Office of the Historian

List of Abbreviations and Symbols, and Code Names

Editor’s Note—This list does not include standard abbreviations in common usage; unusual abbreviations of rare occurrence which are clarified at appropriate points; and those abbreviations and contractions which, although uncommon, are understandable from the context.

  • AB, airborne
  • Actel, series indicator for telegrams from Secretary of State Acheson while away from Washington
  • AE, ammunitions ship
  • afld, airfield
  • AKL, light cargo ship
  • AM, fleet minesweeper
  • AmEmb, American Embassy
  • ANZUS, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States (the ANZUS Pact Nations)
  • AO, oiler (vessel)
  • AOB, air order of battle
  • AP, Associated Press
  • AR, repair ship
  • ARA, Bureau of Inter-American Affairs, Department of State
  • ARL, landing craft repair ship
  • ASAP, as soon as possible
  • bn, battalion
  • BW, bacteriological warfare
  • C, Counselor of the Department of State
  • CAFIC, Communist Air Force in China
  • CAMG (CA/MG), Office of Civil Affairs and Military Government, Department of the Army
  • cav, cavalry
  • CCAF, Chinese Communist Air Force
  • CCF, Chinese Communist Forces
  • CFI, Custodial Forces of India
  • CEB, Combined Economic Board
  • CFM, Council of Foreign Ministers
  • CGAFFE, Commanding General, American Forces in the Far East
  • CGArEight, Commanding General, Eighth Army
  • CGEUSAK, Commanding General, Eighth United States Army in Korea
  • CGKCOMZ, Commanding General, Korean Communications Zone
  • ChiComs, Chinese Communists
  • CIA, Central Intelligence Agency
  • CIC, Counter Intelligence Corps
  • CI & E, Counter Intelligence and Espionage
  • CINCFE, Commander in Chief, Far East
  • CINCPAC, Commander in Chief, Pacific
  • CINCUNC, Commander in Chief, United Nations Command
  • CINCUNC–Adv, the headquarters of the UNC negotiating team at Panmunjom, located at Munsan-ni near Panmunjom
  • CIs, civilian internees
  • CMC, Collective Measures Committee, United Nations
  • CNA, Chinese Nationalist Army
  • COFS, Chief of Staff
  • COMFEAF, Commander, Far East Air Forces
  • COMNAVFE, Commander, U.S. Naval Forces in the Far East
  • COMSAC, Commander, U.S. Strategic Air Command
  • CPR, Chinese People’s Republic
  • CPV, Chinese People’s Volunteers
  • CRIK, Civilian Relief in Korea
  • C/S, Chief of Staff
  • CSUSA, Chief of Staff, United States Army
  • CW, chemical warfare
  • DA, Department of the Army
  • DD, destroyer
  • DE, destroyer escort
  • Def, Department of Defense
  • Delga, series indicator for telegrams from the United States Delegation at the United Nations General Assembly
  • DEPTAR, Department of the Army
  • Deptel, Department of State telegram
  • DIP, military series indicator for diplomatic traffic
  • DNP, Democratic Nationalist Party (South Korea)
  • DMS, Director of Mutual Security
  • DOD, Department of Defense
  • DPs, displaced persons
  • DRF, Division of Research for the Far East, Department of State
  • D/Z (DZ), Demilitarized Zone
  • ECA, Economic Cooperation Administration
  • EDC, European Defense Community
  • EE, Office of East European Affairs, Department of State
  • EM, enlisted man
  • Embtel, Embassy telegram
  • EST, Eastern Standard Time
  • EUR, Bureau of European Affairs, Department of State
  • EUSAK, Eighth United States Army in Korea
  • Everready, plan covering eventualities of ROK domestic disturbances and non-cooperation with UNC
  • FAO, Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations
  • FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation
  • FE, Bureau of Far Eastern Affairs, Department of State
  • FEC (FECOM), Far East Command
  • Final, UNC plan for signing armistice
  • FOA, Foreign Operations Administration
  • FonMin, Foreign Minister
  • FonOff, Foreign Office
  • FY, fiscal year
  • FYI, for your information
  • G, Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of State
  • G–1, Army general staff section dealing with personnel at the division level or higher
  • G–2, Army general staff section dealing with intelligence at the division level or higher
  • G–3, Army general staff section dealing with operations and training at the division level or higher
  • G–4, Army general staff section dealing with supply at the division level or higher
  • GA, General Assembly, United Nations
  • Gadel, series indicator for telegrams to the United States Delegation at the United Nations General Assembly
  • GHQ, general headquarters
  • GOI, Government at India
  • HICOG, High Commissioner for Germany
  • HICOM, High Commissioner
  • I, internal time
  • IAC, Intelligence Advisory Committee
  • IC, Indochina
  • ICJ, International Court of Justice, United Nations
  • ICRC, International Committee of the Red Cross
  • IN, incoming
  • INS, International News Service
  • ISA, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs
  • J–5, Office of Civil Operations, Far East Command of the UN Command
  • JA UNC, Judge Advocate, United Nations Command
  • JCS, Joint Chiefs of Staff
  • JOEWP, joint operation emergency war plan
  • JSPC, Joint Subsidiary Plans Division of JCS
  • KCAC, Korean Civil Assistance Command
  • KCOMZ, Korean Communications Zone
  • Kentel, series indicator and special channel for telegrams to or from Ambassador Kennan in Moscow
