The SurvivalBlog Glossary
A Glossary of Survival and Preparedness Acronyms/Terms

Copyright 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008. All Rights Reserved by James Wesley, Rawles - www.SurvivalBlog.com^™

10/.22: A semi-automatic .22 rimfire rifle made by Ruger
10 Meter: The 28.000-to-29.700 MHz Amateur radio band is approximately 10 meters in wavelength so it is called the 10 Meter band. The 10 meter band is adjacent to the Citizen's Band (27 MHz, or 11 meters), so it has been common practice to modify older 23 channel CB radio to operate in the 10 meter band. See also: CB and Free Band.
100LL: See Avgas.
11B or "Eleven Bravo":  The U.S. Army's MOS for Infantryman.
1911: See M1911.
24x7:  24 hours a day, 7 days a week
24x7x360:  24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 360 degrees
2A: The Second Amendment
2 Meter or 2M: The 144-to-148 MHz Amateur radio band is approximately 2 meters in wavelength so it is called the 2 Meter band.
2WD: Two Wheel Drive
4GW: Fourth Generation War(fare)
4H: 4H is a youth club administered by the Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CSREES) of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) with the mission of "engaging youth to reach their fullest potential while advancing the field of youth development." The four "H"s stand for Head, Heart, Hands, and Health.
4WD: Four Wheel Drive
401(k):One form of retirement savings account used in the US. See also: IRA
4473: The ubiquitous "yellow form" that is kept on file permanently when a modern firearm is sold by a FFL holder.
5 Series: U.S. Army Engineer manuals start with a 5 prefix, and 5 is also the prefix for US Army Engineer branch MOSes.
550 Cord: See Paracord.
6 Meter: A VHF amateur radio band from 50 to 54 MHz--approximately 6 meters in wavelength, so it is called the 6 Meter band.
90% Silver: See: Junk Silver.
9/11/01: See 9-11.
9-11: The radical Islamic terrorist attacks of 9/11/2001 that took 3,000+ American lives. See also: OBL and WTC
911: The standard US telephone emergency number that connects to police and fire department dispatching.
AA5: All-American Five. A tube-type radio using five vacuum tubes with 120 volts of AC or DC power. These desings do not use a transformer.
AA6: All-American Six. A tube-type radio using six vacuum tubes with 120 volts of AC or DC power. These desings do not use a transformer.
AA:  Depending on context, Antiaircraft or Anachronistic Anomaly.
AAA:  Depending on context: American Automobile Association, or Anti-Aircraft Artillery.
A.A. Flu:  Asian Avian Influenza (See also: H5N1 and AAV)
AAR:  After-Action Report
AAV:  Asian Avian Virus
AB:  Ammo Bearer. (From a machinegun or mortar squad.)
ABAO: All Bets Are Off (a situation synonymous with TEOTWAWKI.)
ABC:  Airway, Breathing, and Circulation (In other contexts: American Broadcasting Company, Australian Broadcasting Company, and fire class A, B, and C. (See Class A, etc.)
ABCDE:  Airway, Breathing, Circulation, Disability (what's wrong), and Expose (the disability)
ABO: Aviator’s Breathing Oxygen
ABS:  Depending on context, anti-lock brake system, acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (black plastic pipe) or asset-backed security
AC:  Depending on context, Alternating Current or Air Conditioning
ACH: Advanced Combat Helmet
ACLS: Advanced Cardiac life Support.
ACOG: Advanced Combat Optical Gunsight (A tritium scope made by Trijicon)
ACP: Automatic Colt Pistol
ACT: American College Test.
ACU: Army Combat Uniform. The U.S. Army's current "digital" pattern camouflage uniformthat replaced the BDU. See also: BDU and Marpat.
AD: Depending on context Accidental Discharge, Anno Domini, Active Duty, or Anti- Diarrheal.
ADC: Depending on context AIDS Dementia Complex or Animal Damage Control
ADD:  Attention Deficit Disorder
ADHD: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
AEC: Atomic Energy Commission
AED:  Automated External Defibrillator. See also: CASA.
AFAIK:  "And For All I Know"
AFB:  Air Force Base
AFN:  Armed Forces Network.
AFRTS:  Armed Forces Radio & Television Service. Also known as "AFN" (Armed Forces Network).
AG:  Depending on context: Assistant Gunner, Attorney General, or Adjutant General.
AGL: Above Ground Level
AGM: Absorbed Glass Mat, a modern and very reliable rechargeable battery design that uses saturated absorbent glass mats instead of gelled or liquid electrolyte. Somewhat more expensive than flooded (liquid) type cells.
AHA: American Heart Association
AI or A.I.: Depending on context: Artificial Intelligence, Artificial Insemination, or Assistant Instructor.
AID: See: USAID.
AIDS: Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome--a disease stemming from HIV. See also: HIV.
AIN: Animal Identification Number. (See also: NAIS.)
AIT: Advanced Individual Training. See also: MOS.
AIV: Avian Influenza Virus(es)
AK:  Avtomat Kalashnikov. The gas-operated weapons family invented by Mikhail Timofeyevitch Kalashnikov, a Red Army sergeant. AKs are known for their robustness and were made in huge numbers, so that they are ubiquitous in much of Asia and the Third World. The best of the Kalashnikov variants are the Valmets that were made in Finland, the Galils that were made in Israel, and the R4s that are made in South Africa.
AK-47:  The early generation AK carbine that shoots the intermediate 7.62 x 39mm cartridge.
AK-74:  The later generation AK carbine that shoots the 5.45 x 39mm cartridge.
AKA or aka or a.k.a.:  Also Known As
AKC:  American Kennel Club
AKO:  Army Knowledge Online
ALICE: All-Purpose Lightweight Individual Carrying Equipment.
Alpha Strategy:  Storing extra logistics, as a hedge against inflation, and for use in barter and charity. This term was coined by economics writer John Pugsley. A PDF of Pugsley's book titled The Alpha Strategy is available for free download.
ALS: Depending on context: Advanced Life Support, Automated Landing System, or Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's Disease).
AM: Amplitude Modulation
AMA:  American Medical Association
AMC:  Depending on context, Army Materiel Command or American Motors Corporation.
Ammo:  Slang contraction for ammunition.
AMSAT or AmSat:  Amateur Satellite. (Ham radio traffic "piggybacked" on commercial communications satellites.
Anthracite (coal): A hard, compact variety of mineral coal that has a high luster. It has the highest carbon count and contains the fewest impurities of all coals, despite its lower caloric content. Anthracite coal is the highest of the metamorphic rank, in which the carbon content is between 92% and 98%. The term is applied to those varieties of coal which do not give off tarry or other hydrocarbon vapors when heated below their point of ignition. Anthracite ignites with difficulty and burns with a short blue flame, without smoke.
ANWR: Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
APO: Army Post Office. See also FPO.
AO: Area of Operations
AONB: Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. (UK term.)
AOAP: Army Oil Analysis Program
AOW: Any other Weapon (BATFE classification.)
AP:  Armor Piercing (ammunition) or Associated Press (news wire service)
APC: Armored Personnel Carrier. Also the brand name of a manufacturer of short-term backup power supplies.
Apgar:  A scoring system used to evaluate the health of newborn babies, typically taken at one minute and five minutes after delivery
APHIS: Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, a part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that provides tasked with ensuring the health and care of animals and plants.
API: Depending on context, Armor Piercing Incendiary, American Petroleum Institute, Application Programming Interface,or American Pistol Institute (The forerunner of Gunsite, founded by Col. Jeff Cooper.)
APIT: Armor Piercing Incendiary Tracer
APO: Army Post Office
APR: Annual Percentage Rate.
APT: Army Physical (Fitness) Test
AQ: Al Qaeda
AQT: Army Qualification Target
AR: Automatic Rifle. This is the generic term for semi-auto variants of the Armalite family of rifles designed by Eugene Stoner (AR-10, AR-15, AR-180, et cetera.) See my FAQ on this subject.
AR-7: The .22 LR semiautomatic survival rifle designed by Eugene Stoner. It weighs just two pounds, and when disassembled, all of the parts fit in the buttstock. The stock is foam filled, so the rifle floats.
AR-10: The 7.62mm NATO predecessor of the M16 rifle, designed by Eugene Stoner. Early AR-10s (mainly Portuguese, Sudanese, and Cuban contract, from the late 1950s and early 1960s) are not to be confused with the present-day semi-auto only "AR-10" rifles that are more closely interchangeable with parts from the smaller caliber AR-15.
AR-15: Semi-auto civilian variants of the U.S. Army M16 rifle.
AR-180: A low cost gas piston-operated .223 made primarily from stamped steel. Designed by Eugene Stoner. Early AR-180s (made in the US, England, and and Japan) use a proprietary magazine, some of which do not interchange with AR-15 magazines, because their narrow magazine catch notches were on the opposite side of the magazine. These are not to be confused with the current production AR-180B rifles that can use standard AR-15 or M16 magazines.
ARC: American Red Cross (Nicknamed "The Red Curse" by some SurvivalBlog readers) See also: ICRC.
ARDS: Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome
ARES: Amateur Radio Emergency Service
ARI: Acute respiratory infection
ARM: Depending on context: Adjustable Rate Mortgage or Anti-Radiation Missile
Arm Chair Commando: An individual that has a one track mind (guns!) and that never trains. Synonymous with: Tommy Tactical, or regarding their fashion style: Mall Ninja
ARNG: Army National Guard
ARRL: American Radio Relay League. See: www.ARRL.com
ART: Automatic Rangefinding Telescopic sight.
ARVN: Army of the Republic of Vietnam.
ASA:  Army Security Agency. The U.S. Army’s SIGINT branch, now sadly defunct.
ASAP:  As Soon As Possible
ASAT:  In the context of SurvivalBlog: An anti-satellite missile, laser, or particle beam weapon. In other contexts, the ASAT acronym also stands for All Season All Terrain—a civilian camouflage pattern.
ASBO: Antisocial behaviour order. (UK) See also: Yob.
ASE: American Society of Engineers
ASI: Additional Skill Identifier. (The "suffix" for a US Army MOS or OSC.)
ASL: Above Sea Level
ASME: American Society of Mechanical Engineers
ASPO: Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas
ASR: Alternate Supply Route
ASW: Anti-Submarine Warfare
Associated Gas: See: Casinghead Gas.
ATF: Depending on context, Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms or Automatic Transmission Fluid. See also: BATFE
ATLS: Advanced Trauma Life Support
ATM: Depending on context Automatic Teller Machine, Asynchronous Transfer Mode, or At The Moment.
ATV: All Terrain Vehicle. Commonly called a "quad" in some regions. See also UATV and Quad
AU:  About Uncirculated. (Coin Grade.) See also: MS.
AUG:  See Steyr AUG.
Aussie:  Slang for Australian. See also: Oz and Ozzie.
Austrian Economics: The school of neo-classical economic thought established in Vienna during the late 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. It is strongly opposed to Marxism and, more broadly, to the use of economic theories to justify government intervention in the economy. Prominent members included Friedrich Hayek and Ludwig von Mises.
Avgas: Aviation gasoline (Leaded, 100 octane, also known as 100LL)
AVR: Automatic Voltage Regulator.
AWB: Assault Weapons Ban (The 1994 U.S. Federal ban on magazines over 10 round capacity and certain "assault" [sic} firearms.  The law sunsetted in 2004 and is now null and void.)
AWD: All Wheel Drive See also: 4WD.
AWG: Depending on context, American Wire Gauge, the system for indicating the size of electrical wire. (The higher the number, the smaller the wire. Most standard home wiring is #12 or #14 AWG.), or Ad-hoc Working Group (on climate change)..
B100:  100% Biodiesel
B20:  A blend of 80% standard petroleum-based diesel with 20% biodiesel.
Ball (ammo):  See FMJ.
Ballistic Wampum:  Ammunition stored for barter purposes. (Term coined by Col. Jeff Cooper.)
Bananaland:  JWR's generic term for Central America and South America
Band: In analog transmission, the range of frequencies between two defined limits.
BAR: Browning Automatic Rifle.
Bastard Crystal: A radio transmitter frequency controlling quartz crystal that is cut to allow out of band transmission.  See also: Free Band.
BATFE: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (a U.S. Federal government taxing agency)
BBB: Better Business Bureau
BBC: British Broadcasting Corporation
BBL or bbl: Barrel.
BBQ: Barbeque
BBS: Bulletin Board System
BCG:  Birth Control Glasses. Slang acronym used to describe the US military standard issue eyeglasses, that have frames that are "so ugly that you'll never get married and have kids." Also sometimes called "Buddy Holley Glasses."
BDC: Bullet Drop Compensator
BDI: Baltic Dry Index
BDU: Battle Dress Uniform. Also called "camouflage utilities" by the USMC. See also: ACU and Marpat.
BEA: Bureau of Economic Analysis
Benadryl: Trade name for diphenhydramine. This drug reduces the effects of histamine release, which is triggered by an immune response. It is a useful adjunct to epinephrine. It will not prevent airway compromise or vascular collapse! See also: Epi.
BFO: Depending on context: Beat Frequency Oscillator (the circuitry in an amateur radio that allows you to hear Morse code as tones), or Blinding Flash of the Obvious. (JWR gives copies of his first novel away as the prizes for his "BFO Awards" to anyone that e-mails a letter or article to SurvivalBlog that includes a particularly brilliant, novel, or useful concept.
BHO: Depending on context, Bolt Hold Open or Barack Hussein Obama.
BIB: Bug-In Bag. A kit of essentials designed for "hunkering down", in place. See also: BOB.
Big Sandbox:  Generic term for the Middle East
Biochip: See RFID and NAIS.
Biodiesel: An alternative vegetable oil fuel for diesel engines. Also called Greasel. See also: BTL and Dinodiesel
BIS: Bank for International Settlements
Bivvy: Slang for Bivouac.
BK: Buckshot
Black Rifle/Black Gun: Generic terms for a modern battle rifle--typically equipped with with a plastic plastic stock and forend, giving these guns an "all black" appearance. Functionally, however, they are little different from earlier semi-auto designs.
BLEVE: Boiling Liquid Expanding Vapor Explosion. (Spoken "Blevy")
BLM: Bureau of Land Management (a U.S. Federal government agency that administers public lands)
Blog:  A Web Log (Internet On-Line Journal)
BLOS: Beyond Line of Sight.
BLS: Depending on context, Bureau of Labor Statistics or Basic Life Support. See also: ALS.
BLUFOR: Blue (friendly) forces. Usually applies to military war games. See Also: OPFOR.
BMG: Browning Machinegun. Usually refers to .50 BMG, the U.S. military’s standard heavy machinegun cartridge since the early 20th Century. This cartridge is now often used for long-range precision counter-sniper rifles.
BMI: Body Mass Index.
BNC: Bayonet Neill-Concelman. A standard RF connector, with a bayonet-style twist lock, named after its inventor.
BoB, BOB, or B-o-B: Bug-out Bag. Synonymous with G.O.O.D. Kit. See also: BIB, GOOD and INCH.
BOGO: Variously: Buy one, give one, or Buy one, get one. This acronym started out as a form of charity with the Bogo Light campaign. (Where someone that buys a flashlight also provides one as charity top an African villager.) Sadly, this acronym was twisted by Internet markerteers with other companies, who turned it into "Buy one, get one"--nothing more than a 50% off sale, with no charitable giving.
BOL, B.O.L., or B.o.L.: Bug-out Location. Synonymous with retreat.
Bollard: A stout object that is used to confine traffic within or from a given area. These are typically 4 to 6 foot long vertical members made of concrete, steel, or wood set at least 18" in the ground with at least 30" exposed.
BOLO: Be on the Lookout. (U.S. police acronym.)
BOP: Bureau of Prisons.
BoV or BOV: Bug-out Vehicle. Synonymous with G.O.O.D. Vehicle. See also: POV.
BP: Black Powder
BRAC:  Base Realignment and Closure
Brady Bunch:  Sarah Brady and her civilian disarmament gang
Bravo Sierra:  See: BS
BS:  Depending on context: Bachelor of Science, or Barbra Streisand. Sometimes spoken "Bravo Sierra." Barbra Streisand's name has become synonymous with lying.
BSA: Boy Scouts of America.
BSD: Berkeley Software Distribution
BSE:  Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (a.k.a. "Mad Cow" disease) See also: TSE and CWD.
BSN: Bachelor of Science in Nursing.
BTDC: Before Top Dead Center
BTL: Biomass-to-liquids. (Biodiesel.)
BTP: Boston T. Party the pen name of a libertarian writer.
BTU: British Thermal Units
BTW: By The Way
BUIS: Backup Iron Sights
BW: Biological Warfare.
BX: Base Exchange. See also: PX.
C1: The Canadian Army's version of the L1A1.
C2: Command and Control.
C2H5OH: Ethanol. (Ethyl or "Grain" alcohol.) See also: EtOH.
CH3OH: Methanol. ("Wood" alcohol .) Toxic to drink, forms formaldehyde in eyes, causing blindness. Can be absorbed through the skin. Also a suspected carcinogen.
C3CM: Command, Control and Communications Countermeasures
C4:  Depending on context: Command, Control, Communications, Computers or Composition 4 (plastic explosive.)
C4I: Command, Control, Communications, Computers & Intelligence
C4ISR: C4, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance
C4N: Command, Control, Communications, Computers & Navigation
C7: The Canadian Army's equivalent of the US M16.
C.A.: Central America
CAD: Computer Aided Design
CAFE: Corporate Average Fuel Economy
CALGLY: Calcium Chloride and Glycerol mixture, used for preserving seeds.
Californication: The tendency of other states to begin to resemble California (lifestyles, culture, politics, gun laws, and so forth.)
Camo: Slang for Camouflage
Can: Common slang for a sound suppressor. See also: Class 3 and Wipe.
