, blocks, fenders, et cetera; personal effects.

  General alarm: Sound signals used for general quarters and other emergencies.

  General quarters: Battle stations for all hands.

  Go adrift: To break loose; a teammate’s getting hooked on wine, women, or booze.

  Granny knot: A knot similar to a square knot; does not hold under strain. Some individuals could be considered no better than a granny knot.

  Grenadier: Usually carried an M-79 grenade launcher or an M-16/XM-148. There were usually at least two grenadiers per SEAL platoon, and they were placed near the center of the patrol for tactical mobility. The grenadier’s main responsibility was to neutralize heavy pockets of enemy resistance as directed by the patrol leader.

  Gunwale: Upper edge or rail of a ship’s or boat’s side. Pronounced “gunnel.”

  Hail: To address a nearby boat or ship. Also a ship or man is said to hail from such-and-such a home port or home town.

  Hangfire: Gun charge that does not fire immediately upon pulling the trigger, but some time later. Occasionally, hangfires happened to Team ammo that had spent too much time in water.

  Hatch: An opening in the ship’s deck, for communication or for handling stores and cargo.

  Head/john/latrine: Compartment of a ship or plane, or any designated area, having toilet facilities.

  Headroom: Clearance between decks.

  Headway: Forward motion of a ship, boat, rubber raft, et cetera.

  Heave: To throw or toss; to pull on a line.

  Hitch: General class of knots by which a line is fastened to another object, either directly to or around it. Also, a term of enlistment (slang).

  Hold: Space below decks for storage of ballast, cargo, et cetera.

  Holiday routine: Routine followed aboard ship on authorized holidays and Sundays. In the Teams, it was any day of the week on which to have fun. Every day was a holiday, and every meal was a feast.

  Hootch: In Vietnam, a rural home made mostly of palm thatching. It usually had one or two windows with shutters. It was cool during the dry season, and warm in the rainy season. The floor was usually dirt. Sometimes, a family bunker was constructed inside the hootch. The mamma-san kept it tidy by sweeping the interior daily. The little crock charcoal stove was usually located in the corner of the floor. The simple bed may have been the only other piece of furniture in the home, and it was without a mattress; however, it did have several pillows stuffed with rice chaff.

  Hug: To keep close. A vessel might hug the shore. In the Teams a hug was a form of greeting.

  IBS: A seven-person boat, inflated with carbon-dioxide cartridges, referred to as an “Inflatable Boat, Small” (hence, “IBS”). It was designed and procured by the U.S. Navy as an emergency lifeboat for seagoing vessels. Since its introduction and application to the Navy’s Underwater Demolition and SEAL Teams, it had been utilized for various surface uses. It could also be rigged with a parachute and dropped from an aircraft, or (with minor valve modifications) launched and recovered from the deck of a submerged submarine. The IBS could carry seven men and one thousand pounds of equipment.

  Insertion/extraction: Going into and coming out of danger areas (see danger areas). Some examples of clandestine and covert insertion and extraction vehicles and methods were: boat, sampan, helicopter, truck, jeep, bus, motorcycle, parachute, patrolling, swimming, SDV (swimmer delivery vehicle), Lambretta, rappelling, and even a refrigeration truck.

  Inshore: Toward land.

  Irish pennant: Unseamanlike, dangling loose end of a line or piece of bunting.

  Jack-o’-the-dust: Enlisted man serving as assistant to the ship’s cook.

  Jacob’s ladder: Light ladder made of rope or chain with metal or wooden rungs;
used over the side, aloft, or hanging from the bottom of a helicopter.

  Jettison: Goods cast overboard to lighten a ship or boat in distress.

  Jetty: Breakwater built to protect a harbor entrance or river mouth.

  Jury rig: Makeshift rig of mast and sail, or of other gear, as jury anchor, jury rudder; any makeshift device.

  K-bar: A knife long used by the Teams and the Marine Corps. It was not made for knife throwing. It had a nasty tendency to break just forward of the handle.

  Keelhaul: To reprimand severely.

  Kill zone: In a point ambush, the area where the central portion of the enemy force was caught. It was also an area where the AW and the grenadier could inflict the most casualties upon the enemy and, at the same time, maintain fire superiority. All other riflemen would concentrate their semiautomatic fire within the kill zone and maintain a sustained rate of fire.

