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DG Jargon

Page history last edited by PBworks 15 years, 8 months ago

A glossary of jargon, euphemisms, acronyms, terms of art, etc. used by various government agencies.

A Cell: the coordinating cell of the Delta Green network.
abort: to cancel or stop a mission or flight for any reason other than enemy action.
A/C: aircraft commander (also AC). Or, aircraft.
acid sapper: old Vietnam-period DSIS slang for minor Menace entities.
actor: suspect under surveillance.
actual: military radio jargon for a unit commander, to distinguish the commander from the radioman when call signs are used.
AD: Assistant Director.
ADW: assault with a deadly weapon.
AG: Attorney General
Agency, the: nickname for the Central Intelligence Agency.
AGL: distance Above Ground Level.
air: military jargon for air power, usually meaning fighter-bombers.
air abort: military jargon for the cancellation of an aircraft mission for any reason other than enemy action, at any time from takeoff to mission completion.
air support: bombing or strafing by fixed-wing aircraft.
airborne: soldiers who are qualified as parachutists, or any personnel or piece of equipment dropped by parachute. Also slang for a tough, military attitude.
airstrike: bombing or strafing attacks by fixed wing aircraft.
alphabet soup: a reference to the many U.S. agencies known by their acronyms rather than full names (i.e., CIA, FBI, DEA, etc.).
ambulatory: those wounded in action who are still able to walk, also referred to as routine dustoffs.
angels: term for altitude in thousands of feet. Thus, "angels two zero" is 20,000 feet.
AO: 1. Area of Operations. 2. Aerial Observer, a lookout watching the ground from a helicopter.
AP: abbreviation for several terms: Armor Piercing, Anti-Personnel, Ambush Patrol, or Air Police.
APB: all points bulletin; more often used is BOLO (qv)
aquatic humanoids (or homonids): the preferred DSIS term for Deep Ones.
archint: DSIS term for intelligence gained through archaeological research.
Area of Operations: the area involved in actions and the administration of those actions. Also, the place where military operations are conducted as part of an assigned mission.
Area 51: also known as Dreamland, or the Ranch. Located on the Nellis AFB Test Range in Nevada. Rumored to be the site of secret Majestic-12 programs.
asset: any person, group, instrument, installation, supply or resource at the disposal of an intelligence agent.
assist: police slang; a request for ‘assist’ implies extreme priority (as opposed to back-up or check-by)
attach: to place units or personnel in an organization as a temporary assignment.
autolysis: the attacking of the stomach and esophagus by digestive fluids after death.
babble juice: slang for any kind of truth serum.
backstopping: an extremely in-depth cover. A whole new identity right down to a birth certificate.
bagged and tagged: slang for the procedure of processing dead soldiers.
basic: short for basic training
BC: body count
BDA: Bomb Damage Assessment, or Battle Damage Assessment.
B&E: breaking and entering.
beaucoup: (pronounced 'boo coo') pidgin, from the French word meaning plenty or many.
beautiful people: police slang: detectives.
believer: military slang for a dead soldier, esp. a dead enemy soldier.
Benning School for Boys: slang for (US Army) Officers Candidate School.
BFR: police slang for entry by ‘big fucking rock’
Big H: Midwestern police slang for Howard Johnson restaurant.
big key: battering rams used during high-risk entry and warrant service.
BIGOT list: intel term for a list of those with access to intelligence from a particularly sensitive source or operation.
bingo: pilots' term for out of gas or almost empty fuel tanks.
biographic leverage: intel slang for blackmail material.
black: term meaning clandestine, or covert, as in 'black operations;' especially those that are illegal or outside the agency’s official charter.
black bag job: FBI jargon for operations involving illegal burglary or breaking and entering, either to perform a search or to install surveillance equipment.
black bag operations: CIA slang for bribery operations.
black widow: slang for a rifle with a night vision scope attached.
blacker than black: DG slang for anything pertaining to Delta Green.
blind date: meeting someone at his or her choice of time and place, with the accompanying risk of a set-up.
blind memoranda: memo or orders sent without letterhead or file number. Such memos may be destroyed with impunity to preserve plausible deniability.
blobs: DG slang for various amorphous entities.
blooper: military slang for the M-79 grenade launcher. Also known as bluper, thumper or blooker.
blown: to be revealed or exposed as a covert or clandestine agent; see also burn.
body bag: the plastic bag used to retrieve and transport dead bodies. Each bag has a zipper and carrying handles.
body count: the number of enemy killed, wounded, or captured during an operation.