CAR-15: See: M4
Carb: Depending on context, slang for Carburetor or Carbohydrate
CARB: California Air Resources Board
Carrington Event: A naturally occurring EMP-like effect, caused by a large Coronal Mass Ejection (CME) of the Sun. (See also: CME and EMP.)
Carry and Carry Trade: Carry is defined as the difference between return on securities held and financing costs, and "carry trade" refers to institutions and businesses taking advantage of this differential. A positive/negative carry occurs when the financing cost is less/more than the yield on securities that are being financed. (Definition courtesy of OECD.)
CAS: Close Air Support
CASA: Cardiac Arrest Survival Act. See also: AED.
Casinghead Gas:  Unprocessed natural gas containing natural gasoline and other liquid hydrocarbon vapors produced from an oil well. Also called Wet Gas or Associated Gas. In contrast, dry natural gas usually comes from dedicated natural gas wells rather than oil wells.
Cat: Depending on context, short for Caterpillar (tractor) or Category. CAT is also used as an acronym for Computed Tomography ("CAT Scan".) .
CB:  Citizen's Band Radio. A HF 2-way transmission band at (27 MHz, or 11 meters) that requires no license for operation in the United States. Some desirable CB transceivers are capable of SSB operation. Originally 23 channels, the Citizen's Band was later expanded to 40 channels during the golden age of CB, in the 1970s.  See also: Free Band and 10 Meter Band.
CBO: Depending on context, Congressional Budget Office, Collateralized Bond Obligation
CBOT: Chicago Board of Trade. See also: NYMEX and COMEX.
CBP:  Customs & Border Protection (Division of the U.S. Immigration Service.)
CBR: Chemical, Biological, and Radiological warfare. This acronym has been largely superceded by "NBC".
CBRNE: Chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive. Spoken "Sea-Burn." See also: CCMRF
CCA:  Chromated Copper Arsenate
CCC:  Depending on context: Civilian Conservation Corps (a 1930s make-work program), California Conservation Corps (a modern make-work program), Captain's Career Course (U.S. Army officer development), or Commodity Credit Corporation
CCD:  Depending on context: Charge Coupled Device (electro-optics) or Colony Collapse Disorder (Beekeeping.) See also: IAPV.
CCL: Concealed Carry License. See also: CHL.
CCMRF: CBRNE Consequence Management Response Force. Spoken "Sea-Smurf". See also: CBRNE.
CCO: Collateralized Commodities Obligation
CCRKBA:  Citizens' Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms
CC&Rs:  Covenants, Conditions & Restrictions
CCTV: Closed Circuit Television
CCW: Depending on context: Carrying a Concealed Weapon or Counter-Clockwise. See also: LTC.
CD: Depending on context: Civil Defense, Certificate of Deposit, or Compact Disc.
CDC: Centers for Disease Control
CDER: Center for Drug Evaluation and Research
CDIC:  Canadian Deposit Insurance Corporation (A taxpayer guaranteed bailout fund for banks.) See also: FDIC, FSLIC, and NCUSIF.
CDO: Collateralized Debt Obligation. See also: CDS and Synthetic CDO.
CDPOC:Credit Derivative Product Company/Companies
CDS: Credit Default Swap. See also: CDO and Synthetic CDO.
CEB: Compressed Earth Block
CEO: Chief Executive Officer
CEOI: Communications Electronic Operating Instructions.  See also: SOI.
CEP: Circular Error Probability. This term is used in a variety of contexts, such as radio direction finding (where it is more correctly rendered elliptical error probability), and in describing the accuracy of nuclear warheads.
CERA: Cambridge Energy Research Associates
CERT: Community Emergency Response Team
CETME: The Spanish Army's predecessor of the HK G3 (HK91) rifle. Currently being re-built in the U.S. using surplus parts kits and U.S.-made semi-auto only receivers.
CEWI: Communications, Electronic Warfare, and Intelligence.
CFC: Chlorofluorocarbon. See also: HFC.
CFI: Confidence Factor Index
CFN: Commercial Fueling Network
CFO: Chief Financial Officer
Charge Controller: A device that regulates the voltage applied to the batteries from a generator or PV array. A good charge controller is necessary to ensure that batteries reach the maximum charge and have the longest life.
Channelized Areas: In the context of SurvivalBlog, the most likely routes that the Golden Horde will take WTSHTF. Also called Refugee Lines of Drift. See also: Golden Horde and WTSHTF. The Chartist takes a purely technical view towards the market
Chartist: A stock, bond, or commodities analyst that takes a purely technical view towards the markets.
Chartist Gnome: The nickname of a European market analyst that advises JWR.
Cheek Weld: The contact of a shooter's cheek with the stock of a rifle. For consistent accuracy, the cheek weld must be uniform each time that the shooter shoulders the rifle. A supplementary cheek rest is sometimes needed to obtain correct alignment of the eye with the sights (or scope) with a consistent cheek weld.
Chemlight: Slang for chemical light stick, such as the Cyalume brand.
Chinese Parliament: The open session that typically follows a military operational briefing in some organizations, where everyone involved can speak freely, regardless of their rank, to give their input. (British SAS term.)
CHL: Concealed Handgun License. See also: CCL.
Chrononaut: A time traveler.
CHU: Containerized Housing Unit (a CONEX retrofitted with a door, window, top vent, power cabling, and air conditioning unit--as used by servicemen in Iraq.) Spoken "Chew"
CI/KR:Critical Infrastructure/Key Resource
CI: Counterintelligence.
CIA: Central Intelligence Agency
CIB: Combat Infantryman Badge. See also: EIB
CIDRAP: Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (at the University of Minnesota.)
CINOs: Christians in name only.
CIO: Chief Information Officer
Cipro: Short for Ciprofloxacin, an anti-bacterial drug.
Civie: US Military slang for civilian.
Claire Files:  The Internet discussion forums formerly hosted by libertarian writer Claire Wolfe. Now called The Mental Militia (TMM).
Class A:  Fire extinguishers designed to fight traditional types of combustible materials such as wood and paper products. They are sized by the amount of liquid they hold.
Class B: Fire extinguishers designed to fight fires of combustible liquids such as gasoline, grease, or kerosene. They are sized by the number of square feet of fire they can extinguish.
Class C: Fire extinguishers ardesigned to fight fires of an electrical nature such as wiring, breakers, and outlets. These types of fires pose an electrocution hazard, so the extinguisher must produce a substance that is non-conductive.
Class 3: The Federal tax category for Machineguns, short-barreled rifles, shotguns, and suppressors, mandated by the National Firearms Act (NFA) of 1934.
Class 3 guns are not legal in all states. Regardless, there is a $200 Federal transfer tax, fingerprints, and background check required. See also: AOW, BATFE, NFA, SBR, and SBS.
CLENS: Camouflaged Long Endurance Nano-Sensors
CLEO: Chief Law Enforcement Officer
CLO: Collateralized Loan Obligation
CLP:  Cleaner, Lubricant, Protectant. A Mil-Spec lubricant, sold under the trade name "Break Free CLP"
CM:  Compressed Meals (The U.S. Army' new alternative to MREs, with a freeze dried entree.  These are about 2/3s the size and weight of an MRE.
CMBS: Commercial Mortgage Backed Security/Securities. See also: MBS and RMBS
CME:  Coronal Mass Ejection. (Solar flares.) See also: Carrington Event and EMP.
CMP:  Civilian Marksmanship Program.  (The Federal government agency, formerly called the office of the Director of Civilian Marksmanship (DCM).
CN: Alphachloroacetaphenone. A variety of tear gas that can also induce vomiting if inhaled in high concentrations. See also: CS.
CNC:  Computerized Numerical Control
CNN: Cable News Network
CO2: Carbon Dioxide.
CO:  Depending on context: Commanding Officer, telephone company Central Office, Carbon Monoxide, Correctional Officer, or Conscientious Objector.
COB or C-O-B:  Depending on context, Corn-Oat-Barley mix (for livestock), sweetened with molasses (commonly called "Sweet Feed" or "Wet COB"). Contingency Operating Base, or “Close of Business” as in: “That report is due by COB today!”
CO: Telephone company Central Office.
COG: Continuity of Government. See also: COOP.
COIN: Counterinsurgency
Combat Tupperware:  See: Glock.
ComBloc:  Communist Bloc.
COMEX: Commodity Exchange (U.S. precious metals market.)
COMINT: Communications Intelligence.
Comm, Commo: Communications equipment.
COMSEC: Communications Security
Condensation Gasoline:  See Drip Oil.
Condition 0:  (SA Pistol Carry Condition Code) Ready to fire: A round is in the chamber, hammer is cocked, and the safety off.
Condition 1:  (SA Pistol Carry Condition Code) A cartridge is chambered, the hammer is cocked, and the safety is in the up (safe) position. Also known as "cocked and locked" carry.
Condition 2: (SA Pistol Carry Condition Code) A cartridge is in the chamber and the hammer is down.
Condition 3: (SA Pistol Carry Condition Code) The chamber is empty and hammer is down with a full magazine in the pistol. Also known as "Israeli Carry."
Condition 4: (SA Pistol Carry Condition Code) The chamber is empty, hammer is down and no magazine is in the pistol.
CONELRAD: Control of Electromagnetic Radiation. The now defunct emergency broadcasting system for the United States. In recent years it has been replaced by the Emergency Alert System (EAS). See also: EAS.
CONEX: A CONtinental EXpress shipping container. The standard steel or aluminum international shipping containers used on trucks, railpacks, and on ships.
Usually manufactured in 20, 30, and 40 foot lengths. BTW, they make great weatherproof lockable storage sheds, especially if you weld on a sleeve to protect the padlock from attack by bolt cutters or bullets.
CONOPS:  Concept of Operations
Contrapreneur: Someone that foolishly invests in a declining market. (Term coined by JWR in October, 2006.) See also: McMansion and Flipping.
Contrarian Investing:  An investing strategy that that run contrary to he popular opinion of the MSM and the Sheeple.
CONUS: Continental United States
COO: Chief Operations Officer
COOP: Continuity of Operations Plan. See also: COG.
Cooper Corners:  Col. Jeff Cooper popularized using the "Vauban Principle", wherein projecting bastion corners would prevent miscreants from being able to approach a retreat's exterior walls in any blind spots. Retreat building corners with this simplified implementation of a Vauban Star are now called "Cooper Corners" by JWR, in honor of Jeff Cooper.
COP:  Combat Outpost.
COPD:  Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease
Cord: A cord is a unit of dry volume used in Canada and in the United States to measure firewood. From Wikipedia: "One cord is defined as 128 foot3 (~3.62 m3), corresponding to a woodpile 8 foot wide x 4 foot high of 4 foot long logs. In the metric system, wood is usually measured in steres or cubic metres: 1 stere = 1 m3 ≈ 0.276 cords.
In the United States, the cord is defined by statute in most states. Wood is also sold by the "face cord" (sometimes called a "rick"), which is usually not legally defined, and varies regionally."
COSCO: China Overseas Shipping Company.
COSTCO: An American membership "warehouse" type grocery store chain that sells everything from canned hams to home computers. Most items are sold in case lots. See also: Sam's Club.
Couple, Coupling: See: EMP.
CP: Depending on context Candle Power or Command Post.
CPA: Certified Public Accountant
CPAP: Constant Positive Airway Pressure. (Some sleep apnea patients require a CPAP machine at night.)
CPI: Consumer Price Index
CPR: Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
CPSC: Consumer Product Safety Commission
CPU: Central Processing Unit
CQ: Depending on context: Charge of Quarters or the amateur radio code for "Calling any amateur radio station"
CQB: Close Quarters Battle
C&R: Curio and Relic (U.S. Federal firearms legal category, Type 03.)
CRAF: Civilian Reserve Air Fleet.
C-Ration: Combat ration. The U.S. Army canned field rations that were replaced by MREs in the mid-1980s.
CRB: Commodities Research Bureau
Cred: Short for Credential
Credit Spread: The difference in yield between low risk U.S. Treasury bonds and more risky fixed-income securities
Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease: (vCJD). A degenerative brain disease of cattle and other hooved animals that is transmissible to man. Also called Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD) in deer.
CRH: Coin Roll Hunter(s). See: Treasurenet's Coin Roll Hunting Forum
CRKT: Columbia River Knife and Tool.
CRNA: Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist
CRP: Conservation Reserve Program. A Federal Government program designed to pay farmers to not grow crops; -- leaving their fields fallow. See also: NRCS.
CRT: Cathode Ray Tube.
Crunch, The.: See: WTSHTF.
Crunchies: The humorous U.S. Army tanker's term from dismounted infantry.
CS: Orthochlorobenzalmalonitrile. A variety of tear gas. See also: CN.
CSA: Depending on context, Community Sustained Agriculture or Confederate States of America.
CSAR: Combat Search and Rescue
CSRS: Civil Service Retirement System
CSS: Cascading Style Sheets
CT: Depending on context, Counter-Terrorism or Computed Tomography.
CTCSS: Continuous Tone Coded Squelch System (also known as Private Line (PL) or Channel Guard). Uses subaudible tones to allow co-channel users to operate without having to hear transmissions directed to other users. “Private Line” [Motorola] and “Channel Guard” [General Electric] are examples of trademarked names for CTCSS. Newer squelch systems that use digital codes are referred to as “digital squelch” as opposed to the sub-audible tones used with the older CTCSS concept.
CTIS: Central Tire Inflation System
CTR: Currency Transaction Report. See also: Structuring
cu. in.: Cubic Inch
CUCV: Commercial Utility Cargo Vehicle (1980s vintage U.S. Army versions of diesel Chevy Blazers and Pickups, currently being sold off as surplus.)
CW: Depending on context: Continuous Wave (an operating mode for amateur radio gear, used for Morse Code.), or chemical warfare (NBC defense), or Clockwise (Mechanics and machining.)
CWD: Chronic Wasting Disease. See also : Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, BSE, and TSE. CWD is classified as a transmissible spongiform encephalopathy (TSE)
CWP: Concealed Weapon(s) Permit.
CYA: Cover Your Assets
DA: Depending on context: Double Action or District Attorney.
DAO: Double Action Only. (The type of pistol action used on the Glock and HK VP-70 pistols.)
DARPA: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (U.S.)
DB, db: Decibel.
DBA: Doing Business As. (Fictitious business name.)
DB, db: Decibel.
DBDU: Desert Battle Dress Uniform. Also commonly called DCUs.
DC: Depending on context, Direct Current or District of Criminals.
DCI: Director of Central Intelligence
DCM: See: CMP.
DCU: Desert Camouflage Uniform. The common term for the U.S. military uniform that is officially called the Desert Battle Dress uniform (DBDU.)
DD: Depending on context, Detroit Diesel or Destructive Device.
DDS: Doctor of Dental Surgery
DE: Diatomaceous Earth
DEA: Drug Enforcement Agency
Decon: Decontamination
Deep Cycling: (or deep discharging): Discharging a battery to 20 percent or less of its full charge. This shortens the life of most types of batteries.
Deep Larder Concept: A pantry stocked with foods and essential oils for a family for 2+ years
DEET: The active ingredient in most modern topical insect repellents.(N,N-Diethyl-meta-Toluamide.)
DEFRA: Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs--(the UK's equivalent of the USDA)
Delta Team: See: SFOD-D.
DEQ: Department of Environmental Quality
Det cord, Detonating cord, Primacord: A plastic tube 4 to 7 millimeters in diameter, filled with PETN high-order explosive. Generally used for joining separate explosive charges to make them explode almost simultaneously. See also: PETN.
Deuce Gear: Slang expression for the obsolete LC-1 and LC-2 "ALICE" web gear that was issued by the US military in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.
DEVGRU: Naval Special Warfare Development Group, formerly known as SEAL Team 6. Roughly analogous to the US Army's SFOD-D, See also: SEAL.
DEW: Directed Energy Weapon
DF: Direction Finding
DFP: Defensive Fighting Position
DFW: Dallas/Fort Worth (metropolitan area, also the designation for the airport.)
DGPS: Differential Global Positioning System
DH: Darling Husband
DHS: Department of Homeland Security (a U.S. Federal government agency)
DIA: Defense Intelligence Agency
DIAS or D.I.A.S. : Drop-in Auto sear
DIC: Disseminated Intravascular Coagulation. Widespread clotting in the blood vessels, (usually due to poisons and infections) leading to hemorrhage.
Dinodiesel: Diesel fuel oil extracted from petroleum. See also: Biodiesel, SVO, and WVO.
DIY: Do It Yourself
Dirty Bomb: A conventional explosive used to propel radioactive materials--designed solely to cause contamination and incapable of reaching critical mass.
DJIA: Dow Jones Industrial Average. A New York stock price index.
DLAB: Defense Language Aptitude Battery-- the "pre-test" for US military personnel applying for foreign language training school.
DLP: Defense of Life and Property
DMA: Day Moving Average (commodity or stock price)
DMSO: Di-Methyl Sulf Oxide. An industrial solvent that is also used as a folk remedy for joint pain.One of its properties is that is a trans-dermal carrier for pharmaceuticals, easily allowing drugs to be transmitted to the bloodstream of an animal or human. DMSO is sometimes used in veterinary medicine.
DMV: Department of Motor Vehicles
DMZ: Demilitarized Zone
DNA: Deoxyribonucleic acid
DNR: Depending on context: Department of Natural Resources or Do Not Resuscitate. (The latter is a common clause in Living Wills.)
DNVT: Digital Non-secure Voice Terminal. Late generation digital keypad-controlled field telephones. The current U.S. military issue is the AN/TA-1042. See also: TA-1 / TA-312.
DOA: Dead on Arrival.  Traditionally applied to cadavers, this term is now also used for describing a piece of mail-ordered equipment that doesn't work.
DOD: U.S. Department of Defense. It was more appropriately called The War Department before the onset of political correctness.
