Office of the Historian

List of Abbreviations and Symbols

  • Adv, Adviser
  • AEC, Atomic Energy Commission
  • ARK, Armée Royale Khmer (Royal Cambodian Army)
  • ARVN, Army of the Republic of Vietnam
  • ASAP, As soon as possible
  • bn(s), battalion(s)
  • BOB, Bureau of the Budget
  • C, Office of the Counselor of the Department of State
  • C–IN–C, Commander in Chief
  • C/T, Country Team
  • CAS, Controlled American Source
  • ChiCom(s), Chinese Communist(s)
  • ChiNats, Chinese Nationalists
  • ChMAAG, Chief, Military Assistance Advisory Group
  • CIA, Central Intelligence Agency
  • CINCPAC, Commander in Chief, Pacific
  • CINCPACFLT, Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Fleet
  • CG, Commanding General
  • CNO, Chief of Naval Operations
  • CO, Commanding Officer
  • Contel, Consulate telegram
  • CONUS, Continental United States
  • COS, Chief of Staff
  • CVN, Central Vietnam
  • CVTC, Confederation of Vietnamese Trade Congresses
  • CY, calendar year
  • Def, Defense
  • DEPTAR, Department of the Army
  • Deptel, Department of State telegram
  • DFS, Defense Forces Support
  • DOD, Department of Defense
  • DRF, Division of Research for the Far East, Office of Intelligence Research, Department of State
  • DRV, Democratic Republic of Vietnam
  • DS, Defense support
  • DTG, date time group
  • Dulte, series indicator for telegrams from Secretary of State Dulles while away from Washington
  • Embtels, Embassy telegrams
  • ETA, estimated time of arrival
  • ETD, estimated time of departure
  • EUR, Bureau of European Affairs, Department of State
  • FAVN, Forces Armées de Vietnam (Armed Forces of Vietnam)
  • FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation
  • FBIS, Foreign Broadcast Information Service
  • FCDA, Federal Civil Defense Administration
  • FCN, Friendship, Commerce, Navigation
  • FE, Bureau of Far Eastern Affairs, Department of State
  • FE/SEA, Office of Southeast Asian Affairs, Bureau of Far Eastern Affairs, Department of State
  • FEC, French Expeditionary Corps
  • FHC, French High Commissioner (Vietnam)
  • FOA, Foreign Operations Administration
  • FonMin, Foreign Minister
  • FonOff, Foreign Office
  • FRC, Federal Records Center
  • ftr sqn, fighter squadron
  • FY, Fiscal Year
  • FYI, for your information
  • G, Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of State; after 1955, the Deputy Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
  • G–2, Army staff section dealing with intelligence at the divisional level or higher
  • G–5, Army staff section dealing with civil affairs at the divisional level or higher
  • G–6, Army staff section dealing with communication electronics at the divisional level or higher
  • GA, General Assembly
  • GNP, Gross National Product
  • GOI, Government of India
  • GRC, Government of the Republic of China
  • GVN, Government of Vietnam
  • HBM, Her Britannic Majesty’s
  • HQ, headquarters
  • IAC, Intelligence Advisory Committee
  • IC, Indochina
  • ICA, International Cooperation Administration
  • Icato, series indicator for telegrams originating with the International Cooperation Administration
  • ICC, International Control Commission
  • IMF, International Monetary Fund
  • inf, infantry
  • INR, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Department of State
  • IO, Bureau of International Organization Affairs, Department of State
  • ISA, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (International Security Affairs)
  • ISC, International Supervisory and Control Commission (variation of ICC)
  • JAC, Joint (Armistice) Commission
  • JCS, Joint Chiefs of Staff
  • JOC, Joint Operations Center
  • km, kilometer
  • L, Office of the Legal Adviser, Department of State
  • L/FE, Office of the Assistant Legal Adviser for Far Eastern Affairs, Department of State
  • LCM, Landing Craft, Medium
  • LCVP, Landing Craft, Vehicle, Personnel
  • ln sqn, line squadron
  • LOC, lines of communication
  • LSIL, Landing Ship, Infantry, Large
  • LSSL, Support Landing Ship, Large
  • MAAG, Military Assistance Advisory Group
