Office of the Historian

Abbreviations and Terms

  • AAA, anti-aircraft artillery
  • AEC, Atomic Energy Commission
  • AFC, Armed Forces Council
  • ANZUS, Australia, New Zealand, United States
  • AID, Agency for International Development
  • AP, Associated Press
  • Arc Light, code name for U.S. B–52 bombing strikes in Southeast Asia
  • ARVN, Army of the Republic of (South) Vietnam
  • ASA, Association of Southeast Asia
  • ASPAC, Asian Pacific Council
  • Aspen, code name for U.S. peace negotiations through Swedish channels
  • Barrel Roll, code name for U. S. air operations over northern Laos
  • CAP, series indicator for outgoing White House telegrams; combat air patrol; combined action platoon
  • CAS, controlled American source
  • ChiCom, Chinese Communist
  • CIA, Central Intelligence Agency
  • CIAP, Inter-American Committee on the Alliance for Progress
  • CIDG, Civilian Irregular Defense Group
  • Chieu Hoi, South Vietnamese Governmentʼs repatriation program for the Viet Cong
  • CINCPAC, Commander in Chief, Pacific
  • CINCPACAF, Commander in Chief, Pacific Air Force
  • CINCPACFLT, Commander in Chief, Pacific Fleet
  • CINCUSARPAC, Commander in Chief, U.S. Army, Pacific
  • CIP, Commercial Import Program
  • CJCS, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
  • COMUSMACV, Commander, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam
  • CONUS, Continental United States
  • CY, calendar year
  • DCI, Director of Central Intelligence
  • DCM, Deputy Chief of Mission
  • DepSecDef, Deputy Secretary of Defense
  • Deptel, Department of State telegram
  • DIA, Defense Intelligence Agency
  • DCI, Director of Central Intelligence
  • DepCOMUSMACV, Deputy Commander, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam
  • DirGen, Director General
  • Dissem, dissemination
  • DMZ, Demilitarized Zone
  • DOD, Department of Defense
  • DTG, date-time-group
  • DRV, Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam)
  • EA, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs (Bureau of Far Eastern Affairs prior to November 1, 1966), Department of State
  • EA/ACA, Office of Asian Communist Affairs, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Department of State
  • EA/DDO, East Asia Division, Directorate for Operations, Central Intelligence Agency
  • EA/VN, Vietnam Working Group, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Department of State
  • Elmtree, code name for U.S. contacts with Nguyen Khanh and Le Van Truong in Paris
  • Embtel, Embassy telegram
  • EST, Eastern Standard Time
  • EW, electronic warfare
  • Exdis, exclusive distribution
  • FBIS, Foreign Broadcast Information Service
  • FE, Bureau of Far Eastern Affairs, Department of State
  • FE/VN, Vietnam Working Group, Bureau of Far Eastern Affairs, Department of State
  • FNL, National Liberation Front
  • FMin, Foreign Minister
  • FonOff, Foreign Office
  • FonMin, Foreign Minister
  • FRC, Federal Records Center
  • FULRO, Unified Front for the Liberation of Oppressed Races, a movement for Monta-gnard autonomy
  • FW, Free World
  • FWF, Free World Forces
  • FWMAF, Free World Military Assistance Forces
  • FY, fiscal year
  • FYI, for your information
  • George, code name for Paul Sturm in Elmtree contacts
  • GOF, Government of France
  • Gp, Group
  • GRC, Government of the Republic of China
  • GVN, Government of (South) Vietnam
  • HEW, Department of Health, Education and Welfare
  • HMG, Her Majestyʼs Government
  • Hop Tac, South Vietnamese Governmentʼs program for pacification of Saigon and surrounding provinces; literally “victory”
  • ICC, International Control Commission
  • ICRC, International Committee of the Red Cross
  • IMF, International Monetary Fund
  • Info, information
  • INR, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Department of State
  • ISA, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs
  • JCRR, Joint Commission on Rural Reconstruction
  • JCS, Joint Chiefs of Staff
  • JCSM, Joint Chiefs of Staff memorandum
  • JGS, Joint General Staff, Vietnamese Armed Forces
  • JUSPAO, Joint United States Public Affairs Office
  • KIA, killed in action
  • Limdis, limited distribution
  • LOC, line of communication
  • Louisiana, code name for U.S. effort to secure additional foreign country forces for the Vietnam War
  • M, million
  • MACV, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam
  • MAP, Military Assistance Program
  • Marigold, code name for U.S. peace negotiations through Polish and Italian channels
