Office of the Historian

Abbreviations and Terms

    • A, Bureau of Administration, Department of State
    • AA, affirmative action
    • AAFSW, Association of American Foreign Service Women
    • AAJOP, Affirmative Action Junior Officer Program
    • A/BF, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Budget and Finance, Bureau of Administration
    • A/BF/OB, Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Budget and Finance, Office of Budget, Bureau of Administration
    • ACDA, Arms Control and Disarmament Agency
    • ACLU, American Civil Liberties Union
    • ACSI, Assistant Chief of Staff for Intelligence, U.S. Army
    • ACTION, Federal agency that coordinates domestic volunteer efforts
    • ADNI, Assistant Director of National Intelligence
    • ADP, automatic data processing
    • AF, Air Force; Bureau of African Affairs, Department of State
    • AFGE, American Federation of Government Employees
    • AFL–CIO, American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations
    • AFSA, American Foreign Service Association
    • AID, Agency for International Development
    • A/ISO, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Information Systems, Bureau of Administration
    • Amb, Ambassador
    • ANZUS, Australia, New Zealand, United State Security Treaty
    • APA, Administrative Procedure Act
    • ARA, Bureau of Inter-American Affairs, Department of State
    • ARC, Application Review Committee
    • ASA, Army Security Agency
    • ASAT, anti-satellite weapon
    • ASD/C3I, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Command, Control, Communications, and Intelligence
    • ASD/ISA, Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs
    • ASEAN, Association of South East Asian Nations
    • ASW, anti-submarine warfare
    • A/SY, Office of Security, Bureau of Administration, Department of State
    • A/SY/OPS, Director for Operations, Office of Security, Bureau of Administration, Department of State
    • A/SY/PSI, Director for Personnel Security and Investigations, Office of Security, Bureau of Administration, Department of State
    • A/SY/SAS, Special Assignments Staff, Office of Security, Bureau of Administration, Department of State
    • BBC, British Broadcasting Corporation
    • BEX, Board of Examiners (Foreign Service)
    • BFS, Board of the Foreign Service
    • BIA, Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of the Interior
    • C, Carter; Confidential; Office of the Counselor of the Department of State
    • C&R, Communications and Records
    • C&T, Career and Tenure
    • CA, Bureau of Consular Affairs, Depratment of State; Career Ambassador
    • CCP, Consolidated Cryptologic Program
    • CDO, Career Development Officer
    • CEA, Council of Economic Advisers
    • CFI, Committee on Foreign Intelligence
    • CI, counterintelligence
    • CIA, Central Intelligence Agency
    • CIA/DDI, Deputy Director for Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency
    • CIA/DDO, Deputy Director for Operations, Central Intelligence Agency
    • CIAP, Central Intelligence Agency Program
    • CIC, Combat Intelligence Center, U.S. Marine Corps
    • CIEP, Council on International Economic Policy
    • CINC, Commander in Chief
    • CFI, Committee on Foreign Intelligence
    • CM, Career Minister
    • COM, Chief of Mission
    • COMIREX, Committee on Imagery Requirements and Exploitation
    • COMSEC, communications security
    • ConGen, Foreign Service Institute course that prepares Foreign Service Officers for consular work
    • COS, Chief of Station
    • CS, Civil Service
    • CSC, Civil Service Commission
    • CSRA, Civil Service Reform Act
    • CTB, Comprehensive Test Ban
    • CU, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Department of State
    • DAS, Deputy Assistant Secretary
    • DC, District of Columbia
    • DCC, Development Coordination Committee
    • DCI, Director of Central Intelligence
    • DCIA, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency
    • DCID, Director of Central Intelligence Directive
    • DCM, Deputy Chief of Mission
    • D/DCI/IC, Deputy to the Director of Central Intelligence for the Intelligence Community
    • D/DCI/NI, Deputy to the Director of Central Intelligence for National Intelligence
    • DDI, Deputy Director for Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency
    • DDO, Deputy Director for Operations, Central Intelligence Agency
    • DD/S&T, Deputy Director for Science and Technology, Central Intelligence Agency
    • DEA, Drug Enforcement Administration
    • DepSecDef/Intel, Deputy Secretary of Defense for Intelligence
    • Dept, Department
    • DFI, Director of Foreign Intelligence
    • DG/EM, Employee Management Division, Office of Employee Relations, Bureau of Personnel, Department of State
    • DG/PC, Office of Program Coordination, Bureau of Personnel, Department of State