DOE: U.S. Department of Energy (a U.S. Federal government agency)
DOI: U.S. Department of the Interior(a U.S. Federal government agency)
Doomer: The Peak Oil crowd's term for someone that foresees a chaotic societal collapse when oil supplies get short. See also: Hubbert's Peak.
Doomstead: Synonymous with survival retreat. (Term coined by SurvivaBlog reader Bois d’Arc.)
DOT: U.S. Department of Transportation. (a U.S. Federal government agency)
DPDT:  Double Pole, Double Throw (electrical switch.)
DPM: Disruptive Pattern, Marine. The camouflage cloth pattern developed for the U.K.'s Royal Marines.
Drip Oil: The light oil or hydrocarbon liquids condensed in a natural gas piping system when the gas is cooled. Sometimes also called natural gasoline, condensation gasoline, or simply “drip.” Drip oil can be burned like gasoline in most engines.
DRMO: Defense Reutilization Management Office (The U.S. Military's "auction yard".) Local military base DRMO offices report to the “Defense Reutilization and Marketing Service” or DRMS.
Drop Box: In the context of fuel: A container (usually a large tank); that is used to collect drip oil. In other contexts: A commercial mail box, such as those rented at UPS Stores.
Dry Gas: Depending on context either another name for Casinghead Gas, or generic name for an alcohol-based gas additive used to absorb water. See also: Casinghead Gas.
DSA: D.S. Arms (The D.S. stands for Dave Selvaggio)
DSHEA: Dietary Supplement Health and Education Act
DSL:  Digital Subscriber Line
DSLAM: DSL Access Multiplexer
DSP:  Digital Signal Processor/Processing
DSS:  State Dept. Diplomatic Security Service
DTPA:  Diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid
DTRA:  Defense Threat Reduction Agency
DTRC:  Defense Threat Reduction Center (HQ of the U.S. DTRA.)
DU: Depending on context Depleted Uranium or Ducks Unlimited
DUG: Doom und Gloom. (Acronym coined by JWR.)
DVD: Digital Video Disc
DWV:  Drain, Waste and Vent pipe. Typically black plastic pipe in modern U.S. house construction.
DX:  Depending on context: Long distance radio communication (amateur radio), Diagnosis (medicine), or Direct Exchange (military supply system.)
E85: A fuel blend that 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline
E911: Enhanced 911. The FCC-mandated capability of cellular phone providers to be able to track the location of their cell phone subscribers.
E100: 100% ethanol
EAS: Emergency Alert System.See also: CONELRAD.
ECB: European Central Bank.
ECCM:  Electronic Counter-Countermeasures
ECM: Depending on context, Electronic Countermeasures (electronic warfare) or Electronic Control Module (automotive electronic ignition systems.)
Economatrix: SurvivalBlog's volunteer Economic Ediitor, the trustworthy Cheryl N.
EDC: Everyday Carry. Usually used to refer to pocketknives.
EDIS: Electronic Distributorless Ignition System. (Ford Motor Company terminology for an electronic ignition system.)
E&E:  Escape and Evasion
EENT: Eye, Ear, Nose and Throat
EEO: Equal Employment Opportunity (anti-discrimination)
EER: Extended Eye Relief (Scope, typically used with pistols and "scout" rifles/carbines)
EESA: Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. See also: TARP.
EFF: Electronic Frontiers Foundation
EFP:  Explosive Formed Projectiles--a.k.a. shaped charges.
e.g.: Exempli Gratia. Latin for "For example"
EGS:  Enhanced Geothermal Systems
EIB: Depending on context, Expert Infantryman Badge or European Investment Bank. See also: CIB
ELB:  Depending on context, Electronic Logbook or Emergency Locator Beacon
ELBV: Enhanced Load Bearing Vest.
ELE:  Extinction Level Event
Eleven Bravo (or 11B):  The U.S. Army's MOS for Infantryman.
Elmer:  A volunteer who helps new folks interested in amateur radio. (A mentor or volunteer tutor.)
ELN:  Colombian National Liberation Army ("Ejército de Liberación Nacional")
EMC: Electromagnetic Compatibility.
EMCC: Emergency Mass Critical Care.
EMCOMM: Emergency Communications
EMCON: Emission Control
EMD: Electro-Muscular Disruption. The politically correct term for the effect of getting zapped with a Taser.
EME: Earth-Moon-Earth. EME is shorthand for "moon bounce" radio propagation techniques.
EMP:  Electromagnetic Pulse. Described at Wikipedia. See also: Faraday Cage and TREE.
EMI: Electromagnetic Interference
EMS: Emergency Medical Services
EMT: Emergency Medical Technician
EMT-A: Emergency Medical Technician - Ambulance
EMT-B: Emergency Medical Technician - Basic
EMT-C: Emergency Medical Technician - Cardiac
EMT-CC: Emergency Medical Technician - Critical Care
EMT-D: Emergency Medical Technician - Defibrillator
EMT-FR: Emergency Medical Technician - First Responder
EMT-I: Emergency Medical Technician - Intermediate
EMT-P: Emergency Medical Technician - Paramedic
EMV:  Electromagnetic Vulnerability
Encryption: The systematic encoding of a message or bit stream before transmission to prevent unauthorized recipients from understanding it. The process of again rendering the information readable is Decryption.
Enfield: The British Army Enfield Lock arsenal, best known for its SMLE .303 bolt action rifles that were produced for more than 50 years. These rifles are generically called Enfields--even those examples produced at other arsenals. Enfield pattern rifles were also produced in Australia, Canada, and India. See also: Ishapore, SMLE, and Sten.
EO: Depending on context Electo-optics, Equal Opportunity, or Executive Order
EOD: Explosive Ordnance Disposal
EPA:  Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. Federal government agency)
Epi, Epi-Pen: Trades name for Epinephrine. An injectable drug used for treating anaphylaxis. See also: Benadryl.
EPS: Encapsulated Postscript file format. Can be opened by most Adobe products, including Acrobat Reader
ER:  Emergency Room
EROEI: Energy Return on Energy Invested. The ratio of the amount of energy needed to generate a unit of energy from a fuel source. When oil was first produced over 150 years ago the EROEI was 40 (or more) to 1. The oil gushed out of the ground. Just 30 years ago it was as high as 20:1. Today, the oil EROEI is variously reported as 2.5 to 1.2 to 1 for light sweet crude. As Peak Oil occurs, oil shale production is expected to see an EROEI of less than 1. That means it takes more than one energy unit to produce a single unit of energy from the oil shale. Thus, it doesn’t matter how much it costs, because the extraction operation will have become an energy sink. See also: Peak Oil.
ERP:  Effective Radiated Power. (The resulting combined output of a transmitter & an antenna with dB gain factor)
ERRB:  Enhanced Radiation Reduced Blast nuclear warhead. Commonly called a Neutron Bomb.
ESA: Economics and Statistics Administration
ESD: Electrostatic Discharge
ESHTF: Economic Schumer Hits the Fan. (See also: WTSHTF and SHTF.)
EST: Eastern Standard Time.
ETA: Depending on context, Estimated Time of Arrival or the Basque terrorist group Euskadi ta Askatasuna. (Which means“Basque Fatherland and Liberty” in Euskara, the Basque language.)
ETD: Estimated Time of Departture
ETF: Exchange Traded Fund
EtOH or ETOH: Ethanol.(Ethyl or "Grain" alcohol.) See also: C2H5OH
E-Tool: Entrenching Tool.
ETS: Expiration Term of Service. (The end of a military duty.) See also: PCS.
EU: European Union
Euro: The common currency unit for the European Union. Usually expressed as EU or or € .
EW: Electronic Warfare
Ex-pat: Slang contraction for expatriate.
F2F: Face to Face
FA: Forward Assist.  (A feature on later M16s, AR-15s, and Israeli FAL rifles, designed to push the bolt carrier forward under dusty/dirty conditions.)
Fab: Slang contraction for fabricate.
FAC: Forward Air Controller
FAE: Fuel-Air Explosive
FAIK:  "For All I Know"
FAK: First Aid Kit
FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions
FAL: Fusil Automatique Leger --A Belgian 7.62mm NATO battle rifle (+ clones thereof) See also: L1A1 and my FAQ on this subject.
FALFiles:  The web site for FAL and L1A1 owners. See: http://www.falfiles.com/forums/index.php
Fannie Mae: See: FNMA.
Faraday Cage: A shielding enclosure for electronics. See also: EMP and Carrington Event.
FARC or FARC-EP: Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. ("Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia – Ejército del Pueblo")
FAS: Depending on context Federation of American Scientists or Financial Accounting Standards.
FAS 157: The U.S. general accounting rule that (as of 2008) dictates that banks can no longer conceal Level Three assets. See also Level and. Derivative.
FASB: Financial Accounting Standards Board
FBI: Federal Bureau of Investigation
FBO: Fixed Base Operator. The authorized vendor at an airport that sells aviation fuel and provides services to all the aircraft there. Even large municipal commercial airports have a “FBO”. It is the vendor that won the contract to provide services at the airport on an exclusive basis. In rural areas these are sometimes "mom and pop" operations.
FCC: Depending on context Federal Communications Commission (a U.S. Federal government agency) or Food Chemical Codex (USDA).
FCSA: Fifty Caliber Shooters Association. See: www.fcsa.org
FDA: Food and Drug Administration. (A U.S. Federal government agency)
FDIC:  Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (A taxpayer guaranteed bailout fund for banks.) See also: FSLIC, NCUSIF, and CDIC.
FDR:  Franklin Delano Roosevelt
FEBA:  Forward Edge of the Battle Area
Fed:  Slang shorthand for The Federal Reserve--a private banking cartel and the de facto central bank in the United States.
Feds:  Slang shorthand for agents of any Federal agency, but most commonly the FBI.
FEMA:  Federal Emergency Management Agency. (A U.S. Federal government agency) The acronym is also jokingly defined as "Foolishly Expecting Meaningful Aid."
Ferret:  Depending on context: 1.) A post-WWII British armored scout car, made by Daimler, in several variants. 2.) A shotgun shell that fires a CS tear gas liquid capsule that vaporizes on impact. 3.) The Ferret .50 single-shot .50 BMG rifle that utilizes an AR-15-type lower receiver.
FET:  Field Effect Transistor
FFA: Future Farmers of America.
FFE: Fuel Flame Expedients
FFG:  "Two F" Black power, normally used in rifles with a bore of .50 to .75 caliber
FFFG:  "Triple F" black power, used in most single shot pistols and percussion revolvers. It is also popular for rifles up to .50 caliber.
FFFFG: "Four F" black power. Can be used for priming the pans of flintlocks.
FFFFFG: "Five F" extra fine black power--the preferred granulation for priming the pans of flintlock rifles.
FFL: Federal Firearms License. Typically a Type 01.
FFV: Flexible Fuel Vehicle. (Gasoline engine vehicles that are E85 Ethanol compatible.)
FFTAGFFR:  Food for Thought and Grounds for Further Research (Acronym coined by JWR)
FG: Coarse grain black power, normally used only in shotguns and cannon.
FHLM: Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation. Nicknamed"Freddie Mac". A Federally-chartered corporation that purchases residential mortgages, securitizes them, and sells them to investors; this provides lenders with funds for home buyers. See also FNMA
Fiat Currency: Any paper currency that is issued at will, without convertibility to precious metals or other tangibles. (From the Latin "Let it be done.")
FICA: Federal Insurance Contributions Act. (The Social Security program tax.) See also: SSA.
FIFO: First In, First Out—used for food storage rotation.
FIJA: The Fully Informed Jury Association
FinCEN: Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. A division of the U.S. Department of the Treasury tasked with stopping money laundering.
FIRE: Finance, Insurance and Real Estate--Dubbed the "paper pushing" side of the economy by Charles Hugh Smith
Flipping: The process of buying and then quickly reselling an asset in a rising market, to turn a profit. This is often accomplished with borrowed money. See also: Contrapreneur and McMansion.
FLIR: Forward Looking Infrared
FLOT:  Forward Line of Troops
FM: Depending on context, Field Manual or Frequency Modulation)
FMA: Filipino Martial Arts
FMJ: Full Metal Jacket. (A bullet that does not expand when it strikes tissue.) Also called "ball:" ammunition by the U.S. Military.
FML: Fully Metal Lined (description of the later generation Glock pistol magazines.
FMS: Foreign Military Sales
FN: The Belgian arms maker Fabrique Nationale de Herstal.
FN-49 or FN49: A post-WWII semi-auto rifle produced by FN, with a 10 round magazine fed from stripper clips. Variants were made in several calibers including 7x57, 8x57, and .30-06. A later arsenal conversion made in Argentine was made in .308, with detachable 20 round magazines.
FN/FAL or FN-FAL: See: FAL
FNMA: Federal National Mortgage Association. Nicknamed: "Fannie Mae". A Federally-chartered enterprise owned by private stockholders that purchases residential mortgages and converts them into securities for sale to investors; by purchasing mortgages, Fannie Mae supplies funds that lenders may loan to home buyers. See also FHLM
FOB: Forward Operating Base
Fobbit: Someone who is stationed at a Forward Operating Base (FOB.)
FOIA: Freedom of Information Act
FOMC: Federal Open Market Committee. A 12-member committee which sets interest rate and bank credit policies for the Federal Reserve banking cartel.
Force Multiplier: A capability that, when added to and employed by a combat force, significantly increases the combat potential of that force and thus enhances the probability of successful mission accomplishment. (US DOD definition.)
Force Recon: Force Reconnaissance is the U.S. Marine Corp's elite commando force.
FOREX:  The foreign exchange market, where currencies are traded.
FORS: Front, [the] opposite. Rear, [the] same. A pneumonic memory aid for the directions that firearms iron sights must be adjusted, to correct a point of aim error.
Forward (contract):  The original and basic derivative contract, a forward transaction is an agreement to buy or sell a certain quantity of an asset or commodity in the future at a specified price, place, and time.
FPO: Fleet Post Office. (U.S. Navy/USMC/USCG postal service.) See also: APO.
FPS or fps: Feet Per Second. See also: MPS.
FPV: First Person View. See also RPV and UAV.
FRA: Forward rate agreement. An agreement to borrow or lend a certain amount of principal at a specified interest rate and time. In other contexts: Försvarets Radioanstalt (The Norwegian equivalent of the NSA.)
Frag: Short for fragmentation or fragment. In one context a "frag order" or "FRAGO" is an abbreviated military operations order.
Freddie Mac: See: FHLM.
Free Band: The bands for CB radio frequencies just above and just below the official CB channels. Also known as illicit "out of band transmission." Use of the Free Band is illegal. See also: Bastard crystal.
Free Gun: A tripod-mounted weapon that is detached from its T&E mechanism, for greater flexibility of fire. See also: T&E.
FRN: Federal Reserve Note(s)
FRS: Family Radio Service (A type of UHF-FM walkie-talkie that requires no license in the U.S.) See also: GMRS and MURS.
FSB: Federalnaya Sluzhba Bezopasnosti. The main successor of the KGB.
FSBO: For Sale By Owner
FSK: Frequency Shift Keying. See also: PSK.
FSLIC: Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (A taxpayer guaranteed bailout fund for thrift institutions.)
FSP: Free States Project
FSNH: Free State New Hampshire
FSR: First Strike Ration
FSW: Free State Wyoming
FTE: Failure to Eject
FTF: Failure to Feed
ft/lbs: Foot/Pounds. A measure of force, defines as "the amount of energy expended when a force of one pound acts through a distance of one foot along the direction of the force." See also: Joules.
FTRSS: Flexible Temperature Range Sleep System. Modular synthetic sleeping bags made by Wiggy's.
FUBAR: Fouled up beyond all recognition.
FUD: Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt
Futures (Contract): An agreement to buy or sell a given quantity of an asset or commodity in the future at a specified price, place, and time.
FWIW:  For What Its Worth
g: Gravity. (Earth's gravity = 1g. Acceleration and deceleration forces are expressed in terms of g ("gees").
G1:  The West German Army's version of the FN/FAL rifle. G1 parts kits have been used in recent years for building semi-auto only FALs in the U.S.
G3: The West German Army's selective fire battle rifle of the 1960s/70s/80s.  Its civilian (semi-auto only) equivalent is the HK91
G10: The "Group of 10" industrialized nations.
G20: Depending on context Glock Model 20 (10mm pistol) or the "Group of 20" industrialized and developing nations.
Galil: See: AK.
Garand: See: M1.
GATA: Gold Anti-Trust Action (GATA.org)
GBP: Great Britain Pound
GBS: Group B Streptococcus
GCA or GCA-68: 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.
GCC: Gulf Cooperation Council
GD: A persistent nerve gas developed for the Soviet army.
GDP: Depending on context, Gross Domestic Product or Generally Dumb Public.
GEK: Gasifier Experimenter' Kit
Gen: Generation
Gen 1:  First Generation
Gen 2:  Second Generation
Gen 3:  Third Generation
Genny: Slang for generator.
Genset:  Generator Set. (U.S. military terminology.)
GGGGG:  God, Gold, Guns, Groceries, and Ground (farm land).  Acronym coined by Richard "Doc" Sweeny.
Ghillie, Ghillie Suit: A ragged-texture camouflage suit, originally developed by Scottish game wardens.
G.I. or GI: Depending on context, General inductee (draftee), Government Issue (equipment specifications), or Gastro-Intestinal tract. See also: U.S.G.I.
GIS: Geographical Information Systems
Glazis: Globalist Socialists. Coined by Lawrence Rayburn.
Glock:  The popular polymer-framed pistol design by Gaston Glock of Austria. Also derisively known as "Combat Tupperware " by their detractors, because they were the first maker to ship their pistols in a plastic box with a snap lid. Glocks are a favorite of gun writer Boston T. Party.
