AC AV. Armored Cavalry Assault Vehicle, an M-l 13 Armored Personnel Carrier heavily armed with one .50 caliber and two M-60 machine guns protected by steel plates
ACR. Armored Cavalry Regiment; a heavy combined arms unit used often used as a reconnaissance or exploitation force for an Army corps. A regiment consists of roughly 5000 troops consisting of three ground squadrons composed of tanks, Sheridans and ACAV's and one air squadron of scout and Cobra attack helicopters
AO. Area of Operations; a geographic area, including its airspace, assigned to a unit to conduct military operations
AK-47. Standard infantry weapon of NVA regular troops. Russian-designed 7.62mm assault rifle known for rugged reliability. Copied by China and several Warsaw Pact countries.
ARVN. Army of the Republic of Vietnam. South Vietnam's ground forces
AVLB. Armored Vehicle Launched Bridge, an extendable bridge mounted on an M-48 tank chassis capable of spanning a 17 meter gap.
B-52. The Stratofortress, the primary US strategic bomber of the cold war, adapted for conventional bombing for use in Vietnam.
Base Area. US designation for an area used by the Communists as a base camp. Usually contained bunkers and fortifications, supply depots, hospitals and training facilities.
Blue Team. A platoon or company sized element of air assault infantry with transport helicopters dedicated to exploiting reconnaissance gained by “Pink Team” aerial assets.
Cobra. US AH-1 helicopter gunship carrying a crew of two and mounting a heavy array of machine guns, grenade launchers and/or rockets.
Corps Tactical Zone (CTZ). One of four military regions within South Vietnam used to separate the country for operational planning and execution. The regional system was developed by the South Vietnamese and adopted by US forces. ROCKCRUSHER occurred primarily in III CTZ, running from the northern Mekong Delta to the southern Central Highlands.
Central Office for South Vietnam (COSVN). Communist party headquarters for South Vietnam. Subordinate to the Central Party Headquarters in Hanoi.
Civilian Irregular Defense Group (CIDG). Local Vietnamese civilians trained and organized by US and ARVN special forces to provide local defense against VC/NVA.
Daisy Cutter. A 15,000 pound bomb usually dropped from a C-130 cargo aircraft. Used primarily to create a helicopter landing zones in thick jungle canopy.
Field Force. The sum of US forces operating in a particular Corps Tactical Zone in South Vietnam.
Fire Support Base (FSB). A semifixed artillery firing position established to increase indirect fire coverage over an area and provide security for the firing unit.,. Also termed 'Tire Base,” FSB's were often developed from a secured landing zone and used as a forward operating base for maneuver forces.
Gunship. Any helicopter mounting air to ground weaponry used in an offensive role. Primarily the AH-1G Cobra by the time of the Cambodian incursions.
Khmer Krom. Ethnic Cambodians trained by Sihanouk's army to destabilize South Vietnam, created in response to formation of the Khmer Serei and South Vietnamese border violations.
Khmer Rouge. Literally “Red Cambodians,” Cambodia's infamous native communist party formed along Maoist concepts of peasant revolution.
Khmer Serei. US and ARVN trained, anti-Sihanouk Cambodian rebels.
Laager. A fortified night defensive position for armor and cavalry units.
MACV. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam. US supreme headquarters over all US military activities in South Vietnam, originating in 1962 from the Military Assistance Advisory Group.
Menu. Code name for the secret B-52 bombing campaign against Communist base areas in Cambodia.
NVA. The North Vietnamese regular army, a well-equipped, disciplined light infantry force.
Patton. A US M-48 medium tank mounting a 90 millimeter main gun. Equipped armor battalions and the tank company of cavalry squadrons. The heaviest allied armored vehicle in Southeast Asia.
Pink Team. An aerial reconnaissance and security team composed of an observation helicopter and a gunship. Used effectively to locate enemy cache sites.
Rockcrusher. US code name for the overall cross border incursions into Cambodia.
Rome Plow. A partially armored bulldozer fitted with a special blade capable of cutting brush and small trees. Used for road and area clearance through jungle terrain.
RPG. Russian-built rocket propelled grenade launcher, the primary anti-armor system of NVA infantry units. The RPG-3 and the heavier RPG-7 could disable or destroy most US armored vehicles and were also effective in an anti-personnel role.
Salem House. Code name for ground and air-inserted reconnaissance patrols into Cambodia conducted by MACV Studies and Observation Group, 1965-1970.
Sapper. Originally, in European wars, a soldier who built and repaired fortifications. VC sappers were commando engineers adept at penetrating allied defenses typically to plant explosives.
Sheridan. An M551 armored reconnaissance vehicle serving in armored cavalry troops. This air transportable aluminum hulled armored fighting vehicle mounted a 152mm missile/gun system often used to fire anti-personnel flechette rounds against infantry.
Shoemaker. Code name for the combined task force conducting Toan Thang 43.
Spooky -US Air Force C-47 transport converted to an aerial firing platform. Typically mounted three 7.62 minigun machine guns and could deliver devastating fires on a target area.
Tet. Lunar New Year in the Chinese calendar, the most important Vietnamese holiday. Used as cover to launch the Communist Tet Offensive of 1968.
Toan Thang 41 to 45. 'Total Victory” in Vietnamese. Code name given to Cambodian incursions conducted from die III Corps Tactical Zone.
Viet Cong (VC). A contraction of Vietnam Cong San (Vietnamese Communist), South Vietnamese guerrillas operating in concert with and subordinate to NVA forces in South Vietnam.
Vietnamization. The Nixon administration's program to transfer responsibility for fighting to the South Vietnamese armed forces as US troops withdrew from the region.