  Knot: One nautical mile (6080.2 feet) per hour. (Never say “knots per hour.” This would be the same as saying “miles per hour per hour.”) Also, a knob, tie, or fastening formed with rope.

  Ladder: In a ship, corresponds to stairs in a building.

  Landmark: Any conspicuous object on shore, used for piloting.

  Lanyard: A line made fast to an article for securing it; for example, a knife lanyard, bucket lanyard.

  Lash: To tie or secure by turns of line.

  Lay: The direction of the twist of strands of a rope.

  LCPL MK4 and LCPL MK 11: The Landing Craft, Personnel, Launch. The MK 11 had a lower free board and more stowage area than the MK 4. However the MK 11 was not adapted for lifting by whelin davits, and the hull would not fit in standard shipboard skids. The hull of the MK 11 was constructed of laminated fiberglass and plastic, and was easily maintained. The MK 11 was 36 feet in length, with a draft of 3 feet, 11 inches. It was powered by one 300-horsepower Gray marine diesel engine, with a top speed of 17 nautical miles per hour, and a maximum range of 173 nautical miles.

  Leave: Authorized absence in excess of 48 hours.

  Lee: Direction away from the wind.

  Leeward: In a lee direction. Pronounced “lu’ard.”

  Liberty: Authorized absence of less than 48 hours. More accurately, a sailor’s favorite time of the day.

  Libsville: Same as liberty.

  Line: Seagoing term for rope; also, the equator.

  Lookout: Seaman assigned duties involving watching and reporting to the Officer of the Deck (OOD) any objects of interest; the lookouts are “the eyes of the ship.”

  Loran (long range navigation): A navigational system that fixes the position of a ship by measuring the difference in the time of reception of two synchronized radio signals.

  LRRPs (from “Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol”): Individual combat meals designed for long-range patrols, when pack weight was a concern. They were fairly good meals if a large quantity of Tabasco sauce was applied. If there was plenty of fresh water available and we were miles from friendly lines, it sure beat having to pack a lot of heavy C rats on our backs.

  Lucky bag: Locker for stowage of personal gear found adrift. The chief master-at-arms controlled the lucky bag. Depending on the gear found adrift, a mate may or may not get extra duty for his forgetfulness. This is because when at sea, if a ship catches fire or begins to founder, loose gear may well block the pumps.

  Magazine: Compartment used for stowage of ammunition and explosives.

  Marking panel: Generally made of satin and international orange. SEAL platoons used them to mark their positions, especially when they wished to remain tactically clandestine.

  Marlinspike: Pointed iron instrument used in splicing line or wire.

  Mess/mess deck/chow hall: To eat; group of men eating together. In the Teams the mess could be literally anywhere, especially while going through training or in the field.

  Mighty Moe: An LCM-6 converted to a sort of gunboat, and used to insert and extract SEAL personnel. It was manned by Boat Support Unit’s personnel. There was an 81mm mortar mounted for direct fire just aft of the ramp. It also had a .50-caliber machine gun adapted to mount above the mortar tube. When the ramp was lowered for the insertion of a platoon of SEALs, the 81mm mortar/.50-caliber machine gun was manned and ready. She also had a 57mm Recoilless Rifle mounted near the coxswain’s area for accurate fire against distant targets. There were three .50-caliber MGs on starboard and three on port. There was also one 40mm, hand-cranked Honeywell MK-18 grenade launcher on the opposite side of the coxswain and the 57mm RR.

  Most of Mighty Moe’s well deck was protected by a steel roof covered with sandbags. SEAL personnel felt very secure while aboard Mighty Moe. Sadly, she was left with the South Vietnamese Navy when the last SEAL platoon pulled out of Vietnam in December of 1971.

  Mind your rudder: Warning to helmsman to watch his course carefully.

  Misfire: Powder charge that fails to fire when the trigger has been pulled.

  Morse code: Code in which the letters of the alphabet are represented by combinations of dots and dashes. It is used in radio and visual signaling.

  Nautical mile: 6,080.2 feet, or about a sixth longer than a land mile.

  Net: A group of intercommunicating radio and/or landline stations; a barrier of steel mesh used to protect harbors and anchorages from torpedoes, submarines, or floating mines.