GM: Depending on context General Motors or Genetically Modified.
GMAW Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW). See also: MIG.
GMC: General Motors Corporation
GMO: Genetically Modified Organism
GMRS: General Mobile Radio A licensed UHF-FM 2-way radio service. Service. See also: FRS and MURS.
GNC:  Gaz naturel comprimé. See also: LNG.
GNIS:  Geographic Names Information System. An excellent resource when you are looking for specific areas on a map. See: http://geonames.usgs.gov/ See also: USGS.
GOA: Gun Owners of America
Goblin(s): The Late Jeff Cooper's generic term for criminals.
Gold Cup: The target version of Colt's M1911. Has fully adjustable target sights, a tapered barrel and a tighter barrel bushing than standard M1911s.
Golden Horde: In historical contexts, the Mongol Horde of the 13th Century, but in the context of SurvivalBlog, the anticipated large mixed horde of refugees and looters that will pour out of the metropolitan regions WTSHTF. See also: WTSHTF.
G.O.O.D.:  Get Out of Dodge--the author’s generic acronym for leaving the big city in a hurry WTSHTF. (Acronym coined by JWR). I also use the term “bug out” and the British soccer term “take the gap.” The term Get Out of Dodge kit is synonymous with Bug Out Bag. See also: BOB, INCH, and WTSHTF.
Goretex: A patented breathable fabric.
GP:  Depending on context General Practice (physician) , General Purpose, or General Principal
GPA: Grade Point Average.
GPH: Gallons Per Hour (usually in the context of diesel marine engine fuel specifications.)
GPM:  Gallons Per Minute (usually in the context of water wells or springs.)
GPO: Government Printing Office.
GPS: Global Positioning System
gr: Grain. The measure of mass used for firearm projectiles (bullets) is grains. A grain is a unit of lead mass measurement, roughly equal to 1/3 of a carat or 65 MG. 16 grains is roughly equal to 1 gram. Also used as a measure of mass for smokeless powder (nitro-cellulose) propellant.
Gray: The standard unit of measurement for radiation exposure, that replaced Roentgen, Rem, and Rad. Conversion from Grays are as follows. See also: Rad.

1 Gy = 100 rad
1 mGy = 100 mrad
1 Sv = 100 rem
1 mSv = 100 mrem

Greasel:  See: Biodiesel
Greenlight, Greenlighted:  The Hollywood and Bollywood term for the "go" decision to produce a movie.
Grid Down: An extended period of time when the power grid is non-functional
Grid Up:  A situation where the national power grids stay functional except for brief interruptions.
Group Therapy: Slang term for full automatic fire. See also: Rock-'n-roll.
GSA: General Services Administration
GSE: Government-sponsored enterprise. American GSEs include Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Federal Home Loan Bank System. They are indirectly backed by the full faith and credit of the Federal government, which inevitably means taxpayer money.
GSM: Global System for Mobile Communications
GTAW: Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW), See also: TIG.
GTG: Good To Go
gtt: Drop. (Medicinal dropper measure, from the Latin gutta.) The plural (drops ) is written gtts
GU:  Genitourinary
Gunsite:  The firearms training school in Arizona founded by Col. Jeff Cooper.
GVW: Gross Vehicle Weight
GWB: George Walker Bush
GWOT: Global War on Terror
H2H: Human to human (disease transmission.)
H5N1: The CDC's designation for one of the current strains of the Asian Avian Flu   Also called Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). See my article on the subject:  http://www.SurvivalBlog.com/asianflu.html
Hadji: Slang for an Iraqi native-born resident.
Ham: (A slang term for an amateur radio operator. It is not an acronym and therefore should not have all the letters capitalized (HAM" , as is often seen in print.).
HARM: High Speed Anti-Radiation Missile
Haole: The Hawai’ian word for Anglos.
Hardened (electronics): See: EMP.
Hard Money: Currency that is either redeemable in precious metals, or issued in the form of precious metals.
Ha-Shem, Hashem: Hebrew for “His Name.” My Jewish friends use it in reference The Creator. (They consider it disrespectful to use His name directly.)
Hazmat, HazMat, or HAZMAT: Hazardous Material(s)
H-BAR: Heavy Barrel.
HD or H.D.:  Heavy Duty.
HDL: High-Density Lipoprotein. Commonly called "good cholesterol". See also: LDL.
HDPE:  High Density Polyethylene is used in milk, juice and water containers in order to take advantage of its excellent protective barrier properties. Most five gallon "food grade" buckets are made from HDPE.
HDR:  Humanitarian Daily Ration
HDTV:  High Definition Television
HEI:  High Energy Ignition. (Patented by General Motors.)
Helicopter Ben: A derogatory nickname for Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke. In 2002, when the word "deflation" began appearing in the business news, Bernanke gave a speech about deflation. In that speech, he mentioned that the government in a fiat money system owns the physical means of creating money. Control of the means of production for money implies that the government can always avoid deflation by simply issuing more money. (He referred to a statement made by Milton Friedman about using a "helicopter drop" of money into the economy to fight deflation.) Bernanke's critics have since referred to him as "Helicopter Ben" or to his "helicopter printing press". In a footnote to his speech, Bernanke noted that "people know that inflation erodes the real value of the government's debt and, therefore, that it is in the interest of the government to create some inflation." (Definition courtesy of Wikipedia.)
Heller:  The DC v. Heller US supreme court decision in June, 2008 affirmed that the "right to keep and bear arms" is an individual right of all citizens.
Helo: Short for helicopter.
HELOC: Home Equity Line of Credit
HEPA: High Efficiency Particulate Air (Filter). In the context of SurvivalBlog, I refer to HEPA filters used to trap the dust from the air pumped into fallout shelters. Some of the best (and most expensive) HEPA filter systems are made by Luwa of Switzerland.
HERF: Depending on context High Energy Radio Frequency, or Hazards of Electromagnetic Radiation to Fuel
HERO: Hazards of Electromagnetic Radiation to Ordnance
HERP: Hazards of Electromagnetic Radiation to Personnel
HEU: Highly Enriched Uranium
HF: High Frequency
HFC: Hydrofluorocarbon. HFCs are now often being used as replacements for Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), because they are thought to be less damaging to the Earth's ozone layer.
hh or HH: Hands High. The abbreviation for the unit of measurement for horses, donkeys, ponies, et cetera. One hand equals four inches.
HHS: Health and Human Services
High Acid: Foods that have a high acid content that inhibits spoilage.
High Cap: High Capacity. Usually refers to firearms magazines that hold 11+ cartridges. The more correct term is full capacity.
H.I.P.S.: Hide In Plain Sight. This often refers to urban survival or the construction of discreet hiding places. (Acronym coined by JWR.)
Hitlery: JWR's nickname for Hillary Rodham Clinton
HIV: Human Immunodeficiency Virus. See also: AIDS.
HK:  Heckler und Koch, the German gun maker
HK91:  Heckler und Koch Model 91. The civilian (semi auto-only) variant of the 7.62 mm NATO G3 rifle.
HMG:  Heavy Machinegun.(Such as the M2 Browning .50 Caliber.)
HMMWV: High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle, also commonly called a Humvee, or in civilian trim, a Hummer.
HOA: Homeowners association. Sometimes called a landowners association (LOA)
Hoplophile: Someone that likes firearms.(Variation of a term coined by Col. Jeff Cooper.)
Hoplophobe: Someone that fears firearms.(Term coined by Col. Jeff Cooper.)
Hotel Sierra:  Aviator lingo for "Hot Stuff!"
H.P., h.p., HP: Depending on context: Horsepower, hollow point (bullet), High Power (as in High Power Rifle Target Competition) or Hi Power, as in Browning P-35 Hi Power 9 mm pistols.
HPAI: Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI). Called "high path" in epidemiologist slang. See also: LPAI and H5N1
HPBT: Hollow point boat tail (bullet)
HR: Human Remains. In other contexts, Human Resources.
HRC: Hillary Rodham Clinton
HRT: Hostage Rescue Team. (FBI). Often spoken "Hurt Team."
HSA: Health Savings Account
HSS: High Speed Steel (Machining term.)
HT: Handi-talkie --The name that has become generic for a small hand-held radio transceiver, of any brand, and operating on any band.
HTF: (Schumer) Hits the Fan.
HTH: Hope This Helps. (E-mail and text messaging acronym.)
HTTP: Hypertext Transfer Protocol
Hubbert’s Peak: The presumed peak in oilfield production that is expected to occur +/- 2015. See also: LATOC.
HUD: Housing and Urban Development (U.S. Federal government agency)
HUMINT:  Human Intelligence
HVAC: Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning.
HVACR: Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration
Hydrometer:  An instrument for measuring the density of liquids in relation to the density of water. Used to indicate the state of charge in lead-acid cells by measuring the specific gravity of the electrolyte. Also used in commercial food canning.
IANSA: International Action Network on Small Arm). The umbrella lobby group for all the anti-gun groups at the United Nations.
IAPV: Israeli Acute Paralysis Virus. A disease linked to honeybee Colony Collapse Disorder. See also: CCD
IAW: In Accordance With
IBA: Interceptor Body Armor--the current U.S. Military issue Kevlar body armor.  The base vest weighs 6 pounds. The front and rear trauma plates are additional 6 pounds each.  Additional shoulder armor and groin protectors add even more weight.
IBS: Irritable Bowel Syndrome
IC: Depending on context Integrated Circuit, Independent Contractor, or Internal Combustion.
ICBM: Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
I.C.E.: Depending on context Institute for Christian Economics (Founded by Dr. Gary North), or U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (a Division of the DHS), or “In Case of Emergency”.
ICF: Insulated Concrete Form. (House construction method.)
ICL: Depending on context Implantable Contact Lenses or In-rush Current Limiter. (In the latter context, an ICL is a thermistor circuit, typically used to" soften" the current that a radio receives on start-up.) See also: NTC.
ICRC: International Committee of the Red Cross/Red Crescent. See also: ARC.
ICS: Incident Command System (See also: FEMA.)
ICU: Intensive Care Unit
I&D: Incision and Drainage (Surgical procedure.)
ID, I.D., i.d.: Depending on Context: Identification or Inside Diameter
IDF: Depending context, Israeli Defense Force or Indirect Fire
IDI: Indirect Injection (diesel fuel engines).
IDIQ: Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity
IDPs: Internally Displaced Person(s)
IDPA:  International Defensive Pistol Association
i.e.: Id Est. Latin for "That is"
IED:  Improvised Explosive Device
IEDTF:  Improvised Explosive Device Task Force
IEEE: Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers
IER: Intermediate Eye Relief (Scope, typically used with "scout" rifles/carbines)
IEW:  Intelligence and Electronic Warfare
IEWCS: Intelligence and Electronic Warfare Common Sensor
IEW&S:  Intelligence, Electronic Warfare & Sensors
IFV: Infantry Fighting Vehicle. See Also: M2 Bradley.
IG: Depending on context, Instructor Greg (who teaches "Tac Tuesday"), or Inspector General
IIRC: If I Recall Correctly
IM: Depending on context, Instant Messenger or intramuscular (drug injection).
IME: Institute of Makers of Explosives
IMF: International Monetary Fund
IMHO: In My Humble Opinion
IMO: In My Opinion
INCH: I'm Never Coming Home (kit). An "INCH" kit is the gear that you would take in the event of a worst case, wherein you would only have one trip "Out of Dodge." See also BOB, GOOD, WTSHTF, and INCH.
ING: Iraqi National Guard
The Insider: The nickname of SurvivalBlog's source inside the investment banking community.
In-Town Retreat: A retreat inside or adjoining town limits that depends on some local infrastructure. See also: Isolated Retreat.
Inverter:  A device that converts DC electricity (anywhere from 12 to 600 VDC) to AC electricity (typically 120/240 VAC.)
IOU: "I Owe You". An informal note of indebtedness, usually without any interest charged.
IP: Internet Protocol
IPB: Intelligence Preparation of the Battlefield
IPCC: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
IPO: Initial Public (stock) Offering.
IPSC: International Practical Shooting Confederation. Spoken: "Ipsy" (to rhyme with "Gypsy".).
IQ:  Intelligence Quotient
IR:  Infrared
IRA: Depending on context: Individual Retirement Account or Irish Republican Army. See also: 401(k).
IRR: Depending on context: Internal Rate of Return (bonds and CDOs) or Individual Ready Reserve (U.S. military.)
IRS: Internal Revenue Service (a U.S. Federal government taxing agency)
Isolated Retreat:  A privately owned stronghold designed to be almost entirely self-sufficient and self-contained. Also, often called a Remote Retreat. See also: In-Town Retreat.
ISAF:  International Security Assistance Force
ISB: Interact System B. The Dodge/Cummins Diesel term for their proprietary fuel injection systems.
Ishapore: The Indian Army arsenal, best known for its 7.62mm NATO variant of the Enfield bolt action rifle. See also: Enfield.
ISID:  International Society for Infectious Diseases
ISR: Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance
ISS: International Space Station
ISTAR: Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Reconnaissance
IT:  Information Technology
IV or i.v.: Intravenous
IWB: Inside-the-waistband (pistol holster design) See also: OWB
IWBA: International Wound Ballistics Association
Izzy:  Slang for Israeli
JASBORR: Jim's Amazing Secret Bunker of Redundant Redundancy. (A variation on an acronym coined by Richard Daughty, who writes under the pen name The Mogambo Guru.) The JASBORR is also sometimes called the Flaggermus Grotte.
JBT: Jack Booted Thug
JHP:  Jacketed Hollow Point (ammunition)
JIT:  Just In Time. See also: Kanban.
JMHO:  Just My Humble Opinion
Joules: A measure of force. See also: ft/lbs.
JP4: High grade aviation kerosene.
JPFO: Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership
"Junk" Silver: 1964 or earlier mint date circulated U.S. silver dimes, quarters, or half dollars with little or no numismatic value. These coin have a silver content of 90%.
JWR: James Wesley, Rawles (The primary author/editor of SurvivalBlog. You can assume thatt all feature articles and comments that are not under a byline posted at SurvvaBlog were wrirten by JWR.)
K-1: "Water Clear" grade Kerosene
KADE: The acronym used as a mnemonic memory aid, for the fat-soluble vitamins Vitamins K, A, D, and E. It is important to avoid overdosing any of these vitamins!
Kalashnikov: See: AK.
Kali, Kalifornia: California. See also: PRK.
Kanban:  The Japanese term for a Just In Time (JIT) inventory control system. See also: JIT.
KBR: Kellogg, Brown and Root.
KD: Known Distance
KE: Kinetic Energy (Ballistics.)
KGB: Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti. Committee for State Security. Now defunct, the Soviet KGB has been succeeded by the Russian FSB. See also: FSB.
Keynesian: Those who believe in the socialistic economic theories of John Maynard Keynes. Keynesians advocate government intervention, or "demand-side management" of the economy, ostensibly to achieve full employment and stable prices.
KG or kg :  Kilogram
KI:  Potassium Iodide
KIO3:  Potassium Iodate
KHz:  Kilohertz
KIA: Killed In Action.
Killer Caravans: Kurt Saxon’s term for Rover Packs.
KISS or K.I.S.S. : "Keep it Simple, Stupid!"
KJV:  King James Version of The Bible
Klick: Slang for Kilometer (km)
KLM:  Outside of the context of the Dutch airline, KLM was an American ham radio and antenna manufacturer, named afer its founders Ken Holladay (K6HCP), Leland "Mel" Farrer (K6KBE), and Mike Staal (K6MYC).
Kludge or Kluge: Slang for an expedient "crude, but effective" fix to a problem. Spoken "klooj". An ugly fix ix often described as "kludgy."
km:  Kilometer
KR: Key Resource. See also: CI/KR.
KT or Kt:  Kiloton. Most commonly used in describing the yield of nuclear weapons.
Kva: Kilo Volt Amp. This term describes power in a relationship of thousands of volts (voltage) and amperage.
KW or Kw: Kilowatt
KWh:  Kilowatt Hours. One KWh is one thousand watts acting over a 1 hour period.
KYPD:  Keep Your Powder Dry
L1A1: The British and Australian "Inch" measurements versions of the metric FAL Rifle. Also known as the SLR (Self-Loading Rifle.) See my FAQ on this subject.
LATOC: Life After The Oil Crash. See: LifeAfterTheOilCrash.net, a blog edited by Matt Savinar. See also: Hubbert's Peak
LAV: Light Armored Vehicle
LAW: Light Anti-Tank Weapon
LBE: Load Bearing Equipment. A generic name for military style suspenders or vest used for carrying magazine pouches, canteen, pistol holster, et cetera. Also called Web Gear, or in some cases Deuce Gear.
LBO: Leveraged Buyout
LBV: Load Bearing Vest.
LC-1: Load Carrying, Type 1. (U.S. Army Load Bearing Equipment, circa 1970s to 1990s.)
LCD: Liquid Crystal Display.
L&D: Labor and Deliver. (Childbirth.)
LD: Lunar Distance
LDL: Low-Density Lipoprotein. Commonly called "bad cholesterol". See also: HDL.
LDPE:  Low Density Polyethylene is used in grocery shopping bags and trash bags. Not all LDPE is "food grade." See also: HDPE.
LDS: The Latter Day Saints, commonly called The Mormons. (It the opinion of JWR they have flawed doctrine but a great family food storage program.)
LDT:  Depending on context: Light Duty Truck, Light Displacement Tonnage, or Lowest Dose Tested.
LED:  Light Emitting Diode
LE:  Law Enforcement
LEO: Depending on context: Law Enforcement Officer, "Law Enforcement Only" (product sales restriction), or a Low Earth Orbit satellite.
LER: Long Eye Relief (Scope, typically used with pistols and "scout" rifles/carbines)
Level 1 Asset: Under US banking general accounting rules, Level 1 Assets are investments such as stocks and bonds. See also FAS 157 and Derivative.
