Office of the Historian

Abbreviations and Terms

    • AAU, Amateur Athletic Union
    • ABA, American Booksellers Association
    • ABC, American Broadcasting Company
    • ACEC/S or ACE/S, Secretariat of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Educational Exchange and the Advisory Committee on the Arts, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Department of State
    • ACLU, American Civil Liberties Union
    • AEC, Atomic Energy Commission
    • AF, Bureau of African Affairs, Department of State
    • AFL-CIO, American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organizations
    • AFN, Armed Forces Network
    • AFP, Agence France Presse (French Press Agency); also Alliance for Progress
    • AFRTS, Armed Forces Radio and Television Services
    • AID, Agency for International Development
    • ALA, American Library Association
    • Amb., ambassador
    • ANZUS, Australia, New Zealand, United States
    • AOI or USIA/AOI, Office of the Assistant Director, Administration, United States Information Agency after 1967
    • AP, Associated Press
    • ARA, Bureau of Inter-American Affairs, Department of State
    • ARVN, Army of the Republic of Vietnam
    • ASAP, as soon as possible
    • ASEAN, Association of South East Asian Nations
    • BA, Bachelor of Arts
    • BBC, British Broadcasting Corporation
    • Benelux, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxemboug
    • BNC, Bi-national Center (USIS)
    • BOB, Bureau of the Budget
    • BOQ, Bachelor Officers’ Quarters
    • BPAO, Branch Public Affairs Officer
    • CA, circular airgram (USIA)
    • CAO, cultural affairs officer
    • CAR, Office of Caribbean Affairs, Bureau of Inter-American Affairs, Department of State
    • CAS, controlled American source
    • CBS, Columbia Broadcasting System
    • cc, carbon copy
    • CENTO, Central Treaty Organization
    • CF, confidential file
    • Ch, chair
    • Chieu Hoi, Government of South Vietnam’s Viet Cong repatriation program
    • CIA, Central Intelligence Agency
    • CINCEUR, Commander in Chief, European Command
    • CINCLANT, Commander in Chief, Atlantic
    • CINCPAC or USCINCPAC, Commander in Chief, Pacific Command
    • CINCSO, Commander in Chief, Southern Command
    • CINCSTRIKE, Commander in Chief, Strike Command
    • CINCUSAREUR, Commander in Chief, U.S. Army, Europe
    • COB, close of business
    • COM, chief of mission
    • ComMedia, communications and media
    • COMSAT, communication satellite
    • COMUSMACV, Commander, United States Military Assistance Command, Vietnam
    • Cong., Congress
    • CORDS, Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support
    • CORE, Congress of Racial Equality
    • COSATI, (White House) Committee on Scientific and Technological Information
    • CP, cultural presentation
    • CPAO, Chief Public Affairs Officer
    • CPP, Country Plan Program
    • CPPM, Country Plan Program Memorandum
    • CPR, Chinese People’s Republic (People’s Republic of China)
    • CRP, Chinese Reporting Program (USIS)
    • CTR, Carl T. Rowan
    • CU, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Department of State
    • CU/EUR, Office of European Programs, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Department of State
    • CU/MPP, Office of Multilateral Policy and Programs, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Department of State (after mid-1966)
    • CU/MSD, Multilateral and Special Activities, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Department of State (prior to mid-1966)
    • CU/OPP, Office of Policy and Plans, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Department of State
    • CU/PRS, Policy Review and Research Staff, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Department of State (after 1964 the name changed to Policy Review and Coordination Staff)
    • cy, copy
    • D, Democrat
    • DCM, deputy chief of mission
    • Dept., Department
    • Distrib., distribution
    • DM, Deutsche Mark
    • DOD, Department of Defense
    • DOD/ISA, Office of the Assistant Secretary for International Security Affairs, Department of Defense
    • DOD/SACSA, Special Assistant for Counterinsurgency and Special Activities, Department of Defense
    • DPAO, Deputy Public Affairs Officer
    • DRV, Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam)
    • DW or DMW, Donald M. Wilson
    • EA, Office of East Asian Affairs, Bureau of Far Eastern Affairs, Department of State (until 1967); also Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Department of State (after 1966)
    • EB, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs, Department of State