BOLO: police slang for ‘be on the look out’
bomb damage assessment: recording the results of a strike estimate at the end of a flight. The bomb damage assessment contains the number of people killed, the number of buildings and vehicles destroyed, and so forth.
boondocks, boonies: military slang for the jungle or any remote area away from base camps; the field, the bush, or any place the infantry operates that is not a firebase, basecamp, or ville.
boonie hat: a soft floppy jungle hat with a brim all around it, and air holes in the crown.
border rats: Customs and DEA agents working on the U.S.-Mexican border.
bought the farm (or ranch): slang for being killed.
brass: an officer or supervisor.
breast fed: FBI slang for female FBI agents.
brief: premission intelligence and planning session.
briefback: a detailed discussion of an intended mission.
bring up the rear: slang for the last man in a patrol, the tail.
bronsons: DG term for agents of Majestic-12.
bucket jobs: FBI slang for surveillance work.
bucket squad: FBI slang for surveillance team.
Bureau, the: slang for the FBI.
Bureau Special: an FBI investigation carried on outside the framework of usual Bureau procedure, with no files or records being maintained. Generally involves illegal or politically sensitive affairs.
burn: to be revealed or exposed as a clandestine or covert agent; see also blown. Also a euphemism for being compromised by blackmail.
bush: anywhere outside a base where a firefight is possible; the boonies, the field, the boondocks.
bush bond: police slang for the offer of sexual favors to avoid arrest.
bust: an arrest.
bubble stretcher: portable biocontainment pod used for transportation of dangerously infected patients.
buy-bust operation: law enforcement operation designed to lure a narcotics dealer to a single purchase and arrest the dealer immediately afterwards.
buzzer: old slang for police badge; to ‘buzz’ someone is to show them your badge.
cache: hidden supplies
call sign: a coded combination of letters, words, or numbers used to identify a person, unit, or activity.
Camp Perry: usually, refers to the CIA training facility in Virginia.
canoe maker: police slang for a coroner or medical examiner.
case death: intel slang for an operation that fails for no discernable reason. Usually provokes suspicion of a security leak.
cauterization: intel slang: removing or disposing of a compromised asset.

cell: a small group within a larger organization that is separate for purposes of security.
chasing rabbits: DG slang: to willingly interfere with MJ-12 activities
Chemturion suit: pressurized, heavy-duty biohazard environment suit used in Biosafety 4 containment areas. Also known as the “blue suit” because of its color.
classification: the systematic division of sensitive military, intelligence, or policy materials. Confidential items are the least sensitive, Secret items represent a serious threat to national security if released, and Top Secret items represent the gravest possible threat to national security if released.
close a contract: intel slang: to kill or assassinate.
chain of command: the hierarchy of military or bureaucratic authority.
chairborne commando or ranger: military slang for clerks or office personnel.
cherry: slang for a new, inexperienced member of a team or group.
chickenplate: military slang for the ceramic armor worn by helicopter crews.
choir practice: police slang for a party (especially a rowdy one) involving law enforcement agents or officers.
CI: confidential informant.
CI: counterintelligence, or counterinsurgency.
CID: the Criminal Investigation Division of the U.S. Army.
clandestine: an operation that should go completely unseen.
clearance: 1. clearing an area of the enemy. 2. permission to engage the enemy in a specific area. 3. security clearance.
clerks and jerks: army slang for office and support personnel.
