List of U.S. Army acronyms and expressions

The U.S. Army, like any bureaucratic organization, produces its own acronyms, which often come to have meaning beyond their bare expansions.

Contents

Official acronyms

  • 4x4 - 4-wheel drive vehicle; the first "4" is wheels on the ground, the second "4" is wheels driven; now in common civilian use, spoken as four-by-four
  • 4x2 - 2 wheel drive common vehicle; 4 wheels on ground, 2 wheels driven
  • AIT - Advanced Infantry Training; Advanced Individual Training (specialty training post-BCT)
  • AFV - Armored Fighting Vehicle
  • ASAP - As Soon As Possible (pronounced "Ay-Sap"; sometimes as initials)
  • AWOL - Absent WithOut Leave
  • BCT - Basic Combat Training (familiarly: Basic Training, "Boot Camp" or "Beast")
  • BX - Base eXchange Air Force name for A PX(see below).
  • CO - Commanding Officer (also: conscientious objector)
  • BDU - Battle Dress Uniform (slang: Battle Dress Underwear)
  • DFAC - Dining Facility (Mess Hall or Cafeteria)
  • EDCSA - Effective Date of Change of Strength Accountability (date a soldier is dropped on the rolls of one unit and picked up by another)
  • ETS - Expiration of Term of Service (scheduled date of separation from active duty).
  • FTX - Field Training Exercise.
  • HMMWV Humvee - High Mobility Multi-purpose Wheeled Vehicle
  • IG - Inspector General
  • KIA - Killed in Action
  • MIA - Missing in Action; missing in a battle situation, not known if alive or dead.
  • MOAB - officially, Massive Ordnance Air Blast (slang: mother of all bombs)
  • MOS - Military Occupational Specialty—formal job classification, usually expressed as a number or number/letter combination—e.g., 11B Infantryman.
  • MRE - officially, Meal Ready to Eat; (slang: Meal Rejected/refused by Ethiopians or: Meal Rejected by the Enemy)
  • NCO - Non-Commissioned Officer: an enlisted person with command responsibility over soldiers of lesser rank; a corporal (grade E4) or any grade of sergeant (grades E5 - E9); see also Specialist.
  • OCS - Officer Candidate School
  • PCA - Permanent Change of Assignment (new assignment at same base/post)
  • PCS - Permanent Change of Station (re-assignment from one place to another)
  • PMCS - Preventive Maintenance, Checks and Services
  • POW - Prisoner of War
  • PT - Physical Training. Although in the plural (PT's), it means the PT Uniform.
  • PX - Post eXchange. A multipurpose store which usually includes a barber shop and a convenience store.
  • RA - Regular Army soldier; i.e., one who enlisted, not a draftee, reservist or Guardsman; from the service number prefix for such soldiers. Not necessarily a lifer.
  • RPG - Rocket propelled grenade
  • ROTC - Reserve Officer Training Corps
  • STRAC - STRategic Army Command; STRAC units were those designated to be on high alert to move anywhere in 72 hours or less; as slang, tight, together, by the book; also used unflatteringly for an up-tight commander, especially one who engages in Mickey Mouse as STRAC-ass, STRAC-butt
  • STX - Situational Training Exercise
  • TDY - Temporary DutY (individual or unit) -- from Temporary Duty Yonder
  • US - Drafted soldier, from prefix of service number, in turn from Army of the United States, sarcastically: Unwilling Soldier.
  • UOINDIC - Unless Otherwise INDICated (qualifier on orders or paperwork)
  • XO - Executive Officer (officer second to CO)

