Many of the terms and acronyms used in the
military will be unfamiliar to most readers, so I have tried to collect
together some of these terms here and explain them. There were also several aid agencies and armed
groups of Somalis operating in the country. They are also detailed here to help
you keep them straight.
| Military Terms |
|---|
| AK |
A Soviet made assault rifle. Also AK-47. |
| AOR |
Area of Responsibility. The area a unit was
responsible for patrolling. Sometimes also referred to as an
area of operations. |
| A Team |
A small American Special Forces unit. We had
several working with us. |
| Bison |
An eight wheeled armoured personnel carrier used by
medical and engineer teams in Somalia. |
| C3 |
A 7.62 mm sniper rifle. |
| C4 |
Plastic Explosives. |
| C6 |
A 7.62 mm belt fed machine gun. |
| C7 |
A 5.56 mm assault rifle similar to an American
M-16. The standard Canadian rifle. |
| C9 |
A 5.56 mm belt fed machine gun. |
| Callsign |
Refers to a military unit and is usually followed by
a code designation which identifies which unit we are talking
about. For example, callsign 31A refers to alpha section of
the first platoon in 3 Commando, callsign 8 refers to the Service
Commando. Sometimes callsign also referred to the vehicle that
unit drove or their position. For example, if a Tango (tank)
callsign hit a mine, I am referring to the vehicle. |
| Canteen |
A water bottle, but more often a tent where we could
by beer and pop and watch TV. |
| CS or C/S |
See callsign. |
| CSM |
Company Sergeant Major. The most senior
enlisted man in the Commando. |
| CO |
Commanding Officer. The officer in charge of
the Airborne Regiment. |
| Commando |
The largest sub-unit within the Airborne regiment
containing about 120 men. |
| CQ |
Company Quartermaster. The troops that managed
the supplies for a commando or company. Also the Warrant
Officer in charge of those troops. |
| DAG |
Departure Assistance Group. |
| Dragon's Teeth |
A long row of metal spikes that was placed across the
road at roadblocks which would flatten the tires of anyone
attempting to run the roadblock. |
| Cougar |
A six wheeled tank, often referred to in the journals
as a Tango Callsign. |
| Early Warning |
A small unit placed out in front of the main unit to
provide advanced warning. |
| GD |
See general duties. |
| Garrison Duty |
The unit that was responsible for maintaining and
guarding the camp. This duty rotated amongst the
platoons. |
| General Duties |
A work detail. Each day several men were
assigned to do any maintenance work that needed to be done
around camp. |
| Grizzly |
A six wheeled armoured personnel carrier armed
with a 50 caliber machine gun and a 7.62 mm machine gun mounted in a
turret. This is the vehicle we used. |
| Klick |
Kilometer. |
| MRT |
Motorized Recovery Team. A recovery vehicle
which fixed our vehicles in the field. |
| MSR |
Main Supply Route. A major road or
highway. |
| NGO |
Non-government organizations |
| OC |
Officer Commanding. The officer in charge of a
Commando. |
| O Group |
Receiving orders. |
| OP |
Observation Post. |
| Platoon |
A unit of about 30 men. |
| PRB-M3 |
A square plastic Belgian anti-tank mine that is very
hard to detect with metal detectors and can be fitted with anti-lift
devices. |
| Psy-op |
Psycological Operations. |
| R & R |
Rest and Relaxation. Time off out of
country. |
| RAG |
Return Assistance Group |
| Recce |
Reconnaissance, an exploratory mission into enemy
territory. |
| Regiment |
A military unit of about 650 men. |
| ROWPU |
Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Unit. The system that purified
local water for our use. |
| RCD |
Royal Canadian Dragoons, the armoured unit that
was attached to the battle group. |
| RSM |
Regimental Sergeant Major. The most senior
enlisted man in the Regiment. |
| REMF |
Rear echelon mother
fucker. A derogatory term for Service Commando and other
support personnel. There was often animosity towards them
because they tended to filter
off the best supplies for themselves and leave the
troops who really needed them wanting. |
| Ruck |
Rucksac. Our backpacks. |
| Section |
A unit of about 8 men. |
| Service Commando |
The unit that was responsible for supplying all of the other
units with rations, ammunition and equipment. They also
provided medical support, mechanics, communications, etc. |
| SIU |
Special Investigations Unit. A special military
police unit. |
| Tango |
The code word for armoured units. |
| TM-46 |
Soviet anti-tank mine. |
|
| Somali Political Factions |
|---|
| DAS |
Democratic Alliance of Somalia.
