Updated NJROTC NS3 Glossary Terms (2018)

Star shell

a projectile that detonates in the air and releases an illuminating parachute flam

Dry dock

a shipyard structure able to contain a ship and be drained or raised so as to leave the ship high and dry

A2/AD Operations

anti-access/area denial operations.

Administrative discharge

discharge of a person from naval service initiated by the government for reasons of unsuitability or inaptitude for service life.

Admiralty law

a combination of national and international law that deals with contracts, torts (civil damages), injuries, or offenses that occur on the navigable waters of the world

Agents (chemical or biological warfare)

Chemical compounds, germs, or substances that can debilitate or kill intended victims.

AGM

military designation for an air-launched guided missile designed to attack surface targets.

Aids to navigation

lighthouses, navigation lights, buoys, and beacons especially constructed to assist in the safe navigation of vessels

AIM

military designation for an air-launched air-intercept guided missile

Air-to-air warfare

offensive and defensive measures carried out by one or more aircraft against each other

Air-to-surface warfare

measures used by aircraft to attack surface targets on land or sea

Airfoil

the surface of a body in flight

Airframe

all external parts of an aircraft or missile

Air superiority

total and extended control of the airspace over a contested battle area or battlespace

Air warfare (AW)

warfare directed against airborne vehicles; formerly called antiair warfare (AAW)

Almanac (celestial navigation)

a periodic publication of variable astronomical information

Airborne laser mine detection system

ALMDS, used by helicopters operating from littoral combat ships

American Legation, U.S. Naval Attache

ALUSNA

Anchorage

an area assigned for vessels to anchor or tie up to a mooring buoy

Antiballistic missile (ABM)

a missile used in defense against incoming ballistic missiles

Antiradiation missile

a missile designed to home in on radiation emitted from enemy weapons or radar sites

Amphibious objective area

AOA, the battlespace around an amphibious operation

Aquaculture

the science of farming the sea for fish or for plants

Area defense

protection of an entire formation of ships or land or sea area

Amphibious ready group

ARG, comprised of ships of the amphibious task force and the landing force they carry

Armament

weapons of a ship or aircraft

Armor belts

thick steel belts on the sides of olden day capital ships' hulls to give protection against shells and torpedos

Articulated tug

a tug that uses mechanical swivels to connect to its barges

Antisubmarine rocket

ASROC, fitted with a homing torpedo warhead

Asylum

protection and sanctuary granted by a sovereign state to a foreign national who seeks such protection because of persecution based on race, religion, nationality, or political affiliation

Asymmetric warfare

warfare between adversaries of greatly differing strengths wherein the weaker opponent attempts to avoid direct engagement with the forces of the strong opponent, often by attacking nonmilitary targets

Amphibious Task Force

ATF, comprising amphibious-type warships and transports

Athwartships

crosswise direction on a vessel

Atomic bomb

a nuclear weapon that derives its explosive energy power form nuclear fission; a nuclear weapon such as a hydrogen bomb that produces energy by nuclear fusion

Atomic time

time reckoned by the use of an atomic clock, usually cesium-based

Autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV)

a crewless self-propelled underwater vehicle that can operate independently without external guidance

Auxiliary combatants

merchant ships that can be easily converted to perform combat roles at sea

Auxiliary ships

support ships such as mobile logistics ships, oilers, and repair ships; and smaller vessels such as tugs, salvage, and special mission ships

Avionics

electronic aircraft weapons control, communications, and navigation gear

Bad conduct discharge (BCD)

type of disciplinary discharge that can be awarded by either a special or general court martial as punishment to an enlisted service member convicted of a violation of the UCMJ, often preceded by a period of confinement.

Ballistic missile

a missile that goes on a free-falling path after a powered and guided ascent

Ballistics

the study of flight characteristics of projectiles in free fall

Barge

in the case of boats, any small craft used for transporting officers senior to a ship's captain; in cargo hauling, a long, large craft, usually flat-bottomed, unpowered, and towed by other craft, used for transporting raw materials, freight, or liquids.

