Military Term Abbreviations
248 abbreviations · part of Military Abbreviations
General military abbreviations used by US service members and in news coverage: personnel status and casualty terms, pay and allowances, moves and travel orders, training pipelines, orders and reports, field operations, intelligence and security, and service slang. Most come from US Department of Defense usage and many are shared with NATO allies; where the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps use different terms for the same thing, the entries say so.
| Abbreviation | Stands for | Description |
|---|---|---|
| AAFES | Army and Air Force Exchange Service | Retailer that runs exchanges, restaurants, gas stations and services on Army and Air Force installations around the world, including in war zones. |
| AAR | After action review | Structured discussion held after training or an operation in which participants examine what was supposed to happen, what actually happened, why, and how to improve. |
| ABU | Airman Battle Uniform | Air Force utility uniform with a digital tiger-stripe pattern, worn from 2007 until the Air Force completed its switch to the Operational Camouflage Pattern in 2021. |
| ACFT | Army Combat Fitness Test | Army fitness test introduced as the test of record in 2022, consisting of six events: a three-repetition maximum deadlift, standing power throw, hand-release push-up… |
| ACU | Army Combat Uniform | Field and duty uniform of the US Army, introduced in the mid-2000s with a digital gray-green pattern and later produced in the Operational Camouflage Pattern (OCP)… |
| AD | Active duty | Full-time service in the armed forces, as distinct from part-time service in the National Guard or reserves. |
| AFQT | Armed Forces Qualification Test | Percentile score from 1 to 99, derived from four ASVAB subtests (arithmetic reasoning, mathematics knowledge, word knowledge and paragraph comprehension), that… |
| AFSC | Air Force Specialty Code | Alphanumeric code identifying an Air Force job and skill level, such as 3P0X1 for security forces, where the X is replaced by the airman's skill level of 3, 5, 7 or 9. |
| AFT | Army Fitness Test | US Army physical fitness test of record that replaced the ACFT in 2025. |
| AGR | Active Guard Reserve | Program in which National Guard and Reserve members serve full time on active duty, organizing, administering, recruiting and training their reserve units while earning… |
| AIT | Advanced Individual Training | Army job training that soldiers attend after basic combat training to learn their military occupational specialty, lasting from several weeks to more than a year… |
| AO | Area of operations | Geographic area assigned to a land or maritime commander, within which the commander has authority for operations and is responsible for its security and coordination. |
| AOR | Area of responsibility | Geographic region assigned to a combatant commander, such as US Central Command's area covering the Middle East, within which the commander plans and conducts military… |
| APFT | Army Physical Fitness Test | Army fitness test used for about four decades, consisting of two minutes of push-ups, two minutes of sit-ups and a two-mile run, scored by age and sex. |
| ASVAB | Armed Services Vocational Aptitude Battery | Aptitude test taken by everyone enlisting in the US military, used both to determine eligibility and to match recruits to jobs. |
| ASW | Anti-submarine warfare | Operations to detect, track and destroy enemy submarines, using sonar, patrol aircraft, helicopters, surface ships and submarines. |
| AT | Annual training | Period of active-duty training, usually two weeks a year, that members of the National Guard and reserves complete in addition to monthly drill weekends, often at a… |
| AUMF | Authorization for Use of Military Force | Joint resolution in which Congress authorizes military action. |
| AWOL | Absent without leave | Status of a service member who is away from duty without authorization, an offense under Article 86 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice. |
| BAH | Basic Allowance for Housing | Tax-free monthly allowance that pays service members living off base for housing costs, set by pay grade, dependency status and the ZIP code of the duty station. |
| BAS | Basic Allowance for Subsistence | Monthly tax-free allowance intended to pay for a service member's meals, with separate rates for officers and enlisted members adjusted each year in line with food costs. |
| BCD | Bad-conduct discharge | Punitive discharge for enlisted members that can be adjudged only by a special or general court-martial, typically for repeated misconduct or serious offenses. |
| BCGs | Birth control glasses | Military slang for the thick, unattractive eyeglasses historically issued to recruits and service members, so called because they were said to make the wearer too… |
| BCT | Basic Combat Training | Army basic training, about ten weeks long, that turns civilians into soldiers through drill, marksmanship, physical fitness, first aid and field training. |
| BDA | Battle damage assessment | Estimate of the damage caused to a target by military force, used to decide whether a target must be struck again and to measure campaign progress. |
| BDU | Battle Dress Uniform | Woodland-camouflage combat uniform worn by the US military from the early 1980s until the mid-2000s, when the services replaced it with their own digital and later… |
| BLUF | Bottom line up front | Military writing principle that the main conclusion or request goes in the first sentence of an email, memo or briefing, before supporting details. |
| BMT | Basic Military Training | Air Force and Space Force enlisted basic training, held at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas, lasting about seven and a half weeks. |