    • DGP/PER, Office of the Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Personnel, Bureau of Personnel, Department of State
    • DGP/PER/REE, Office of Recruitment, Examination, and Employment, Office of the Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Personnel, Bureau of Personnel, Department of State
    • DIA, Defense Intelligence Agency
    • DIADC, Defense Intelligence Agency Dissemination Center
    • DNI, Director of National Intelligence
    • DOD, Department of Defense
    • DPS, White House domestic policy staff
    • DSAA, Defense Security Assistance Agency
    • DSD, Deputy Secretary of Defense
    • E, Office of the Under Secretary of State for Economic Affairs
    • EA, East Asia; Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Department of State
    • EA/EX, Executive Office, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Department of State
    • EB, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, Department of State
    • E/C, Economic/Commercial
    • EEO, Equal Employment Opportunity
    • EEOC, Equal Employment Opportunity Commission
    • ELINT, electronic intelligence
    • ELTF, Executive-Level Task Force on Affirmative Action
    • E.O., Executive Order
    • EOB, Executive Office Building
    • EOD, Entry on Duty
    • EOP, Executive Office of the President
    • EPB, Economic Policy Board
    • EPG, Economic Policy Group
    • ERC, Employment Review Committee
    • ERDA, Energy Research and Development Administration
    • ERW, enhanced radiation weapon
    • ES, Executive Service
    • ESF, Economic Support Fund
    • ETS, Educational Testing Service
    • EUR, Bureau of European Affairs, Department of State
    • FAA, Federal Aviation Administration
    • FAM, Foreign Affairs Manual
    • FAO, Food and Agriculture Organization (United Nations)
    • FAS, Foreign Agricultural Service, Department of Agriculture; Foreign Affairs Specialist
    • FAST, Familiarization and Short-Term courses
    • FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation
    • FBIS, Foreign Broadcast Information Service
    • FCA, Office of Foreign Service Career Development and Assignments, Bureau of Personnel, Department of State
    • FCA/JO, Junior Officer Division, Office of Foreign Service Career Development and Assignments, Bureau of Personnel, Department of State
    • FCS, Foreign Commercial Service
    • FDR, Franklin Delano Roosevelt
    • FEORP, Federal Equal Opportunity Recruitment Program
    • FEW, Federally Employed Women
    • FISA, Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
    • FLO, Family Liaison Office, Bureau of Personnel, Department of State
    • FLRA, Federal Labor Relations Authority
    • FOIA, Freedom of Information Act
    • FPMP, Federal Personnel Management Project
    • FS, Foreign Service
    • FSI, Foreign Service Institute, Department of State
    • FSIO, Foreign Service Information Officer
    • FSLRA, Foreign Service Labor Relations Authority (proposed)
    • FSN, Foreign Service National
    • FSO, Foreign Service Officer
    • FSR, Foreign Service Reserve
    • FSR/JO, Foreign Service Reserve, Junior Officer
    • FSRU, Foreign Service Reserve (Unlimited)
    • FSS, Foreign Service Specialist; Foreign Service Staff
    • FSSO, Foreign Service Staff Officer
    • FY, Fiscal Year
    • GAC, General Advisory Committee
    • GAO, Government Accounting Office
    • GATT, General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
    • GDIP, General Defense Intelligence Program
    • GG, General Government (pay plan)
    • GNP, Gross National Product
    • GS, General Schedule (pay plan)
    • GSA, General Services Administration
    • GSO, General Services Officer
    • H, Bureau of Congressional Relations, Department of State
    • HEW, Department of Health, Education and Welfare
    • HIRC, House International Relations Committee
    • HUD, Department of Housing and Urban Development
    • HUMINT, human intelligence
    • IAW, in accordance with
    • IBWC, International Boundary and Water Commission
    • IC, Intelligence Community
    • ICA, International Communication Agency
    • ICBM, inter-continental ballistic missiles
    • ICS, Intelligence Community Staff
    • IDCA, International Development Cooperation Agency
    • IIC, Interdepartmental Intelligence Conference
    • IIM, Interagency Intelligence Memorandum
    • IFI, International Financial Institutions
    • IFTC, Institute for Technological Cooperation
    • IG, Inspector General
    • IMF, International Monetary Fund
    • INFCE, International Nuclear Fuel Cycle Evaluation
    • INR, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Department of State
    • INR/DDC, Deputy Director for Coordination, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Department of State
    • IO, Bureau of International Organization Affairs, Department of State
