Office of the Historian

Abbreviations and Terms

  • A–6, U.S. carrier-based attack aircraft
  • A–7, U.S. tactical military aircraft
  • AAFLI, Asian American Free Labor Institute
  • ADD, Agency for Defense Development
  • AFB, Air Force Base
  • AFP, Agence France Presse, a French news agency
  • AH, Alexander Haig
  • AHC, Attack Helicopter Command (South Vietnam)
  • AID, Agency for International Development
  • AK–47, Soviet-manufactured assault rifle
  • Amb, Ambassador
  • AmEmbassy, American Embassy
  • AP, Associated Press
  • ARVN, Army of the Republic of (South) Vietnam
  • ASAP, as soon as possible
  • ASEAN, Association of Southeast Asian Nations
  • ASPAC, Asian and Pacific Council
  • B–52, U.S. bomber aircraft
  • BOB, Bureau of the Budget
  • BS, Brent Scowcroft
  • Cam, Cambodia
  • CH–46, medium lift U.S. military helicopter
  • CH–53, heavy lift U.S. military helicopter
  • CIA, Central Intelligence Agency
  • CINCPAC, Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Command
  • CINCPACAF, Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Air Force
  • CINCPACFLT, Commander-in-Chief, Pacific Fleet
  • CINCUSARPAC, Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Army, Pacific
  • CJCS, Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff
  • CM, Chairman’s (of the Joint Chief of Staff) Memorandum
  • Comint, communications intelligence
  • COMUSK, Commander U.S. Forces, Korea
  • COMUSMACV, Commander, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam
  • COMUSSAG, Commander, United States Special Advisory Group
  • ConGen, Consulate General
  • CONUS, Continental United States
  • COS, Chief of Station
  • COSVN, Central Office for South Vietnam, Communist political and military headquarters for the southern half of South Vietnam
  • CPR, People’s Republic of China
  • CRA, Continuing Resolution Authority
  • CVA, Attack Aircraft Carrier
  • CY, calendar year
  • DAO, Defense Attaché’s Office
  • DCI, Director of Central Intelligence
  • DCM, Deputy Chief of Mission, United States Embassy
  • Deptel, Department of State telegram
  • DIA, Defense Intelligence Agency
  • DMZ, demilitarized zone; established roughly at Vietnam’s 17th parallel to a width not more than five kilometers each side of the demilitarized zone
  • DOD, Department of Defense
  • DOD/ISA, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs
  • DOS, Department of State
  • DRV, Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam)
  • DTG, date time group
  • E, Bureau of Economic Affairs, Department of State
  • EA, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Department of State
  • EAP, Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs, Department of State
  • EC–121, U.S. military early warning/surveillance aircraft (electronic combat)
  • E&E, emergency and evacuation
  • ELINT, electronic intelligence
  • Embtel, Embassy telegram
  • ESF, Economic Support Fund
  • Exdis, exclusive distribution
  • EX-IM, Export-Import Bank
  • F–4, U.S. fighter aircraft
  • FAC, forward air controller
  • FANK, Forces Armées Nationales Khmères (Khmer National Armed Forces [Cambodia])
  • FBI, Federal Bureau of Investigation
  • FBIS, Foreign Broadcast Information Service
  • FEOF, Foreign Exchange Operation Fund
  • FonMin, Foreign Minister
  • FPJMC, Four Party Joint Military Commission
  • FRC, Federal Records Center
  • FRD, formerly restricted data
  • FSO, Foreign Service officer
  • FUNK, Front uni national du Kampuchéa (National United Front of Kampuchea)
  • FY, fiscal year
  • FYI, for your information
  • GA, General Assembly (United Nations)
  • GAC, George A. Carver, Jr.