An alliance of several factions including the SNF, SSDF, usp and
Gabiyu's faction of the SPM. |
| FDSS |
See SSDF. |
| SDA |
Somali Democratic Association or Alliance (Demogradiyeed Ururka
Soomaliyeed (DUS)) were led by Mohammed Abdallahi. They were
from the Gadabursi (Dir) clan and operated along the Ethiopian
border near the town of Boorama. |
| SDM |
Somali Democratic Movement (Dhaqdhaqaaqa
Demogradiyeed Soomaliyeed (DDS)) were pro-Aidid forces led by
Abjukqadir "Zoppu." They were from the rahanwein clan and
concentrated in Baidoa, west of Mogadishu. |
| SIU |
Somali Islamic Union (Al Ithihad) Led
by independent fundementalist leaders. |
| SNA |
Somali National Alliance. An alliance
of several factions including Aideed's USC, the SDM, Jess's faction of the
SPM, the SSNM and Ali Tur's SNM faction. |
| SNDU |
Somali National Democratic Union |
| SNF |
Somali National Front (Dhaqdhaqaaqa Jabhada
Soomaliyeed (DJS)) Had approx. 1 - 3,000 troops in the south
and were fighting Aidid. They were led by General Ahmed
Warsame and General Mohammed Hashi Ganni. They were from the
Marehan (Darod) clan and mainly based along the Kenyan border near
the town of Luuq. |
| SNM |
Somali National Movement (Midnimadda
Dhaqdhaqaaqa Soomaliyeed (MDS)) were anti-UN forces led by Abjulrahman Ali "Tur" in
the north. They had signed a pact with Aidid. They
were from the Issaq clan and located in Somaliland, mainly in
the towns of Hargeissa and Burco. Two factions, led by Kahin and
Dhagweyne supported the fundementalist SIU. |
| SPM |
Somali Patriotic Movement (Dhaqdhaqaaqa Wadaniyinta
Soomaliyeed (DWS)) Were split into three factions in the
Ogadeni (Darod) clan dominated south. Their former leader, Ahmed
Omar Jess was a hardened guerilla fighter. Jess's faction was
nearly defeated by General Morgan's and Gabiyu's factions which are
both pro-Mahdi. These two factions had around 5 to 7,000
troops of which 2 to 3,000 were loyal to Morgan. Morgan's
troops were almost all ex-military and the best trained in the
country. He is Siad Barre's son-in-law. |
| SSDF |
Somali Salvation Democratic Front (Jabhada
Badbaadinta Demogratiga Soomaliyeed (JBDS)) were led by Colonel
Mohammed Abshir Mousa and based in Bossasso in the north. They
were against the coalition forces and were fighting Aidid.
Their political leader was Abdullah Yusuf. They were from the
Majertain (Darod) clan and had most of their forces concentrated in
Garoe. |
| SSNM |
Southern Somali National Movement (Dhaqdhaqaaqa
Midnimadda Koonfurta Soomaliyeed (DMKS)) were from the Biyemal (Dir)
clan and operated out of Chisimayu. |
| SYL |
Somali Youth League |
| USC |
United Somali Congress (Golaha Midnimadda Soomaliyeed
(GMS)) was divided into two parts under Ali Mahdi Mohammed and
General Mohammed Farah Hasan Aidid. Each comes from different
sub-clans of the Hawiye clan of central Somalia. The split in
the USC came about in 1990 when the original founder died. Ali
Mahdi has between 15 and 20,000 troops while Aidid has between 15
and 30,000. While we were in Somalia, Islamic fundamentalists
seized the part of Merka south of Mogadishu and the USC could not
take it back. The Americans retook Merka. General Habaro
was in charge of the USC troops in our area. |
| USF |
United Somali Front (Midninimadda Jabhada Soomaliyeed
(MJS)) were led by Abjulamen Dual Ali, were from the Isa (Dir) clan
and concentrated near the Djibouti border. |
| USP |
United Somali Party were led by Abdi
Hashi and were concentrated in Northern Somalia. |
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