Alphabet soup Published March 4, 2009 By Bob Fehringer U.S. Transportation Command Public Affairs SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Even Scooby Doo uses one of this week's acronyms. Can you guess what it is? No? OK, picture Scooby in some haunted house where a friendly ghost appears and greets the great dane, to which he replies--are you ready for this--RO/RO. The USTRANSCOM Research Center, or TCRC, says a Roll-On/Roll-Off, or RO/RO, ship is specifically designed to carry wheeled and tracked vehicles as all or most of its cargo. Vehicles are driven or towed on and off the ship by means of either the ship's own ramps or shore-based ramps. Because it is designed to accommodate cargoes which cannot be stacked but which vary in height, below-deck space and volume utilization is generally less efficient than on a container ship. RO/RO ships are thus commercially viable only in certain specialized trades. However, the RO/RO is the preferred ship type for deployment of military unit equipment. Our second acronym of the week is JLOTS, not to be confused with the Italian ice cream, that's gelloto. Joint Logistics Over-the-Shore is a unified commander's joint employment of Army and Navy LOTS assets to deploy and sustain a force. JLOTS operations allow U.S. strategic sealift ships to discharge cargo through inadequate or damaged ports or over a bare beach. JLOTS watercraft, which include the above RO/RO ships, can also be used to operationally reposition units and materials within a theater. We at USTRANSCOM hope readers are enjoying our little trip down acronym lane. If readers have a favorite or obscure military word jumble in need of explanation, submit it for inclusion in this column. Email submissions to robert.fehringer.ctr@ustranscom.mil.