Stormriders: Luna's Own

by PonyMarine

Glossary of Terms

Welcome to Stormriders: Luna's Own, as you can guess this is a military styled fic so a lot of military terminology as well as my own fanon terms will get thrown about a bit, just to make sure nopony gets too confused I've provided this glossary of all the terminology I'll be using in the fic! If I add a new term it'll be added here! Some of this, like the wall of text below is all mental world building for me, so don't worry about reading it if you don't want to, if it's important I'll establish it in the text.

368th Night Fighter Wing: I use Wing in the British/United States Navy term in which the "Wing" is an administrative formation over two or more squadrons and their support staff. A usual EADF Wing is comprised of at least three squadrons for a total of thirty two aircraft. Internal orginization can set these squadrons up with individual designations or callsigns or they can just follow the wing callsign. The 368th is comprised of two squadrons the 98th Night Fighter Squadron (Selene squadron) and the 99th (Stardust squadron) The Wing CO and XO each lead a squadron in combat, but their planes and their wingmen do not not count towards the squadron totals of twelve each. So the wing has a total of twenty eight aircraft. Also under the command of the Wing is the maintenance support unit, and the 13th Company, 5th Royal Marine battalion which comprises of three platoons of infantry and a heavy weapons platoon, it also has a small unit of Marine Scout Snipers to provide special overwatch details for the Princess.

Glossary:
ADFB: Aerospace Defense Force Base, designates an airbase under the control of the EADF
AWACS : Airborne Warning and Control System - An aircraft that provides command and control to a battlespace utilizing power radar systems, also works as an eye in the sky pinpointing threats and really new tactical information to squadron commanders. The E-321 Skyeye is the EADF's AWACS aircraft and it's design is such that even earth ponies and unicorns can cre on it.
Boot: A new or junior pony in a military organization so called originally because they are fresh out of basic training or "boot camp" and they're so new their boots aren't broken in yet.
Bearing: An extension of discipline, keeping one's bearing means not showing emotion in any form of formal/military setting, this can range from public events or formations like the graduation, or getting your ass chewed.
CAP: Combat Airspace Patrol - Regular aerial patrol of an area like a no fly zone, secure airspace, etc.
Colonel: the sixth rank of officer in the equestrian armed forces, and a rank below general. These senior officers are usually found commanding large units and medium sized bases.
CSAR: Combat Search and Rescue, a specialized type of SAR unit that focuses on recovering pilots and personnel in active combat zones or behind enemy lines.
EADF: Equestrian Aerospace Defense Force - the aerial branch of the Equestrian military
F/A-29 Thunderhoof: The EADF's primary multi-role striker and the workhorse (pardon the expression everypony) of the fleet.
Flight Officer (FO): The most junior rank of officer in the pilot corps, equivalent to 2nd Lieutenant in the ground forces.
Fox calls: A fighter pilot radio call to designate firing of aerial weapons to friendly forces. Fox 1 is a semi-active radar guided missile, fox 2 is a heat seeker, fox 3 is a active radar guided missile, fox 4 is guns and in this universe fox 5 is a special weapon such as a lighting discharge.
Captain (Capt): the third rank of officer in the Equestrian Armed Forces, usually found as an XO or other form of unit sub-commander in the EADF and as a Company commander in the army and Marines.
Major (Maj): The fourth rank of officer in the Equestrian Armed Forces, usually found in command of a wing in the EADF or a battalion in the army and Royal Marines.
Master Sergeant (MSgt): Also known as "Tops" these Senior Non-commissioned Officers are placed in places of great trust and responsibility supervising and training numerous ponies, their wrath is legendary and to be avoided at all costs. They hold the eighth position in the enlisted rank structure, the second highest possible as an enlisted pony.
Northern Command: abbreviated to "NorCom" this is the North Sector Military Command of Equestria.
No Fly Zone: (from wikipedia) A no-fly zone (or no-flight zone) is a territory over an area which aircraft are not permitted to fly. Such zones are usually set up in a military context, somewhat like a demilitarized zone in the sky, and usually prohibit military aircraft of a belligerent nation from operating in the region.
Royal Marines: Equestria's Royal Marines aka the ERMC (Equestrian Royal Marine Corps) have an illustrious history as a recon, commando and special security detail and are renowned for having brutal initial training requirements on par with the Royal Guard, by long tradition, the 13th Company, 5th Marine Battalion (13/5) has served as the personal bodyguard of Princess Luna during her travels apart from Princess Celestia and as the security element for the 368th. Successive Company Commanders refused to allow the detail to slip despite offers by multiple Battalion Commanders to return the Company to it's original unit. Equestrian Royal Marines also have a reputation for being extremely prideful and bullheaded.
SAR: Search and Rescue, Teams of ponies trained to seek lost or injured personnel. Usually in the form of helicopters with specially trained flight medics.
Senior Airpony: A junior enlisted member of the EADF this is the third rank an enlisted pony can reach.
Sergeant/Staff Sergeant: Non-commissioned Officers at positions 5 and 6 respectively, these ponies are the leaders on the lines taking and executing orders from Senior NCOs and Officers and directly managing the junior enlisted personnel.
Striker: the wings, engines, weapons and armor a pegasi integrates with for combat use. It straps on more like armor then an actual aircraft you pilot.

Addition Equestrian Military Rank structure: EADF and Royal Marines, I got a comment on DA that was to the effect of wanting the nuts and bolts of this type of thing. So I wrote it up just in case any one wants to reference it.

Equestrian Armed Forces Rank structure:
Enlisted:
EADF/Royal Marines/paygrade
Airpony Recruit/Private/E-1
Airpony/Private First Class/E-2
Senior Airpony/Lance Corporal/E-3
Technical Corporal/Corporal/E-4
Sergeant/Sergeant/E-5
Staff Sergeant/Staff Sergeant/E-6
Wind Sergeant/Gunnery Sergeant/E-7
Master Sergeant/Master Sergeant/E-8
Chief Master Sergeant/Sergeant Major/E-9

Officer:
EADF/Royal Marines/Paygrade
Flight Officer*/2nd Lieutenant/O-1
Senior Flight Officer/1st Lieutenant/O-2
Captain/Captain/O-3
Major/Major/O-4
Lieutenant Colonel/Lieutenant Colonel/O-5
Colonel/Colonel/O-6

General Grades:
EADF/Royal Marines/Paygrade
Brigadier General/Brigadier General/G-1
Major General/Major General/G-2
Lieutenant General/Lieutenant General/G-3
General/General/G-4
General of the Aerospace Defense Force/Commandant of the Royal Marine Corps/G-5 (only one pony holds this rank at any time)