.30 cal: Size of a rifle or carbine bullet
.40mm: Size of an anti-aircraft shell
.45 cal: Size of a Colt automatic bullet
.50 cal: Size of a vehicle-mounted heavy machine gun bullet
75/105/155 mm: Size of artillery shells (from light to heavy)
368/369: Undesirable discharge given to soldier with discipline problems and/or poor performance
A/A: Anti-Aircraft
AAA: Anti-Aircraft Artillery
A/A Bn: Anti-Aircraft Battalion
ABN, A/B: Airborne
A/C: Aircraft
AFB: Air Force Base
AFFE: Armed Forces Far East
AFOD: Air Force Officer of the Day
Aggie: Native Korean child
AIR: Airborne Infantry Regiment
A&P: Ammunition and Pioneer
APO: Army Post Office
ARCT: Airborne Regimental Combat Team
Armd: Armored
Arr (d): Arrive (d)
Art/arty: Artillery
ASAP: As Soon As Possible
Asgmt/asgn (d): Assignment/assign (ed)
Assembly area: Prominent terrain feature where a unit assembles
ASTP: Army Specialized Training Program
ASU: Army Special Unit
Atch (d): Attach (ed)
Atck (d): Attack (ed)
ATT: Army Training Test; used in unit evaluations
Auth (d): Authority/authorized
AWOL: Absent Without Official Leave
BAR: Browning Automatic Rifle
B-Bag: Duffle bag that stores extra clothing
Battery: Company-sized artillery unit
Bayonet: Code name for 7th Infantry Division in Korea
BG: Brigadier General
Big Eight: Military prison in Japan
Bn: Battalion
Bn CP: Battalion Command Post
Bootsie Mae: Black soldier’s foreign girlfriend
BS (V): Bronze Star Awarded for Valor
BTO: Big-Time Operator
Btry: Artillery Battery
Buffalo: Nickname for black soldiers (originally those fighting Indians in the American West)
Burp gun: Chinese sub-machine gun
BX: Base Exchange (store)
C-46: Early, two-propeller-driven paratrooper transport aircraft
C-47: Same as C-46, but with one door
C-54: Four-propeller-driven cargo or troop transport aircraft
C-119: Two-propeller-driven heavy cargo transport aircraft
C-123: Similar to C-119, but could land on an unimproved airstrip
Cal: Caliber (size of bullet fired from a weapon)
Capt: Captain
Carbine: Short-barreled rifle
Cathouse: House of ill-repute
CAV: Cavalry
CBI: China-Burma-India theater of operations
CC: Canadian Club (whiskey)
CCC: Civilian Conservation Corps
CCF: Chinese Communist Forces
CG: Commanding General
CIA: Central Intelligence Agency
CIB: Combat Infantryman’s Badge
Class-6: Alcoholic Beverages
CMB: Combat Medical Badge
CO: Commanding Officer
Co: Company
Code-Talkers: Navajo Indian soldier radio operators
C of S: Chief of Staff
Col: Colonel
Colored or *: Morning Report designation for black personnel
Comdr: Commander
Commo: Communications
Conf: Confinement (jail)
CONUS: Continental United States on theater duty
COPL: Combat Outpost Line
CP: Command Post
Cpl: Corporal
C-rations: Individual food rations, good for one day
CSM: Command Sergeant Major
CSW: Crew-Served Wagons
DA: Department of the Army
DAC: Department of Army Civilians
DAR: Daughters of the American Revolution
DCNG: District of Columbia National Guard
DD: Dishonorable Discharge
Defilade: A defensive position against enfilading, or raking, fire
Deuce-and-a-half: 2-1/2 ton truck
Div: Division
DMZ: Demilitarized Zone
DOA: Dead on Arrival
DoD: Department of Defense
DOE: Date of Enlistment
DOR: Date of Rank
DOW: Died of Wounds
DR: Delinquency Report
DS: Detached Service
DSC: Distinguished Service Cross
Dtd: Dated
DUI: Driving under the Influence
Dy: Duty
DZ: Drop Zone
ED: Extra Duty
EDCMR: Effective Date of Change of Morning Report
E&E: Escape and Evasion
Eff: Effective
EIB: Expert Infantryman Badge
