Office of the Historian

Abbreviations and Terms

  • ANZUS, Australia, New Zealand, United States
  • AID, Agency for International Development
  • A/IM, Office of Information Management, Bureau of Administration
  • Antwerp, code name for peace initiative with the National Liberation Front conducted by Edward Lansdale
  • Arc Light, code name for U.S. B–52 bombing strikes in Southeast Asia
  • ARVN, Army of the Republic of (South) Vietnam
  • Aspen, code name for U.S. peace negotiations through Swedish channels
  • Barrell Roll, code name for U. S. air operations over northern Laos
  • Buttercup, code name for prisoner exchanges with the National Liberation Front
  • C, Confidential
  • CAP, series indicator for outgoing White House telegrams
  • CAS, controlled American source
  • CBS, Columbia Broadcasting System
  • ChiCom, Chinese Communists
  • CIA, Central Intelligence Agency
  • CIDG, Civilian Irregular Defense Group
  • Chieu Hoi, Government of South Vietnam’s repatriation program for the Viet Cong
  • CINCEUR, Commander in Chief, Europe
  • 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
  • CM, Chief of Staff memorandum
  • CMC, Clark M. Clifford
  • COMUSMACV, Commander, U. S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam
  • CONUS, Continental United States
  • CORDS, Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development
  • COS, Chief of Staff
  • COSVN, Central Office for South Vietnam
  • Crocodile, code name for secret peace initiatives conducted by W. Averell Harriman
  • CTZ, Corps Tactical Zone
  • C/VNO, Office of the Special Assistant for Vietnamese Affairs, Central Intelligence Agency
  • CVT, Congress of Vietnamese Trade Unions
  • Daniel Boone, clandestine U.S.-ARVN reconnaissance operations into Cambodian border areas
  • DCI, Director of Central Intelligence
  • DCM, Deputy Chief of Mission
  • Dep, Deputy
  • Deptel, Department of State telegram
  • Delto, Department of State telegram to the Paris Delegation
  • DIA, Defense Intelligence Agency
  • DMZ, Demilitarized Zone
  • DOD, Department of Defense
  • DO/EA, Directorate of Operations, Office of East Asian Affairs, Central Intelligence Agency
  • DRV, Democratic Republic of Vietnam
  • DTG, Date-Time-Group
  • EA, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Department of State
  • EA/ACA, Office of Asian Communist Affairs, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Department of State
  • EA/VN, Vietnam Working Group, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Department of State
  • Exdis, exclusive distribution
  • EXO, Executive Officer
  • FN, Financial
  • FNL, National Liberation Front
  • FRC, Federal Records Center
  • FULRO, United Front for the Struggle of the Oppressed Race, a movement for Montagnard autonomy
  • FVS, Foreign Voice Services
  • FWMAF, Free World Military Assistance Forces
  • FY, fiscal year
  • FYI, for your information
  • GME, George M. Elsey
  • GVN, Government of (South) Vietnam
  • Harvan, Harriman-Vance Mission to the Paris Peace Talks
  • HQ, Headquarters
  • ICC, International Control Commission
  • ICEX, Infrastructure Coordination and Exploitation
  • ICRC, International Committee of the Red Cross
  • IMF, International Monetary Fund
  • INR, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Department of State
  • INR/DDC, Deputy Director for Coordination, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Department of State
  • INR/IL, Intelligence Liaison, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Department of State
  • INR/REA, Office of Research and Analysis for East Asia and Pacific, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Department of State
  • IR, Intelligence Report
  • ISA, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs
  • IS/OIS, Office of Information Services
  • 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
  • Killy, code name for secret peace negotiations mediated by the Italian government
  • Lien Minh, National Alliance for Social Revolution
  • Limdis, limited distribution
  • Lions, code name for secret peace negotiations mediated by the Vatican
  • LOC, line of communication