    • IO/UNP, Office of UN Political Affairs, Bureau of International Organization Affairs, Department of State
    • IOB, Intelligence Oversight Board
    • ISSS, Intelligence Space Support Systems Agency
    • ISTC, International Science and Technology Center
    • JCS, Joint Chiefs of Staff
    • JO, Junior Officer
    • KGB, Soviet Committee for State Security
    • KIQ, Key Intelligence Question
    • L, Office of the Legal Adviser, Department of State
    • LDC, less developed country
    • LDP, Language Designated Position
    • L/EB, Economic and Business Affairs, Office of the Legal Adviser, Department of State
    • L/M, Legal Adviser for Management, Department of State
    • LRA, Limited Renewable Appointments
    • LSAT, Law School Admission Test
    • LULAC, League of United Latin American Citizens
    • LWOP, leave without pay
    • M, Office of the Under Secretary of State for Management
    • MAAG, Military Assistance Advisory Group
    • MBFR, Mutual and Balanced Force Reductions
    • M/COMP, Office of the Comptroller, Department of State
    • M/CT, Office for Combating Terrorism, Department of State
    • MDB, Multilateral Development Banks
    • M/DG, Bureau of Personnel, Department of State
    • M/DGP, Director General of the Foreign Service and Director of Personnel, Department of State
    • MED, Office of Medical Services, Department of State
    • M/EEO, Equal Employment Opportunity Office, Department of State
    • M/FSI, Foreign Service Institute, Department of State
    • MGT/HRM, Human Resource Management Division, Office of Management, Bureau of Personnel, Department of State
    • MGT/OS, Operating Systems Division, Office of Management, Bureau of Personnel, Department of State
    • M/MED, Office of Medical Services, Department of State
    • M/MO, Management Operations, Department of State
    • MODE, Monitoring Overseas Direct Employment
    • MSPB, Merit Systems Protection Board
    • MTN, Multilateral Trade Negotiations
    • Mustang, program for Civil Service and Foreign Service Specialists seeking entry-level Foreign Service Generalist appointments in one of the four cones: Consular, Economic, Administrative, or Political
    • NAACP, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
    • NAC, National Advisory Council on International Monetary and Financial Policies
    • NAM, National Association of Manufacturers
    • NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization
    • NEA, Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, Department of State
    • NFAC, National Foreign Assessment Center
    • NFIB, National Foreign Intelligence Board
    • NFIP, National Foreign Intelligence Program
    • NGT, Numerical Goals & Timetable Study
    • NIAM, National Intelligence Analytical Memorandum
    • NIE, National Intelligence Estimate
    • NIO, National Intelligence Officer
    • NIPA, National Intelligence Production Agency (proposed)
    • NITC, National Intelligence Tasking Center
    • Nodis, No Distribution
    • NPIC, National Photographic Interpretation Center
    • NPT, Non-Proliferation Treaty
    • NRO, National Reconnaissance Office
    • NRP, National Reconnaissance Program
    • NSA, National Security Agency
    • NSA/CSS, National Security Agency, Central Security Service
    • NSC, National Security Council
    • NSCID, National Security Council Intelligence Directive
    • NSSM, National Security Study Memorandum
    • OA, Other Agency
    • OAG, Operations Advisory Group; Office of the Attorney General
    • OAS, Organization of American States
    • OBE, overtaken by events
    • OC/P, Diplomatic Pouch and Courier Operations Division, Office of Communications, Department of State
    • OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
    • OEO, Office of Economic Opportunity
    • OMB, Office of Management and Budget
    • ONE, Office of National Estimates, Central Intelligence Agency
    • OPEC, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
    • OPIC, Overseas Private Investment Corporation
    • OPM, Office of Personnel Management
    • OSD, Office of the Secretary of Defense
    • OSI, Office of Special Investigations, U.S. Air Force
    • OSS, Office of Strategic Services
    • PA, Bureau of Public Affairs, Department of State
    • PA/PP, Office of Public Programs, Bureau of Public Affairs, Department of State
    • PAR, Personnel Audit Report
    • PCI, Italian Communist Party
    • PDASD/I, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Defense for Intelligence
    • PDB, President’s Daily Brief
    • PE, Office of Performance Evaluation, Bureau of Personnel, Department of State
    • PER, Bureau of Personnel, Department of State
    • PER/CCA, Office of Civil Service Career Development and Assignments, Bureau of Personnel, Department of State
