Expatriates Page 30

  TNI-AU: Tentara Nasional Indonesia Angkatan Udara. The Indonesian Air Force.

  TO&E: Table of Organization and Equipment.

  Top End: Australian slang for the Northern Territory.

  TOW: Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire-guided missile.

  Triple 0: See 000.

  TSA: Transportation Security Administration (also jokingly defined as: Thousands Standing Around).

  UAV: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. See also Wulung and RQ-7B Shadow 200.

  UH-1: The venerable Huey helicopter. In service from the Vietnam War to the present.

  UN: United Nations.

  UNPROFOR: United Nations Protection Force.

  UPS: Uninterruptible Power Source.

  USAF: United States Air Force.

  USB: Universal Serial Bus.

  USD: United States Dollars.

  USMC: United States Marine Corps.

  Ute: Australian slang for utility vehicle.

  VAC: Volts, Alternating Current.

  Valmet: The Finnish conglomerate that formerly made several types of firearms.

  VDC: Volts, Direct Current.

  VOI: Voice of Indonesia.

  VW: Volkswagen.

  WD-1: U.S. military issue two-conductor insulated field telephone wire.

  WIA: Wounded in Action.

  WIB: Waktu Indonesia Barat (Western Indonesia Time).

  Wi-Fi: Wireless Fidelity.

  Winchester: An American gun maker.

  WO1: Warrant Officer 1.

  Wulung: An Indonesian-built 264-pound propeller-driven UAV with a twenty-foot wingspan, a four-hour flight endurance, and a cruising speed of sixty-nine miles per hour. See also UAV and RQ-7B Shadow 200.

  XD: Extreme Duty. A line of pistols with parts made in Croatia, produced by Springfield Armory in the United States.

  Yakka: Australian slang for work or working.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  My sincere thanks to my editor, Jessica Horvath. I’d also like to express my thanks to the many other folks who have encouraged me, who contributed technical details, who were used for character sketches, and who helped me substantively in the editing process: Edwin B., Bob G., Danielle, D.L., Dr. Craig in New Zealand, Gil R., Stephen H., Steve G., Josh S., Maid Elizabeth, S.L.M., M.B., M.E.W., Nate, Jerry J., J.I.R., Reggie K., Robert L. in Florida, Alan S. in Australia, S.O. in Australia, Kody, Kory and Owen, the family of the late John Kofler (“John the Bowhunter,” who was mentioned in the credits of my previous novels), and the family of the late Pat Jones (also known as SLR-5000 on FALFiles.com.) Pat was born in Australia but worked and died in America, his adopted home. He personified the greatness of the Australian spirit while at the same time he was a true American patriot.

  Lastly, I wish to honor the memory of Major Damon Gause (1915–1944). His daring escape from the Philippines in a small boat during the World War II occupation by the Japanese was the inspiration for one passage in this novel. (I highly recommend his published journal, The War Journal of Major Damon “Rocky” Gause, edited by Damon L. Gause, with a foreword by Stephen E. Ambrose, published by Hyperion Books, 1999.)

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Former U.S. Army Intelligence officer and survivalist James Wesley, Rawles, is a well-known survival lecturer and author. Rawles is the editor of SurvivalBlog.com—the nation’s most popular blog on family preparedness. He lives in an undisclosed location west of the Rockies and is the author of the bestselling Founders: A Novel of the Coming Collapse; Survivors: A Novel of the Coming Collapse; Patriots: A Novel of Survival in the Coming Collapse; and a nonfiction survival guide, How to Survive the End of the World as We Know It.