—BCP. Bagram Collection Point. A temporary holding facility for captured Al Qaida and Taliban on the U.S. airbase at Bagram, Afghanistan.
—Case Officer. An intelligence officer trained in specialized techniques—tradecraft—to recruit and manage agents and networks of agents operating against a hostile nation or entity. In the U.S. Army they are also known as Area Intelligence Officers.
—CENTCOM. U.S. Central Command. The four-star-level command based in Tampa, FL that oversaw operations in Afghanistan and Iraq.
—CJ2X. Director of Human and Counterintelligence Operations. Derived from the standard numeric breakdown of staff offices where S1 is personnel, S2 is intelligence, S3 is operations, etc. The “C” represents the fact that the position overseas coalition forces, the “J” attests to the joint nature of the position (encompassing more than a single service-Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines), the X represents human intelligence, particularly controlled or clandestine operations.
—DATT: Defense Attaché. A military officer serving on diplomatic duty usually in an embassy representing the Secretary of Defense to the host nation’s military and advising the Ambassador on military issues.
—DCM. Deputy Chief of Mission. A senior diplomatic officer in an embassy, second in rank only to the Ambassador.
—DIA. Defense Intelligence Agency.
—DRC: Democratic Republic of the Congo. Formerly Zaire.
—DS. Diplomatic Security. A bureau in the Department of State with responsibility for providing security for embassies and missions overseas, offices in the U.S., and senior officials. See also RSO.
—EOD. Explosive Ordnance Disposal. Bomb disposal and weapons experts.
—FAR. Forces Armées Rwandaises. The Rwandan Army before and during the genocide of 1994. Also, the Ex-FAR: former FAR troops in DRC.
—FDLR: Forces Démocratiques de la Libération du Rwanda. A Hutu rebel group operating in DRC. Some members are former Interahamwe.
—FSO. Foreign Service officer. An American diplomat.
—ICS. Internal Communications System.
—Interahamwe. “Those who struggle together,” (Kinyarwanda). The executors of the genocide in 1994.
—ICRC. International Committee of the Red Cross.
—KBR. Kellogg Brown and Root. A U.S. contracting firm that provides logistics support to military operations including food service.
—KDOM. Kosovo Diplomatic Observer Mission. A small international mission operating in Kosovo from summer 1998 through winter 1999 with teams from the U.S., Canada, the EU and the Russian Federation.
—KLA. Kosovo Liberation Army. See also UÇK.
—KVM. Kosovo Verification Mission. A mission under the control of the OSCE in Kosovo during late 1998 and early 1999 principally organized to verify the agreement between Milosevic and the Holbrooke made in October 1998 that pushed the VJ out of Kosovo.
—M240. A 7.62mm light machine gun.
—MI. Military Intelligence.
—MP. Military Police
—MUP. Ministarstvo Unutrašnjih Poslova. Serbian Ministry of the Interior special police.
—NGA. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency
.—NSA. National Security Agency.
—NGO. Non-Governmental organization.
—Operations Center. Within the State Department, the office that maintains communications with overseas embassies and missions, monitors communications and coordinates action. The staff of the Ops Center are known as The Watch.
—OSCE. Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.
—RPG. Rocket Propelled Grenade.
—RSO. Regional Security Officer. In an embassy, the staff member tasked with managing the guards and advising the ambassador on security matters.
—RPF. Rwandan Patriotic Front. The rebels who defeated the Interahamwe and ended the genocide in 1994.
—SAPI. Small Arms Protective Insert. A ceramic plate that fits inside updated military body armor; designed to stop small arms fire.
—SF. Special Forces. U.S. Army Green Berets
—Toyota War. The war fought between Chad and Libya in 1987 during which the Chadian troops used Toyota pick-up trucks as their primary means of tactical movement. Chad won, Libya lost.
—UCK. Ushtria Çlirimtare e Kosovës
—UÇK. (Pronounced Oo-Cheh-Kah) The Kosovo Liberation Army.
—UPDF. Ugandan Peoples’ Defense Force. The Ugandan Army.
—UNHCR. United Nations High Commission for Refugees.
—USG. United States Government.
—VA. Department of Veterans Affairs.
—VJ. Vojska Jugoslavije. The Serbian Army under Milosevic.
—Watch, The. The Foreign Service staff who man the State Department’s Operations Center.