  • GKR, Government of the Khmer Republic
  • GNP, gross national product
  • govt, government
  • GPO, Government Printing Office
  • GRC, Government of the Republic of China
  • GRUNK, Gouvernement Royal d’Union Nationale du Kampuchéa (Royal Government of National Union of Kampuchea)
  • GSF, Ground Security Force, United States Marine Corps
  • GVN, Government of Vietnam (South Vietnam)
  • H, Bureau of Congressional Affairs, Department of State
  • HAK, Henry A. Kissinger
  • Hakto, series designator for telegrams to Henry A. Kissinger
  • HFAC, House Foreign Affairs Committee
  • HK, Henry Kissinger; Hong Kong
  • HQ, headquarters
  • IBRD, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (World Bank)
  • ICC, International Control Commission
  • ICCS, International Commission for Control and Supervision
  • ICEM, Intergovernmental Committee for European Migration
  • ICRC, International Committee of the Red Cross
  • IG, Interdepartmental Group
  • info, information
  • INR, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Department of State
  • INR/EAP, Office of East Asia and the Pacific, Bureau of Intelligence and Research, Department of State
  • intel, intelligence
  • ISA, Office of International Security Affairs, Department of Defense
  • ITAC, Interagency Textile Administrative Committee
  • J, Office of the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs
  • JCS, Joint Chiefs of Staff
  • JCSM, Joint Chiefs of Staff Memorandum
  • JEC, Joint Economic Commission
  • JGS, Joint General Staff, Republic of Vietnam Armed Forces
  • JUSMAG, Joint United States Military Assistance Group
  • KAF, Khmer Air Force
  • KC, Khmer Communists
  • KI, Khmer insurgents
  • L, Office of the Legal Adviser, Department of State
  • Limdis, limited distribution
  • LO, Laos
  • LOC, lines of communication
  • LPF, Laotian Patriotic Front, political arm of the Pathet Lao
  • LST, Landing Ship, Tanks
  • M–16, U.S. military field rifle
  • MAAG, Military Assistance Advisory Group
  • MACV, Military Assistance Command, Vietnam
  • MAP, Military Assistance Program
  • MASF, military assistance service-funded
  • MEDT, Military Equipment Delivery Team
  • MEDTC, Military Equipment Delivery Team, Cambodia
  • MFA, Ministry of Foreign Affairs
  • MIA, missing in action
  • MiG, Soviet-built fighter aircraft
  • MR, Military Region; Government of Vietnam divided the country into four zones for military and administrative purposes; MR1 contained the five northernmost provinces of South Vietnam, MR2 included provinces in the central and north central sections, MR3 was made up of the south central part of the country and included Saigon, and MR4 in the Mekong Delta held the rest of the country; sometimes an MR was also called a Corps Tactical Zone
  • MSAP, Multi-Services Access Platform
  • MSC, Military Sealift Command
  • NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization
  • NCNRC, National Committee for National Reconciliation and Concord
  • NIC, National Intelligence Council
  • NIE, National Intelligence Estimate
  • NIO/SEA, National Intelligence Officer, Southeast Asia
  • NKP, Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base
  • NLF, National Liberation Front
  • NM, nautical mile
  • NOA, New Obligational Authority
  • Nodis, no distribution
  • Noforn, no dissemination to foreign nationals
  • Notal, not all (telegram A, referenced in telegram B, was not sent to all the recipients of telegram B)
  • NSA, National Security Agency
  • NSC, National Security Council
  • NSCIG, National Security Council, Interdepartmental Group
  • NSC–U/S, National Security Council, Under Secretaries’ Committee
  • NSDM, National Security Decision Memorandum
  • NSSM, National Security Study Memorandum
  • NVA, North Vietnamese Army
  • NVN, North Vietnam
  • OASD/ISA, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs
  • OBE, overtaken by events
  • OCI, Office of Current Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency
  • OD, ordinance disposal
  • ODDI, Office of the Deputy Director for Intelligence, Central Intelligence Agency
  • OECD, Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development
  • OJSC, Office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
  • O&M, operation & maintenance
  • OMB, Office of Management and Budget
  • ONE, Office of National Estimates, Central Intelligence Agency
  • OPIC, Overseas Private Investment Corporation
  • OSD, Office of the Secretary of Defense