    • EC, European Community
    • ECON, economic section of an embassy
    • EDC, European Defense Community
    • EDT, Eastern Daylight Time
    • EE, Eastern European Affairs or Eastern Europe
    • EEC, European Economic Community
    • Emb., Embassy
    • Embtel, Embassy telegram
    • E.O., Executive Order
    • ERM, Edward R. Murrow
    • EST, Eastern Standard Time
    • ETV, educational television
    • EUR, Bureau of European Affairs, Department of State
    • EUR/CE, Office of Central European Affairs, Bureau of European Affairs, Department of State
    • EUR/EE, Office of Eastern European Affairs or Eastern Europe, Bureau of European Affairs, Department of State
    • EUR/SES, Soviet and Eastern European Exchanges Staff, Bureau of European Affairs, Department of State
    • EUR/SOV, Office of Soviet Union Affairs, Bureau of European Affairs, Department of State
    • EWA, Education and World Affairs
    • EXDIS, exclusive distribution
    • FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation
    • FBIS, Foreign Broadcast Information Service
    • FCC, Federal Communications Commission
    • FE, Bureau of Far Eastern Affairs, Department of State
    • Fed., federal
    • ForMin, foreign minister
    • FRG, Federal Republic of Germany
    • FSIO, Foreign Service Information Officer
    • FSO, Foreign Service Officer
    • FSR, Foreign Service Reserve (USIA)
    • FY, fiscal year
    • FYI, for your information
    • G, Deputy Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
    • G-77, Group of 77 (group of developing countries established at the conclusion of UNCTAD in 1964)
    • G/Y, Special Assistant for Youth, Office of the Deputy Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
    • GA, United Nations General Assembly
    • GAO, General Accounting Office
    • GATT, General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
    • GDP, gross domestic product
    • GDR, German Democratic Republic
    • gen., general
    • GI, government issue or general issue
    • GMT, Greenwich Mean Time
    • GOE, general operating expense
    • GOM, Government of Mexico
    • GNP, gross national product
    • GS, General Schedule
    • GSP, generalized system of preferences
    • GVN, Government of Vietnam
    • H, Bureau of Congressional Relations, Department of State
    • HAR, Hewson A. Ryan
    • HEW or DHEW, Department of Health, Education, and Welfare
    • HHH, Hubert Horatio Humphrey
    • HICOM Ryukyus, High Commissioner of the Ryukyu Islands
    • HIRC, House International Relations Committee
    • Hop Tac, Government of South Vietnam program for the pacification of Saigon and surrounding provinces
    • I or USIA/I, Office of the Director, United States Information Agency
    • I/O or USIA/I/O, Operations Center, Office of the Director, United States Information Agency
    • I/R or USIA/I/R, Office of the Assistant Director, Public Information, United States Information Agency
    • I/S or USIA I/S, Executive Secretariat, Office of the Director, United States Information Agency
    • IAA or USIA/IAA, Office of the Assistant Director, Africa, United States Information Agency
    • IAE or USIA/IAE, Office of the Assistant Director, Europe, United States Information Agency
    • IAF or USIA/IAF, Office of the Assistant Director, Far East, United States Information Agency (after 1966 the name changed to Office of the Assistant Director, East Asia and Pacific)
    • IAL or USIA/IAL, Office of the Assistant Director, Latin America, United States Information Agency
    • IAN or USIA/IAN, Office of the Assistant Director, Near East and South Asia, United States Information Agency
    • IAS or USIA/IAS, Office of the Assistant Director, Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, United States Information Agency
    • IBS or USIA/IBS, Broadcasting Service, United States Information Agency (after 1967 the named changed to Office of the Assistant Director, Broadcasting)
    • ICBM, intercontinental ballistic missile
    • ICRC, International Committee of the Red Cross
    • ICS or USIA/ICS, Information Center Service, United States Information Agency (after 1967 the name changed to Office of the Assistant Director, Information Centers,
    • IFC, International Finance Corporation
    • IGC or USIA/IGC, Office of the General Counsel, United States Information Agency
    • IIE, Institute of International Education
    • IMF, International Monetary Fund
    • IMS or USIA/IMS, Motion Picture Service, United States Information Agency (until 1966)
    • IMV or USIA/IMV, Office of the Assistant Director, Motion Pictures and Television, United States Information Agency (after 1966)
