Please read, use and enjoy this READER’S COMPANION for the novel. The READER’S COMPANION is intended to enhance the reader’s experience by providing additional background information for the reader. Below you will find:
ISLAMIC WORDS AND PHRASES
NAVY / ARMY RANKS OF UNITED STATES
MILITARY ABBREVIATIONS
UNDERSTANDING UNIVERSAL TIME COORDINATED (UTC)
ISLAMIC WORDS AND PHRASES
The Author notes that there may be different spellings or slightly different interpretations of these words and phrases. The Author further notes that the other spellings or interpretations of these words and phrases have value and meaning in areas of the Muslim world. However, it is the Author’s intent that in this fictional novel the meanings are as defined here.
Adhan – The call to mid-morning prayer
Allah Akbar - Allah is Great
Al-Mumit – 61st name of Allah – The Destroyer
Al-Muntaqim –81st name of Allah – The Avenger
As Salamu’Alaykum - Peace Be With You
Bisht – A loose robe
Burqa - a female garment that covers all but the eyes
Fi Amanullah - May Allah protect you
Hady – Sacrificial animal
Insha’Allah – If Allah wills it
Isha - Late evening prayers
Jannah – Paradise
Jihad – Holy war
Khobz – Unleavened bread
La Illah Illah Allah – There is no God but Allah
Masha’Allah - As Allah has willed
Muhammad Rasul Allah – Muhammad is the Prophet of Allah
Mujahid – An Islamic warrior
Mujahideen – A group of Muslim warriors engaged in jihad
Nasraani – Christians
Quiblah – Towards Mecca
Qahiriyat – A fried sugar and almond pastry shaped something like a pretzel
Sharia – Islamic Law
Shawarma – A spit cooked lamb
Subhan’Allah – Glory to Allah …May also be ‘wow’
Thawb – The robes worn in Saudi Arabia by men
Wa Alaykum us-sallam – And to you peace
Yehoodi – Jews
Yur-Hummaa-Kul-Lah - May Allah have mercy on you
US NAVY / ARMY RANKS
US Navy Officer Designations US Army Officer Equivalents
(Highest
to Lowest rank)
FADM- Fleet Admiral General
ADM – Admiral Lieutenant General
VADM- Vice Admiral Major General
RADM- Rear Admiral Brigadier General
CPT – Captain Colonel
CDR – Commander Lieutenant Colonel
LCDR- Lieutenant Commander Major
LT – Lieutenant Captain
LTJG- Lieutenant Junior Grade 1st Lieutenant
ENS- Ensign 2nd Lieutenant
US Navy Enlisted Rank Designations US Army Enlisted Equivalents
(Highest to Lowest rank)
MCPON – Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy Command Sergeant Major of the Army
CMCPO- Command Master Chief Petty Officer Command Sergeant Major
FMCPO- Fleet Master Chief Petty Officer Sergeant Major
MCPO- Master Chief Petty Officer 1st Sergeant
SCPO- Senior Chief Petty Officer Master Sergeant
CPO- Chief Petty Officer Senior Staff Sergeant
PO1- Petty Officer 1st Class Staff Sergeant
PO2- Petty Officer 2nd Class Sergeant
PO3- Petty Officer 3rd Class Corporal / Specialist
US Navy Enlisted Rank Designations US Army Enlisted Equivalents
AN – Airman Private First Class
CN – Constructionman
FN - Fireman
HN- Hospitalman
SN – Seaman
AA – Airman Apprentice Private 2
CA – Constructionman Apprentice
FA- Fireman Apprentice
HA – Hospitalman Apprentice
SA- Seaman Apprentice
CR – Constructionman Recruit
FR – Fireman Recruit
HR – Hospitalman Recruit
SR
– Seaman Recruit
MILITARY ABBREVIATIONS
A
AA – Anti Aircraft
APC – Armored Personnel Carrier
AST – Alaska Standard Time
AWACS – Airborne Warning And Control System
AWOL – Absent With Out Leave
B
BCP – Basic Combat Package – essentially a cargo container full of weapons, ammunition, communication devices and rations for 1 platoon for 1 week
BDU – Battle Dress Uniform
BFD – Big Flipping Deal
BMOC – Battle Management Operations Center
BRC – Biological / Radiological / Chemical
BRC Suit – A Biological / Radiological / Chemical resistant suit
BUD/SEAL – Basic Underwater Demolition / Special Operations Operative Training
C
CENCOMPAC – Central Command Pacific
CIA – Central Intelligence Agency
CO – Commanding Officer
COS – Chief Of Staff
CST – Central Standard Time
CVN – USN Aircraft carrier designation
D
DDG – USN Destroyer class designation
DEVGRU – Naval Special Warfare - Development Group
DOD – Department of Defense
E
EMP – Electro-Magnetic Pulse
EST – Eastern Standard Time
F
FBI – Federal Bureau of Investigations
FDR – Franklin Delano Roosevelt