Barrage

a formidable barrier of weapons

Base surge

an initial surge of heavy radioactive mist at sea or a cloud of debris and dust particles on land created by a nuclear surface burst

Battle dressing station

first aid station equipped to handle battle casualties

Battlespace

the total space within which a battle is conducted, including undersea, surface, air, littoral (coastal) areas, and near-Earth space

Beacon

a navigation aid consisting of a tower or pile normally fitted with a daymark (i.e., a daybeacon), and sometimes also with a light, used in lieu of buoys to guide vessels through navigable waterways

Beam

extreme width of a ship or boat

Bearing

direction of an object from an observer, measured clockwise from one of three reference directions: true north, magnetic north, or a vessel's bow

Belligerent

an opponent or nation engaged in warfare against another

Bend (knot)

a kind of knot used to join two lines together

Berthing compartment

living quarters for the enlisted crew on a Navy ship

Bilges

spaces between the inner and outer bottoms of a ship

Billet

job assignment within a military organization

Biological warfare

the military use of living organisms or toxins to infect enemy personnel in order to reduce their ability to wage war

Bitts

a type of deck fitting consisting of a pair of vertical stubby heavy metal cylinders used for handling and securing mooring lines

Blockade

a naval operation wherein ships are prevented from entering or leaving certain ports or areas

Boat etiquette

the naval customs and traditions pertaining to small boats

Boat officer

embarked junior officer in charge of a small boat under certain circumstances

Bollard

a large, cylindrical wooden or iron fitting on a pier, often toe-shaped, used in securing a ship's mooring lines

Bowsprit

a beam that extends from the bow of a boat that supports a platform called a pulpit above it

Breach of discipline

a disciplinary infraction or violation of a rule of military conduct

Break bulk cargo

packaged cargo that must be loaded individually in bags, boxes, crates, drums, or barrels

Breast line

a mooring line that is perpendicular to a pier and a vessel, used to control a vessel's distance from the pier

Bridge

a platform or compartment on the upper superstructure of a ship, submarine, or large boat from which maneuvers are directed when underway

Building dock

a dry dock used for ship construction

Building ways

an open construction area in a shipyard fitted with blocks upon which ships are built

Bulkheads

inner walls of a vessel or naval installation on land

Buoy

a moored floating marker placed to guide vessels safely along navigable waterways

C4ISR

military command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems

CAG

the air group commander on a carrier

Caliber

in naval guns up to 3 in ches in diameter, the diameter of the bore in inches, decimal fractions of an inch, or millimeters; in guns larger than 3 inches, the length of the gun in inches divided by the bore diameter

Caliphate

an all-powerful ruling Islamic state

Camel

a long, low, and narrow floating wooden platform sometimes placed between a ship and a pier or between ships when mooring to act as a buffer or to do maintenance

Capstan

a rotating drum of a winch that raises an anchor cable or other heavy weight

Captain's mast

a nonjudicial punishment proceeding

CAPTOR mine

a mine consisting of an encapsulated homing torpedo suspended above the sea bottom, activated by the acoustic or magnetic signature of a passing ship or submarine

Cardinal buoyage system

a standardized international buoyage system used mainly in foreign offshore waters to mark the position of a hazard or direction of safe water

Cardinal compass points

north, south, east, and west

Carrier strike group (CSG)

a naval strike group built around an aircraft carrier

Cartographers

map and chart makers

Catamaran

a twin-hulled vessel

Cavitation

the formation and collapse of bubbles of water vapor formed by a rotating screw (propeller) in water. For a given propeller the effect increases with rotational speed and decreases with the ambient water pressure around it

CBDR

a constant bearing, decreasing range approach situation

chemical, biological, or nuclear (radiological) warfare

CBR warfare

chemical, biological, and radiological or nuclear weapons

CBR weapons

Central Control Station

CCS, a main damage control and coordination center within a ship's damage control organization on newer ships

command duty officer

CDO, an officer designated in port and sometimes at sea to represent the CO when he or she is off the ship or otherwise unavailable

Chaff

an airburst of magnetic or aluminum foil strands or fragments designed to interfere with the passage or orderly reflection of radar beams

Chain locker

a compartment in which a vessel's anchor chain is stowed

Chain of Command

a hierarchy by which authority in a organization is wielded from top-ranking officials to lower-ranking personnel

Chain pipe

a heavily constructed pipe through which an anchor chain runs from a vessel's deck down to the chain locker

Chain stopper

a short length of chain fitted with a turnbuckle and pelican hook to clamp and hold an anchor chain in place

Chartplotters

electronic navigational plotters that project a vessel's navigational plot on regulation electronic navigational charts

Chemical warfare

the military use of any chemical to harass or cause casualties

Chivalry

principles involving the qualities of bravery, honor, courtesy, respect for noncombatants, protection of the weak, generosity, and fairness to enemies

Chock

a metal fitting on board a ship through which mooring lines are passed

Close-in weapons system

CIWS, such as the Phalanx Gatling gun or SeaRAM missile system

Class (of ships)

a number of ships or submarines built to the same design and bearing the name of the first ship built in it