| BOHICA | Bend over, here it comes again | Cynical military slang voiced when troops expect another unpleasant order, inspection or policy change to land on them, just as previous ones have, with no way to avoid… |
| BOLC | Basic Officer Leader Course | Army training course that new lieutenants attend after commissioning to learn the skills of their branch, such as infantry, signal or logistics, before joining their… |
| BRAC | Base Realignment and Closure | Process created by Congress to close and consolidate US military bases through an independent commission whose recommendations are accepted or rejected as a package. |
| BUD/S | Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL training | Navy SEAL selection and training course at Coronado, California, lasting about six months, built around physical conditioning, combat diving and land warfare. |
| BX | Base exchange | Retail store on an Air Force or Space Force base, operated by the Army and Air Force Exchange Service, offering tax-free shopping to service members, retirees and… |
| C2 | Command and control | Exercise of authority and direction by a commander over assigned forces, and the people, procedures, communications and facilities used to plan, direct and coordinate… |
| C4ISR | Command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance | Umbrella term for the networks, sensors and systems that let military forces gather information, share it and direct operations. |
| CAC | Common Access Card | Department of Defense smart card used as identification for active-duty members, reservists, civilian employees and eligible contractors, and to log on to government… |
| CACO | Casualty Assistance Calls Officer | Navy and Marine Corps officer or senior enlisted member assigned to help the family of a deceased or seriously injured service member with funeral arrangements… |
| CAP | Combat air patrol | Aircraft patrol over an area to intercept and destroy hostile aircraft before they reach their targets, protecting ships, forces or airspace. |
| CAS | Close air support | Air attacks against enemy forces close to friendly troops, requiring detailed coordination with ground forces to avoid fratricide. |
| CASEVAC | Casualty evacuation | Movement of casualties using non-medical vehicles or aircraft, such as transport helicopters or trucks, when dedicated medical evacuation is unavailable or too slow. |
| CBRN | Chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear | Category of weapons, hazards and defensive measures involving toxic chemicals, disease agents, radioactive materials and nuclear devices. |
| CG | Commanding general | General officer in command of a division, corps, Marine expeditionary force, installation or other large organization. |
| CIC | Combat information center | Space aboard a Navy warship where radar, sonar and communications information is gathered, displayed and evaluated to fight the ship, staffed by operations specialists… |
| CINC | Commander in chief | Former title of the commanders of US unified combatant commands, such as CINCPAC or CINCCENT, and the constitutional role of the president as head of the armed forces. |
| CLS | Combat lifesaver | Non-medical soldier trained in advanced first aid, such as applying tourniquets, treating chest wounds and starting care for casualties, as a bridge until a medic… |
| CO | Commanding officer | Officer in command of a military unit, ship, squadron or installation, legally responsible for everything the unit does or fails to do. |
| COA | Course of action | Possible way to accomplish a mission, developed during planning and compared against others before the commander selects one. |
| COB | Chief of the boat | Senior enlisted sailor aboard a submarine, a master or senior chief who advises the commanding officer on crew matters, manages the watch bill and enforces standards. |
| COCOM | Combatant command (command authority) | Nontransferable command authority over assigned forces held only by the commanders of unified combatant commands, covering all aspects of military operations, training… |
| COIN | Counterinsurgency | Military, political and economic actions taken by a government and its allies to defeat an insurgency and address its causes, with an emphasis on protecting the… |
| COLA | Cost-of-living allowance | Allowance paid to service members assigned to high-cost areas, in two forms: CONUS COLA for expensive locations in the continental United States and OCONUS COLA for… |
| COMSEC | Communications security | Measures that protect communications from interception and exploitation, including encryption, secure handling of cryptographic keys and devices, and transmission… |
| CONOP | Concept of operations | Statement, often a short briefing or document, describing how a commander intends to accomplish a mission, including the scheme of maneuver, sequencing and the roles of… |
| CONUS | Continental United States | Military term for the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia. |
| COP | Combat outpost | Small fortified position, often for a company or platoon, placed among the population or near the enemy to extend control, smaller and more austere than a forward… |
| CP | Command post | Unit headquarters or other location from which a commander and staff direct operations, ranging from a vehicle to a large tent complex. |
| CQ | Charge of quarters | Army duty in which an NCO and a junior soldier staff the barracks or unit headquarters desk after duty hours, answering phones, controlling access and handling… |
| CQB | Close-quarters battle | Fighting at very short range, especially inside buildings and rooms, requiring rapid entry and precise shooting. |
| CSAR | Combat search and rescue | Missions to locate and recover isolated personnel, especially downed aircrew, in hostile territory, using specialized helicopters, aircraft and pararescue teams. |
