Glossary One

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A

AAR

After Action Report

AGAS

U.S. Air Ground Aid Section

aka

also known as
ANGLICO
The control of naval gunfire in Vietnam was in the hands of the US Marine Corps 1st Air and Naval Gunfire Liaison Company which provided shore fire-control parties in all military regions.

ARVN

Army of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam)

C

CAT

Civil Air Transport

CIA 

Central Intelligence Agency

CINCPAC 

Commander in Chief, U.S. Pacific Command (USN)

CCC 

Command and Control Center.

CCN 

Command and Control North.

CCS 

Command and Control South.

CBS

Columbia Broadcasting System

CIA

Central Intelligence Agency
CDT3

Australian Clearance Diving Team Three. An elite group of 49 officers and men; divers trained in  explosive ordnance disposal. CDT3 had originally been directed not to participate in SEAL-type operations (United States Navy Special Forces) or in operations along the Cambodian border, however, the prohibition was lifted in January 1969 allowing team members to make full use of their unique skills. Consequently, the operational focus from 1969 shifted towards the provision of explosive ordnance disposal support for offensive operations, with team members frequently being attached to American and South Vietnamese special forces.

CICV

Combined Intelligence Center, Vietnam

CIDG

Civilian Irregular Defense Group

CIIB

Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Bureau

CINCPAC

Commander in Chief, Pacific

CJCS

Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff

CMH

Center of Military History

COC

Combat Operations Center

COMUSMACV

Commander, U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam

CORDS 

Civil Operations and Revolutionary Development Support. The Phoenix Program is associated with CORDS often times in the literature:  "Another important step pushed by CORDS was establishment of the PHOENIX program, a concerted effort to eliminate the Communist political apparatus by capturing or killing enemy leaders in the villages and provinces. This crucial aspect of the counterinsurgency campaign had been run by the Central Intelligence Agency in the early 1960s but lacked the manpower to take on the importance it deserved. Under CORDS, PHOENIX expanded into virtually every district in South Vietnam, using a combination of conventional forces, militia, police, and psychological and intelligence operations not previously possible on such a large scale." - [314, p.343] https://history.army.mil/books/AMH-V2/AMH%20V2/chapter11.htm

COSVN

Central Office for South Vietnam

CRIMP

Consolidated RVNAF Improvement and Modernization Plan

CTZ

Corps Tactical Zone

D

D 

Democrat

DAO

Defense Attaché Office

DESOTO patrols (DeHaven Special Operations off TsingtaO)

Patrols conducted by U.S. Navy destroyers equipped with a mobile "van" of signals-intelligence equipment used for intelligence collection in hostile waters. The USS De Haven became the namesake for these patrols. De Haven performed the first patrol off the coast of China in April 1962. The USS Agerholm carried out the first patrol to target North Vietnam in the Gulf of Tonkin in December 1962.

Dixie Station

US Navy ships off Vietnam’s southern coast

DA

Department of the Army

DAO

Defense Attaché Office
DFC
Distinguished Flying Cross

DIA

Defense Intelligence Agency

DMZ 

Demilitarized Zone

DNAB 

Da Nang Air Base

DRV 

Democratic Republic of Vietnam

DoD

Department of Defense

F

FANK 

Khmer National Armed Forces 

Forces Armées Nationales Khmères

FEAF 

Far East Air Forces (USAF)

FSB 

Fire Support Base

FFV

Field Force, Vietnam

FMFPAC

Fleet Marine Force, Pacific

FWMAF

Free World Military Assistance Force

G

GVN 

Government of the Republic of Vietnam (South Vietnam)

GCA

Ground Control Approach
Hawk/RF Operations

hunter-killer/reconnaissance in Force

H

HQMC

Headquarters, Marine Corps

Hoi Chanh

VC Defector

I 

ICC

International Control Commission 

J

JCS

Joint Chiefs of Staff (U.S.)

K

KIA

killed in action

Killer Junior

Another effective direct fire technique was "Killer Junior." The technique was designed to defend fire bases against enemy ground attack and used mechanical time-fused projectiles set to burst approximately 30 feet off the ground at ranges of 200 to 1,000 meters. The name Killer Junior applied to light and medium artillery (105-mm. and 155-mm.), whereas "Killer Senior" referred to the same system used with the 8-inch howitzer.

Killer Senior

See Killer Junior

J

JGS

Joint General Staff (South Vietnam)

JUSPAO

Joint U.S. Public Affairs Office

L

LBJL

Lyndon Baines Johnson Library

LOI

Letter of Instruction

LOTS

Logistics Over The Shore

LRPTG

Long Range Planning Task Group

LST

Landing Ship, Tank

LZ

landing zone

M

MAAG

Military Assistance Advisory Group

MAB

Marine Amphibious Brigade.