Eightball: Soldier who consistently fails to meet requirements
EM: Enlisted Man
EMB: Expert Medical Badge
EOD: Explosive Ordnance Demolition
ER: Enlisted Reservist
ETA: Estimated Time of Arrival
ETO: European Theater of Operations
ETS: Expiration of Term of Service (end of enlistment term)
EUSAK: Eighth United States Army Korea
F-51 or P-51: Propeller-driven aircraft that provides close air support to ground units
FA: Field Artillery
FAB: Field Artillery Battalion
FAC: Forward Air Controller
Fat Boys School: Training program for overweight paratroopers
FDC: Fire Direction Center (group that coordinates unit fire support)
FEPC: Fair Employment Practices Committee
First Sergeant: Head soldier in a company
FO: Forward Observer
Fr: From
G-1: Personnel section of division or higher staff
G-2: Intelligence section of division or higher staff
G-3: Operations and training section of division or higher staff
G-4: Supply section of division or higher staff
Geneva Convention: International body of rules governing warfare
GHQ: General Headquarters
GI: Government Issue: A term used to describe a member of the military
GI Jane: A member of the WACs
GI party: Barracks cleaning before morning inspection
GO: General Order Got hat: Left an area very rapidly
Gyroscoped: When a unit was transferred from overseas back to the States
HALO: High-Altitude, Low Opening; a type of parachute jumping
HC: Harmony Church (located at Fort Benning, GA)
Hei-hei: North Korean and Chinese term for black soldiers
H&I Fire: Harassment and Interdiction Fire
HMG: Heavy Machine Gun
Homesteaders: Those who arranged repeated tours stateside or in a safe area
Hosp: Hospital
HQ: Headquarters
ID: Identification/Infantry Division
IG: Inspector General
Ike Jacket: Olive drab jacket named for General Eisenhower
Inf: Infantry
Institutional memory: Equivalent of oral history or folklore
I&R: Intelligence and Reconnaissance
Jd: Joined
JLC: Japan (Joint) Logistical Command
JrROTC: Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (for high school students)
Jump School: Paratrooper training school, located at Fort Benning, GA
K-2, K-4: Temporary designation for United States airfields in Korea
K9: Dog corps, sentry patrol
KANSAS Line: Line of advance of UN forces in April 1951, just north of the 38th parallel
KASLC: Korean Army Service and Labor Corps (civilian personnel)
KIA: Killed in Action
KMAG: Korean Military Advisory Group
KP: Kitchen Police: duty helping the cooks
KPA: Korean People’s Army
L-4: Small, observational airplane
LCI: Landing Craft Infantry
LCP: Landing Craft Personnel
Ldr: Leader
Legs: Airborne term referring to non-airborne soldiers
LMG: Light Machine Gun
LOD: Line of Duty
LOGCOM: Logistical Command
LSM: Landing Ship Medium
LST: Landing Ship Tank
Lt: Lieutenant
LTC: Lieutenant Colonel
LTG: Lieutenant General
Ltr: Letter
LWA: Lightly Wounded in Action
LZ: Landing Zone
M-1: Rifle used by most soldiers in Korea
MASH: Mobile Army Surgical Hospital
MAT: Military Air Transport
MC: Master of Ceremonies
MD: Medical Doctor
MG: Major General
MIA: Missing in Action
MLR: Main Line of Resistance
MOH: Medal of Honor
Mohawk: Hairstyle with uncut center strip flanked by bald sides
MOS: Military Occupational Specialty
MP: Military Police
M/R: Morning Report
MSC: Medical Service Corps
MSG: Master Sergeant
MSR: Main Supply Route
NAACP: National Association for the Advancement of Colored People
NCO: Non-Commissioned Officer; all enlisted men other than privates
NCOIC: Non-Commissioned Officer in Charge
NG: National Guard