CO 1.: conscientious objector. 2. Commanding Officer.
cold LZ: a landing zone not under fire, meaning relatively safe to land.
comint: communications intelligence, interception of radio and telephone signals. A subcategory within elint.
commo check: slang for a radio check.
Company, the: slang for the CIA.
compartmentalization: limiting access to materials based on not only their security clearance level, but also by ‘need to know.’
compound: a fortified installation.
COMSEC: a secondary security classification: communications security, pertaining to cryptologic systems.
contact: enemy engagement, including exchanging fire.
covert: an operation that may be seen but not noticed as suspicious.
cowboy: slang for any rowdy, untrustworthy person.
Cowboy Years: DG slang for the period 1972 to 1993.
CP: Command Post.
crank time: starting the engine of a helicopter.
crossing the border: intel slang for exceeding in the use of force in the course of an operation; the basic premise for a rhino.
CSI: police term: crime scene investigator
customers: the consumers of finished intelligence, usually policymakers and elected officials.
cut-out: a middle-man between the agent and the case officer. There may be several cut-outs between an agent and the intelligence service he works for.
CYA: slang phrase Cover Your Ass.
D&D: police slang: drunk & disorderly.
deadlined: slang for down for repairs.
dee dee: pidgin derived from the Vietnamese word de, for goodbye, leave, or depart. Also commonly spelled didi. “Didi mau” is Vietnamese for “go quickly.”
Deep Ones: DG slang for Aquatic Humanoids.
deniable person: an agent whose connection to the agency or organization can be denied.
detail: military slang: a work assignment.
detainee: euphemism for persons taken “unofficially” into custody.
deuce and a half: the military 2.5 ton all-wheel drive truck. Also called a 6x6, or six-bye.
deuce-point: the second main in line on a patrol, also known as the slack, or slackman.
ding: military slang: killed; a dinger is a sniper.
ding team: military slang: a scout-sniper team.
dirty tricks: old CIA slang for black operations.
disarticulated: body parts which have fallen off the body as a result of decomposition.
Disneyland East: the Pentagon
disposable: something or someone able to be sacrificed, if necessary, for the success of a mission.
DO: DG slang for “Deep Ones.”
DOB: date of birth.
doc: slang for medic.
DoD: Department of Defense.
dog call: police slang for boring, routine requests for action by patrol officers.
doorknockers: background check and security personnel who go door-to-door asking a subject’s friends, neighbors, and relatives about the subject’s background.
DOW: Died Of Wounds.
drag, the: military jargon for the last man or squad in a patrol or platoon column.
DRT: police slang: (1) Dead Right There; (2) Detention Response Team, dealing with violent jail incidents.
dry cleaning: losing a shadow, tail or surveillance team.
duck soup: DG slang for a cleanup operation.
dust off: medical evacuation by helicopter, also called medevac: either routine, priority, or emergency.
eagle flight or strike: military jargon for a swiftly carried out helicopter assault mission.
ears only information: so sensitive that it cannot be committed to paper.
EBE: extraterrestrial biological entity, one term for the ‘Greys.’
echelon: an aerial formation in which flight members are positioned sequentially to one side of the lead aircraft.
EDP police slang: emotionally disturbed person.
elint: electronic intelligence, gathered through means such as radar, sonar, and orbital sensors.
engagement: an encounter which involves hostile or aggressive action by one or more participants.
EOD: explosive ordnance disposal person or team, especially if military.
EPIC: the El Paso Intelligence Center, a major federal data collection and analysis facility.
evac: short for evacuation hospital or medevac helicopter.
evulsion: occurs when a portion of the body is ripped off cleanly with a force driven in one direction.
exfiltration: clandestine or covert departure from an area.
extract, extraction: to be withdrawn from an area by your organization subsequent to a mission’s termination.
FAC: Forward Air Controller.
fatigues: standard military combat uniform.
fat pills: police slang for doughnuts.
the Farm: slang for the CIA’s training facility at Camp Perry, VA.
farm boys: CIA agents trained at Camp Perry for assassination, sabotage, and other aspects of special projects.