  • MAC, Military Assistance Command
  • MACV, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam
  • MAF, Marine Amphibious Force
  • MAP, Military Assistance Program
  • MDT, Maxwell D. Taylor
  • MiG, Soviet-built fighter aircraft
  • MR, Military Region
  • NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization
  • NSC, National Security Council
  • NLF, National Liberation Front
  • NIE, National Intelligence Estimate
  • NM, nautical miles
  • NMICC, NMCC, National Military Intelligence Coordination Center
  • Nodis, no distribution
  • Noforn, no foreign distribution
  • Nor, Norway
  • NP, National Police
  • NPFF, National Police Field Force
  • NSA, National Security Agency
  • NSAM, National Security Action Memorandum
  • NSC, National Security Council
  • NVA, North Vietnamese Army
  • NVN, North Vietnam
  • OASD, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense
  • O/B, order of battle
  • O/DDI, Office of the Deputy Director of Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency
  • Ohio, secret peace negotiations mediated by Norway
  • OJCS, Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
  • ONE, Office of National Estimates, Central Intelligence Agency
  • OSD, Office of the Secretary of Defense
  • Packers, code name for secret peace initiative mediated by the Romanian government
  • PAVN, People’s Army of (North) Vietnam
  • PF, Popular Forces
  • Phoenix, U.S. military program targeting the Viet Cong infrastructure
  • Phung Hoang, South Vietnamese program targeting the Viet Cong infrastructure
  • P.L., Public Law
  • PM, Prime Minister
  • POL, petroleum, oil, lubricants
  • POLAD, Political Adviser
  • POW, prisoner of war
  • Prairie Fire, interdiction operations in Laos
  • PRU, Provisional Reconnaissance Unit
  • PSAC, President’s Science Advisory Committee
  • psywar, psychological warfare
  • PT, motor torpedo patrol boat
  • PTF, fast patrol boat
  • PW, prisoner of war
  • PX, post exchange
  • Rams, code name for secret peace initiative involving U Thant
  • RD, Revolutionary Development
  • recce, reconnaissance
  • reftel, reference telegram
  • RF, Regional Forces
  • RG, Record Group
  • RLT, Regimental Landing Team
  • ROK, Republic of Korea
  • Rolling Thunder, code name for program of U.S. air operations in North Vietnam
  • RP, route package
  • RT, Rolling Thunder
  • RVN, Republic of (South) Vietnam
  • RVNAF, Republic of (South) Vietnam Armed Forces
  • S, Secret
  • SAM, surface to air missiles
  • SAVA, Special Assistant for Vietnamese Affairs, Central Intelligence Agency
  • SC, Security Council
  • SEA, Southeast Asia
  • Sea Cabin, code name for study on military ramifications of a complete bombing halt
  • Sea Dragon, code name for naval operations along the North Vietnamese coast up to the 20th parallel
  • 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
  • SOG, Studies and Observation Group; Special Operations Group
  • 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
  • TAOR, tactical area of responsibility
  • TASS, official Soviet news agency
  • TCC, troop contributing countries
  • Todel, State Department telegrams to the Delegation in Paris
  • Tosec, series indicator for telegrams to the Secretary of State while away from Washington
  • TS, Top Secret
  • TSN, Tan Son Nhut
  • TV, television
  • U, unclassified
  • UK, United Kingdom
  • UN, United Nations
  • UNGA, United Nations General Assembly
  • USAF, United States Air Force
  • USAID, United States Agency for International Development Mission
  • USG, United States Government
  • USIA, United States Information Agency
  • USMACV, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam
  • USMC, U.S. Marine Corps
  • USOM, United States Operations Mission
  • USSR, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
  • USUN, United States Mission to the United Nations
  • VC, Viet Cong
  • VCI, Viet Cong Infrastructure
  • Viet Cong, South Vietnamese term for National Liberation Front guerrillas
  • VIP, Very Important Person
  • 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
  • WH, White House
  • Z, Zulu or Greenwich Mean Time