  • McN, Robert McNamara
  • MFA, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
  • MIG, Soviet-built fighter aircraft
  • NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization
  • NCO, non-commissioned officer
  • NFLSV, National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam
  • NLF, National Liberation Front
  • NIE, National Intelligence Estimate
  • Nina, code name for Department of State communications concerning the decision in late June 1966 to bomb POL installations
  • NM, nautical miles
  • Nodis, no distribution
  • Noforn, no foreign distribution
  • NSA, National Security Agency
  • NSAM, National Security Action Memorandum
  • NSC, National Security Council
  • NVA, North Vietnamese Army
  • NVN, North Vietnam
  • OAS, Organization of American States
  • OASD, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense
  • O/B, order of battle
  • O/DDI, Office of the Deputy Director for Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency
  • ONE, Office of National Estimates, Central Intelligence Agency
  • OCO, Office of Civil Operations
  • OSD, Office of the Secretary of Defense
  • P, President; piasters
  • PAT, Political Action Team
  • PAVN, Peopleʼs Army of (North) Vietnam
  • PF, Popular Forces
  • PFF, Police Field Forces; usually referred to as National Police Field Forces (NPFF)
  • Pinta, code name for U.S. peace negotiations during the 37-day bombing pause
  • P.L., Public Law
  • PM, Prime Minister
  • POL, petroleum, oil, lubricants
  • POLAD, Political Adviser
  • POW, prisoner of war
  • PW, prisoner of war
  • PX, post exchange
  • Ray, code name for Nguyen Khanh in the Elmtree contacts
  • RD, Revolutionary Development
  • Recce, reconnaissance
  • Reftel, reference telegram
  • RF, Regional Forces
  • RG, Record Group
  • ROK, Republic of Korea
  • Rolling Thunder, code name for long-running program of U.S. air operations in North Vietnam
  • RT, Rolling Thunder
  • RVN, Republic of South Vietnam
  • RVNAF, Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces
  • S, Secret
  • SAM, surface to air missiles
  • SANE, National Committee for a Sane Nuclear Policy
  • SAR, search and rescue
  • SAVA, Special Assistant for Vietnamese Affairs, Central Intelligence Agency
  • SEA, Southeast Asia
  • SEATO, Southeast Asia Treaty Organization
  • SecDef, Secretary of Defense
  • Secto, series indicator for telegrams from the Secretary of State while away from Washington
  • Septel, separate telegram
  • SFRC, Senate Foreign Relations Committee
  • SNIE, Special National Intelligence Estimate
  • Sitrep, situation report
  • S/S, Executive Secretariat, Department of State
  • Steel Tiger, code name for U.S. air strikes against the Ho Chi Minh trail in Laos
  • SVN, South Vietnam
  • SYG, Secretary-General of the United Nations
  • Tac, tactical
  • TAOR, tactical area of responsibility
  • TCC, troop contributing countries
  • Thich, Venerable (title for Buddhist monk)
  • Thrush, code name for U.S. operation to secure the defection of National Liberation Front Chairman Nguyen Huu Tho
  • Tosec, series indicator for telegrams to the Secretary of State while away from Washington
  • TS, Top Secret
  • U, Unclassified
  • UBA, Unified Buddhist Association
  • UK, United Kingdom
  • UN, United Nations
  • Uncle, code name for Nguyen Huu An in the Thrush contacts
  • UNGA, United Nations General Assembly
  • UPI, United Press International
  • Urtel, your telegram
  • USAID, United States Agency for International Development Mission (in Vietnam)
  • USG, United States Government
  • USIA, United States Information Agency
  • USOM, United States Operations Mission
  • USSR, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
  • USUN, United States Mission to the United Nations
  • VC, Viet Cong
  • VIP, very important person
  • VIS, Vietnamese Information Service
  • VN, Vietnam; Vietnam Working Group, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Department of State
  • VNAF, (South) Vietnamese Air Force
  • VNCC, Vietnam Coordinating Committee
  • VNQDD, Viet Nam Quoc Dan Dang (Vietnamese Nationalist Party)
  • VP, Vice President
  • WAC, Womenʼs Army Corps
  • WAVES, Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service
  • WH, White House
  • X, code name for Mai Van Bo
  • XYZ, code name for unofficial U.S. contacts with the Democratic Republic of Vietnam through Mai Van Bo
  • Y, code name for Paul Sturm in the XYZ contacts
  • Z, Zulu or Greenwich Mean Time