F-Entity: CIA slang for the FBI.
FI: police slang: field interview.
fishy: DG slang: connected with the Deep Ones
fix: CIA jargon for compromise, blackmail, or misdirection.
flaps and seals man: an expert at surreptitious mail opening.
FLETC: the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center, at Glnyco, GA
flying lesson: military slang for throwing a prisoner from a helicopter in flight.
fluttered: to be examined by a polygraph machine.
frag: short for fragmentation grenade, fragmentation bomb, etc.; also, to wound or kill a “friendly,” especially with a grenade.
free fire zone: an area presumed to be cleared of civilians, into which fire can be directed without having to obtain clearance. Also, an area to be treated as such (whether clear or not).
freq: short for radio frequency.
friendlies: slang for anyone on 'our' side. Within DG, persons aware of the Menace and cooperating with DG.
FTA: failure to appear (in court).
fumigate: to check an area for surveillance devices.
the Game: intel slang for the field of intelligence work.
get wet: military and intel slang meaning to kill with a bayonet or knife.
ghoul: DG/DSIS jargon for Subterranean Humanoid, or Manhattan Humanoid.
glove cleaner: DG slang for person divulging snippets of Mythos facts to the unaware.
go to ground: to into hiding. The opposite is to ‘surface.’
Green Beanies, Green Berets: the U.S. Army Special Forces.
green box: DG slang for a DG safe house or cache.
greys: slang name for the aliens presumably contacted in 1947 by the U.S. government; also EBE, HX.
grids: commonly used maps with 1 kilometer grid-lines; also grid coordinates, grid square, etc.
the grinder: CIA debriefing room for interrogations.
gunship: a helicopter or aircraft armed with extensive air-to-ground weapons.
handling agent: an FBI agent who runs agents or informers.
Hangar 18: DG slang for portions of Wright-Paterson AFB, OH, used for secret Majestic-12 programs.
hatbox: CDC/USAMRIID slang for a cylindrical biohazard container made of waxed cardboard. Also known as the ice-cream container.
heavy mob: CIA agents skilled in violence.
heavy squad: FBI agents skilled in violence.
honey trap: using sex to lure an agent into a compromising situation.
hot landing zone: a landing zone which is taking fire.
hot suite: biosafety level 4 lab/containment facility.
hot zone: area containing lethal infectious organisms.
house of dark shadows: DG slang for a structure believed to harbor Menace entities.
humint: human intelligence, gathered from human sources such as agents.
hump: slang meaning to walk any distance, especially with a load, or do any laborious job.
Hush Puppy: any of various thoroughly silenced automatic pistols.
HX: homo xeno, or various other pseudo-linnaen terms for the Greys.
the Ice Cave: DG slang for the secret Majestic-12 facility (YY-II) located within the Los Alamo, NM DOE labs.
illegals: agents with no diplomatic or official cover.
illum: short for illumination
imint: imagery intelligence, usually another term for photint.
Indian Country: military and DG slang for areas controlled by the ‘enemy’.
indigenous: local
insert, insertion: to be dropped into a tactical or combat area by helicopter or parachute, usually secret.
intel: slang for tactical intelligence.
isolation: CIA slang for attending the Camp Perry, VA training facility.
jacket: police slang for criminal record.
jock strap medals: CIA decorations kept in a safe at Langley HQ until a case officer retires.
John Wayne High School: nickname for the Special Warfare Training School at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, where all Special Forces members were trained.
JDLR: police slang: just don’t/didn’t look right.
Killer Kane: intel slang for solo, nocturnal assassination specialists.
klick: slang for kilometer.
knuckle dragger: CIA slang for Special Forces soldiers on detached duty with the Company.
Kojak light: portable flasher light for cars.
LBE: load bearing equipment, the straps, belts, pouches, and packs which carry a soldier's gear.
legend: intel jargon for a fake biography for an agent to give him or her cover.
litter case: military jargon for a combatant wounded in action who could not walk and was placed on a litter for medevac.
lock and load: prepare to fire.
to make: to recognize, esp. a covert agent.
making a pass: physically passing a message to or from a courier or agent.