Level 2 Asset: Under US banking general accounting rules, Level 2 Assets investments include some mortgage-backed securities. See also FAS 157 and Derivative.
Level 3 Asset: Under US banking general accounting rules, Level 3 Assets are obscure and exotic investments such derivatives. See also FAS 157 and Derivative.
LGD: Livestock Guardian Dog or Large Guardian Dog
Li: Lithium
LIA: Little Ice Age
LIBOR: London Interbank Offered Rate
LIC: Low Intensity Conflict
Lines of drift: See: Channelized Areas.
LLC: Limited Liability Corporation
LLDPE: Linear Low-Density PolyEthylene
LMG:  Light Machinegun.(Such as the M249 SAW.)
LNG:  Liquefied Natural Gas. See also: GNC.
LOA: Depending on context Length, over all. (Sailing ship term.) or Landowner's Association See also: HOA.
LOC: Level of Conciousness.
LOL: Laughing out loud.
LOS:  Line of Sight. Many communications technologies require an unobstructed path between transmitter and receiver, as in microwave radio, satellite communications, and laser/infrared optical communications links.
Low Acid: Foods that have little acid and therefore can contain food poisoning bacteria if poorly processed.
LOX:  Liquid Oxygen.
LP: Depending on context: Liquid Propane (fuel), Long Playing (record album), or Lumbar Puncture (Spinal tap).
LPA: Log Periodic Antenna
LPAI: Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza (LPAI). Called "low path" in epidemiologist slang. See also HPAI and H5N1
LPCs: Leather Personnel Carriers (A humorous reference to boots.)
LPG:  Liquefied Propane Gas.
LPI:  Low Probability of Intercept
LPM or lpm:  Liters Per Minute
LP/OP: Listening post/observation post: Usually the same position, used for observation in daylight hours and for listening and use of Starlight devices at night. See also: Starlight
LR:  Depending on context: Lactated Ringers (Or Ringer's Lactate) an IV support fluid. or Long Rifle (as in .22 LR rimfire.)
LRP: Long Range Patrol (See also: MCW/LRP)
LRRP: Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol
LRRS: Long Range Reconnaissance and Surveillance
LSA: Depending on Context, Lubricant, Small Arms, or Logistics Support Area
LSB: Lower Sideband. One of the two “single side bands” that can be selected on a suitably-equipped radio transceiver. See also “SSB” and “USB”.
LSD: Depending on context: Low self discharge (batteries) or Lysergic acid (illicit hallucinogenic drug.)
LSE: Depending on context: London Stock Exchange or London School of Economics.
LSV: Low-Speed Vehicle (LSV) See also: NEV
LTC: Depending on context: Lieutenant Colonel or License to Carry. See also: CCW.
LTCM: Long-Term Capital Management. The infamous derivatives hedge fund that went bankrupt in 1999. LTCM had only about $4 billion in net asset value, with assets totaling over $100 billion but they had about $1.4 trillion in derivatives bets on the table when the house of cards collapsed.
LVC: Laser Vision Correction.
M or m:  Meter
M1 Garand: The U.S. Army's primary battle rifle of WWII and the Korean conflict. It is semi-automatic, chambered in .30-06, and uses a top-loading 8 round en bloc clip that ejects after the last round is fired. This rifle is commonly called the Garand. (After the name of its inventor.) Not to be confused with the U.S. M1 Carbine, another semi-auto of the same era, which shoots a far less powerful pistol-class cartridge.
M1A1 Abrahms: The United State’s current main battle tank, with a 120mm cannon.
M1 Carbine: The U.S. Army semi-auto carbine issued during WWII and the Korean conflict. Mainly issued to officers and second echelon troops such as artillerymen, for self-defense. Shoots .30 U.S. Carbine, an intermediate (pistol class) .30 caliber cartridge. More than six million were manufactured, and several hundred thousand were released as surplus by the DCM in the 1960s. See also: M2 Carbine.
M1A: The civilian (semi-auto only) version of the U.S. Army M14 7.62mm NATO rifle. See my FAQ on this subject.
M14:  U.S. Army issue 7.62mm NATO selective fire battle rifle. These rifles are still issued is small numbers, primarily to US Army designated marksmen and as US Navy deck rifles. The civilian semi-auto only equivalent is the M1A. See also: M21.
M16:  U.S. Army issue 5.56mm NATO selective fire battle rifle. The current standard variant is the M16A2 that has improved sight and three shot burst control. The civilian semi-auto only equivalent is the AR-15.
M1911:  The Model 1911 Colt semi-auto pistol (and clones thereof), usually chambered in .45 ACP. See my FAQ on this subject.
M2 Bradley: The U.S. Army's current tracked APC.
M2 Carbine: The selective fire variant of the U.S. M1 Carbine.
M21: The match grade sniper version of the U.S. Army M14 7.62mm NATO rifle
M203:  The current U.S. Army issue 40mm grenade launcher. These single-shot launchers are mounted beneath the barrels of some M16 rifles and M4 carbines.
M240B:  The current U.S. Army issue 7.62 mm NATO belt fed light machinegun.
M4:  U.S. Army issue 5.56mm NATO selective fire carbine.  (A shorter version of the M16 rifle, with a 14.5" barrel and collapsing stock.) Earlier issue M16 carbine variants had designations such as XM177E2 and CAR-15.)
M4gery: (Spoken "Em Forgery") Civilian (semi-auto only) version of the U.S. Army issue 5.56mm NATO carbine. (Typically with a 16" barrel instead of the military issue 14.5" barrel--to meet the U.S. 16" minimum rifle barrel length requirement--and a collapsing stock.)
M60:  The semi-obsolete U.S. Army issue 7.62 mm NATO belt fed light machinegun. It utilized some design elements of the German MG-42 LMG.
M9:  The U.S. Army issue version of the Beretta M92 semi-auto 9mm pistol.
M&A: Mergers and Acquisitions
MAC: Depending on context, Military Airlift Command or Military Armament Corporation. (The latter was the original manufacturer of the Ingram M-10 submachinegun--commonly called a "MAC-10", although that nomenclature was never used by the company.)
Mag: Depending on context, short for magazine, magnum, or magnesium.
Mag Dump: Expending an entire magazine of ammunition rapidly--in either semi - or full-automatic fire. Not a recommended tactic!
MAG-LITE: A popular American brand of sturdy flashlights with an aluminum casing.
maH: Mil-Amp Hours (Battery capacity rating.)
Mall Ninja: Someone that values style over substance. See also: Arm Chair Commando
MAM:  Military Age Male
MAP: Minimum Advertised Price
MARC: Meal, Alternative Regionally Customized. An MRE-equivalent originally developed for WOT prisoners at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba
MARPAT: MARine PATtern. The U.S.M.C's new "digital" pattern camouflage uniform, replacing the BDU. See also: ACU and BDU.
MARS:  Military Affiliate Radio System
MAST:  Modernized Appropriate Sustainable Technology. Describes rebuilt, restored, updated, and modernized old technology from times past that frequently still closely resembles the original from the past but also incorporates modern knowledge, craftsmanship, technology, and/or materials to make it more functional and efficient -- technology that can still be repaired, rebuilt, and/or totally manufactured new by one or more of the various highly skilled and specialized cottage industries within your community or region This may include cottage industries and highly skilled craftsmen and technicians in nearby communities that are within your commuting distance. The MAST acronym was coined by Paul Olson.
MAT:  Depending on context, Motion Activated Transmitter or Military Air Transport.
MBITR: Multi-Band Inter/Intra Team Radio (AN/PRC-148)
MBR: Main Battle Rifle
MBS: Mortgage Backed Security/Securities. See also: CMBS and RMBS
M-C-C-Ls:  Murdering Commie Cannibal Looters (Coined by JWR)
MacGyver or MacGyvered: To improvise, using reading available household materials. (Term derived from the television series MacGyver.)
McMansion: The derogatory term used for a large, outwardly ostentatious house built on a small lot. See also: Contrapreneur and Flipping.
MCW/LRP: Meal, Cold Weather/Long Range Patrol (MCW/LRP)
M.D. or MD:  In most contexts, Medical Doctor
MDR-TB:  Moderately Drug Resistant Tuberculosis. See also: XDR-TB
ME: Muzzle Energy (Ballistics.)
MEDCAP: Medical Civic Action Programs .
Medevac:  Medical Evacuation. (Typically via helicopter.)
Meds:  Medications
MEK: Methyl ethyl ketone
MELIOS:  Mini Eye-Safe Laser Infrared Observation Set (AN/PVS-6)
Memsahib:  The late Mrs. Rawles, 1964-2009, RIP, In God's Loving Arms
Meprolight:  A maker of Tritium-lit sights and scopes
Meth:  A contraction for methamphetamine.
METT-T: Mission,+Enemy,+Terrain,+Troops+Time Available
MEW:  Mortgage Equity Withdrawal.
MFC:  Military Fuel Container. The standard 20 liter plastic fuel can that replaced the traditional five gallon steel "Jerry" or "Blitz" can, for US military organizations. These new containers are commonly called "Scepter" cans, after the name of their main manufacturer.
mg:  Milligram
Mg:  Megagram
MG:  Depending on context, milligram or machinegun.
MGTEOTWAWKI: Multi-Generational The End of the World as we Know It. (A derivation of the TEOTWAWKI acronym coined by Mike Medintz) (Spoken “Tee-ought-walk-ee”).
MHSA:  Mine Safety and Health Administration
MI or M.I.:  In most contexts: Military Intelligence. In the context of Robert A. Heinlein's fictional writings: Mobile Infantry.
MIA: Missing In Action.
MICH:  Modular/Integrated Communications Helmet
MIG Metal Inert Gas (welding.) Also called Gas Metal Arc Welding (GMAW)
MILES: Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System. Laser tag for grunts.
Military Crest:  A position on a hill or mountain that is near the summit but low enough to avoid be seen "skylined" when standing.
Mil-Dot: A type of telescopic rifle sight scope reticle with precisely sized and positioned black dots spaced along the center of both the horizontal and vertical crosshairs. These dots allow accurate range estimation.
MIL-SPEC: Military specification. (A product made to the demanding standards of military organizations.)
Milsurp: Slang acronym for military surplus.
MIM: Metal Injection Molding
Mini-14:  A 5.56mm NATO semi-auto carbine made by Ruger.
MIRV: Multiple Independently targetable Reentry Vehicle. See also: RV.
misc.survivalism:  The Usenet newsgroup dedicated to survivalist topics (It has now sadly degenerated into endless flame wars.)
MIT: Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MITL: Man in the Loop.
ML:  Milliliters.
MLM: Multi-Level Marketing
MLR: Main Line of Resistance
MLS: Multiple Listing Service (Real estate.)
MMG:  Medium Machinegun.(Such as the M240.)
mmHg: Millimeters of Mercury (Measure of barometric pressure.)
MOA: Minute of Angle (1.047" at 100 yards)--a measurement of rifle accuracy)
MOAB: Mother of All Bailouts (Acronym coined by JWR in March, 2008.)
MOBEX: Mobilization Exercise.
Mods:  Modifications
MOI: Mechanism of Injury
MOLLE:  Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment
Molon Labe: Greek for "Come and Take [It]" --the rallying cry of the modern Second Amendment Movement. Also the title of a novel by Boston T. Party.
Money Pit: The Memsahib's beloved saddle horse.
Monoculture: A local or regional agricultural economy that is dependent on a single crop. (Such as corn in some parts of the Midwest.)
MOPP:  Mission Oriented Protective Posture
MOS:  Depending on context, Military Occupational Specialty or Metal Oxide Semiconductor (microcircuits). See also: ASI and OSC.
Mosin-Nagant:  ("Vintovka Mosina") A sturdy bolt action rifle that first saw service in Czarist Russia and later in the Soviet Union, China, Finland, and several other nations, up until the late 1940s. Mosin-Nagants are now available in large numbers as quite affordable military surplus in the United States and Canada. These rifles and carbines are chambered in the powerful, rimmed .30 caliber 7.62x54r cartridge. This cartridge has more energy than .30-06.
Mouse Gun:  Derisive term for a rifle chambered in 5.56mm NATO/.223 Remington. (JWR prefers .308 Winchesters.) See my FAQ on this subject.
MOUT: Military Operations on Urbanized Terrain
MP3: A popular MPEG-basd file compression format used for audio and video.
MPG or m.p.g.:  Miles per gallon.
MPH or m.p.h.:  Miles per hour.
MPS or Mps: Meters Per Second. See also: FPS.
MRE: Meal, Ready to Eat (U.S. Army field rations) a.k.a.: "Meals Rejected by Ethiopians", "Meals Rarely Eaten" and “Three lies for the price of one”—viz., “It isn’t a meal, it’s not ready, and you can’t eat it.”)  See also: CM.
MREA: Midwest Renewable Energy Association
MRI: Magnetic Resonance Imaging
MROD: Manual Reverse Osmosis Desalinator
MRSA: Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus
MS:  Mint State (Coin Grade.) See also: AU.
MSA: Depending on context Mine Safety Administration or Metropolitan Statistical Area
MSDS: Material Safety Data Sheet(s). Used in US industry to identify toxic or otherwise dangerous materials.
MSG:  Monosodium Glutamate
MSSA: Military Style Semiautomatic. The term used in New Zealand to designate paramilitary-looking rifles or shotguns.
MSM:  Mainstream Media
MSR: Main Supply Route
MSRA: Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (bacteria)
MSRP: Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price
MST: Mountain Standard Time.
MT or Mt:  Megaton. Most commonly used in describing the yield of nuclear weapons.
MTBE: Methyl Tertiary Butyl Ether. A toxic chemical used to oxygenate gasoline. MTBE now contaminates the groundwater in most of California.
MTBF:  Mean Time Between Failures. See also: UMTBF.
MTOE: Modified Table of Organization & Equipment
MTTR:  Mean Time to Repair
MTV: Medium Tactical Vehicle (Steyr 5 Ton 6x6)
MURS: Multi Use Radio Service. This a VHF 2-way radio service that does not require a license. See also: FRS and GMRS.
MV: Muzzle Velocity (Ballistics.)
MVPA: Military Vehicle Preservation Association
MWP: Medieval Warm Period
MWR: Morale, Welfare and Recreation
MZB: Mutant Zombie Biker
N95:  A typical N95 mask is a lightweight respirator that covers just the nose and mouth and provides decent protection from viruses such as influenza. The N95 designation means that the mask blocks about 95 percent of particles that are 0.3 microns in size or larger. This is larger than the dimension of most viruses, but most viruses are carried through the air on particles of dust, saliva, skin, or mucous, which are much larger than 0.3 microns.
N/A:  Not Applicable
N.A.: North America
NACL or NaCl:  Sodium Chloride--table salt (In some contexts, a saline IV solution.)
NAEP: National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). Periodic public school tests in reading, mathematics, science, writing, U.S. history, civics, geography, and the arts.
NAFTA: North American Free Trade Agreement.
NAIS: National Animal Identification System. This scheme will use RFID biochips.  See The Memsahib's article on the subject. See also: RFID.
Nanny State: The collective weight of legally-mandated actions and conditions on the conduct of average citizens. JWR cites California and New Jersey as typifying the Nanny State mentality, with regulations on everything from haircut specifications to compulsory attendance for Kindergartners
NAR: National Association of Realtors.
NASA: National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
NASD: National Association of Securities Dealers
NASDAQ: National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation(s)
NATO: North Atlantic Treaty Organization
Natural Gasoline:  See Drip Oil.
Nav: Slang for navigation.
Nav Aids: Navigation Aids. (Aviation term.)
NAV: Net Asset Value (Investing.)
NBC: Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical warfare. See also: CBR.
NBCE: Nuclear, Biological, Chemical, and Explosive
NCO: Non-Commissioned Officer
NCOIC: Non-Commissioned Officer In Charge
NCUSIF: National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund. See also: FDIC and FSLIC.
ND: Negligent Discharge
NDA: Non-disclosure agreement
NEO: Near-Earth Object
NEV: Neighborhood Electric Vehicle. See also:; LSV.
NFA: National Firearms Act. See also: AOW, BATFE, Class 3, SBR, and SBS.
NFORBRES:  Net Free or Borrowed Reserves (NFORBRES)- a key Federal Reserve statistic on available bank reserves.
NFPA: National Fire Protection Association
NG:  Natural Gas
NGC: Numismatic Guaranty Corporation. An independent professional numismatic coin grading service.  See also: PCGS and Slab.
NGIC: National Ground Intelligence Center
NGO: Non-Government Organization. (Such as a private charity.)
NiCd: Nickel Cadmium (rechargeable batteries)
NICS: National Instant Check System. (The US firearms purchasing database for FFL holders.) See also: FFL.
Night vision: See Starlight.
NIJ: National Institute of Justice (Sets technical standards for body armor.)
NICS: National Instant Check System.
NiMH:  Nickel Metal Hydride (rechargeable batteries)
NIMS: National Incident Management System
NIMSS: Not in My Solar System
NINJA: No Income, No Job or Assets
NIPP: National Infrastructure Protection Plan. (See also: DHS.)
NKJV:  New King James Version of The Bible
NLOS: Non-Line of Sight
NLP: Neuro-Linguistic Programming
NMCI: Navy and Marine Corps Internet
nmi: Nautical Miles
NNEMPW: Non Nuclear Electro Magnetic Pulse Weapon
NOAA: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (A U.S. Federal government agency, best known for supplying weather data)
NOD: Depending on context, Notice of Default or Night Observation Device (See: Starlight.)