MACV

Military Assistance Command, Vietnam

MACV–SOG

MACV Studies and Observation Group

MAF

Marine Amphibious Force

MAP

Military Assistance Program

MAW

Marine Aircraft Wing

MCHC

Marine Corps Historical Center

MDAP

Mutual Defense Assistance Program

MFR

Memorandum for the Record

MHI

Military History Institute

MIA

missing in action

MID

Military Intelligence Detachment

MiG

Mikoyan & Gurevich (Russian aircraft designers)

MR

Military Region

MSS

Military Security Service

N

NAS
Naval Air Station
NATO

North Atlantic Treaty Organization

NARA

National Archives and Records Administration

NAVFORV

(U.S.) Naval Forces, Vietnam

NSC

National Security Council

NSDM

National Security Decision Memorandum

NSSM

National Security Study Memorandum

NVA

North Vietnamese Army

NVN

North Vietnam

O

OPLAN

Operations Plan

OPCON

Operational Control

OSS

Office of Strategic Services

P&D

Pacification and Development

PACAF

Pacific Air Force(s) (USAF)
PACV
Patrol Air Cushion Vehicle-US Navy (1969) 

PAVN

People’s Army of Vietnam (North Vietnam)

PEO

Programs Evaluation Office
PHILGAGV
The Philippine Civic Action Group, Vietnam. Research shows they were primarily involved in rebuilding roads. providing humanitarian aid and were also occasionally involved in defensive operations. 

PLAF

People’s Liberation Armed Forces (Viet Cong)

PFIAB

President’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board

PLAF

People’s Liberation Armed Forces, also known as the Viet Cong.

PLAT

People's Liberation Army of Thailand (the  Communist Party of Thailand's armed wing).

PCF

Patrol Craft Fast (Swift Boat)

PDJ

Plaine des Jarres (Laos)

POW

Prisoner of War
Prime BEEF
PRIMary Base Emergency Engineer Force (USAF)
In the Vietnam War, Air Force "Prime BEEF" teams filled a need for short-term construction capabilities.

PROVN

Program for the Pacification and Long-Term Development of South Vietnam
PRU

Provincial Reconnaissance Unit - See also Operation Phoenix and CORDS

PSDF

People’s Self-Defense Force

R

R 

Republican
RAAF
Royal Australian Air Forces
RAN
Royal Australian Navy
RDF
Radio Direction Finder

RED HORSE (USAF)

Rapid Engineer Deployable Heavy Operational Repair Squadron Engineer

ROKMC

Republic of Korea Marine Corps

RTAVF

Royal Thai Army Volunteer Force

RVN

Republic of Vietnam

RVNAF

Republic of Vietnam Air Force (French: Force aérienne vietnamienne, FAVN)

(sometimes referred to as the Vietnam Air Force or VNAF)

S

SACSA

Special Assistant for Counterinsurgency and Security Activities, JCS

SAM

Surface-to-Air Missile
SAR
Search and Rescue

SEATO

Southeast Asia Treaty Organization

SEER

System for Evaluating the Effectiveness of

SNIE

Special National Intelligence Estimate

SOG

Studies and Observations Group

SVN

South Vietnam

T

TAO

Tactical Area of Operations

TDY

temporary duty

TERM

Temporary Equipment Recovery Mission

TRIM

Training Relations Instruction Mission

TOW

Tube launched, optically tracked, wire guided

U

UN

United Nations

USA

U.S. Army

USAAF

U.S. Army Air Forces

USAF

U.S. Air Force

USARPAC

U.S. Army, Pacific

USARV
U.S. Army, Vietnam

USIA

U.S. Information Agency

USIS

U.S. Information Service

USMC

U.S. Marine Corps

USN

U.S. Navy

USOM

U.S. Operations Mission

USSAG/7AF

U.S. Support Activities Group/Seventh Air Force

V

VAC

Vietnam Assistance Command

VAG

Vietnam Assistance Group
VAT
Village Assistance Team

VC

Viet Cong

VNAF

Vietnam Air Force  
Vung Tau Ferry
Between 1965 and 1972, HMAS Sydney undertook 25 voyages to Vietnam and transported 16,094 troops, 5753 deadweight tons of cargo and 2375 vehicles. On her first voyage four days were taken to unload cargo in Vung Tau. On subsequent voyages this turn around time was reduced to a matter of hours.

W

WIA

wounded in action

WIEU

Weekly Intelligence Estimate Update

XM546
Antipersonnel projectile, called the Beehive round, was particularly effective in the direct fire role. The projectile was filled with over 8,000 flechettes, or small metal darts.

Y

Yankee Station

US Navy ships off Vietnam’s northern coast