United States Space Corps by Michel Poulin - HTML preview

{1} Ao Dai: Traditional female Vietnamese outfit made of a long dress slit along both legs and worn over a pair of flared trousers.

{2} Going down to brass tacks: Old expression meant to say ‘going to the bottom of a problem or solution’.  It came from the instance of long marches wearing down the soles of boots and exposing the brass tacks holding the soles.

{3} NMCC: National Military Command Center, situated inside the Pentagon.  The NMCC serves as the coordination center of the American armed forces and keeps on a permanent basis an eye on military operations and crisis situations around the World.

{4} JCS: Joint Chiefs of Staff, comprising the heads of the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps, plus the Chairman of the JCS and his deputy.

{5} NBCW: Nuclear, Bacteriological and Chemical Warfare.

{6} Foggy Bottom: Nickname given to the headquarters of the American State Department, due to its proximity to the Washington neighborhood of the same name.

{7} GRU: Soviet military intelligence service.

{8} McCarthyism: Period of the early 1950s in the U.S.A., named for Senator Joseph McCarthy, then Chairman of the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, who accused countless Americans of being communists, and this on the basis of anonymous accusations, innuendos and a complete lack of proofs.

{9} Ground Zero: The central point of a nuclear detonation.

{10} Rem: Unit of radiation damage caused to an unprotected human body.  A dose of 600 rems, also called semi-lethal dose, will cause the death of at least half of the persons hit, with death happening within hours or a few weeks at the most.

{11} T.O.T.: Time on Target.  Military term for the precise time a coordinated strike will deliver its first bombs or shells on a specific target.  A tactic meant to deliver a maximum of firepower at once and thus preserve surprise until the last moment.

{12} Chyort: Russian swear word meaning ‘damn!’ or ‘hell!’.

{13} VTOL: Vertical Take-Off and Landing.

{14} ’AMERIKANSKI ZHOPA! POYDI K CHERTU! Russian insult (American asshole!  Go to Hell!)

{15} Kakogo chyorta: ‘What the Hell?’ in Russian.

{16} Zadnitza: An ass, or a Jerk, in Russian.

{17} Bliatz : ‘Bitch’ in Russian. 

{18} Chyort voz’mi!: ‘Damn it!’ in Russian.

{19} Svoloch’!  ‘Bastard’ in Russian.

{20} Chyort : Hell, in Russian.

{21} IDF: Israeli Defense Forces.

{22} Politburo: USSR’s main political decision organ before its breakup.

{23} Mommy: nickname Ronald Reagan often used to affectuously call his wife Nancy.

{24} M.I.T.: Massachusetts Institute of Technology, one of the most prestigious American universities geared towards science and technology degrees. 

{25} VTOL: Vertical Take Off and Landing.

{26} Las Malvinas: Name used by the Argentinians to designate the Falkland Islands.

{27} Las Malvinas son nuestras: ‘The Malvinas are ours’ in Spanish.

{28} Viva Argentina: ‘Long live Argentina’ in Spanish.

{29} Foggy Bottom: Popular nickname given to the American State Department headquarters building in Washington.

{30} Mackay Trophy: American reward for the most meritorious flight of the year by a United States Air Force pilot, crew or organization.