| CT | Counterterrorism | Military, intelligence and law enforcement activities to prevent, deter and respond to terrorism, including raids against terrorist leaders and networks. |
| CUI | Controlled unclassified information | Government-wide category for unclassified information that requires safeguarding or limited dissemination under law, regulation or policy, such as export-controlled… |
| CZTE | Combat Zone Tax Exclusion | Federal tax benefit that excludes military pay earned in a designated combat zone or qualified hazardous duty area from income tax. |
| DA | Direct action | Short-duration strikes and small-scale offensive actions by special operations forces, such as raids, ambushes and seizures, to capture, kill or destroy targets. |
| DD | Dishonorable discharge | Most severe punitive discharge for enlisted members, imposed only by a general court-martial for serious crimes such as desertion, sexual assault or murder. |
| DEERS | Defense Enrollment Eligibility Reporting System | Database of service members, retirees and their family members that determines eligibility for TRICARE health care, ID cards and other benefits. |
| DEFCON | Defense readiness condition | Alert system of the US military, with five levels from DEFCON 5, normal peacetime readiness, to DEFCON 1, maximum readiness for imminent nuclear war. |
| DEP | Delayed Entry Program | Program that lets recruits enlist and then wait up to a year before shipping to basic training, giving time to finish school or prepare physically. |
| DEROS | Date eligible for return from overseas | Date on which a service member's overseas tour ends and the member may return to the United States. |
| DFAC | Dining facility | Army term for the cafeteria where soldiers eat meals on post or at forward bases. |
| DFAS | Defense Finance and Accounting Service | Defense agency that pays military members, retirees, annuitants and Department of Defense civilian employees and handles accounting for the department. |
| DI | Drill instructor | Marine Corps NCO or staff NCO who trains recruits at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island or San Diego, famous for intense discipline and the wide-brimmed campaign… |
| DMZ | Demilitarized zone | Area in which military forces and installations are prohibited by agreement, usually a buffer between hostile states. |
| DOR | Date of rank | Date on which a member is considered to have been promoted to the current grade, used to settle seniority among members of the same rank. |
| DOW | Died of wounds | Casualty category for a service member who reaches a medical treatment facility after being wounded in action but later dies of those wounds. |
| DS | Drill sergeant | Army NCO who trains soldiers in basic combat training and one station unit training, wearing the campaign hat, nicknamed the "brown round," as a symbol of the role. |
| DTG | Date-time group | Standard military format for writing a date and time, as six digits for day, hour and minutes followed by a time-zone letter, month and year, such as 041530ZNOV26 for… |
| DUSTWUN | Duty status whereabouts unknown | Temporary casualty status used when a service member's absence is involuntary or its cause is unclear, for up to ten days while commanders search and investigate. |
| DZ | Drop zone | Area where paratroopers, equipment or supplies are delivered by parachute, marked and controlled by teams on the ground. |
| EAS | End of active service | Marine Corps and Navy term for the date a member's active-duty contract ends, equivalent to the Army's ETS. |
| ECP | Entry control point | Controlled gate or entrance to a military base where guards check identification, search vehicles and protect the installation against attack. |
| EFMP | Exceptional Family Member Program | Mandatory program for service members whose family members have special medical or educational needs, ensuring assignments are considered only where required care and… |
| ELINT | Electronic intelligence | Intelligence obtained from non-communication electronic emissions, especially radars, used to locate air defenses and characterize enemy weapons systems. |
| ELS | Entry-level separation | Uncharacterized discharge given to members separated within their first 180 days of service, often during basic training, for reasons such as medical conditions… |
| EOD | Explosive ordnance disposal | Detection, identification, rendering safe and disposal of bombs, IEDs, unexploded ordnance and other explosive hazards, and the specialists who perform it. |
| ETS | Expiration term of service | Date on which a service member's enlistment contract ends, after which the member separates unless reenlisting or extending. |
| EW | Electronic warfare | Military use of the electromagnetic spectrum to attack, protect and gather information, including jamming enemy radios and radars, protecting friendly systems and… |
| FITREP | Fitness report | Periodic performance evaluation for Navy officers and for Marine Corps officers and sergeants and above, documenting accomplishments, character, leadership and… |
| FLOT | Forward line of own troops | Line indicating the most forward positions of friendly forces at a given time, used to coordinate fires and air support so aircraft and artillery do not strike friendly… |
| FMS | Foreign Military Sales | US government program for selling defense equipment, services and training to allied and partner nations, in which the US government contracts on behalf of the buyer. |
| FNG | F***ing new guy | Military slang for a newly arrived member of a unit, especially an inexperienced replacement in combat, who has to earn the trust of veterans before being accepted. |
| FO | Flag officer | Navy and Coast Guard officer in the grades of rear admiral (lower half) through admiral (O-7 to O-10), the sea-service counterpart of a general officer. |
| FOB | Forward operating base | Secured military base in or near a combat zone, used to support tactical operations with living quarters, dining, maintenance and command facilities. |