  NVA (North Vietnamese Army): The standing army of North Vietnam during the Vietnam War, frequently deployed in the South. They were generally well trained, and very well motivated. Because of the NVA’s professional bearing, there were times we SEALs felt we were fighting for the wrong side. Generally, North Vietnamese military leadership was superior to the South Vietnamese.

  Objective of War: Impose the will of the state, group of states, or segment of the people upon the enemy.

  Officer of the deck (OOD): The officer on watch in charge of a ship or command.

  Old Man: Seaman’s term for the commander (captain) of a ship or other naval activity.

  Order: Directive telling what to do, but leaving the method to the discretion of the person ordered.

  Ordnance: Weapons of destruction (i.e., missiles, rockets, M-16s, ammunition, hand grenades, et cetera).

  Out of bounds: Buildings or areas off limits to military personnel.

  Overhead: On a ship, equivalent to the ceiling of a building ashore.

  Pacer: Usually two men were assigned the task of recording the distance traveled by counting the paces. They generally used a knot line and were separated in the formation.

  Passageway: Corridor or hallway on a ship.

  Pass the word: To repeat an order or information for all hands.

  Patrol Leader: Responsible for the overall conduct of the mission and the safety of his men. He had to maintain command and control at all times and make tactical decisions in a timely and decisive manner. He had to be skilled in coordinating and directing all types of fire support (i.e., helos, artillery, jets, et cetera). An effective PL would seldom have time to fire his weapon. All of his energies had to be directed toward command and control.

  Pay out: To increase the length of anchor cable; to ease off, or slack a line.

  PBR: Patrol Boat, River.

  Peacoat: Short, heavy blue coat worn by enlisted men and CPOs.

  Pelican hook: Hinged hook held in place by a ring; when the ring is knocked off, the hook swings open.

  Pilot: An expert who comes aboard ships in harbors or dangerous waters to advise the captain as to how the ship should be conned (manipulated); also a man at the controls of an aircraft.

  Pipe down: An order to keep silent; also used to dismiss the crew from an evolution (activity).

  Pipe the side: Ceremony at the gangway, in which sideboys are drawn up and the boatswain’s pipe is blown, when a high-ranking officer or distinguished visitor comes aboard.

  Pitch: The heaving and plunging motion of a vessel at sea.

  Plan of the day: Schedule of day’s routine and events ordered by executive officer; publis
hed daily aboard ship or at a shore activity.

  Plank owner: A person who has served aboard ship, or command, from its commissioning.

  Platoon: Generally consisted of fourteen SEALs, with twelve enlisted men and two commissioned officers. Each platoon was made up of two squads.

  PLO: The Patrol Leader’s Order, given prior to the conduct of each mission, which contains detailed instructions concerning the conduct of the mission. The basic outline is: 1) situation; 2) mission; 3) execution; 4) administration and logistics; 5) command and signal.

  Point man: Responsible for navigating the best and safest route for the patrol. He is to maintain an appropriate distance forward of the patrol leader, yet maintain visual contact with him, unless instructed otherwise. He must be ever watchful for booby traps and signs of enemy activity. He should be a good tracker, preferably a country boy with a lot of hunting experience.

  Pollywog: Person who has never crossed the Line (the equator).

  Poop deck: Partial deck at the stern over the main deck.

  Port: Left side of ship facing forward; a harbor; an opening in the ship’s side, such as a cargo port. The usual opening in the ship’s side for light and air is also a port. The glass set in a brass frame that fits against it is called a port light.

  POW: A prisoner of war.

  Pricker: Small marlinspike.

  Principles of War: Mass: The concentration of means, at the critical time and place, to the maximum degree permitted by the situation. Objective: The destruction of the enemy’s armed forces and his will to fight is the ultimate military objective of war. Simplicity: Uncomplicated plans clearly expressed in orders, promoting common understanding and intelligent execution. Surprise: Striking the enemy when, where, or in a manner for which he is unprepared. Unity of Command: Obtains unity of effort by the coordinated action of all forces toward a common goal. Offensive: Permits the commander to exploit the initiative, and impose his will on the enemy. Maneuver: Positioning of forces to place the enemy at a relative disadvantage. Economy of Force: To conserve means. To devote means to unnecessary secondary efforts, or to employ excessive means on required secondary efforts, is to violate the principles of both mass and objective. Security: Those measures necessary to prevent surprise, avoid annoyance, preserve freedom of action, and deny to the enemy information of our forces.