Slang acronyms

  • BOHICA - Bend Over, Here It Comes Again
  • BUFF - Big Ugly Fat Fuckers (Pronounced "Buffs" to describe B-52 bombers)
  • BCG - Birth Control Glasses/Goggles. This acronym refers to the standard issue glasses. The acronym is based on the fact that no one has ever "gotten lucky" while wearing them.
  • DILLIGAFF - Does It Look Like I Give A Flying Fuck
  • DGA - Don't Go Army (See Also, the goarmy.com antithesis [1] (http://www.dontgoarmy.com/))
  • ETA - Estimated Time of Arrival
  • FIDO - Fuck it, drive on
  • FIGMO - Fuck it, (I've) got my orders - when someone is about to leave the unit (and no longer cares), he is "figmo".
  • FNG - Fucking new guy. Commonly applied to new troops on the battlefields of Vietnam.
  • FROG - Free Rocket Over Ground -- as opposed to a "guided" missile. [Compare "Towed Artillery"]
  • FTA - Fuck The Army (also: Future Tankers of America, Fun Time in Alaska (no longer used), Future Teachers of America)
  • FUBAR - Fucked up (or "fouled", depending on audience) beyond all recognition or Fucked up beyond all repair
  • FUGAZI - Fucked Up, Got Ambushed, Zipped In
  • FUMTU - (Things are) fucked up more than usual
  • JANFU - Joint Army-Navy fuck-up, (also: JAAFFU, Joint Army-Air Force fuck-up)
  • JESA - Junior Enlisted Soldiers Association
  • MMFD - Miles and Miles of Fucking Desert (Used by the British during the Gulf War)
  • RCH - Red Cunt Hair ([very small]unit of measure[, as in "just an RCH and it'll fit")]
  • REMF - Rear Echelon Mother-Fucker (used for NCOs not in the front lines, i.e. radar operatives)
  • RPG - Rape Prevention Goggles/Glasses. This acronym refers to the standard issue glasses. The acronym is based on the theory that wearing the glasses makes the user so visually unattractive so as to deter rape.
  • RTFM - Read the fucking manual (quickly entered the computer subculture; less pejorative to the person asking the question are "RTFS" (RTF Source) and "RTFB" (RTF Binary))
  • RTFMA - Read the fucking manual again
  • SLUF - Short Little Ugly Fucker, descriptive of the Vought A-7 Corsair II, formery in service with the US navy.
  • SNAFU - Situation normal, all fucked up (entered general language as neologism, so also: Situation Normal, All Fouled Up)
  • SOL - when you're Shit-Out-of-Luck
  • SSDD - Same Shit, Different Day
  • SUSFU - Situation unchanged, still fucked up
  • TARFU - Things are really fucked up
  • WOFTAM - Waste of fucking time and money