| FOUO | For Official Use Only | Former Department of Defense marking for unclassified information that could be withheld from public release, such as personnel records or sensitive procedures. |
| FPCON | Force protection condition | US military system for setting security measures against terrorist threats at installations, with levels Normal, Alpha, Bravo, Charlie and Delta, each adding protective… |
| FRAGO | Fragmentary order | Abbreviated order that changes or adds to an existing operation order, issued when the situation changes and there is no time or need to rewrite the whole plan. |
| FRG | Family Readiness Group | Army unit-level organization of soldiers, spouses and family members that shares official information, organizes social events and connects families with support… |
| FSA | Family Separation Allowance | Monthly allowance for service members with dependents who are separated from their families for more than 30 consecutive days because of military orders, such as… |
| FUBAR | F***ed up beyond all recognition | Military slang for a situation, plan or piece of equipment that is hopelessly broken or confused. |
| GEOINT | Geospatial intelligence | Intelligence combining imagery, mapping and location data to describe and visualize physical features and human activity on the earth. |
| GI | Government issue | Nickname for a US soldier, especially in World War II, derived from the "GI" stamped on government equipment. |
| GO | General officer | Collective term for officers in the grades of brigadier general through general (O-7 to O-10) in the Army, Air Force, Space Force and Marine Corps. |
| GQ | General quarters | Navy condition in which the entire crew goes to battle stations, closing watertight doors and manning weapons and damage control, called for combat, major emergencies… |
| GWOT | Global War on Terrorism | US campaign launched after the September 11, 2001, attacks against al-Qaeda, the Taliban and other terrorist groups, encompassing the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and… |
| HADR | Humanitarian assistance and disaster relief | Military support to civilian relief efforts after disasters such as earthquakes, tsunamis and hurricanes, including airlift, medical care, water purification and… |
| HHG | Household goods | Personal property, such as furniture, clothing and appliances, that the government ships for service members during a permanent change of station. |
| HUMINT | Human intelligence | Intelligence collected from people, through interrogation, debriefing, informants and espionage, as opposed to technical means such as satellites or intercepts. |
| HVT | High-value target | Person or resource considered critical to an enemy's ability to fight, such as a commander, bomb maker or key facility, whose capture or destruction would significantly… |
| HYT | High year tenure | Maximum number of years a member may serve in a given enlisted grade before being required to separate or retire, used by the Navy, Air Force and other services to keep… |
| IDP | Imminent danger pay | Special pay for service members on duty in designated areas where they face the threat of physical harm from civil insurrection, war or terrorism, paid for each day in… |
| IED | Improvised explosive device | Homemade bomb built from military munitions, commercial explosives or fertilizer, triggered by wires, pressure plates, cell phones or remote controls. |
| IFAK | Individual first aid kit | Personal medical kit carried by every service member, containing items such as a tourniquet, hemostatic gauze, pressure bandage, chest seal and nasopharyngeal airway… |
| IFF | Identification friend or foe | Electronic system in which aircraft and ships automatically respond to interrogation signals with coded replies, allowing air defenses and pilots to distinguish… |
| IG | Inspector General | Office that investigates complaints of fraud, waste, abuse, misconduct and reprisal and inspects units for readiness and compliance. |
| IMINT | Imagery intelligence | Intelligence derived from photographs and other images taken by satellites, aircraft and drones, analyzed to identify equipment, construction and activity. |
| IO | Information operations | Military use of information-related capabilities, such as psychological operations, deception, electronic warfare and cyber operations, to influence, disrupt or protect… |
| IPB | Intelligence preparation of the battlefield | Systematic analysis of the enemy, terrain, weather and civil considerations in a specific area to support planning, conducted mainly by intelligence staffs before and… |
| IRR | Individual Ready Reserve | Category of the Ready Reserve made up of trained individuals, mostly former active-duty members finishing their eight-year service obligation, who do not drill or get… |
| ISR | Intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance | Integrated collection of information about adversaries and the environment by aircraft, drones, satellites, ground teams and sensors, and its processing into usable… |
| JAG | Judge Advocate General | Senior legal officer of a military service, and by extension the corps of military lawyers, called judge advocates, who prosecute and defend courts-martial, advise… |
| JTAC | Joint terminal attack controller | Certified service member who directs combat aircraft engaged in close air support from a forward position, usually working with ground forces and communicating directly… |
| JWICS | Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System | US network for top secret and sensitive compartmented information, used by the intelligence community and military intelligence units for classified communications and… |
| KIA | Killed in action | Casualty category for a service member killed outright by hostile action or who dies of wounds before reaching a medical treatment facility. |