NOLA: New Orleans, Louisiana
NOLS: National Outdoor Leadership School
Nomagram: A scale for measuring nuclear weapons effects and radiation dissipation
Nomex: A trade name for Dupont's Aramid Nylon fiber fabric that is resistant to burning. Because of its properties, Nomex material is often used in aviation flight suits
NONEL: Non-Electric Blasting Cap (Traditional fuse type cap)
NORAD: North Aerospace Defense Command
NOS: Depending on context: Network Operating System (packet radio), New Old Stock (merchandise), or Nitrous Oxide(engine modification)
NPK: Nitrogen, Phosphorus and Potassium. Expressed numerically on garden fertilizer bags.
NPOA: Natural Point of Aim
NPR: National Public Radio. (or "National Pravda Radio", as it is called by some of its detractors.)
NRA:  National Rifle Association
NRA-ILA: National Rifle Association-Institute for Legislative Action
NRC: Nuclear Regulatory Commission
NRCS: National Resources Conservation Service (formerly called the Soil Conservation Service. Part of the USDA.) See also: CRP and USDA.
NRO: National Reconnaissance Office
NRP: National Response Plan
NRR: Noise Reduction Rating (Used for ear plugs and ear muffs.)
NSA: National Security Agency
NSAID: Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflamatory Drug
NSF: Depending on context, National Sanitation Foundation or National Science Federation.
NSN: National Stock Number
NSPD: National Security Presidential Directive
NSSF: National Shooting Sports Foundation
NSTDC: Nano Silver-Titanium Dioxide Coating (NSTDC)
NTC:  Depending on context National Training Center (Fort Irwin, California), or Negative Temperature Coefficient --typically in reference to In-rush Current Limitier thermistors. See also: ICL.
NTU: Nephalometer Turbidity Unit of measurement used in a key USEPA water quality standard.
NVA: North Vietnamese Army
NVD: Night Vision Device
NVG: Night Vision Goggles
NVIS: Near Vertical Incidence Skywave.
NWO: New World Order
NWR: National Weather Radio. See also: WX and SAME.
NYBOT: New York Board of Trade
NYC: New York City
NYMEX: New York Mercantile Exchange. See also: CBOT.
NYPD: New York Police Department
NYSE: New York Stock Exchange
O2: Oxygen
O2 SAT: Oxygen Saturation
OAL or O.A.L.: Overall Length
OBC: Officer Basic Course
OBE: Overcome by Events (In the context of SurvivalBlog, OBE means something that is out of date, no longer existent, or no longer relevant.)
OB-GYN: Obstetrician-Gynecologist
OBL: Osama Bin-Laden. See also: AQ, WTC and 9-11.
OBTW:  Oh, By The Way
OCOKA: Observation and fields of fire, Cover and Concealment, Obstacles, Key terrain, Avenues of approach
OCONUS: Outside the Continental United States
OC: Depending on context Oleoresin Capsicum. ("Pepper Spray") or Observer-Controller (military training exercises.)
OCD: Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.
OCS: Officer Candidate School
OD, O.D.: Depending on Context: Olive Drab, Overdose, or Outside Diameter
ODA: Operational Detachment Alpha--a Special Forces team, formerly known as an A-Team
ODAC: Oil Depletion Analysis Centre (in England.)
OEC: Outdoor Emergency Care
OECD: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
OEF:  Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan)
OEM: Original Equipment Manufacturer
Off Grid: A home that is not connected to the power grid. Typically powered by PVs, wind power, or micro-hydro generators, or gas/diesel/propane gensets.
OIC: Officer In Charge
OIF: Operation Iraqi Freedom
OISM: Oregon Institute of Science and Medicine
OJT: On the Job Training
O-Level:  Operator Level
One Percenter:  99% of bikers are not criminals. It is that remaining one percent that is a threat, even before TSHTF. They have no compunctions about killing, and with motorcycles they are a highly mobile threat, capable of covering long distances with just a few gallons of gasoline.
One Trip Bugout. In the event of a major disaster, you may have the opportunity to make one trip to your retreat location before roads become impassible. (Due to road blocks, road closures by law enforcement, or stalled traffic jams)
OOB:  Order of Battle
OODA: Observation, Orientation, Decision, Action (term coined and concept developed by Col. John Boyd, USAF (Ret.), usually called an OODA Loop). An explanation can be found at http://www.mindsim.com/MindSim/Corporate/OODA.html
OP: Observation Post:
OPD: Overfill Protection Device. OPD valves are used on many propane tanks.
OPEC: Oil Producing and Exporting Countries trading cartel.
Op-Ed: Opinion/Editorial
Open Market Operations: The Open Market Desk of the New York Federal Reserve Bank has the task of controlling the reserves in the banking system as required to hold the Fed funds rate on target. It does so mainly through repurchase agreements with authorized dealers. The Fed buys or sells Treasury securities with a promise to reverse the transaction at a later date. Commonly known as repos, these are basically short-term collateralized loans at a negotiated interest rate. (Definition courtesy of W.F. Hummel.)
OPFOR: Opposing Forces. The "bad guys" in U.S. military training exercises. Also called the Red Force. See also: BLUFOR.
OPORD: Operations Order
Ops, OPS: Operations
OPSEC: Operational Security
OPTEMPO: Operational Tempo
Option: An agreement that grants the options buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell an asset or commodity at a specified “strike” price on or before a certain date. A call option grants the right to buy at the specified strike price, and so it pays off if the market price for the underlying item rises above that mark. A put option grants the right to sell as the strike price and pays off when the market price falls below the strike price. On the other hand, an option seller or “options writer” has the obligation to pay when the options buyer exercises their right. Options are traded on both exchanges and OTC markets. For example, party A buys a call that grants them the right to buy 1 million Euros at $0.9400 in September. (Definition courtesy of The Derivatives Primer)
OR: Operating Room
ORS: Oral Rehydration Solution. Sold under brands names like Pedialyte.
OS: Operating System.
OSB: Oriented Strand Board (a type of plywood-like sheathing.)
OSC: Officer Specialty Code. See also: ASI and MOS.
OSOM: Out of Sight, Out of Mind. See also: HIPS.
OSS: Office of Strategic Services. The WWII progenitor of both the CIA and the U.S. Army Special Forces. See also: SOE
OTC: Over The Counter (Drugs, Stocks)
OTT: Over The Top
OW: Off-World. (In outer space.)
OWB: Outside-the-waistband (pistol holster design) See also: IWB
oz:  Ounce
Oz: Slang for Australia
Ozzie: Slang for Australian. See also: Aussie.
+P: The designation used by many manufacturers for extra velocity ("hot") pistol ammunition.  Note that not all handguns can handle +P loads. (Check your owner's manual first!)
P2P: Depending on context: Point to Point, Person to Person, or Peer to Peer.
P38: Depending on context: A compact military can opener that can be carried on a key ring, or a Walther 9mm pistol, or WWII fighter plane manufactured by Lockheed.
P7: (Numeric acronym coined by JWR) See: PPPPPPP (P7 is also the designation of a highly regarded HK pistol. I recommend the P7-M13 for someone with lavish budget.
PA: Depending on context Physician's Assistant or Public Address (system amplifier)
PAO2: Arterial partial pressure of oxygen
PAC: Political Action Committee.
PACE: Primary, Alternate, Contingency, and Emergency. (Survival gear redundancy.)
Packet: Amateur radio AX.25 data communications, a structured group of binary digits in a prearranged sequence containing synchronization, address, control an error-checking data. A packet is a block of many characters (or bytes) which are sent together along with a few extra characters (overhear/checksum) used to guarantee that the data is completely error free. The packet includes addressing information so that the receiving station knows the source and destination of the Packet.
PACO2: Arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide.
PADI: Professional Association of Diving Instructors.
PAMP: Produits Artistiques de Métaux Précieux. PAMP is a gold, silver and platinum group metals refinery based at Castel San Pietro, in Switzerland near the Italian border
Panic Azimuth:  A compass bearing used to get folks to a rally point.
Para: Short for paratrooper. Refers both to the soldiers themselves, and the type of rifles that they often carry. (Typically with a folding stock.)
Paracord: Slang for parachute cord--a heavy duty nylon twine that has thousands of uses and can be disassembled for uses as sturdy thread. Also called 550 cord.
Parts Kit: A set of parts for a firearm, usually minus the receiver. Parts kits are typically derived from military surplus weapons that would not otherwise be importable because they were originally capable of fully automatic fire. Since in the U.S. only receivers are subject to Federal controls, a parts kit can transferred without any FFL paperwork. Parts kits are typically used by hobbyists to assemble a complete semi-auto only firearm, or are kept as spare parts for a complete rifle of the same model.
“Patriots”: JWR's first novel--”Patriots: Surviving the Coming Collapse” (Now out of print and quite scarce)
PASGT: Personal Armor System for Ground Troops (Often misspelled PAGST, because that is how it is typically spoken.)
PAH: Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons. A carcinogenic compound found in used motor crankcase oil.
PAMP: Produits Artistiques Métaux Précieux. A Swiss gold refinery; makers of the Pamp-Suisse bars and ingots.
Passive Solar: A building that uses a room or part of the build ing as a solar collector, as opposed to active solar, such as PV.
PAWS: The Protection of Animal Welfare Statute (PAWS)--designated S. 1139 / H.R.2669 would make hunting dog breeders and sellers subject to USDA licensing.
PB: Prussian Blue.
PBGC: Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation
PBS: Public Broadcasting Service
PC: Politically Correct. In other contexts:  Personal Computer.
PCGS: Professional Coin Grading Service. An independent professional numismatic coin grading service.  See also: NGC and Slab.
PCI: Pre-combat inspection(s)
PCP: Depending on context: Pre-Charged Pneumatic (air rifles), Primary Care Physician, or 1-(1-phenylcyclohexyl) piperidine (or more commonly Phencyclidine). The latter is an animal tranquilizer that is sometimes misused by drug addicts, because of its hallucinogenic effects.
PCS: Permanent Change of Station. (Military transfer.) See also: TDY and ETS.
PCM: Powertrain Control Module
PD or P.D.:  Police Department
PDA:  Personal Digital Assistant
PDF:  Portable Document Format. A common file format used for viewing text and graphics files, developed by Adobe software.
PDR:  Physician's Desk Reference. (A standard reference on prescription drugs.)
PDW:  Depending on context: Personal Defense Weapon (HK MP-5 variant) or Pulse Descriptor Word (ELINT.)
PE or P.E.:  Physical Education
P/E:  Price to Earnings ratio.(A measure of stock valuation.)
Peak Load: The maximum load, or usage, of electrical power occurring in a given period of time, typically a day.
Peaknik:  An adherent of Peak Oil Theory.
Peak Oil:  See: Hubbert’s Peak.
Pectin:  A natural jellying agent that is found in some fruits.
Percolation (or “Perk”) Test: A test of the soil to determine if it will absorb and drain water adequately to use a septic leach field system for sewage disposal.
Perp:  Slang for perpetrator.
PERSCOM: The U.S. Army's personnel command. (The folks that make the duty assignments.)
PET: Polyethylene
PETE: Polyethylene Terephtalate (a common plastic used for beverage bottles)
PETN: Pentaerythritol Tetranitrate. A stable, flexible high-order explosive. The filler used in primacord (detonating cord.)
PEWS: Platoon Early Warning System
PF:  Protection Factor. (Usually in the context of fallout protection)
PFD:  Personal Flotation Device. (Typically, a life vest.)
PGP:  Pretty Good Privacy (Encryption freeware.)
pH (scale): The pH scale is a measure of hydrogen ion concentration. The scale runs from 0 to 14 with the middle point (pH 7) being neutral (neither acidic or basic).Any pH number greater than 7 is considered a base and any pH number less than 7 is considered an acid. 0 is the strongest acid and 14 is the strongest base.
Phantom Load: A device that consumes energy even when switched off, such as the digital clock on a VCR.
PHTLS:  Pre-Hospital Trauma Life Support
PID: Positive IDentification (typically, of an enemy combatant). See also: ROE.
PIK: Payment in Kind
PIR: Depending on context, Passive Infrared or Priority Intelligence Requirement.
PIT: Pursuit Immobilization Technique. A vehicle ramming maneuver, used by police. In a PIT, the front bumper of a pursuit car is aimed at the left rear quarter panel of the car being pursued, to spin the car off the road.
PL: See: CTCSS
PLC: Platoon Leader's Course (USMC).
PLL: Depending on context Prescribed Load List (military unit mobilization) or Phase Lock Loop (circuitry used in radio transmitters & receivers to reduce the number of crystals needed to generate accurate and stable transmit & receive frequencies.)
PM: Depending on context, Preventative Maintenance, Preventive Medicine, Post-Meridian, Precious Metal(s), or Prime Minister.
PMI: Private Mortgage Insurance
PMO: Postal Money Order.
PMS: Depending on context, Pre-Menstrual Syndrome or Professor of Military Science (ROTC unit commanders).
PO or P.O.: Post Office.
POA: Depending on context,  Program of Action or Power of Attorney
POC: Point of Contact
POF: Pakistan Ordnance Factory, makers of HK clones (made under license on HK tooling.) Some of their products are marketed in the US by POF-USA.
POI:  Point of Impact
POL: Petroleum, Oils, and Lubricants
Pollyanna: Someone that is in denial that TEOTWAWKI could occur and remains cheerfully optimistic, even confronted with evidence to the contrary. The "Pollyanna" label was popularized in the two years preceding Y2K. It is sometimes rendered as "Polly", for short. (Pollyanna was a 1913 novel by Eleanor H. Porter that is a classic of children's literature.)
POO:  Point of Origin
POP:  Depending on context Point of Purchase (credit card transaction processing), Point of Presence (computer networks), or Preparedness Oriented Person.
POS:  Piece of Schumer. (See also: Schumer.)
POTUS:  President Of The United States
POV:  Depending on context: Privately Owned Vehicle (US military term for a private conveyance) or Point of View (film-making). See also: BOV
POW:  Depending on context: Prisoner of War or Personally Owned Weapon.
PPE: Personal Protection Equipment
PPM or ppm: Parts per million
PPP: Point to Point Protocol (Internet networking.)
PPPP: The Pioche Professional Polymer Pistolero. (One of SurvivalBlog's correspondents--an instructor at a well-known firearms training academy.
PPPPPPP: Poor Prior Planning Produces Pitifully Poor Performance. Also called: P7 in JWR's lexicon.
PPT: Plunge Protection Team. Also known as the President’s Working Group on Markets (PWG).
PR:  Depending on context: Public Relations or Puerto Rico.
Pre-1899:  Guns made before 1899--not classified as "firearms" under Federal law. See my FAQ on this subject.
Pre-1965, Pre-'65: See Junk Silver.
Prep: Slang for prepare.
Prepper: Slang for prepared individual. (A Survivalist.)
Preps: Slang for preparations.
PRI-D:  A commercial fuel additive that extends the storage life of diesel fuel and biodiesel. It includes an anti-bacterial.
PRI-G:  A commercial fuel additive that extends the storage life of gasoline. See also: STA-BIL.
Primacord: See: Det Cord.
Primary Targets: These are mostly missile silos, bomber bases, submarine bases, and command and control (C2) centers. The enemy must neutralize these assets immediately to prevent or minimize retaliation.
PRK: Depending on context, People's Republic of Kalifornia or photorefractive keratectomy (vision corrective eye surgery.)
PRN: "Take, as needed" (Pharmacy term.)
Projo: Shooter's slang for projectile. (A bullet.)
ProMED: Program for Monitoring Infectious Disease. Part of the Federation of American Scientists (FAS)
PSD:  Personal Security Detail
PSI or p.s.i.: [Pounds] per square inch.
PSIG or p.s.i.g.: [Pounds] per square inch gauge.
PSK: Phase Shift Keying. See also: FSK.
PSP:  Depending on context Pointed Soft Point (bullet design) or Pierced Steel Planking (runway mat material.)
PST: Pacific Standard Time.
PSYOPs:  Psychological Operations
Pt.: Patient (medical)
PT: Depending on context: Physical (Fitness) Training, or Physical Therapy (Medical)
PTA: Parent-Teacher Association
PTB: Powers That Be
PTO: Power Takeoff. A physical mounting for running auxiliary equipment, turned by an engine. PTOs are found on most farm tractors and some trucks. They are used to power accessories like post hole diggers, manure spreaders, and snow blowers.
PTSD: Post Traumatic Stress Disorder
“Pulling Through”:  JWR’s first "spec" screenplay--available for free download. Also the title of an excellent nuke survival science fiction novel by Dean Ing.
PV: Photovoltaic . Photovoltaic power panels that converts energy from sunshine to DC electricity.
PVC: Poly-Vinyl Chloride. The ubiquitous white plastic water pipe used in the U.S. and Canada. See also: ABS.
PWG: President’s Working Group on Markets (PWG). Commonly called the Plunge Protection Team (PPT).
PX: Post Exchange. See also BX.
QD:  Quick Detachable
QDR: Quadrennial Defense Review
QRF: Quick Reaction Force
QRM: Man-made interference on a radio frequency, intentional or not.
QRN: Natural interference on a radio frequency. Lightning, solar noise (very week signal work) are examples of natural interference.
QRP: Low power amateur radio operation, usually 5 watts output or 10 watts input power.
QSL:  To acknowledge receipt. Commonly used to indicate "I understand", "I copied your transmission (or report) all Okay". Also used as a term for sending cards by mail to confirm a two way contact with a station. (A "QSL Card")
QSO:  Two way conversation. (Ham radio.)
Quad: slang for a four-wheel All Terrain Vehicle (ATV). See also ATV and UATV.
R4: See: AK.
R: Depending on context: Rads (a.k.a. Roentgens), or R (Value)--the insulating value of building materials.
RA: Depending on context: Room Air (medical term) or Resident Adviser.