Non-acronym slang and expressions

  • and a Wake-up - the day you leave an ongoing duty assignment; usually meaning leaving combat zone or leaving the service. Used in a counting sense—if today is Monday and you leave service on Friday, and someone asks when you get out, the answer is "three days and a wake-up." (Tuesday-Thursday and Friday is "the wake-up")
  • Ate up - Something that's messed up or not up to the standard.
  • Bird Colonel - a full colonel, from the eagle insignia of grade, to distinguish from the one-grade-lower Lieutenant Colonel, whose insignia is a silver leaf.
  • BooKoo - a lot; very good (from French beaucoup)
  • BooKoo Bennies - lots of benefits; lot of good stuff
  • Butter Bars - the insignia for a Second Lieutenant; from the appearance of the individual yellow bars on each shoulder or lapel.
  • Candy Ass - usually a low-ranking officer, more rarely an NCO, who prides himself on enforcing petty regulations. Likely to give Mickey Mouse assignments and deal out chicken shit to enlisted personnel.
  • Chicken Shit/chickenshit - petty harassment; unnecessary or inappropriate strict adherence to rules; make work (as making soldiers do a useless task to keep them busy when they'd like a break); from the fact that it is small (petty), dirty and nasty.
  • Chow - food, or "breakfast/lunch/dinner". Example: "Is it time for chow yet?"
  • Class A uniform - ordinary suit uniform sometimes worn in office-type work, always when wearing a uniform on leave.
  • Chinese Fire Drill - An activity that gets messed up
  • Cunt Cap - soft hat (officially "Garrison Hat") worn in summer with Class A uniform (from its shape)
  • D-Day - the official day that war hostilities are to begin; or the day that a significant operation is to commence. Best known use is in the landing of allied troops in France in World War II. For precision there is also H-Hour and M-Minute
  • DI - Drill instructor; sergeant specially trained for training recruits, wears a campaign hat
  • Deucen-Half - common utility truck (2-1/2 ton truck—from "deuce-and-a-half")
  • Enlisted personnel [man] [woman] - Generic term for anyone who is not a warrant officer or commissioned officer.
  • E4 Mafia - See Specialist Mafia.
  • Fatigues - work uniform; combat uniform; as opposed to "Class A Uniform"
  • Fatigue Jacket - actually the shirt of the fatigue uniform. The outer jacket is called a Field Jacket.
  • GI - Government Issue; originally used for government supplied equipment, often sardonically used by soldiers to refer to themselves.
  • Gig line - visual straight line on fatigues formed by the fatigue jacket (actually a shirt), the brass belt buckle, and the fly of the fatigue pants
  • Grade - Pay grade of a soldier, currently E1-E9 for enlisted personnel, W1-W4 for warrant officers, O1-O10 for commissioned officers. Each grade may translate to several ranks; i.e., Grade E4 may be a corporal (command position) or specialist (non-command).
  • Gung Ho - true believer in the war or fighting, or enthusiastic about a mission or job, from Cantonese Chinese "working well"
  • Gun - specifically, a machine gun, not a rifle or pistol, reflecting precision in description; colloquially, a penis, used to reinforce non-use of the term gun for rifle, as in the expression: "This is my rifle, this is my gun; this is for fighting, this is for fun".
  • High Speed - a squared-away and highly motivated soldier.
  • Jeep - small versatile utility vehicle, from "GP" - general purpose vehicle; usage discouraged in military since "Jeep" became a trademark for civilian vehicles. See LUV below
  • Khakis - Class A unform consisting of tan colored shirt and pants optionally worn during warm weather. Usually starched. Although formerly common, khakis are no longer used in the US Army.
  • Klicks - kilometers; approximately 5/8 mile each
  • KP - periodic one-day duty assignment for lower grade soldiers to do mess hall work, ranging from helping to prepare food to cleaning out the grease traps (literally "Kitchen Police")
  • Lifer - Soldier or officer who expects to serve as a soldier in the Regular Army until retirement. See also RA above. Often used disparagingly.
  • Light Colonel - A Lieutenant Colonel; see Bird Colonel above.
  • LUV or Light Utility Vehicle - a Jeep (see above), preferred usage since Jeep became a civilian vehicle trademark. Most made by Ford, not AMC-Jeep during 'Nam
  • Joe - common soldier, esp. trainee, used as putdown (from "G.I. Joe")
  • Mickey Mouse or Mickey Mouse Operation- petty regulation, make work, petty harassment
  • Old Man - commanding officer
  • Police or Police Up - Clean up an area, from the "bringing order" sense of police
  • Railroad tracks - the insignia for a Captain; from its appearance of two connected silver bars
  • Rank - named title of soldier with a particular grade and responsibility, such as Private, Specialist, Staff Sergeant, Captain, etc. See also grade.
  • Real World - return to civilian life; or: return to USA from overseas
  • Recruit - new soldier in training; esp. basic training; was description of lowest rank, which is now simply Private
  • Short - soon to be released from service; usually 90 days or less
  • Short-timers calendar - hand made calendar, usually a picture broken up into 90 numbered sections, which a soldier colored in each day to mark time left until departure from combat zone or service
  • Special Processing Detachment (SPD) (or ...Unit, Company, etc.): Barracks in which soldiers being held before court martial or other disposition were held if it was felt inappropriate to leave them in their units, for confinement rather than punishment; if convicted would then go to the Stockade or military prison.
  • Specialist - Rank of enlisted personnel, equivalent grade of a corporal (E4), but without command responsibility. A very common rank, encompassing most soldiers of E4 grade. Formerly there were Specialist grades for E5 to E9, described as "Specialist Five" or "Spec-Five" and so on. Before the Vietnam era similar non-command ranks were called Tech Sergeant
  • Specialist Mafia - Also known as the E4 Mafia. Refers to a the specialists (who hold the paygrade of E4) of a military element. Often used to build an in-group between specialists against the higher ranking soldiers in a unit, just as an in-group develops between a unit's enlisted soldiers against the unit's officers.
  • Top Kick or Top - first sergeant; head sergeant in unit
  • TWs - lightweight Tropical Worsted wool summer Class A Uniform; so beloved by the wearers that the Army, which wanted to phase them out, kept putting off the end-date for about a decade. Finally phased out c.1968. Pronounced "Tee-Double-Youz"
  • Uncle Sugar - Uncle Sam; the wisdom-filled government
  • Yellow ribbon - Symbolic of memory of troops away from home, see article
  • Your Ass is Grass - You're in trouble
  • Your Ass is Grass and I'm the Mower - You're in trouble with me (usually a superior to a subordinate)
  • Your Military Right [Left] - remark, usually to a trainee, that s/he has faced the wrong way on a marching command; also "Your Other Right"
  • Zero Hour - The exact time slated for a planned attack