| LD | Line of departure | Line, usually a terrain feature, that attacking units cross at a specified time to begin an attack in coordinated fashion. |
| LES | Leave and Earnings Statement | Monthly statement showing a service member's pay, allowances, deductions, taxes, Thrift Savings Plan contributions and leave balance. |
| LOAC | Law of armed conflict | Body of international law, also called international humanitarian law, that regulates conduct in war, built on principles of military necessity, distinction… |
| LOD | Line of duty | Determination of whether a service member's injury, illness or death occurred in the line of duty and was not due to misconduct, which affects medical care, disability… |
| LZ | Landing zone | Area used for landing helicopters or tiltrotor aircraft to insert or extract troops and supplies. |
| MARPAT | Marine Pattern | Digital camouflage pattern used on Marine Corps combat utility uniforms, introduced in the early 2000s in woodland and desert variants. |
| MASCAL | Mass casualty | Incident producing more casualties than local medical resources can handle with normal procedures, requiring triage and emergency plans. |
| MDMP | Military decision-making process | Army seven-step planning method used by staffs to analyze a mission and produce an order: receipt of mission, mission analysis, course of action development, course of… |
| MEDEVAC | Medical evacuation | Movement of wounded or sick personnel by dedicated medical vehicles or aircraft with medical crews to treatment facilities, usually requested with a standard nine-line… |
| MEPS | Military Entrance Processing Station | One of 65 stations across the United States where military applicants take the ASVAB, undergo medical exams, get job assignments and swear the oath of enlistment. |
| METT-TC | Mission, enemy, terrain and weather, troops and support available, time available, civil considerations | Mnemonic for the factors that leaders analyze when planning any military operation, ensuring they account for the mission, the threat, the environment, their own… |
| MGRS | Military Grid Reference System | Coordinate system used by NATO militaries to locate points on the earth with letters and numbers; a ten-digit grid locates a point to within one meter and an… |
| MIA | Missing in action | Casualty status for service members whose whereabouts are unknown after hostile action, when it cannot be confirmed whether they were killed, captured or deserted. |
| MOLLE | Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment | Load-carrying system of vests, packs and pouches attached to rows of nylon webbing, letting service members configure their gear. |
| MOPP | Mission-oriented protective posture | Flexible system of protective gear levels against chemical and biological threats, from MOPP 0 (gear available) to MOPP 4, in which troops wear the full protective… |
| MOS | Military occupational specialty | Code and title identifying a soldier's or Marine's job, such as 11B infantryman, 68W combat medic or 25B information technology specialist in the Army, or 0311 rifleman… |
| MP | Military police | Soldiers and Marines who enforce law and order on installations, control traffic, guard prisoners, conduct investigations and provide security in the field. |
| MRE | Meal, Ready-to-Eat | Self-contained field ration used by the US military, packed in a brown pouch with an entree, side dishes, crackers, spread, dessert and drink mix. |
| MSR | Main supply route | Primary road designated for moving supplies and troops in an area of operations, kept open and patrolled because convoys depend on it. |
| MTF | Military treatment facility | Hospital or clinic operated by the military health system, such as a base clinic or a major medical center like Walter Reed, where service members and many… |
| MWR | Morale, Welfare and Recreation | Military programs that provide gyms, pools, libraries, outdoor equipment rental, travel offices, youth activities, ticket sales and entertainment for service members… |
| NBC | Nuclear, biological and chemical | Older military term for weapons and defensive measures involving nuclear devices, disease agents and toxic chemicals, as in "NBC defense" or "NBC suits." It has largely… |
| NCO | Noncommissioned officer | Enlisted service member in a leadership grade, such as a corporal or sergeant in the Army and Marine Corps, a petty officer in the Navy and Coast Guard, or a staff… |
| NCOER | Noncommissioned Officer Evaluation Report | Army performance evaluation for sergeants through command sergeants major, rated by a supervisor and a senior rater and used by promotion boards and for assignments. |
| NCOIC | Noncommissioned officer in charge | Senior NCO placed in charge of a section, shop, detail or activity, such as a motor pool, an operations section or a work detail. |
| NDAA | National Defense Authorization Act | Annual law that sets policy and authorizes spending levels for the Defense Department and the national security programs of the Energy Department, covering topics from… |
| NEC | Navy Enlisted Classification | Code that identifies a specific skill, qualification or equipment specialty held by a Navy sailor beyond the basic rating, used to assign sailors to billets that need… |
| NEO | Noncombatant evacuation operation | Military operation to evacuate civilians, usually US citizens and other designated people, from a foreign country facing violence, disaster or collapse, coordinated… |
| NEX | Navy Exchange | Retail store operated by the Navy Exchange Service Command on Navy installations, offering tax-free shopping and services such as gas stations, barber shops and uniform… |
| NFZ | No-fly zone | Area over which aircraft are forbidden to fly, enforced by military aircraft and air defenses, often declared to protect civilians or restrict an adversary's air force. |
