Acronyms A - F

A

  <acronym title="Allied Air Forces Central Europe">AAFCE</acronym> Allied Air Forces Central Europe.

Part of NATO

  <acronym title="Allied Air Forces Northern Europe">AAFNE</acronym> Allied Air Forces Northern Europe.

Part of NATO

  <acronym title="Amphibious Assault Vehicle">AAV</acronym> Amphibious Assault Vehicle.

The Amphibious Assault Vehicle — official designation AAV-7A1 (formerly known as LVT-7) is a fully tracked amphibious landing vehicle manufactured by FMC Corporation (now BAE Systems Land and Armaments).
The AAV-7A1 is the current amphibious troop transport of the United States Marine Corps. It is used by USMC Assault Amphibian Battalions to land the surface assault elements of the landing force and their equipment in a single lift from assault shipping during amphibious operations to inland objectives and to conduct mechanized operations and related combat support in subsequent mechanized operations ashore. It is also operated by other forces.

  <acronym title="Anti-Ballistic Missile System">ABM</acronym> Anti-Ballistic Missile System.
  <acronym title="Automatic Colt Pistol">ACP</acronym> Automatic Colt Pistol.
  <acronym title="Assistant Chief of Staff">ACOS</acronym> Assistant Chief of Staff.
  <acronym title="Airborne Early Warning">AEW</acronym> Airborne Early Warning.
  <acronym title="Allied Forces Central Europe">AFCENT</acronym> Allied Forces Central Europe.

Part of NATO

  <acronym title="Allied Forces North Norway">AFNON</acronym> Allied Forces North Norway.

Part of NATO

  <acronym title="Allied Forces Northern Europe">AFNORTH</acronym> Allied Forces Northern Europe.

Part of NATO

  <acronym title="Allied Forces Southern Norway">AFSONOR</acronym> Allied Forces Southern Norway.

Part of NATO

  <acronym title="Allied Forces South">AFSOUTH</acronym> Allied Forces South.

Part of NATO

  <acronym title="Armored Fighting Vehicle">AFV</acronym> Armored Fighting Vehicle.
  <acronym title="Air Liaison Officer">ALO</acronym> Air Liaison Officer.
  <acronym title="Armored Personnel Carrier">APC</acronym> Armored Personnel Carrier.
  <acronym title="Armor-Piercing Discarding Sabot">APDS</acronym> Armor-Piercing Discarding Sabot.
  <acronym title="Armor-Piercing Discarding Sabot Tracer">APDS-T</acronym> Armor-Piercing Discarding Sabot Tracer.
  <acronym title="Armor Piercing Fin-Stabilized Discarding Sabot">APFSDS</acronym> Armor Piercing Fin-Stabilized Discarding Sabot.
  <acronym title="Armor Piercing Fin Stabilized Discarding Sabot Depleted Uranium">APFSDSDU</acronym> Armor Piercing Fin Stabilized Discarding Sabot Depleted Uranium.
  <acronym title="Armor Piercing Incendiary">API</acronym> Armor Piercing Incendiary.

A nearly solid round containing a small amount of incendiary material in the base. Primarily used against armored vehicles.

  <acronym title="Army National Guard">ARNG</acronym> Army National Guard.
  <acronym title="Anti-Submarine">A/S</acronym> Anti-Submarine.
  <acronym title="Anti-Satellite">ASAT</acronym> Anti-Satellite.
  <acronym title="Anti-Tank Guided Missile">ATGM</acronym> Anti-Tank Guided Missile.
  <acronym title="Anti-Tank Guided Weapon">ATGW</acronym> Anti-Tank Guided Weapon.

B

  <acronym title="British Army Training and Liaison Staff Kenya">BATLSK</acronym> British Army Training and Liaison Staff Kenya.

A British Army platoon strength team responsible for supporting exercises in Kenya. The BATLSK staff are drawn from the British Army that is responsible for supporting infantry battalion group exercises for approx 3,000 British troops in Kenya each year. It is based in Kahawa Barracks. It was heavily used pre-war to give SAS troops practice (particularly the air and mountain troops of each squadron).
In 1996 the operations of the group was enhanced to include training of local forces. This continued when the last British Army unit rotated through in late 1996. Since this point the team has acted as a magnet of stablity in the area.
The team of 17 is led by Lt John Rawson of the 2nd Bn Light Infantry. Aware that things are deteriorating he plans to try and return the team to England but is aware that it will result in a deterioration in conditions in the local area and for the locals that have come to depend on the team.

  <acronym title="British Army of the Rhine">BAOR</acronym> British Army of the Rhine.

The Traditional name for the British Army in Germany, First as an occupational force then, in the cold war, as a defensive force against the Warsaw Pact. From 1952 the commander-in-chief of the BAOR was also the commander of NATO's Northern Army Group (NORTHAG) in the event of a general war with the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact.

Also take a look at our page United Kingdom.

  <acronym title="Brigade Combat Team">BCT</acronym> Brigade Combat Team.

This is the new Standard Size unit in the United States Army. The transitioned to the new Brigade Combat Teams in early 2002 right after 9/11. The transition was to be full done with by 2012. The Army decided to go this route to be more like the United States Marine Corps in flexibility of the units. This also keeps the main Division Headquarters out of the hot zone except for when a Division sized force is called for. The BCT is usually used for as Infantry. Also the Pre-War strength was 3300 men.

  <acronym title="Battle Damage Assessment">BDA</acronym> Battle Damage Assessment.
  <acronym title="Bug-out Bag">BOB</acronym> Bug-out Bag.