Field slang (esp. Vietnam usage)

  • Bush - jungle; where you looked for VC
  • Charlie - Viet Cong, from phonetic Victor Charlie
  • Hooch - soldier's dwelling in-country, from hut to barracks
  • In-country - Physically inside Vietnam on assignment, now used in any combat zone
  • LBJ - Long Binh Jail, disciplinary barracks at Long Binh Post, sarcastic reference to Lyndon Baines Johnson
  • Mama-san - In-country Asian regular girl-friend or wife (not a prostitute) who often lived with a soldier in a domestic relationship for his entire tour of duty (esp. in Korea). Not officially encouraged, circumstantially discouraged. Actual marriage strongly discouraged.
  • Number One - Vietnamese English-language expression meaning "the best", sometimes used by a hooker as a come-on, "Hey, Joe, you number one."
  • Number Ten - the worst
  • REMF - Rear echelon mother fucker (i.e: anyone not assigned to a front line combat unit, used a lot in the field in 'Nam)
  • VC - Viet Cong

Common Iraq slang:

  • Hooch - soldier's dwelling in-country, from hut to barracks
  • Hadji - an Iraqi
  • In-country - Physically in a combat zone
  • Wiskey-Tango-Foxtrot - What the fuck?

References

See also

External links

Military Words (http://www.militarywords.com) searchable database of over 5700 US DoD terms plus military/government abbreviations

Navigation

  • Art and Cultures
    • Art (https://academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Art)
    • Architecture (https://academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Architecture)
    • Cultures (https://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Cultures)
    • Music (https://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Music)
    • Musical Instruments (http://academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/List_of_musical_instruments)
  • Biographies (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Biographies)
  • Clipart (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Clipart)
  • Geography (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Geography)
    • Countries of the World (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Countries)
    • Maps (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Maps)
    • Flags (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Flags)
    • Continents (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Continents)
  • History (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/History)
    • Ancient Civilizations (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Ancient_Civilizations)
    • Industrial Revolution (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Industrial_Revolution)
    • Middle Ages (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Middle_Ages)
    • Prehistory (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Prehistory)
    • Renaissance (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Renaissance)
    • Timelines (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Timelines)
    • United States (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/United_States)
    • Wars (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Wars)
    • World History (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/History_of_the_world)
  • Human Body (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Human_Body)
  • Mathematics (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Mathematics)
  • Reference (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Reference)
  • Science (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Science)
    • Animals (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Animals)
    • Aviation (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Aviation)
    • Dinosaurs (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Dinosaurs)
    • Earth (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Earth)
    • Inventions (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Inventions)
    • Physical Science (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Physical_Science)
    • Plants (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Plants)
    • Scientists (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Scientists)
  • Social Studies (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Social_Studies)
    • Anthropology (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Anthropology)
    • Economics (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Economics)
    • Government (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Government)
    • Religion (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Religion)
    • Holidays (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Holidays)
  • Space and Astronomy
    • Solar System (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Solar_System)
    • Planets (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Planets)
  • Sports (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Sports)
  • Timelines (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Timelines)
  • Weather (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Weather)
  • US States (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/US_States)

Information

  • Home Page (http://academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php)
  • Contact Us (http://www.academickids.com/encyclopedia/index.php/Contactus)

  • Clip Art (http://classroomclipart.com)
Toolbox
Personal tools