NKPA: North Korean People’s Army
OC: Officer in Charge
OCS: Officer Candidate School
OD: Officer of the Day/Olive Drab
OG: Officer of the Guard
OP: Observation Post/Outpost
P&A: Pioneer and Ammunition platoon; also called A&P: dealt with mines, barbed wire and the like; also carried ammo and was responsible for headquarters security
Para/par: Paragraph
Paratroopers: Airborne Infantry soldiers; deployed via parachute jump
PCS: Permanent Change of Station
PFC: Private First Class
PH: Purple Heart
PIB: Parachute Infantry Battalion
PIO: Public Information Office
PIR: Parachute Infantry Regiment
Plat: Platoon
POE: Port of Embarkation
Police Action: War waged without Congressional declaration
POM: Preparation for Overseas Movement
POW: Prisoner of War
PRO: Public Relations Officer
PT: Physical Training
Pvt: Private
PX: Post Exchange (store)
QM: Quartermaster
Quit Slip: Formal application to leave ranger/parachute training program
RA: Regular Army
RADAR: Radio Detection and Ranging
RCT: Regimental Combat Team
Rct: Recruit
Red Legs: Artillerymen
Red Tails: Black fighter pilots of the 99th Pursuit Squadron
Regt: Regiment
Rel/reld: Relieved
Repl: Replacement
Repo Depo: Replacement Depot organization
Ret: Retired
RICA: Ranger Infantry Company Airborne
RIF: Reduction in Force
Rigger: Person who packs or rigs parachutes
ROK: Republic of Korea (South Korea)
R&R: Rest and Recreation/Relaxation/Recuperation
RTC: Recruit Training Center
RTD: Returned to Duty
Rtn (d): Return (ed)
RTO: Railroad Train Office
/s/: Signature
S-1: Personnel section of regimental or lower staff
S-2: Intelligence section of regimental or lower staff
S-3: Operations and training section of regimental or lower staff
S-4: Supply section of regimental or lower staff
SAM: Surface-to-Air Missiles
SCR-300: Signal Corps radio that infantry companies used to contact battalion
SEAL: Sea-Air-Land: U.S. Navy Special Forces branch member
Serial: Group of aircraft operating together
SFC: Sergeant First Class
Sgt: Sergeant
Shavetail: Nickname for a new Second Lieutenant
Shpmt: Shipment
Sk: Sick
Slim Jim: Nickname of Major General James Gavin, 82d Airborne Division
SO: Special Orders
SOL: Shit Out of Luck
SOP: Standard Operating Procedure
SOS: Services of Supply (also slang for creamed chipped beef)
Sqd: Squad
SS: Silver Star
S/Sgt: Staff Sergeant
Str: Company’s strength (number of personnel) at a particular time
SWA: Seriously Wounded in Action
/t/: Typed
T-34: North Korean Army tank
T/A: Table of Allowance
TACP: Tactical Air Control Point
T/D: Table of Distribution
TD: Tank Destroyer
TDY: Temporary Duty
TF: Task Force
Tk: Tank
TO: Table of Organization
TO&E: Table of Organization and Equipment (list of personnel and equipment belonging to a unit)
TOT: Time on Target (a type of artillery barrage)
Triple Nickels: Nickname of the 555th Parachute Infantry Battalion
Tvl: Travel
TWX: Telegram
UCMJ: Uniform Code of Military Justice
UN: United Nations
Un-ass: To exit from an aircraft in a very rapid manner
UNC: United Nations Command
Unk: Unknown
UP: Under the provisions of…
USCT: United States Colored Troops
USMA: United States Military Academy
USNS: United States Naval Ship
USNTS: United States Naval Transport Ship
USO: United Services Organization
VFW: Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S.
VIP: Very Important Person
VOCG: Verbal Order of the Commanding General
WAC: Women’s Army Corps
Wheels: VIPs
WIA: Wounded in Action
WOJG: Warrant Officer Junior Grade
WP: White Phosphorus
XO: Executive Officer