Manhattan Humanoids: DSIS term for ghouls, or Subterranean Humanoids.
maverick: a government vehicle which was misused or stolen.
measles: intel slang: to “die from measles” is to have been assassinated by means that make the death appear natural.
meatpile: DG slang for a sight that is so gristly that it overwhelms at least one of the senses instantly.
the Menace: DG/DSIS term for the entire range of supernatural or abnormal entities, phenomena, organizations, etc.
MIA: missing in action.
MIA/BNR: missing in action, body not recovered.
MIB: the “Men in Black,” DG slang for members of Majestic-12’s security and coverup forces.
midnight requisition: slang for unauthorized supply acquisition.
moonlight extradition: an illegal extradition; also known as “Mexican extradition.”
mule: a courier.
musician: CIA slang for a radio operator.
N-Entity: CIA slang for the NSA.
NCIC: the National Crime Information Center, where fingerprint match requests are processed.
necropsy: a postmortem examination.
net: short for radio network, or radio frequency setting.
neutralize: euphemism for destroy, kill, or render ineffective.
a Night at the Opera: DG slang for a DG mission or operation.
9mm pension plan: forced demise of a DG agent or friendly who's turning into a liability; calibre can vary due to personal tastes.
NLT: No Later Than.
NOFORN: a secondary security classification: Not Releasable to Foreign Nationals.
non-discernable bio-inoculator: William Colby’s phrase for a poison dart gun.
Norwegian: DG slang: as an adjective, anything too public for its own good.
notional: a company established as cover, usually conducting no actual business or existing only on paper.
number 1: pidgin for the best or first place.
number 10: pidgin for the worst, a loser, or the lowest.
number crunchers: the NSA’s code-breaking computers.
OC: organized crime; the required term for the Mafia within the FBI until recently.
OP: observation post
operational climate: the aspects of difficulty in carrying out an intelligence mission in a given locale.
Ops: operations
ORCON: a secondary security classification: dissemination and extraction controlled by originator.
outside man: CIA slang for an illegal.
over the fence: slang for cross border movement, or illicit international operations.
oversight: monitoring of covert operations by elected officials.
overt: an operation where no attempt is made to conceal the operation or the identities of those involved.
pavement artist: a member of an urban surveillance and shadowing team.
PC: police slang: probably cause.
perimortem: occurring at the time of death.
photint: photographic intelligence, gathered by photography, be it micro-camera or spy satellite.
the Pit: enormous shredding and document-destruction center at CIA HQ.
plausible deniability: the favorable result of cover and deception activities.
PLF: military slang for parachute landing fall
playing Zeppo: DG slang for the passive element in a cell, manning the mikes or acting as a backup.
plumbing: the work undertaken to prepare for a major operation, usually involving reconnaissance.
point, point man, point element: the first man or unit in line as a squad, platoon, or entry team move in column.
POL: petroleum, oil, and lubricants.
PR: person reporting (an incident); also RP (for reporting person).
PR-24: the commonest model of L-shaped police baton.
product: finished intelligence reports, especially as provided to operational teams.
proned out: laying on the ground, spread eagle position.
proprietary company: a company owned an operated by an intelligence agency for the support of their operations; Air America was a CIA proprietary.
proword: a code word used to express a prearranged message, as in 'Rain' might mean 'I am under enemy fire.'
Psychotic Opera: old DSIS slang for the psychological warfare operation used as a cover for special intelligence activities.
PZ: Pick Up Zone
Q Course: the qualification course for Special Forces soldiers.
Racal Suit: a positive-pressure biohazard suit with a battery-powered air supply. For use in the field with extreme biohazard materials. Also known as the “orange suit.”
Ranger: in the U.S. Army, elite soldiers trained for recon and scout missions. In the Vietnam period also known as LRPs or LRRPS.
rhino: DG slang for a situation that turned violent and ugly for no discernible reason.