    • Infoguide, policy statement on U.S. attitudes toward a given situation, usually classified and transmitted by telegram or pouch
    • INR, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Department of State
    • INS, United States Immigration and Naturalization Service
    • IO, international organization; also information officer, United States Information Agency; also, Bureau of International Organization Affairs, Department of State
    • IOA, Office of the Assistant Director, Administration, United States Information Agency (until 1967; thereafter AOI or USIA/AOI)
    • IOA/B, Agency Budget Officer, Office of the Assistant Director, Administration, United States Information Agency
    • IOC or USIA/IOC, Office of Private Cooperation, United States Information Agency (abolished in 1967 and integrated into IOP and ICS)
    • IOC, International Olympic Committee
    • IOP or USIA/IOP, Office of Policy, United States Information Agency (after 1966 the name changed to Office of Policy and Research)
    • IOP/G or USIA/IOP/G, Policy Guidance Staff, Office of Policy, United States Information Agency (after mid-1967 the name changed to Policy Guidance and Media Reaction Staff)
    • IPS or USIA/IPS, Press and Publication Services, United States Information Agency (after 1967 the named changed to Office of the Director, Press and Publications Service)
    • IPT or USIA/IPT, Office of Personnel and Training, United States Information Agency (after 1967 the name changed to Office of the Assistant Director, Personnel and Training)
    • IRG, Interdepartmental Regional Group
    • IRS or USIA/IRS, Research and Reference Service, United States Information Agency (until mid-1966)
    • ITV or USIA/ITV, Television Service, United States Information Agency (until 1966)
    • IV, International Visitors (cultural exchanges)
    • JSC, Joint Chiefs of Staff
    • JUSPAO, Joint U.S. Public Affairs Office (South Vietnam)
    • KGB, Komitet Gosudarstvennoy Bezopasnosti (State Security Committee)
    • Komsomol, youth division, Communist Party of the Soviet Union
    • kw, kilowatt
    • L, Office of the Legal Adviser, Department of State
    • LA, Latin America
    • LBJ, Lyndon Baines Johnson
    • LDB, Lucius D. Battle
    • LDC, less developed country
    • LHM, Leonard H. Marks
    • M, Deputy Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
    • M/MO, Management Operations, Department of State
    • MA, Master of Arts
    • MAAG, Military Assistance Advisory Group
    • MACV, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam
    • mags., magazines
    • MAP, Military Assistance Program
    • McGB, McGeorge Bundy
    • MECEA, Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961 (Fulbright-Hays Act)
    • MinEd., Ministry of Education
    • MIT, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
    • mm, millimeter
    • MOA, memorandum of agreement
    • MOI, Ministry of Information (Vietnam)
    • Mopix, motion pictures
    • MOU, memorandum of understanding
    • mtg., meeting
    • NAACP, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
    • NAC, North Atlantic Council
    • NASA, National Aeronautics and Space Administration
    • NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization
    • NBC, National Broadcasting Company
    • NEA, Bureau of Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs, Department of State; also National Endowment for the Arts
    • NEH, National Endowment for the Humanities
    • NGO, non-governmental organization
    • NIH, National Institutes of Health
    • NLF, National Liberation Front
    • NODIS, no distribution
    • NP, nuclear non-proliferation
    • NPT, nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
    • NSA, National Security Administration; National Student Association
    • NSAM, National Security Action Memorandum
    • NSC, National Security Council
    • NSF, National Science Foundation
    • O, Deputy Under Secretary of State for Administration
    • O/A, oversize attachment
    • OAS, Organization of American States
    • OBE, overtaken by events
    • OCO, Office of Civil Operations
    • OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
    • OMB, Office of Management and Budget
    • OPEC, Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries
    • ORTF, Office de Radiodiffusion-Television Francaise
    • P, Bureau of Public Affairs, Department of State; also Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs; also, President
    • P/PG, Policy Plans and Guidance Staff, Bureau of Public Affairs, Department of State; also Office of Policy Guidance