    • PER/ER, Office of Employee Relations, Bureau of Personnel, Department of State
    • PER/FCA, Office of Foreign Service Career Development, Bureau of Personnel, Department of State
    • PER/FCA/ARA, Inter-American Affairs Division, Office of Foreign Service Career Development, Bureau of Personnel, Department of State
    • PER/FCA/EUR, European Assignment Division, Office of Foreign Service Career Development, Bureau of Personnel, Department of State
    • PER/MGT, Office of Management, Bureau of Personnel, Department of State
    • PER/MGT/AS, Administrative Services, Office of Management, Bureau of Personnel, Department of State
    • PER/MGT/EX, Executive Office, Office of Management, Bureau of Personnel, Department of State
    • PER/MGT/HRM, Human Resource Management Division, Office of Management, Bureau of Personnel, Department of State
    • PER/MGT/OS, Operations Systems Division, Office of Management, Bureau of Personnel, Department of State
    • PER/PE, Office of Performance Evaluation, Bureau of Personnel, Department of State
    • PER/REE, Office of Recruitment, Examination, and Employment, Bureau of Personnel, Department of State
    • PIT, Part-time/Intermittent/Temporary Employee
    • P.L., Public Law
    • PLO, Palestine Liberation Organization
    • PM, Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs, Department of State
    • PPG, Priorities Policy Group
    • PRC, Policy Review Committee; People’s Republic of China
    • PRC (I), Policy Review Committee (Intelligence)
    • PRC (Intell), Policy Review Committee (Intelligence)
    • PRP, President’s Reorganization Project
    • Pres, President
    • PRM, Presidential Review Memorandum
    • R&D, research & development
    • REE/BEX, Foreign Service Board of Examiners, Office of Recruitment, Examination, and Employment, Bureau of Personnel, Department of State
    • REE/EMP, Employment Division, Office of Recruitment, Examination, and Employment, Bureau of Personnel, Department of State
    • REE/EXAM/BEX, Foreign Service Board of Examiners, Examination Division, Office of Recruitment, Examination and Employment, Bureau of Personnel, Department of State
    • REE/REC/SP, Recruitment Division, Office of Recruitment, Examination and Employment, Bureau of Personnel, Department of State
    • RIF, reduction-in-force
    • ROC, Republic of China
    • ROK, Republic of Korea
    • RSO, Regional Security Officer
    • S, Secret
    • SACEUR, Supreme Allied Commander, Europe
    • SALT, Strategic Arms Limitation Talks
    • SCA, Bureau of Security and Consular Affairs, Department of State
    • SCC, Special Coordination Committee
    • SCC/CI, Special Coordination Committee/Counterintelligence
    • SCC(CI), Special Coordination Committee (Counterintelligence)
    • SCC(I), Special Coordination Committee (Intelligence)
    • SecDef, Secretary of Defense
    • SecState, Secretary of State
    • SES, Senior Executive Service
    • SFRC, Senate Foreign Relations Committee
    • SFS, Senior Foreign Service
    • S/IG, Inspector General of the Department of State and the Foreign Service
    • SIGINT, signals intelligence
    • sitreps, situation reports
    • SLOC, Sea Line of Communication
    • SNIE, Special National Intelligence Estimate
    • SOP, state of play
    • S/P, Policy Planning Staff, Department of State
    • Specat, Special Category
    • S/PRS, Office of Press Relations, Executive Secretariat, Department of State
    • SRAM, short-range air-to-surface attack missiles
    • SRG, Senior Review Group
    • S/S, Executive Secretariat, Department of State
    • SSA, Security Supporting Assistance
    • SSCI, Senate Select Committee on Intelligence
    • STR, Special Trade Representative
    • SY, Office of Security, Bureau of Administration, Department of State
    • T, Office of the Under Secretary of State for Security Assistance, Science, and Technology
    • TDY, Temporary Duty
    • TIC, Time In Class
    • TPC, Trade Policy Committee
    • TRW, Thompson Ramo Wooldridge (American company)
    • UNCTAD, United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
    • UNICEF, United Nations Children’s Fund
    • US, United States
    • USC, Under Secretaries Committee; U.S. Code
    • USDA, United States Department of Agriculture
    • USG, United States Government
    • USIA, United States Information Agency
    • USICA, United States International Communication Agency
    • USSID, United States Signals Intelligence Directive
    • USSR, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
    • USTPA, United States Trade Policy Administration
    • VO, Visa Office, Bureau of Security and Consular Affairs, Department of State
    • VOA, Voice of America
    • WAE, when-actually-employed (pay status)
    • WAO, Women’s Action Organization
    • WCAS, Women’s Class Action Suit
    • WSAG, Washington Special Actions Group
    • ZB, Zbigniew Brzezinski