RAAF: Royal Australian Air Force
RACES: Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service
Rad or RAD: Radiation Absorbed Dose. See also: Gray
RAF: Royal Air Force (UK)
Raw Deal, The: JWR's term for the plethora of new taxes and high inflation that will be instituted to over the cost of the Mother of All Bailouts (MOAB) and the new regulatory and "recovery" agencies that are likely to be established by the Democratic majority in congress in the nascent Second Great Depression. (With due acknowledgement to FDR biographer Burton Folsom, this term was re-coined by JWR on October 20, 2008 to described the period beginning in 2009.)
Rawlesian: Those who subscribe to the survivalist philosophy of James Wesley, Rawles.
Rawles Ranch: The full-time home/retreat for the Rawles family, located in The Un-named Western State (TUWS). The ranch is small but has plentiful game and it borders public lands, providing the family a several million acre "big back yard." OPSEC dictates that we don't mention the locale of the Rawles Ranch. It may sound slightly absurd, but guests and consulting clients that visit the ranch are required to sign a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). The Rawles Ranch is also sometimes jokingly called La Casa de la Mañana Grande. See also: JASBORR, TUM, TUR, TUROM, TUT, and TUWS.
RBC: Depending on context Retroactive Birth Control or Red Blood Cells
R&D: Research and Development
RDD: Radiological Dispersion Device. A "dirty bomb" is a variety of RDD.
RDF: Radio Direction Finding
RDS. or rds.: Contraction for "Rounds" (Cartridges.)
Rebar or Re-bar: Reinforcing Bar. (Steel, for concrete.)
Red Force: See: OPFOR.
Re-fi: Slang contraction for loan re-financing.
Refugee Lines of Drift: See: Channelized Areas.
Reg: Slang for regulation.
REI: Recreational Equipment, Incorporated. A membership store that sells outdoor gear.
REIT: Real Estate Investment Trust
REM: Roentgen equivalent, man. A measurement used to quantify the amount of radiation that will produce biological effects. See also: Gray and Rad.
REMM:  Radiation Event Medical Management.
Remote Retreat: See: Isolated Retreat.
REO: Real Estate Owned. Usually refers to properties that are owned by an institution or a government agency.
Retreat: In the context of SurvivalBlog, a place of refuge that is prepared in advance. Usually in lightly-populated rural regions. Also sometimes called a Bug=Out Location. (See also: BOL.)
RF:  Depending on context, Radio Frequency (waves) or Rimfire.
RFID: Radio Frequency Identification. An identification tag that can be read from a distance.  One variety of  RFID is an implantable biochip.
RFT: Run-flat tire
R.I.G.:  Rust Inhibitive Grease.(The brand name of one of the best brands of grease on the market.) See also: Silica Gel and VCI.
RKBA: The right to keep and bear arms.
RMBS: Residential Mortgage Backed Security/Securities. See also: MBS and CMB.
RMS: Root Mean Square
RN: Registered Nurse
ROE: Rules of Engagement. See also: PID.
Roentgen. See: Gray
Rock-'n-roll: Slang term for full automatic fire. See also: Group Therapy.
ROI: Return on Investment. See also: EROEI
ROK: Republic of Korea.
ROM:  Depending on context: Read-only memory or range of motion (first aid and occupational therapy)
RON: Remain Over Night (location)
RoRR: “Rawles on Retreats and Relocation” a nonfiction book by JWR
ROTC: Reserve Officer Training Corps. See also: USMA.
ROTFL: Rolling on the floor laughing.
ROTFLMAO: Rolling on the floor laughing my a** off.
Round:  A commonly used term for a rifle of pistol cartridge "round of ammunition."
Rover Packs:  Organized gangs of looters. See also: Killer Caravans
RP:  Rally Point
RPG:  Depending on context Rocket Propelled Grenade or Role Playing Game
RPK:  The light machinegun variant of the AK family that features a longer barrel and a bipod. The original RPK shoots the intermediate 7.62 x 39mm cartridge, while the more recent RPK-74 shoots the 5.45 x 39mm cartridge. See also: AK, AK-47, and AK-74.
RPM:  Revolutions Per Minute
RSS: Real Simple Syndication, or in some contexts: Received Signal Strength
RSTA:  Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition
RTC:  Resolution Trust Corporation.
RTTY:  Radio-teletype.
RTV:  Room Temperature Vulcanizing.
Ruger:  Sturm, Ruger & Co., Inc. An American firearms manufacturer.
Rule 157:  See FAS 157.
Rule 303 / Rule 308:  Civilian Law Enforcement, post TEOTWAWKI ("Rule 303" in Canada and Oz, and "Rule 308" in the Americas)
RUM: Remington Ultra Magnum.
RV: In the context of nuclear weapons, a re-entry vehicle—a method of delivering a nuclear weapon. In the context of survival retreats, a recreational vehicle. In the context of the film Dr. Strangelove, both!
RVN: Republic of Vietnam.
RWR: Depending on context: Radar Warning Receiver or Ronald Wilson Reagan.
RWVA:  Revolutionary War Veterans Association (www.rwva.org)
Rx or RX: Prescribed or prescription medicine.
S1:  Personnel (Military staff function. Called G1 at higher echelons.)
S2:  Intelligence (Military staff function. Called G2 at higher echelons.)
S3: Operations and Training (Military staff function. Called G3 at higher echelons.)
S4:  Logistics (Military staff function. Called G4 at higher echelons.)
S5: Civil-Military Operations (Military staff function. Called G5 at higher echelons.)
S6: Signal Operations (Military staff function. Called G6 at higher echelons.)
SA or S.A.:  Depending on context: Single Action, Springfield Armory, South Africa, South America, or Finnish ("Suomi") Army
SAAMI: Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers Institute, Inc.
SA-80:  The UK military's 5.56mm "bullpup" infantry carbine. Their magazines are interchangeable with M16/AR-15 magazines.
SAC: Strategic Air Command. See also: USAF.
SAD: Seasonal Affected Disorder.
SAFN-49: See: FN-49.
SALUTE:  The standard S2 report format
SAME: Specific Area Message Encoding . (See also: NWR.)
SAMPLE: (Medical patient history.) Signs and symptoms, allergies, medications, pertinent past medical history, last oral intake and events leading up to the medical intervention event.
Sam's Club: An American membership "warehouse" type grocery store chain that sells every thing from canned hams to home computers. A sister company of Wal-Mart. Most items are sold in case lots. See also: COSTCO.
SAPI: Small Arms Protective Insert (The ceramic insert used in some body armor.)
SAR: Search and Rescue
SAR-8:  Springfield Armory's clone of the HK91 rifle.
SAR: Search and Rescue or Suspicious Activity Report. In the US, a SAR is a secret filing, triggered by any financial activity the government deems unusual. Specifically, any group of transactions totaling $5,000 or more that "is not the sort in which the particular customer would normally be expected to engage."
SARS: Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome
SAS: Special Air Service (British Special Forces.)
SASE: Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope
SASS: Single Action Shooter's Society
SAT: Scholastic Aptitude Test. In other contexts: Satellite
SAW: Squad Automatic Weapon (The M249, a.k.a. the FN "Minimi."  See also: LMG.)
SBA: Small Business Administration (A US Federal government agency.)
SBCT: Stryker Brigade Combat Team
SBI: Special Background Investigation
SBR: Short-Barreled Rifle (BATFE classification.)
SBS: Depending on context, Special Boat Service (British Special Forces) or Short-Barreled Shotgun (BATFE classification.)
SCADA: Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition. The software that is typically used to control power and water utility switching and valve hardware.
SCAR: Special Operations Forces Combat Assault Rifle
SCBA: Self Contained Breathing Apparatus. (Used by firemen and Hazmat teams.)
SCC: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. (A planned television series that already has its own Yahoo Discussion Groups Page)
Schumer: JWR's euphemism for the stuff that the septic tank pumper truck hauls away. (Full offense intended to Senator Charles Schumer, a scum-sucking hopolophobe.)
Schumeresque: Living under intolerably bad (post-TEOTWAWKI) circumstances (i.e. the Schumer has been widely distributed.) See also: WTSHTF.
SCOTUS:  Supreme Court of the United States
SCI: Sensitive Compartmented Information
SCIF: Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility
Sci-fi: Science Fictions
SCS: See: NRCS.
SCUBA: Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus
SEAL: Sea, Air Land--the U.S. Navy's elite commando force. See also: DEVGRU.
SEC: Securities and Exchange Commission.
Secondary (Nuclear) Targets: Major military, industrial, governmental, and transportation centers. Also included are seaports, locks and dams. These may be hit at once by the first missiles or struck by the bombers that will follow.
SERE: Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape.
SF or S.F.: Depending on context, Special Forces or San Francisco.
SFG: Depending on context: Square Foot Gardening or Special Forces Group
SFOD-D: US Army Special Forces Operational Detachment - Delta. Commonly called "Delta Team". See also: DEVGRU.
S&G.: Sargent & Greenleaf. (A lock manufacturer.)
Shank's Mare: Scottish slang dating from the eighteenth century. There was a verb, to shank or to shank it, meaning to go on foot. This is from standard English shank for the part of the leg from the knee to the ankle, which comes from Old English sceanca, the leg bone. This verb developed into shank’s naig or shank’s naigie (where the second words are local forms of nag, a horse) and later into shank’s mare. It was a wry joke: "I haven’t got a horse of my own for the journey, so I’ll use Shank’s mare to get there." (Meaning, I’ll go on my own two feet.) This supposed link with a person called Shank explains why the first word is often capitalised. Another form, now more common in Britain, is shank’s pony.(Definition courtesy of Michael Quinion's World Wide Words web site)
Sheeple:  ("Sheep People") Those who parrot the MSM and who are in denial of potential TEOTWAWKI. (Coined by the late Bill Cooper)
Shelf Life:  The useful life of of product in home storage. In the context of foods: The period of time that a processed food can be stored before changes in color, flavor, texture or the number of micro-organisms make it unacceptable. In the contexts of nonreversible consumer batteries: The period of time that a battery can be stored and still have at least 85% of its original charge.
SHTF: Schumer Hits the Fan. (See also: HTF, WTSHTF and ESHTF.)
SHU: Scoville Heat Unit(s). A scale used to measure the effectiveness of capsicum-based defensive "pepper spray".
SIG: Schweizer Industrie Gesellschaft. The superb Swiss gun maker.
SIGINT: Signals Intelligence
SIGINT/EW: Signals Intelligence & Electronic Warfare
Silencer: See: Suppressor
Silica Gel: A granular desiccant, used to protect, guns, tools and other metal objects from rust. See also: R.I.G. and VCI.
SINCGARS:  Single-Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System. The U.S. military's current issue frequency-hopping VHF radio transceiver.
SIP: Depending on context, either Shelter in Place or Structurally Insulated Panel.
SIPC: Securities Investor Protection Corporation
SIPRNET: Secret IP Router Network (A DoD network carried via classified channels.)
SITREP: Situation Report.
SIV: Structured Investment Vehicle. See also: CDO and Structured.
Slab or Slabbed: Professionally graded and encapsulated numismatic coins. See also: PCGS and NGC.
SKI: Spending Kid's Inheritance
SKS: Samozariadnyia Karabin Simonova, the semi-automatic carbine in 7.62x39 issued by the Soviet Army before and coincidentally with the AK-47. As originally issued, the SKS had a 10 round top-fed fixed magazine.
S&L: Savings and Loan
S&P: Standard & Poor's. Refers to both the stock price index and also the credit rating agency.
SLLS: Stop, look, listen, and smell.
SLR: Self-Loading Rifle. See also: L1A1
SLUDGE: Salivation, lacrimation, urination, diarrhea, gastrointestinal distress, and emesis. Sympoms of organophosphate poisoning.
SMG: Submachinegun
SMLE: Short Magazine Lee-Enfield (The British Commonwealth bolt action .303 service rifle in WWI, WWII, and Malaya.) See also: Enfield.
Snow Belt: Areas where prevailing onshore winds and/or elevation are responsible for heavy snowfall.
SOAP: The Wilderness First Responder (WFR) acronym for note-taking: "Subjective (Location, age, sex, MOI/history of events, Symptoms), Objective (LOC, RR, HR, SCTM, ROM [repeat at 15 min.]), Assessment (Fracture/Hyothermis/ ...), PLAN (clean, bandage, splint, ...)"
SOB: Small of Back (holster design.)
SOCOM: Special Operations Command
SODIS: SOlar DISinfection
SOE: Special Operations Executive. The British counterpart to the US Office of Strategic Services (OSS). See also: OSS
SOF: Special Operations Forces
SOI: Depending on context, Signal of Interest or Signal Operating Instructions. See also: CEOI
SO:  Significant Other
SOL: "Schumer" Out of Luck, or, Simply Out of Luck
SOP or S.O.P.: Standard Operating Procedure(s)
SOPMOD: Special Operations Peculiar Modification
SP:  Soft Point (bullet design)
SPCA:  Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Spec: Depending on context, Specification(s) or Speculation. The latter is often used to describe investment houses or land bought in a rising market.
SPF: Solar Protection Factor. (For sunscreen)
SpO2: Blood oxygen saturation.
Spray 'n Pray: Un-aimed full automatic fire.See also: Group Therapy.
SPST:  Single Pole, Single Throw (electrical switch.)
Squib (load): A cartridge with an inadequate or entirely missing powder charge. A squib load typically lodges a bullet only halfway down the barrel. This is a rare but dangerous occurrence.
SSA: Social Security Administration.
SSB: Single Sideband (an operating mode for CB and amateur radio gear.) See also: LSB and USB.
SS&S:  "Shoot, Shovel, & Shut Up" - A common philosophy on feral dogs and other predators (Acronym coined by JWR)
SSTV:  Slow Scan Television (an Amateur Radio transmission type)
STA-BIL:  A commercial fuel additive that extends the storage life of gasoline. See also: PRI-G.
STANAG: Standardization Agreement
STANO: Surveillance, Target Acquisition, and Night Observation. See also: Starlight
Starlight: An electronic light amplification technology that was first developed during the Vietnam War. A Starlight device literally amplifies low ambient light by up to 100,000 times, turning nighttime darkness into daylight--albeit a green and fuzzy view. Starlight scopes are critical tools for retreat security, especially in a “grid-down” situation. Note: Starlight is also the name brand of a manufacturer of heavy-duty Mil-Spec gun cases. (So named because the design of the cases resembles that of cases used for Starlight scopes and goggles.) See also: Mil-Spec.
Starlight in Vermont:  JWR’s second "spec" screenplay.
State Line (Jumping) Game, The:  Living near a state line to take advantage of a lower tax or other advantages in one or more adjoining states.
STG-58:  The Austrian Army's version of the FN/FAL rifle. STG-58 parts kits have been used in recent years for building semi-auto only FALs in the U.S.
Sten or STEN:  Sterling-Enfield, A very inexpensive 9mm submachinegun produced in England, during World War II.
Steyr:  An Austrian gun manufacturer. Their Steyr Daimler-Puch division also makes military off-road vehicles.
Steyr AUG:  The Austrian army's 5.56mm "bullpup" infantry carbine. Also issued by The Australian Army, as their replacement for the L1A1.
STRAC: See Strack.
Strack: U.S. military slang for a "squared away" soldier. Also sometimes applied to a field gear locker box -- a "Strack Box." The origin of this word is debated. Some say that it is an acronym for "Strictly Regular Army Commission" (STRAC), while others attribute it to the family name of Army Air Corps (later USAF) Brigadier General Harold Arthur Strack.
Structured (Note): A hybrid instrument that combines a bond or loan with a derivative. A traditional structured note is a call bond. See also: SIV.
Structuring: Any multiple cash transactions designed to circumvent the US IRS requirement to file Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs).
Sub-cu: Short for subcutaneous (drug injection).
SUIT: Sight Unit Infantry, Trilux, the optical sight using by the Brits on their L1A1s. See also: SUSAT.
Sulfation:  The formation of lead-sulfate crystals on the plates of a lead-acid battery, which decreases battery capacity by impeding the opportunity for chemical reaction within a cell. It can be caused by leaving the battery in a discharged state for long periods of time.
Suppressor:  A device for muffling the sound of a firearms discharge. They are often incorrectly called "silencers" by the mass media, but that is a misnomer since they do not completely silence any firearm. There is a $200 Federal transfer tax for firearms sound suppressors here in the U.S. There are also additional state-enacted restrictions on suppressors in many states, such as California and Washington. Readers are strongly advised not to purchase or construct an unregistered suppressor. The risk of doing so is the loss of you gun ownership and voting rights for life, and many year behind bars. Don't take that risk!  Keep in mind that purchasing a registered suppressor will raise your profile, both locally (since it will be your local sheriff or chief of police that will sign off on your license) and at the Federal level.  So you need to carefully weigh the risks versus benefits of doing so. Proceed down that path only after considerable thought and prayer.
Sure-Fire: A popular American brand of sturdy flashlights and electro-optics, often with weapons mounts.
SURV: Sport Utility Recreational Vehicle. Commonly called "Toy Haulers" these RVs and Fifth Wheel trailers have a cargo area (typically in the rear) with a loading ramp. This allows them to carry ATVs and motorcycles.
Survivalist: One who prepares for potential bad times. (Coined by Kurt Saxon)
SUSAT: Sight Unit Small Arms Trilux. See also: SUIT.
SUV: Sport/Utility Vehicle
SVO: Straight Vegetable Oil. See also: WVO and Biodiesel.
S&W: Smith & Wesson--An American gun maker.
Swap: An agreement to swap the net value of two series of obligations or payments in which one payment is usually based on a fixed interest rate and the other is based on a variable interest rate. (Or, for example, an interest rate in another currency, the total rate of return of a security or index, or a commodity price.)
SWAT: Special Weapons and Tactics. (SWAT originally stood for Special Weapons Assault Team until that was deemed politically incorrect.)
Sweet Feed:  See C-O-B.
