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National Guard

            A state-controlled, federally-funded militia, operating under Army regulations and training standards. The National Guard has two branches, managed from the same office at the state level: the Army National Guard and the Air National Guard (never the Air Force National Guard). The state-level commander and chief administrator of the National Guard is the Adjutant General, usually a Major General; the Commander-in-Chief at the state level is the governor.

            While it is managed at the state level, the National Guard can be called to active duty by the President in time of war.      It can also be called to state-level active duty by the governor to assist in peacekeeping and relief operations in disaster situations (such as hurricanes, earthquakes and riots).

            National Guard members typically have civilian careers/jobs, drill one weekend a month and attend a two- to four-week summer training camp. Many National Guard members had active duty military experience before joining the National Guard.

            Army National Guard members are soldiers.

            Air National Guard members are airmen.

Navy

      EXTERNAL LINKS:

Main page -- http://www.navy.mil 

Index -- http://www.navy.mil/navydata/infoIndex.asp

Navy aviation

      Typical elements, from larger to smaller, are:

wing

squadron

Navy organization, except aviation

      Typical elements, from largest to smallest, are:

fleet

group

squadron

ship

Navy ranks and ratings

      Navy enlisted sailors don't have ranks per se. They have a complex system of “rates” and “ratings” that indicates both seniority level and job. 

    Use the chart as follows:

For example, a sailor might be designated as an "ET1."

The last character of the Navy's abbreviation is "1."

You can read across the line to see that the sailor is a petty officer first class.

Navy uniforms

      Under certain circumstances, sailors wear Marine Corps uniforms, or uniforms that are similar.

      See also:

uniform colors

uniforms

NCO

      See:

noncommissioned officers

ranks and titles

NIMA

Jargon; National Imagery and Mapping Agency.

noncommissioned officers

      Enlisted supervisors. Not “officers” in the general sense of the word.

      See also:

NCO

ranks and titles

NSA

Jargon; National Security Agency.

OOO

officers

      Generally includes both commissioned officers and warrant officers. But depending on the context, “officers” may indicate just commissioned officers.

      “Officers” does not include petty officers, chief petty officers, sergeants major, or other noncommissioned officers.

      See also:

ranks and titles

organizational structure

      See:

Air Force organization

Army organization

Marine Corps aviation

Marine Corps ground combat

Marine air-ground task forces

PPP

parade rest

      Position at which the feet are about shoulder-width apart, the elbows are out, and the hands are clasped behind the back.

pay grade

      Alphanumeric code indicating pay level and seniority.

      Higher numbers are senior to lower numbers.

      “E” indicates enlisted personnel, “W” is used for warrant officers, and “O” indicates commissioned officers.

      See also:

ranks and titles

Persian Gulf War

      Use “ Iraq war” for the U.S.-led attack on Iraq. 
 

petty officers

      Petty officers are enlisted. They are senior to seamen and junior to chief petty officers.

      “Petty officer,” used in the Navy and Coast Guard, is roughly equivalent to “noncommissioned officer.”

      See also:

ranks

Navy ranks and ratings

PFPA

Jargon; Pentagon Force Protection Agency.

platoon

      See:

Army organization

Marine Corps ground combat

PX

      Post exchange, or store on an Army post.

      See also:

BX

RRR

Ranger

            Rangers are an elite set of soldiers (always Army) who have extra training in reconnaissance, scouting and special operations. They are not necessarily at the level of the Special Forces, although many Special Forces soldiers are Rangers as well. The most famous Ranger of modern times (since 2001) is Pat Tillman, a former NFL player who died in Afghanistan in 2004.

            Examples:

Army Ranger Pat Tillman.

1^st Battalion, 75^th Ranger Regiment.

            Also see:

Special Forces

Special Operations

SEAL

ranks and titles

      Whenever rank is given immediately before a name, each word is uppercase.

      Rank charts -- http://www.defenselink.mil/specials/insignias/

            See also:

admiral

airman, airmen

chief petty officers

commandant

commissioned officers

enlisted

enlisted rank chart
general

Navy ranks and ratings

NCO

noncommissioned officers

officers
officer rank chart

sergeant

sergeant major

warrant officers

regiment

      See:

Army organization

Marine Corps ground combat

Reserve, reserves, reservist

            A member of the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps Reserve, the Army National Guard or the Air National Guard. The Reserve (in contrast to either Army National Guard or Air National Guard) operates at the Federal level, meaning they are directly subject to Pentagon directives and can be called to active duty only by the President.

            Members of the Reserve and the National Guard (all services) can be referred to as reservists.

            Typically, reservists and National Guard members have civilian jobs, and they drill one weekend a month with a two- to four-week summer training camp.

            Each Reserve component is individually the Reserve (as in Army Reserve or Marine Reserve).

            However, individual (or a group of) reservists are lowercase (not referring to the actual organization): Sgt. Smith and Pvt. Jones, Army reservists from Alabama, earned the Bronze Star Medal.

            NOTE: Reservists, especially when called up and serving on active duty (as in Iraq or Afghanistan), are soldiers, sailors, Marines and airmen just like their active-duty counterparts. They should be called what they are (depending on military branch), the only exception being for one mention of the fact that they are in a reserve unit: Spc. Johnny Quest of the 1484^th Quartermaster Battalion, an Army Reserve unit based in Podunk, Alaska, was awarded the Bronze Star medal for his actions... Or, Sgt. Joe Snuffy of the Iowa National Guard’s 999^th Infantry Regiment was promoted yesterday…

            In these cases, Spc. Quest is not a “Reserve” Specialist, nor is Sgt. Snuffy a “National Guard” Sergeant. They are, respectively, a specialist and a sergeant, just like their active-duty counterparts.

      Terms like “reservist” and “National Guardsman” (or “Guard member”) tend to come up in headlines a lot, especially in negative stories (refer to the Abu Ghraib case). The bottom line is that reservists and guardsmen are part of the total armed forces, regardless of the situation, and should be referred to according to the branch they serve in.

            Also see:

National Guard

Reserve Officers' Training Corps

      See:

ROTC

rocket-propelled grenade

            Today, this usually applies to a portable, reloadable Soviet-designed apparatus that fires a rocket-propelled explosive at buildings or vehicles. Anti-personnel, high-explosive or armor-piercing rounds are available for these devices. The most common form is the RPG-7. Referred to as a rocket-propelled grenade, unless a specific type is cited, such as RPG-7 or RPG-16.   

ROE

            Jargon; acronym for "rules of engagement." Spell out.

See:

rules of engagement

ROTC

            Acceptable in all references. Stands for “Reserve Officers' Training Corps,” a college program usually leading to a commission as an officer.

RPG

      See:

rocket-propelled grenade

rules of engagement

            Refers to the guidelines that direct how service members act in a combat situation. Rules of engagement differ among theaters of war and are modified to meet the demands of a certain set of situations that develop during the course of a war or peacekeeping operation.

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