| NIPRNet | Non-classified Internet Protocol Router Network | Department of Defense network for unclassified but sensitive information, providing email, websites and internet access to military users with a Common Access Card. |
| NJP | Nonjudicial punishment | Disciplinary procedure under Article 15 of the UCMJ that lets a commander punish minor misconduct without a court-martial. |
| NLT | No later than | Sets a firm deadline, meaning a task must be done on or before the stated time. |
| NOFORN | Not releasable to foreign nationals | Classification dissemination control marking that prohibits sharing the marked information with any foreign government, organization or person, even close allies… |
| NOK | Next of kin | Closest relatives of a service member, recorded on the DD Form 93 Record of Emergency Data and notified in person if the member is killed, missing or seriously injured. |
| NWU | Navy Working Uniform | Navy utility uniform, now worn mainly in the woodland-pattern Type III version ashore and on deployments. |
| OCIE | Organizational clothing and individual equipment | Field gear issued to soldiers for their time in a unit, such as helmets, body armor, rucksacks, sleeping systems and cold-weather clothing, which must be returned when… |
| OCONUS | Outside the continental United States | Locations outside the 48 contiguous states and DC, including Alaska, Hawaii, US territories such as Guam and Puerto Rico, and foreign countries. |
| OCP | Operational Camouflage Pattern | Camouflage pattern used on US Army, Air Force and Space Force combat uniforms, based on the commercial MultiCam design. |
| OCS | Officer Candidate School | Commissioning program for college graduates and enlisted members who want to become officers, run separately by the Army in Georgia, the Navy at Newport, Rhode Island… |
| OEF | Operation Enduring Freedom | US military operation in Afghanistan launched on October 7, 2001, to topple the Taliban and pursue al-Qaeda, ending in December 2014; the name also covered related… |
| OER | Officer Evaluation Report | Army annual or event-driven performance evaluation for commissioned and warrant officers, completed by a rater and a senior rater, that heavily influences promotion and… |
| OHA | Overseas Housing Allowance | Allowance paid to service members living in private housing at overseas duty stations, covering rent up to a local ceiling plus a monthly utility and maintenance amount… |
| OIC | Officer in charge | Officer placed in charge of a detachment, section, team or activity that is not a formal command, such as a range, an aviation detachment or a small office. |
| OIF | Operation Iraqi Freedom | US-led military operation in Iraq that began with the invasion of March 20, 2003, toppled Saddam Hussein's government and continued through the insurgency and the 2007… |
| OIR | Operation Inherent Resolve | US-led coalition campaign against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, begun with airstrikes in 2014 and continuing with advising, assisting and counterterrorism… |
| OND | Operation New Dawn | Final phase of the US military mission in Iraq, from September 1, 2010, to December 2011, during which remaining US forces advised and trained Iraqi security forces… |
| OOD | Officer of the deck | Navy officer on watch who is in charge of the ship on behalf of the commanding officer, directing its navigation and safety on the bridge underway or on the quarterdeck… |
| OP | Observation post | Position from which soldiers watch an area to detect enemy activity and report it, often hidden on high ground and occupied by a small team with optics and radios. |
| OPCON | Operational control | Command authority to organize and employ assigned forces, assign tasks and give direction needed to accomplish a mission, delegable by a combatant commander to… |
| OPLAN | Operation plan | Complete, detailed plan prepared for a possible contingency, such as the defense of an ally, including forces, deployment timelines and logistics. |
| OPORD | Operation order | Directive issued by a commander to subordinate leaders to coordinate the execution of an operation, organized in the standard five paragraphs: situation, mission… |
| OPSEC | Operations security | Process for protecting unclassified but sensitive information, such as deployment dates, troop movements and routines, that adversaries could piece together to harm… |
| OPTEMPO | Operational tempo | Rate at which a military unit conducts operations, deployments and training, used to measure strain on people and equipment. |
| OSINT | Open-source intelligence | Intelligence derived from publicly available information, such as news reports, social media, commercial satellite images, flight trackers and public records. |
| OSUT | One Station Unit Training | Army training model that combines basic combat training and advanced individual training at a single location with the same drill sergeants, used for infantry, armor… |
| OTH | Other than honorable | Most severe administrative discharge characterization, given for serious misconduct or security violations when a member is separated without a court-martial. |
| OTS | Officer Training School | Air Force and Space Force commissioning program for college graduates and selected enlisted members, held at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama, as part of… |
| PCS | Permanent change of station | Official reassignment of a service member to a new duty station, usually every two to four years, with the government paying to move the member, family and household… |
| PFT | Physical Fitness Test | Annual Marine Corps fitness test consisting of pull-ups or push-ups, a plank and a three-mile run, scored on a 300-point scale. |
| PID | Positive identification | Reasonable certainty that a person or object is a legitimate military target, required under the rules of engagement before engaging it with weapons. |