    • P/VN, Vietnam Desk, Bureau of Public Affairs, Department of State
    • PAAs, Public Affairs Advisers, Department of State
    • Pak, Pakistan
    • PAM, Program Action Memorandum
    • PAO, public affairs officer
    • para, paragraph
    • PASB, Pan American Sanitary Bureau
    • PAVN, People’s Army of (North) Vietnam
    • PBS, Public Broadcasting Service
    • PEN, non-governmental organization based in the United Kingdom that advocates for human rights, particularly the freedom of expression
    • PKI, Partai Komunis Indonesia (Indonesian Communist Party)
    • P.L., public law; also Pathet Lao
    • PLO, Palestine Liberation Organization
    • PM, Bureau of Politico-Military Affairs, Department of State
    • POL, petroleum, oil, lubricants; political section of an Embassy
    • POLAD, Political Adviser
    • PPBS, Planning-Programming-Budgeting System
    • PPP, post project proposal; also program priority paper
    • PRC, People’s Republic of China
    • Pres., President
    • PsyOps, psychological operations
    • PsyWar, psychological war/warfare
    • PVO, private voluntary organization
    • Q & A, question-and-answer
    • QTE, quote
    • R, Republican
    • R & D, research and development
    • RD, Revolutionary Development
    • Ref, reference
    • Reftel, reference telegram
    • Res, resolution
    • Rev., reverend
    • RFE/RL, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
    • RG, Record Group
    • RIAS, Rundfunk im Amerikanischen Sektor (United States Radio in the American Sector in Berlin)
    • RLG, Royal Lao Government
    • RLN, Radio Liberty Network
    • ROK or ROKG, Republic of Korea/Republic of Korea Government
    • rpt., repeat
    • rptd., repeated
    • RSC, Regional Service Center (USIA)
    • RTD, R.T. Davies
    • S, Office of the Secretary of State; also, Senate
    • S–5, Civil Affairs or Civil Affairs Officer(s)
    • S/AH, Ambassador At Large W. Averell Harriman
    • S/AL, Ambassador At Large Henry Cabot Lodge
    • S/P, Policy Planning Council, Department of State
    • S/PRS, Office of Press Relations, Office of the Secretary of State
    • S/S, Executive Secretariat, Department of State
    • SAT, satellite
    • SCA, Bureau of Security and Consular Affairs, Department of State
    • SE, Southeast
    • SEATO, South East Asia Treaty Organization
    • Sec, Secretary
    • SECAF, Secretary of the Air Force
    • SECNAV, Secretary of the Navy
    • SECSTATE, Secretary of State
    • Sen, Senator
    • SFRC, Senate Foreign Relations Committee
    • SIG, Senior Interdepartmental Group
    • SOP (S.O.P.), standard operating procedure
    • SOV, Office of Soviet Union Affairs, Bureau of European Affairs, Department of State
    • SovBloc, Soviet Bloc
    • Spaso/Spaso House, residence of United States Ambassadors in Moscow since 1933.
    • STADIS, distribution within the Department of State only
    • Stat., statute
    • TASS, Telegrafnoe Agenstvo Sovetskogo Soyuza (Telegram Agency of the Soviet Union)
    • Telex, switched network of teleprinters
    • TV, television
    • U, Office of the Under Secretary of State
    • UAE, United Arab Emirates
    • UAR, United Arab Republic
    • UK, United Kingdom
    • UN, United Nations
    • UNDP, United Nations Development Programme
    • UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
    • UNGA, United National General Assembly
    • UNICEF, United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund
    • UPI, United Press International
    • US, United States
    • USA, United States of America; also United States Army
    • USACI, U.S. Advisory Commission on Information
    • USAF, U.S. Air Force
    • U.S.C., U.S. Code
    • USEC, U.S. Mission to the European Community
    • USG, U.S. Government
    • USIA, U.S. Information Agency
    • USINFO, series indicator for messages from USIS
    • USIS, U.S. Information Service
    • USITO, series indicator for telegrams from the U.S. Information Agency to its overseas missions
    • USN, U.S. Navy
    • USOE, U.S. Office of Education
    • USOM, U.S. Operations Mission
    • USRO, U.S. Mission to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and European Regional Organizations
    • USSR, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
    • USUN, U.S. Mission to the United Nations
    • VC, Viet Cong
    • VIP, very important person
    • VIS, Vietnamese Information Service
    • VOA, Voice of America
    • WH, White House
    • Wireless File, daily news service supplied to the field by USIA
    • WWE, Worldwide English
    • YMCA, Young Men’s Christian Association
    • Z, Zulu (Greenwich Mean Time)