G
GID – Gaseous Ionization Detector
GMT – Greenwich Meridian Time – the same as ZULU or UTC
H
HST – Hawaiian Standard Time
IED – Improvised Explosive Device
I
IKE – Nickname for CVN-69 Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier
INS – Immigration and Naturalization Services
J
JDS – Japanese Defense Ship
JMSDF – Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Forces
JSDF – Japanese Self-Defense Forces
JST – Japanese Standard Time
K
KIA – Killed In Action
M
M4 – A 5.56mm fully automatic shoulder fired rifle
MIA – Missing In Action
MP – Military Police
MST – Mountain Standard Time
N
N-1 – Personnel Division
N-2 – Intelligence Division
N-3 – Operations Training
N-4 – Logistics Division
NH4 NO3 – Ammonium Nitrate
NDC – National Defense Command
NHSA – National Home Security Agency
NOAA – National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration
NSA – National Security Advisor or National Security Agency
NYPA – New York Port Authority
NYPD – New York Police Department
O
OPS – Operations
P
PST – Pacific Standard Time
PTRR – Physical Training Rehabilitation and Remediation platoon
R
RDX – Royal Demolitions Explosives
RFN – Russian Federation Navy
RPG – Rocket Propelled Grenade
S
SCA – Suez Canal Authority
SCUBA – Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus
SEAL – Sea Air Land operative (SEa Air Land = SEAL)
SNAFU - Situation Normal All Fouled Up
SOD – Secretary of Defense
SOPATCOM – Special Operations Atlantic Command
SOPMOD –Special Operations Modified
SOPS – Special Operations
SOS – Secretary of State
SAM – Surface to Air Missile
SSM – Surface to Surface Missile
U
UAV – Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
UARV – Unmanned Aerial Reconnaissance Vehicle
UNREP – Underway Replenishment
USA – United States Army / United States of America
USAF – United States Air Force
USCG – United States Coast Guard
USCGC – United States Coast Guard Cutter
USN – United States Navy
UTC – Universal Time Coordinated – Same at ZULU or GMT
V
VSST – Voice Scrambled Satellite Telephone
W
WMD – Weapon(s) of Mass Destruction
X
XO – Executive Officer
Z
ZULU – (time) Same as UTC or GMT
UNDERSTANDING UTC
Universal Time Coordinated = UTC = ZULU Time = GMT = Greenwich Meridian Time = Greenwich Mean Time = Prime Meridian = 0 hour +/-.
As humans we have evolved sufficiently to agree to a worldwide system of time keeping. Our planet revolves 1 time in 24 hours and we have agreed to divide the planet into 24 equal parts, each representing the distance the Earth revolved in that one hour. We refer to these divisions as Time Zones. Each zone is approximately 15° of arc.
We agreed in 1675 to begin these 24 divisions at the Prime Meridian. The names in the 1st paragraph all refer to the point we have agreed begins our numbering. It may be called any or all of those or simply 0° Longitude. It is where the first ‘official’ timepiece was kept at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich, England. Clocks would be an hour later for all Time Zones East of the Prime Meridian; Clocks would be an hour earlier for Time Zones West of the Prime Meridian. Twelve hours East or West of the Prime Meridian is 180° Meridian and is known as the International Date Line.
So, if you were three Time Zones East of Prime Meridian, say in Bagdad, Iraq, you would be PM +3 hours. Therefore if it were 12:00 Noon in Greenwich, England, it would be 3:00 PM in Bagdad. If you were in Japan on JST (Japan Standard Time) and it was Noon at Prime Meridian it would be 9:00 P.M. in Tokyo, which is PM +9 hours.
Prime Meridian was replaced by the term UTC or Universal Time Coordinated.
The method is the same whether it is GMT, ZULU, PM, or UTC
Time added to or subtracted from UTC as shown.
Japan = UTC +9
China = UTC +8
Kazakhstan = UTC +6
India = UTC + 5.5 (yeah, always someone different but so is Iran and Venezuela)
Moscow, Russia and Bagdad, Iraq = UTC +3
Cairo, Egypt and Most of Eastern Europe = UTC +2
Paris, France and Most of Europe = UTC +1
England (Greenwich) = UTC - 0
Brasilia, Brazil = UTC -3
La Paz, Bolivia = UTC -4
New York EST = UTC -5
Chicago CST = UTC -6
Denver MST = UTC -7
Los Angeles, CA PST = UTC -8
Anchorage, AK = AST = UTC -9
Honolulu, HI = HST = UTC -10