| PL | Platoon leader | Army lieutenant who commands a platoon of roughly 16 to 40 soldiers, responsible for its training, discipline and tactical employment, with a platoon sergeant as senior… |
| PME | Professional military education | Schools and courses that develop officers and NCOs throughout their careers, from basic leader courses to command and staff colleges and war colleges. |
| POG | Person other than grunt | Infantry slang, especially in the Marine Corps and Army, for service members in support or administrative jobs rather than combat arms. |
| POL | Petroleum, oils and lubricants | Military term for fuel and related products, managed as Class III supply. |
| POV | Privately owned vehicle | Service member's personal car or motorcycle, as distinct from government vehicles. |
| POW | Prisoner of war | Status of a combatant captured and held by an enemy power during armed conflict. |
| PPM | Personally procured move | PCS option in which service members move some or all of their own belongings, using a rental truck or their own vehicle, and are reimbursed based on what the government… |
| PSG | Platoon sergeant | Senior NCO of an Army platoon, usually a sergeant first class, who advises the lieutenant platoon leader and manages training, logistics, discipline and soldier welfare. |
| PSYOP | Psychological operations | Planned operations to convey selected information to foreign audiences to influence their emotions, reasoning and behavior in support of military objectives, using… |
| PT | Physical training | Daily or regular group exercise conducted by military units to build fitness for combat, typically early in the morning and including runs, calisthenics, strength work… |
| PTDY | Permissive temporary duty | Authorized absence that does not count against a member's leave, approved for specific purposes such as house hunting before a PCS move, at the member's own expense… |
| PX | Post exchange | Retail store on an Army post selling clothing, electronics, groceries and household goods tax-free to service members, retirees and families. |
| QRF | Quick reaction force | Unit kept ready to respond rapidly to emergencies, reinforce troops in contact or rescue personnel, often on standby with vehicles or helicopters prepared to launch… |
| R&R | Rest and recuperation | Leave program that gives deployed service members a break from a combat or hardship tour, such as the 15-day mid-tour leave granted during year-long deployments to Iraq… |
| RC | Reserve component | Collective term for the part-time forces of the US military: the Army National Guard, Army Reserve, Navy Reserve, Marine Corps Reserve, Air National Guard, Air Force… |
| REMF | Rear-echelon mother****** | Vulgar combat-troop slang for staff officers and support personnel in rear areas who are seen as safe and comfortable while others fight, popular among US troops in… |
| RIF | Reduction in force | Elimination of positions to cut costs or restructure, in which the jobs themselves are abolished rather than employees being dismissed for performance. |
| ROE | Rules of engagement | Directives that define when, where, how and against whom military forces may use force, balancing mission needs with law, policy and politics. |
| RTO | Radiotelephone operator | Soldier or Marine who carries the radio for a leader and handles communications with higher headquarters, artillery and aircraft. |
| S-1 | Personnel staff section | Battalion or brigade staff office that handles personnel matters: strength accounting, promotions, awards, evaluations, casualty reporting, leave and mail. |
| S-2 | Intelligence staff section | Battalion or brigade staff office responsible for intelligence: analyzing the enemy and terrain, managing collection, briefing threats and handling security clearances. |
| S-3 | Operations staff section | Staff office that plans, coordinates and tracks operations and training for a battalion or brigade, publishing orders and running the operations center. |
| S-4 | Logistics staff section | Staff office responsible for supply, maintenance, transportation, fuel, ammunition and services for a battalion or brigade. |
| S-6 | Communications staff section | Staff office responsible for communications and networks in a battalion or brigade, including radios, satellite terminals, computers, cybersecurity and frequency… |
| SALUTE | Size, activity, location, unit, time, equipment | Mnemonic for the information soldiers include when reporting enemy activity: how many, what they are doing, where, which unit or uniform, when observed and what… |
| SAP | Special access program | Program for highly sensitive classified information requiring safeguards and access restrictions beyond normal classification rules, often covering advanced weapons… |
| SCI | Sensitive compartmented information | Classified information derived from intelligence sources and methods that must be handled within formal access control systems, available only to people with specific… |
| SCIF | Sensitive compartmented information facility | Accredited secure room or building where sensitive compartmented information can be stored, discussed and processed, built to resist eavesdropping and intrusion. |
| SDO | Staff duty officer | Officer or senior NCO who represents the commander after duty hours at a battalion, brigade or installation headquarters, monitoring incidents, receiving reports and… |
| SEAD | Suppression of enemy air defenses | Missions that neutralize, destroy or temporarily degrade enemy surface-based air defenses, such as radar and missile sites, so friendly aircraft can operate. |
| SECDEF | Secretary of Defense | Civilian head of the Department of Defense and principal defense adviser to the president, exercising authority over the military departments and the chain of command… |