  • KMAG, United States Military Advisory Group to the Republic of Korea
  • KMT, Kuomintang (Nationalist Party), Republic of China
  • KPA, Korean People’s Army
  • L, Legal Adviser, Department of State
  • L/E, Legal Adviser to the Bureau of Economic Affairs
  • Little Switch, operation for repatriation of sick and wounded prisoners of war
  • LOC, line of communication
  • LSM, landing ship, medium
  • LST, tank landing ship
  • MAC, Military Armistice Commission
  • MB, medium bomber
  • MDA, Mutual Defense Assistance
  • MDAP, Mutual Defense Assistance Program
  • MEDO, Middle East Defense Organization
  • MDT, Mutual Defense Treaty
  • M/L, martial law
  • MP, military police
  • MLR, Main Line of Resistance
  • MSA, Mutual Security Agency; Mutual Security Act (of 1951); Mutual Security Assistance
  • MSP, Mutual Security Program
  • mytel, my telegram
  • NA, Office of Northeast Asian Affairs, Department of State
  • NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization
  • NEA, Bureau of Near Eastern, South Asian, and African Affairs, Department of State
  • NDC, National Defense Corps (ROK)
  • niact, night action, communications indicator requiring attention by the recipient at any hour of the day or night
  • NIE, National Intelligence Estimate
  • NK, North Korea
  • NKA, North Korean Army
  • NKPA, North Korean People’s Army
  • NNIT, Neutral Nations’ Inspection Teams
  • NNRC, Neutral Nations’ Repatriation Commission
  • NNSC, Neutral Nations’ Supervisory Commission
  • NOTAL, not needed by all addressees
  • NSC, National Security Council
  • NSF, National Safety Forces (Japan)
  • OCB, Operations Coordinating Board
  • OCS, Office, Chief of Staff
  • OFD, Office of Financial and Development Policy, Department of State
  • OMP, Office of International Materials Policy, Department of State
  • OPI, Office of Public Information (ROK)
  • OSD, Office of the Deputy Secretary of Defense
  • ourad, our radio (telegram)
  • P, Bureau of Public Affairs, Department of State
  • PC, Political Conference
  • PCEC, escort amphibious control vessel
  • PIO, Public Information Officer
  • POL, petroleum, oil, and lubricants
  • POWs, prisoners of war
  • PM, Prime Minister
  • PNG, persona non grata
  • Pres US, the President of the United States
  • PriMin, Prime Minister
  • PSB, Psychological Strategy Board
  • PSF, President’s Secretary’s File (Truman Papers, Truman Library)
  • PsyWar, psychological warfare
  • PPS, Policy Planning Staff, Department of State
  • PW, prisoner of war
  • RAAF, Royal Australian Air Force
  • rad, radio (telegram)
  • RCAF, Royal Canadian Air Force
  • RCT, regimental combat team
  • reftel, reference telegram
  • reurad, re your radio (telegram)
  • ROK, Republic of Korea
  • ROKA, Republic of Korea Army
  • ROKG, Republic of Korea Government
  • ROKN, Republic of Korea Navy
  • S, Office of the Secretary of State
  • SC, Security Council of the United Nations
  • Scatter, screening plan for repatriation of prisoners of war
  • SE, Special Estimate
  • SEA, South East Asia
  • SecDef, Secretary of Defense
  • Secto, series indicator for telegrams to the Department of State from the Secretary of State
  • sitrep, situation report
  • SK, South Korea
  • SOA, Office of South Asian Affairs, Department of State
  • S/P, Policy Planning Staff, Department of State
  • SM, Secretary’s Meeting
  • SNIE, Special National Intelligence Estimate
  • S/S, Executive Secretariat, Department of State
  • STU, short ton of tungsten
  • Supr Com, supervisory commission
  • SYG, Secretary-General of the United Nations
  • Telac, series indicator for telegrams to Secretary of State Acheson while away from Washington
  • telecon, telecommunications conference
  • TIAS, Treaties and Other International Acts Series
  • TO & E, Table of Organization and Equipment
  • Tofoa, series indicator for telegrams to Foreign Operations Administration
  • Topad, designation for telegraphic correspondence in either direction between the United States Political Adviser to the Supreme Commander for Allied Powers in Japan and the Department of State
  • Tosec, series indicator for telegrams from the Department of State to the Secretary of State
  • TopSec, Top Secret
  • TS, Top Secret
  • UC, Unified Command
  • UKHC, United Kingdom High Commissioner
  • UNA, Bureau of United Nations Affairs, Department of State
  • UNASYG, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General
  • UNC, United Nations Command
  • UNCACK, United Nations Civil Assistance Command, Korea
  • UNCURK, United Nations Commission for the Unification and Rehabilitation of Korea
  • UNGA, United Nations General Assembly
  • UNP, Office of United Nations Political and Security Affairs, Department of State
  • UNPW, United Nations prisoner of war
  • UNKRA, United Nations Korean Reconstruction Agency
  • urad, your radio (telegram)
  • urtel, your telegram
  • USAF, United States Air Force
  • USIS, United States Information Service
  • USMC, United States Marine Corps
  • UST, United States Treaties and Other Agreements
  • USUN, United States Mission at the United Nations
  • WE, Office of Western European Affairs, Department of State
  • WIROM, series indicator for certain Department of State administrative telegrams
  • YO, fuel oil barge
  • ZI, Zone of the Interior