SWR: Standing Wave Ratio (a radio transmitter term related to tuning an antenna for best performance)
Synthetic CDO:  A collateralized debt obligation (CDO) that is based on credit default swaps (CDSs) rather physical debt securities.
TA-1 / TA-312:  Older generation U.S. Military hard wire field telephones. They have been superceded by DNVTs. See also: DNVT.
TA-50: The standard issue U.S. Army field gear (backpack, web gear, tentage, boots, and fatigue uniforms) for active duty and reserve forces soldiers in Troop Program Units.
TAB and Tabbing:  Tactical Advance to Battle. (British army term.) "Tabbing" is slang for moving stealthily.
TAD: Temporary Additional Duty. See also: PCS and TDY.
Take The Gap:  Emigration under duress. (A term coined in Rhodesia, based on the British Commonwealth football term.)
Tango Sierra: U.S. Navy lingo for "Tough Schumer!"
TANSTAAFL: There Ain't No Such Thing as a Free Lunch (Coined by Robert Heinlein)
Tape Switch: A slim, pressure sensitive DC electrical switch, typically mounted on firearms grips or forends, often used to actuate tactical lights or lasers.
TARP: Troubled Asset Relief Program. The bank bailout portion of the Mother of All Bailouts. See also: EESA and MOAB.
TB: Tuberculosis
TBD: To Be Determined.
TBI: Traumatic Brain Injury
T-Bills: U.S. Treasury Bills. (Short-term debt obligations of the U.S. Treasury.)
TBO: Time Between Overhauls
TBSP: Tablespoon.
T-Case:  Transfer case.
TCE:  See: Tri-Chlor
TCF:  See: Claire Files.
TCP: Traffic Control Point
TD: Time Dilation or Temporal Displacement. See also: WOT.
TDC: Top Dead Center
T&E: Traverse and elevation. The T&E mechanism is used for aiming some types of belt-fed machineguns in deliberate fire. See also: Free Gun.
TDP: Thermodepolymerization. A process for manufacturing oil from organic waste.
TDY: Temporary Duty. See also: PCS and TAD.
TEL: Depending on context Tetra-ethyl lead (fuel) or Transporter, erector, launcher (mobile missile launchers)
TELCO, Telco: Telephone Company. See: also: CO.
TEOTWAWKI: The End of the World as we Know It (Acronym coined by Mike Medintz) (Spoken “Tee-ought-walk-ee”).
Tertiary (Nuclear) Targets: These are population and industrial centers that probably wouldn't be hit in the first strikes but would be high on the lists for later destruction to further cripple our ability to fight a prolonged war and/or recover and function as a nation. Threats against these targets could also be used following the initial attacks to force our leadership to capitulate.
The Crunch.:  See: WTSHTF.
The Gray Nineties: Title of the draft edition of JWR's first novel. It was shareware with 80,000+ downloads. No longer available on-line.
Thermal Mass:  A material that has the ability to absorb, store, and release heat energy. Typically water tanks, concrete, bricks, or tiles.
Thermite:  A mixture of aluminum powder and iron rust, that when ignited causes a vigorous exothermic reaction. Used primarily for welding. Also used by military units as an incendiary for destroying equipment.
TIA: Depending on context, Thanks in Advance, or Total Information Awareness, or Transient Ischemic Attack. (Commonly called a "mini-stroke" or "warning stroke".)
TIC: Troops in Contact. See also: ROE
TIG Tungsten Inert Gas (welding.) Also called Gas Tungsten Arc Welding (GTAW)
TIM: Toxic Industrial Materials, See also: NBC.
Timber Cruise: The process of surveying forest stands to predict how many board feet of lumber a stand will yield, as well as its health/maturity.
TIPS: Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities
TLC: Tender Loving Care.
TM: Technical Manual
TMEN: The Mother Earth News (magazine)
TMM: The Mental Militia--The Internet discussion forums formerly hosted by libertarian writer Claire Wolfe and called The Claire Files or TCF.
TNC: Terminal Node Controller. (An interface device used between a ham radio and a computer for Packet data transmission and reception)
TNFa: Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha (TNFa)(Reference) A cytokine.
TNT: Trinitrotoluene. A yellow crystalline compound. Used as a high explosive
TO&E or TOE: Table of Organization & Equipment
Tommy Tactical: See: Arm Chair Commando and Mall Ninja.
Topo: Slang contraction for topographic (map).
Tor: The onion router
TOT: Time on target. A carefully coordinated artillery, mortar, missile, and/or rocket strike, where projectiles from several firing batteries arrive simultaneously.
TP:  Toilet Paper
T-Pack:  Tray-packaged U.S. military rations, sized to feed an entire squad.
TPM: Temporary Paralysis of the Mind
TPN: Total Parenteral Nutrition. With TPN, the patient's nutrients, liquids, etc, are all administered via a tube in a major vein. In Partial Parenteral Nutrition, the patient's normal food intake is supplemented by a tube in a vein.
TPTB: The Powers That Be
Tracker: A rack for a PV array that follows the path of the sun to maximize the solar radiation incident on the panel’s surface. Typically, a single axis tracker will give you 15% to 25% more power per day, and dual axis tracking will add about 5% to that. Depending on the latitude and season.
Tranny: Slang for transmission.
TREE: Transient radiation effects on electronics. See also: EMP.
Tri-Chlor: Slang for the solvent 1,1,1 trichloroethane
Trickle Charge:  A charge at a low rate, balancing through self-discharge losses, to maintain a cell or battery in a fully charged condition.
Trijicon: A maker of Tritium-lit sights and rifle scopes.
Tritium:  A glowing radioactive gas (a hydrogen isotope) with an 11.2 year half-life.
Truck Farming/Truck Crops:  Farming crops that are not processed before selling and that are directly used or sold fresh such as: lettuce, celery, and flowers.
TS: Top Secret
TSA: Transportation Security Administration (Acronym also defined as: "Thousands Standing Around.")
TSCC: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles
TSE:Transmissible Spongiform Encephalopathy (TSE). See also: BSE and CWD.
TSHTF: The Schumer Hits the Fan. (See: WTSHTF.)
TSLF: Term Securities Lending Facility. The Federal Reserve's panic move to shore up banking liquidity with huge cash loans.The TSLF loans are designed to circumvent the Fed's mandate to only take top-grade collateral in exchange for loans.
TSP: Depending on context teaspoon (measure) or Tri-Sodium Phosphate (cleaner)
TTB: Tax and Trade Bureau
TTBOMK:  To the Best of My Knowledge
TTP:  Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures
TTS: Target Tracker System^©
TTSLE: Target Tracker System - Law Enforcement^©
TULIP:  Acronym for the the Five Points of Calvinism:

• Total Depravity (also known as Total Inability and Original Sin)


• Unconditional Election


• Limited Atonement (also known as Atonement for the Elect)


• Irresistible Grace


• Perseverance of the Saints ("Once Saved Always Saved")

TUM: The Un-named Mountain. The mountain that adjoins the back property line of the Rawles Ranch. OPSEC dictates that we don't mention the mountain by name.
TUR: The Un-named River. The river that runs through the back end of the Rawles Ranch. OPSEC dictates that we don't mention the name of the river.
TUROM: The Un-named Range of Mountains. The Mountain range that surrounds the Rawles Ranch. OPSEC dictates that we don't mention it by name.
TUT: The Un-named Town. The town closest to the Rawles Ranch. OPSEC dictates that we don't mention the name of the town.
TUWS: The Un-named Western State. The State "somewhere west of the Rockies" where the Rawles Ranch is located. OPSEC dictates that we don't even mention the State where we live.
TV:  Television. See also: HDTV.
TVP: Textured Vegetable Protein.
Two Meter: See: 2 Meter.
Tzedakah: Hebrew for Charity and Tithing Law.
TWS:  Thermal Weapon Sight. An electronic sight that uses thermal imaging technology. Unlike starlight or infrared, a TWS literally "sees" heat.
UA 571-C: Nomenclature of the Remote Sentry Weapons that are used for perimeter security at the Rawles Ranch.
UATV: Utility All Terrain Vehicle. An ATV with extra cargo capacity. UATVs are typified by the John Deere Gator and Buck models.
UAV: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
UAVIED:  UAV Borne Improvised Explosive Device. (Acronym coined by JWR, in December, 2006)
UB: Underground Burial. The rating for data or power cable that is designed to withstand being buried for extended periods.
UCC: Unincorporated Church Coalition. (In other contexts: Uniform Commercial Code)
UCMJ: Uniform Code of Military Justice
UFC:  Uniform Fire Code
UGR:  Unitized Group Ration
UHF:  Ultra High Frequency. (Radio and television frequencies in the range 300-3000 MHz)
UHT:  Ultra High Temperature milk pasteurization. Used for retort packaged milk.
UK: United Kingdom
UL: Underwriter's Laboratory.
ULSD: Ultra-Low Sulfur Diesel (fuel).
UMTBF:  Unacceptable Mean Time Between Failures. See also: MTBF.
UN: United Nations
UNE: Urban Northeast
Unhardened (electronics):  See: EMP.
U.P.:  Depending on context: Upper Peninsula of Michigan or Union Pacific Railroad. Residents of the U.P. are often called Yoopers.
UPS:  Depending on context: Uninterruptible Power Source or United Parcel Service
URI: Upper Respiratory Infection
URL: Uniform Resource Locator. The actual written “address” of a given Internet site.
USAID: United States Agency for International Development
USAR:  U.S. Army Reserve
USB: Depending on context, Universal Serial Bus or Upper Sideband (an operating mode for CB and amateur radio gear.) See also “LSB” and “SSB”.
USBP:  U.S. Border Patrol
USCG:  U.S. Coast Guard
USD: United States Dollar
USDA: United States Department of Agriculture
USDX: United States Dollar Index
USFS: United States Forest Service
USFWS: United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
USG: United States Government.
USGS: United States Geological Survey. http://www.usgs.gov/ See also GNIS (Geographic Names Information System)
USGPO: U.S. Government Printing Office.
U.S.G.I.: United States Government Issue (equipment specifications)
USMA: United States Military Academy (at West Point, New York.) See also: ROTC.
USP: United States Pharmacopoeia.
USPS: United States Postal Service. Sometimes jokingly called the "Unbearably Slow Postal Sloths".
USPSA: United States Practical Shooting Association
USWS: United States Weather Service. See also: WX.
UTI: Urinary Tract Infection
UTMA: Uniform Transfers to Minors Act
UV: Ultraviolet (commonly called "Black Light")
UXO: Unexploded Ordnance
Uzi: The compact 9mm submachinegun designed by Uziel Gal of Israel.
VAC: Volts, Alternating Current
Valmet: See: AK.
Vauban Star: See: Cooper Corners. 
VaR: Value at Risk
VBAC:  Vaginal Birth After Caesarean
VBIED:  Vehicle Borne Improvised Explosive Device
VBT: Very Bad Thing
VC: Depending on context Viet Cong or Venture Capital
VCI: Vapor Phase Corrosion Inhibitive. (A rust preventative desiccant.) VCI products are often produced as a coated paper, for metal parts storage. See also: RIG and Silica Gel.
vCJD: See: Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease.
VDC: Volts, Direct Current
Vet: Depending on context, short for veteran or veterinarian.
VFD: Volunteer Fire Department
VHF: Very High Frequency. (Radio and television frequencies in the range 30-300 MHz)
VLF: Very Low Frequency. (Radio frequencies in the range 3-30 kHz)
VOA: Voice Of Amdrica
VOIP: Voice Over Internet Protocol (Internet telephone service.)
Vortex: Trade name of a flash hider that uses spirally-milled slots to break up a rifle’s muzzle flash.
VOX: Voice Operated (Switch). or “Voice Operated Transmit”, a 2-way radio feature.
VW: Volkswagen. (Literally: People’s Wagon)
VX: A variety of nerve gas.
WAAS: Wide Area Augmentation System. An array of satellites and ground stations that provide GPS signal corrections. These correcting signals gives a GPS receiver improved position accuracy which averages up to five times better than a non-WAAS or disabled WAAS unit.
WAFA: Wilderness Advanced First Aid
W.A.L.L.S.: Water, Access, Location, Light, and Security. (Acronym coined by Todd Savage.)
WAP: Wireless Access Point
WAPI: Water Pasteurization Indicator
WD-1: U.S. military issue two conductor insulated field telephone wire.
WD-40: A commercial spray cleaner/lubricant. Not recommended for most firearms cleaning tasks. Deadens ammunition primers.
WDNNSB Mode:  “We Don't Need No Stinkin' Badges” (Acronym coined by JWR, based on a quote from a famous Humphrey Bogart movie.)
WEP: Wired Equivalent Privacy
Weaver Grip, Weaver Stance: The handgun shooting techniques developed by Jack Weaver in the 1950s and 1960s and widely adopted by law enforcement and the military in the 1980s. The shooter uses a system of hand counter pressure and body alignment to steady a handgun during firing. The shooter uses both hands to hold the gun, the firing hand pushing slightly forward and the other hand placed over the firing hand pulling slightly back. The gun is aimed at an oblique angle to the body almost to the side opposite the "strong" hand, using the "strong" arm bone structure to serve as a form of "stock" for the gun. (Definition courtesy of www.SavvySurvivor.com)
Web Gear: Generic term for tactical load bearing equipment such as pistol belts, Y-harnesses, magazine pouches, vests, and so forth.
WECSOG: Wylie E. Coyote School of Gunsmithing (amateur gunsmithing) Coined at The FALFiles.
WEMSI: Wilderness Emergency Medicine Services Institute
WEMT or W-EMT: Wilderness Emergency Medical Technician
Wet Gas: See: Casinghead Gas.
WFA: Wilderness First Aid
WFR: Wilderness First Responder. See also: SOAP.
WGA: Writer's Guild of America
WGS-84: World Geodetic Survey of 1984.
WHO: World Health Organization
Wi-Fi: Wireless Fidelity. Used generically when referring of any type of 802.11 network, whether 802.11b, 802.11a, dual-band, etc.
Wipe: The final baffling stage of some firearms sound suppressors. The "wipe" is sometimes a perforated sheet of high melting point rubber.
WMA: Wilderness Medical Associates
WMD: Weapons of Mass Destruction
WMS: Wilderness Medical Society
WOT: Depending on context: War on Terror or Wide Open Throttle. See also: TD.
WPA: Works Project Administration. (A make-work program in the US during the Great Depression.)
WRT: With Regard To
WSM: Winchester Short Magnum.
WSSM: Winchester Super Short Magnum.
WTB: Want To Buy
WTC:World Trade Center. One of the sites of the 9/11/01 radical Islamic terrorist attacks. See Also: AQ and OBL.
WTO:World Trade Organization.
WTS: Depending on context Want to Sell or Williams Trigger Specialties
WTSHTF: When the Schumer Hits the Fan. (I formerly said "Stuff" hits the fan, but I think that the implied smell of Congressman Chuck Schumer's voting record is more descriptive. BTW, I also synonymously use the terms TEOTWAWKI, The Crunch, worst case, and the old military saying “when the balloon goes up.” See also: Schumeresque and TEOTWAWKI.
WTT: Want To Trade
WTTF: Want To Trade For
WVO: Waste Vegetable Oil. See also: SVO.
WWCR: World Wide Christian Radio.
WWV: An international shortwave radio time coordination station, in Fort Collins, Colorado, operated by the NIST.
WWVH: An international shortwave radio time coordination station, in Hawaii, operated by the NIST.
WWI: World War I
WWII: World War II
WWWF: Weapon, Web gear, Water, and Food. (Acronym coined by FDG.)
WX: Weather. The designated U.S. Weather Service frequencies are often called WX channels. These are between 162.400 MHz and 162.550 MHz. See also: USWS.
X, The: In the tactical realm, "The X" means the danger area, the line of attack, the place where the grenades are landing, the bullets are zipping through, and the bombs are going off. Small unit soldiers often say "get out of the X" or "Get off the x" The only place you want to be on the X involves a treasure map, otherwise you are in grave danger. (Definition courtesy of http://getoffthex.com.)
XD:  Extreme Duty. Most often refers to the excellent Springfield Armory polymer frame autopistols imported from Croatia.
XDR-TB:  Extensively Drug Resistant Tuberculosis. See also: MDR-TB.
XM: Experimental Model
XM177E2: See: M4
Y2K: Year 2000 (Coined by David Eddy). The scare associated with the millennial (“Year 2000”) date change that took place at 0001/01/01/2000.
Y2Y: Yellowstone to Yukon Conservation Initiative.
YBIC: Your Brother In Christ
YHWH: Yahweh (Jehovah.)
YMCA: Young Men's Christian Association
YMMV: Your Mileage May Vary. Commonly used to describe procedures with variable results. This also means "Try this at your own risk."
Yob: An aggressive, rowdy, and/or violent young man. (UK slang.) Possibly derived from "boy" spelled backwards. See also: ASBO.
Yooper: See: U.P.
YOPI: The acronym used by healthcare providers to summarize those at greatest risk of great harm or death because of disease: Younger than 5 years old, Older than 65 years old, Pregnant, and Immune-compromised.
YOYO: You're On Your Own. (When government ceases to provide essential services such as fire department and police department protection, and when utilities no longer provide water, sanitation, electricity and phone service.) Acronym coined by David Weed.
Zener Diodes:  See: EMP.
Zeroing, Zeroed: The process of adjusting a weapon's elevation and windage to an individual user so that a firearm, when fired, will hit the point of aim. A rifle is said to be “zeroed” when this is done. (Definition courtesy of The FALFiles.)
Zero Time: A complete restoration of a vehicle (bringing it back to like-new condition, i.e. "Zero time on the meter.")
ZIRP: Zero Interest Rate Policy.

Did I miss listing any acronyms that I've used in the blog? If so, please e-mail me additions of corrections here and

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