Ever wonder what all those acronyms mean that preppers use?  The following list will help you out.

ACOG – Advanced Combat Optic Gunsight.  Combines magnification, red dot and is self illuminating so no batteries are needed.

AK – Automat Kalashnikov.  Rifles well known for their robustness.

AK-47 – Early generation AK carbine that shoots the 7.62 x 39mm cartridge.

AK-74 – Later generation AK carbine that shoots the 5.45 x 39mm cartridge.

ALICE – All – Purpose Lightweight Individual Carrying Equipment.

AP – Armor Piercing.  Refers to bullets with a steel or tungsten core that penetrates steel armor.  Bullet’s tip is usually painted black for easier idfentification.

AR – Automatic Rifle (generic term).

AR-15 Semi-auto civilian variant of the U.S. Army M16 rifle.

ARB – Armed Response Bag.

ARK – Armed Response Kit.

BIB – Bug In Bag.  Contains essentials for hunkering down in place.

BK – Buckshot.

BOB –…

It was absolutely the coolest job for a teen to have at the time. As a crew member of the S.S.Admiral, you were being paid to be in attendance at the biggest weekend party in the area. Oh sure, the work was hard; having to get all the supplies from the delivery trucks on the levee up to the fourth deck by hand truck and freight elevator, then getting everything prepared beforehand, and then staying to clean up after everyone else left, but the payoff was pretty awesome. You were a part of one of St. Louis’s greatest and most remembered attractions.

I was lucky enough to have a couple of good friends that worked on the boat, and they were able to help me get the job. It was like an initiation into a special club, the crew of the S.S.Admiral. And as with all clubs that were…