RTB: Return to Base
RTO: Radio Telephone Operator
ruck: or rucksack backpack
SA: Special Agent.
safe house: a hideout, or secure debriefing location.
SAIC: Special Agent In Charge
sanction: to kill or assassinate.
sanitize: euphemism for leaving no evidence, including witnesses. Also refers to the use of stolen cars, false ID, and untraceable equipment.
sapper: a commando, especially trained in infiltration and demolitions.
SCI: a secondary classification category: sensitive compartmentalized information. This information is secured in a SCIF, or SCI Facility.
Section 8: a discharge from the military for mental or emotional problems.
sheep-dipped: military slang for military personnel or equipment on loan to the CIA.
shoe: intel slang for a false passport.
sigint: signals intelligence, gathered through interception of radio and other open-air transmissions. A sub-category of elint.
sit rep: situation report.
sit rep alpha sierra: military radio jargon for ‘situation report all secure.’
six: military radio jargon for the unit commander or headquarters.
six to six: military radio jargon for commanders speaking to each other, esp. on the radio.
slack: the second man or unit on a patrol or entry team, just after the point.
the Slammer: the biosafety level 4 hot suite at USAMRIID.
slick: an unarmed or lightly armed troop or cargo carrying helicopter, usually the UH-1 Huey.
Snake Eaters: slang for Special Forces.
Sneaky Petes: slang for Special Forces, or sometimes any elite unit capable of stealthy movement.
soap: nickname for sodium pentothal.
SOI: Signal Operating Instructions. This booklet contains the callsigns and radio frequencies of various units.
SOP: Standard Operating Procedures.
special intelligence: DSIS term for intelligence regarding the Menace.
Special K: DG slang for the Karotechia.
special projects: CIA jargon for the tougher side of intelligence operations, such as counterinsurgency warfare and paramilitary operations.
spook: slang for intelligence or counterintelligence personnel, whether civilian or military.
Starlight scope: any of various light intensifier instruments, either mounted on weapons or used for surveillance.
station chief: the top CIA officer in a foreign country.
stepped on: radio and signal interference, as in ”The signal was stepped on.”
sterile: covert operations term for untraceable or unidentifiable equipment and uniforms.
strac: military slang for a good soldier who sticks exactly to regulations.
stringer: intel slang for an occasional or freelance agent or spy.
stunting driving: maneuvers to evade surveillance, or to determine if surveillance exists.
the Submarine: the biosafety level 4 morgue at USAMRIID.
Subterranean Humanoid: preferred DSIS term for ghouls, or Manhattan humanoids.
suit: any upper-level administrator away from the action.
SWAG: Scientific Wild Ass Guess.
tail rotor chain bracelet: used tail rotor chains worn by helicopter crews.
tail-end Charlie: slang for the last man in a patrol or entry team.
tasked: military jargon for ‘ordered.’
the Tank: slang for the sound and surveillance secure rooms found at larger CIA stations, and at some Federal law enforcement offices.
team uniform: military radio jargon for the frequency on which a unit communicates.
throw down: weapon carried by law enforcement officer to be planted on dead suspect.
tome rot: DG slang for insanity induced by extensive exposure to Menace information.
toss: to surreptitiously enter and search.
tradecraft: the techniques of espionage.
turned: an agent who changes sides either voluntarily or under duress.
UCMJ: Uniform Code of Military Justice.
visual: to have a subject in sight.
watchers: surveillance teams.
web gear: load-bearing equipment, not including backpacks.
wet job, wet work: intel slang: assassination.
winchester: military radio jargon for 'I am out of ammo' or 'all ordnance has been expended.'
wire: a wiretap or body bug.
wizard: police slang for facility receiving emotionally disturbed persons.
zap: slang for to shoot and hit, wound, or kill.
zippo raid: DG slang for a mission involving arson to destroy evidence or survivors.
zombie: DSIS/DG slang for an agent or operative who has “officially” died and assumed a new identity for the purposes of cover and deception.
zulu: military slang for a casualty report.