  • OSD/ISA, Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs
  • OUSD, Office of the Under Secretary of Defense
  • P, President
  • PAA, Pan-American Airlines
  • PACAF, Pacific Air Force (United States)
  • PACOM, Pacific Command (United States)
  • para, paragraph
  • Paris Channel, Secret channel through which the White House sent and received messages to and from the North Vietnamese in Paris; the Air Attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Paris, Colonel Georges R. Guay, ran the channel for the White House
  • PCH&T, packing, crating, handling, & transportation
  • PFIAB, President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board
  • PGNU, Provisional Government of National Union (Laos)
  • PIO, Public Information Officer
  • PL, Pathet Lao; Public Law
  • PL–480, Public Law-480, food assistance
  • PM, Prime Minister
  • POL, petroleum, oil, and lubricants; political
  • POLAD, Political Adviser
  • POW, prisoner of war
  • PRC, People’s Republic of China
  • Pres, President
  • Private channel, see Paris Channel
  • PRG, Provisional Revolutionary Government, political wing of the South Vietnamese Communist movement, replaced the NLF, but terms often used interchangeably
  • PriMin, Prime Minister
  • psyops, psychological operations
  • QR, Quota Restriction
  • QTE, quote
  • RECPT, receipt
  • reftel, reference telegram
  • rep, representative
  • res, resolution (United Nations)
  • RG, Record Group
  • RIF, reduction in force
  • RLG, Royal Lao Government
  • RN, Richard Nixon
  • RNC, Republican National Committee
  • ROC, Republic of China
  • ROKAF, Republic of Korea Air Force
  • ROKFV, Republic of Korea Forces, Vietnam
  • ROKG, Republic of Korea Government
  • rpt, repeat
  • RTG, Royal Thai Government
  • RVN, Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam)
  • RVNAF, Republic of Vietnam, armed forces
  • S, Office of the Secretary of State; Secret
  • S/P, Policy Planning Council, Department of State
  • S/S, Executive Secretariat, Department of State
  • SAM, surface-to-air missile
  • SAR, search and recovery
  • SEA, Southeast Asia
  • SEATO, Southeast Asia Treaty Organization
  • SecDef, Secretary of Defense
  • SecState, Secretary of State
  • Secto, series indicator for telegrams from the Secretary of State or his party to the Department of State
  • Secy Gen, Secretary General (United Nations)
  • Secy, Secretary of State
  • Septel, separate telegram
  • SIG, Senior Interdepartmental Group (National Security Council)
  • SitRep, Situation Report
  • SNIE, Special National Intelligence Estimate
  • SR–71, U.S. surveillance aircraft
  • SRF, Selective Reserve Force
  • SRG, Senior Review Group (National Security Council)
  • SVN, South Vietnam
  • TCN, third country national
  • TDY, Temporary Duty
  • Telcon, telephone conversation
  • Tohak, series designator for telegrams to Henry A. Kissinger
  • Tosec, series designator for telegrams to the Secretary of State when he or she is traveling
  • TOW, tube-launched, optically-tracked, wire-guided missile
  • TPJMC, Two Party Joint Military Commission
  • TS, top secret
  • TTPI, Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
  • U, Office of the Under Secretary of State; Unclassified
  • UN, United Nations
  • UNCURK, United Nations Commission for the Unification and Rehabilitation of Korea
  • UNGA, United Nations General Assembly
  • UNHCR, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
  • UNICEF, United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund
  • UNQTE, unquote
  • US, United States
  • USA, United States Army
  • USAF, United States Air Force
  • USC, Under Secretaries’ Committee
  • USFY, United States fiscal year
  • USG, United States Government
  • USIA, United States Information Agency
  • USIB, United States Intelligence Board
  • USIS, United States Information Service
  • U–S/M, Under Secretaries’ memorandum
  • USN, United States Navy
  • USSAG, United States Support Activities Group
  • USSR, Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
  • USUN, United States Mission to the United Nations
  • U Tapao, Royal Thai Air Force Base from which USAF B–52s carried out missions over Vietnam
  • UW, unconventional warfare
  • VC, Viet Cong
  • VN, Vietnam
  • VOLAG, voluntary agency
  • VP, Vice President
  • WH, White House
  • WSAG, Washington Special Action Group
  • Z, Zulu, time designator on White House, Departments of State and Defense messages/cables based on Greenwich Mean, aka Coordinated Universal, Time