  • MAGCH, series indicator for telegrams from the Chief of the Military Assistance Advisory Group
  • MATS, Military Air Transport Service
  • MDA, Mutual Defense Assistance
  • MDAP, Mutual Defense Assistance Program
  • MSU, Michigan State University
  • MSUG, Michigan State University Group
  • mytel, my telegram
  • NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization
  • niact, night action; communications indicator requiring attention by the recipient at any hour of the day or night
  • NIE, National Intelligence Estimate
  • NNSC, Neutral Nations Supervisory Commission
  • NRM, National Revolutionary Movement
  • NSC, National Security Council
  • OASD/ISA, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (International Security Affairs)
  • OCB, Operations Coordinating Board
  • ODM, Office of Defense Mobilization
  • OSD, Office of the Secretary of Defense
  • PA, project authorization
  • PACOM, Pacific Command
  • POL, petroleum, oil, and lubricants
  • Polto, series indicator for telegrams from the United States Permanent Representative to the North Atlantic Council
  • PPS, Policy Planning Staff, Department of State
  • PriMin, Prime Minister
  • PSA, Office of Philippine and Southeast Asian Affairs, Department of State
  • PSB, Psychological Strategy Board
  • RCT, Regimental Combat Team
  • reftel, reference telegram
  • Regt Hq, Regimental Headquarters
  • RKG, Royal Khmer Government
  • RLT, Regimental Landing Team
  • ROK, Republic of Korea
  • RVN, Republic of Vietnam
  • S/MSA, Office of the Special Assistant to the Secretary of State for Mutual Security Affairs
  • S/P, Policy Planning Staff, Department of State
  • S/S, The Executive Secretariat, Department of State
  • SAC, Strategic Air Command
  • SC, Security Council
  • SDC, Self Defense Corps
  • SEA, Office of Southeast Asian Affairs, Bureau of Far Eastern Affairs, Department of State
  • SEA, Southeast Asia
  • SEACDT, Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty
  • SEATO, Southeast Asian Treaty Organization
  • Secto, series indicator for telegrams from the Secretary of State (or his delegation) at international conferences
  • SMM, Saigon Military Mission
  • SNIE, Special National Intelligence Estimate
  • SOA, Office of South Asian Affairs, Bureau of Near Eastern, South Asian and African Affairs, Department of State
  • SPA, Office of Southwest Pacific Affairs, Bureau of Far Eastern Affairs, Department of State
  • Sp Trps, Special Troops
  • sqn, squadron
  • svc, service
  • SVN, South Vietnam
  • TACPS, Tactical Air Control Party Support
  • Tedul, primarily a series indicator for telegrams from the Department of State to Secretary of State Dulles while absent from Washington
  • TDY, Temporary Duty
  • TERM, Temporary Equipment Recovery Mission
  • TF, Task Force
  • Toica, series indicator for telegrams to the International Cooperation Administration
  • Tosec, series indicator for telegrams from the Department of State to the Secretary of State (or his delegation) at international conferences
  • Tousfo, series indicator for telegrams and airgrams to the Foreign Operations Administration from missions abroad
  • Trans Sqn, Transportation Squadron
  • TRIM, Training Relations Instruction Mission
  • TWX(S), teletypewriter exchange(s)
  • U/PR, Protocol Staff in the Office of the Under Secretary of State
  • UK, United Kingdom
  • UN, United Nations
  • UNP, Office of United Nations Political and Security Affairs, Bureau of International Organization Affairs, Department of State
  • USAF, United States Air Force
  • USDel, United States Delegation
  • USIA, United States Information Agency
  • USN, United States Navy
  • USOM, United States Operations Mission
  • USSR, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
  • VBI, Vietnamese Bureau of Investigation
  • VM, Viet Minh
  • VN, Vietnamese
  • VNA, Vietnamese National Army
  • VNAF, Vietnamese Armed Forces
  • VNQDD, Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dung (National Party of Vietnam)
  • WE, Office of Western European Affairs, Department of State