The primary purpose of a Bug-out Bag (BOB) is to allow one to evacuate quickly if a disaster should strike. It is therefore prudent to gather all of the materials and supplies that might be required to do this into a single place, such as a bag or a few storage containers. The recommendation that a BOB should contain enough supplies for seventy two hours arises from advice from organizations responsible for disaster relief and management that it may take them up to seventy two hours to reach people affected by a disaster and offer help. They therefore suggest that a BOB should contain enough supplies to allow those reliant on it to survive for this length of time. Known to the British as a grab bag. British troops often attach a 10 litre sidepouch to the top of a pack for use in a similar way in the field.

  <acronym title="Browning Machine Gun">BMG</acronym> Browning Machine Gun.

C

  <acronym title="Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence">C3I</acronym> Command, Control, Communications and Intelligence.
  <acronym title="Command, Control, Communication, Computers and Intelligence">C4I</acronym> Command, Control, Communication, Computers and Intelligence.
  <acronym title="Combat Air Patrol">CAP</acronym> Combat Air Patrol.
  <acronym title="Close Air Support">CAS</acronym> Close Air Support.
  <acronym title="Casualty Evacuation">CASEVAC</acronym> Casualty Evacuation.
  <acronym title="Союз Советских Социалистических Республик">CCCP</acronym> Союз Советских Социалистических Республик.

The transliteration of Cyrillic USSR, equivalent to Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in English.

  <acronym title="Cavalry Fighting Vehicle">CFV</acronym> Cavalry Fighting Vehicle.
  <acronym title="Counter Intelligence">CI</acronym> Counter Intelligence.
  <acronym title="Commander in Chief">CINC</acronym> Commander in Chief.

The commander of a nation's military forces or significant element of those forces. In the latter case, the force element may be defined as those forces within a particular region or those forces which are associated by function. As a practical term it refers to the military competencies that reside in a nation-state's executive, head of state or government. Often, a given country's commander-in-chief need not be or have been a commissioned officer or even a veteran, and it is by this legal statute that civilian control of the military is realized in states where it is constitutionally required.

  <acronym title="Cannon Launched Guided Projectile">CLGP</acronym> Cannon Launched Guided Projectile.

A high explosive round which homes on the reflection of a laser target designator. If a laser target designator is aimed at a vehicle or building, the round has a 90% chance of a direct hit.

  <acronym title="Combat Net Radio">CNR</acronym> Combat Net Radio.

In telecommunication, a combat-net radio (CNR) is a radio operating in a network that (a) provides a half-duplex circuit and (b) uses either a single radio frequency or a discrete set of radio frequencies when in a frequency hopping mode. CNRs are primarily used for push-to-talk-operated radio nets for command and control of combat, combat support, and combat service support operations among military ground, sea, and air forces.

  <acronym title="Commanding Officer">CO</acronym> Commanding Officer.

The officer in command of a unit.

  <acronym title="Unified Combatant Commands">COCOM</acronym> Unified Combatant Commands.
  <acronym title="Continental United States">CONUS</acronym> Continental United States.
  <acronym title="Chief of Staff">COS</acronym> Chief of Staff.
  <acronym title="Command Post">CP</acronym> Command Post.
  <acronym title="Combat Search and Rescue">CSAR</acronym> Combat Search and Rescue.
  <acronym title="Chemical Warfare">CW</acronym> Chemical Warfare.

D

  <acronym title="Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency">DARPA</acronym> Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is an agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the development of new technology for use by the military. DARPA has been responsible for funding the development of many technologies which have had a major impact on the world, including computer networking, as well as NLS (oN-Line System), which was both the first hypertext system, and an important precursor to the contemporary ubiquitous graphical user interface.

  <acronym title="Defense Intelligence Agency">DIA</acronym> Defense Intelligence Agency.
  <acronym title="Division Air Defense">DIVAD</acronym> Division Air Defense.
  <acronym title="Dead Right There">DRT</acronym> Dead Right There.

E

  <acronym title="United States European Command">EUCOM</acronym> United States European Command.

The United States European Command (EUCOM) is a Unified Combatant Command of the United States military, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Its area of responsibility covers 21 million square miles and 92 countries and territories, including Europe, Turkey, Greenland, the former Soviet Union, except the five central Asian republics (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan).
It was thus the lead command for potential operations during the Cold War, and also during the Kosovo War. It also controlled the forces flying from Incirlik Air Base during the Gulf War and Operation Northern Watch. Its commander is dual-hatted and also assumes the role of Supreme Allied Commander, Europe (SACEUR) in the NATO hierarchy.

F

  <acronym title="Family of Scatterable Mines">FASCAM</acronym> Family of Scatterable Mines.

A hollow round containing antitank and antipersonnel mines. The round bursts in the air and scatters mines over an area 100 meters in radius from the burst point.

  <acronym title="Falkland Islands Defence Force">FIDF</acronym> Falkland Islands Defence Force.

Also take a look at our page Falkland Islands Defence Force.

  <acronym title="Fast Information, Navigation, Decision and Reporting System">FINDERS</acronym> Fast Information, Navigation, Decision and Reporting System.

A battlefield management system, developed by Nexter Systems. FINDERS includes a colour map display which shows the positions of the host tank, allied and hostile forces and designated targets and can be used for route and mission planning.

  <acronym title="Fighting In Someone’s House">FISH</acronym> Fighting In Someone’s House.

urban combat

  <acronym title="Forward Operating Base">FOB</acronym> Forward Operating Base.

An airfield used to support tactical operations without establishing full support facilities. The base may be used for an extended time period. Support by a main operating base will be required to provide backup support for a forward operating base.

  <acronym title="Fouled up beyond all repair">FUBAR</acronym> Fouled up beyond all repair or Fouled up beyond any recognition.