| SECNAV | Secretary of the Navy | Civilian head of the Department of the Navy, responsible for organizing, training and equipping the Navy and Marine Corps, and overseeing their budgets, acquisition and… |
| SERE | Survival, Evasion, Resistance and Escape | Training that prepares aircrew, special operators and others at high risk of capture to survive in the wild, evade enemy forces, resist interrogation and exploitation… |
| SIGINT | Signals intelligence | Intelligence gathered by intercepting communications and electronic signals, such as radio traffic, phone calls, data links and radar emissions. |
| SIPRNet | Secret Internet Protocol Router Network | Department of Defense computer network for transmitting information classified up to the secret level, used for operational planning, intelligence and classified email. |
| SITREP | Situation report | Periodic or event-driven report that tells higher headquarters a unit's current situation, including location, activities, enemy contact, personnel, logistics status… |
| SJA | Staff Judge Advocate | Senior military lawyer on a commander's staff at brigade, division, installation or higher, advising on military justice, operational law, rules of engagement, ethics… |
| SNAFU | Situation normal: all f***ed up | World War II military acronym expressing that chaos and blunders are the normal state of affairs. |
| SNCO | Senior noncommissioned officer | Enlisted leader in the top grades, generally E-7 to E-9 in the Army and Air Force; the Marine Corps uses "staff NCO" for E-6 through E-9. |
| SOFA | Status of forces agreement | Agreement between a host country and a foreign nation stationing troops there, setting out legal jurisdiction, taxes, entry requirements and other rules governing the… |
| SOP | Standard operating procedure | Written step-by-step instructions describing how to carry out a routine task consistently and safely, such as closing a store, onboarding a supplier or cleaning lab… |
| SPOTREP | Spot report | Immediate report of enemy activity, contact or significant events sent by observers or patrols, usually formatted with the SALUTE mnemonic. |
| SRB | Selective Reenlistment Bonus | Cash bonus offered to service members who reenlist in specialties with personnel shortages, calculated from monthly basic pay, years of additional service and a… |
| TACON | Tactical control | Limited command authority, usually local and temporary, to direct and control the movements and maneuvers of forces assigned for a specific mission or task. |
| TAD | Temporary additional duty | Navy and Marine Corps term for temporary duty away from a member's permanent command, for training, conferences or augmenting another unit, equivalent to the Army and… |
| TBS | The Basic School | Six-month course at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Virginia, that all newly commissioned Marine officers attend to learn the duties of a rifle platoon commander… |
| TCCC | Tactical Combat Casualty Care | Military guidelines for battlefield trauma care, divided into care under fire, tactical field care and tactical evacuation care. |
| TCP | Traffic control point | Position where troops or military police control the movement of vehicles and people, checking identity, searching cargo or diverting traffic. |
| TDY | Temporary duty | Short-term assignment away from a service member's permanent duty station, such as training, an exercise or a conference, with travel costs and per diem paid by the… |
| TIG | Time in grade | Length of time a member has held the current pay grade, counted from the date of rank, used to determine eligibility for promotion and for retiring at a given grade. |
| TIS | Time in service | Total length of a member's military service, counted from the pay entry base date, which determines eligibility for promotion, pay raises within a grade and retirement. |
| TOC | Tactical operations center | Command post where a battalion or brigade staff tracks the battle, manages communications and helps the commander control operations, usually with maps, screens and… |
| TS/SCI | Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information | Security clearance and access level allowing a person to view top secret information and specific compartments of intelligence-derived information, required for many… |
| TTP | Tactics, techniques and procedures | The patterns of behavior that characterize a threat actor: its goals (tactics), the methods it uses to reach them (techniques) and its specific implementation details… |
| UA | Unauthorized absence | Navy and Marine Corps term for being absent from one's unit, ship or place of duty without permission, the sea services' equivalent of the Army and Air Force term AWOL. |
| UCMJ | Uniform Code of Military Justice | Federal criminal code that applies to members of the US armed forces, establishing military offenses, courts-martial, nonjudicial punishment and appeals. |
| UNREP | Underway replenishment | Transfer of fuel, ammunition, food and supplies between ships while both are moving at sea, letting naval forces stay deployed without returning to port. |
| USO | United Service Organizations | Nonprofit organization that supports US service members and their families with airport lounges, entertainment tours, care packages and programs at bases worldwide. |
| UXO | Unexploded ordnance | Bombs, shells, grenades, mines and other munitions that were fired, dropped or emplaced but failed to explode, remaining dangerous for decades after a conflict ends. |
| VBIED | Vehicle-borne improvised explosive device | Car or truck bomb: a vehicle packed with explosives and detonated remotely, by timer or by a suicide driver, against checkpoints, bases, markets or buildings. |
| VBSS | Visit, board, search and seizure | Naval operation in which a boarding team inspects a vessel at sea for contraband, weapons or sanctions violations and, if authorized, seizes it. |
| WARNO | Warning order | Preliminary notice of an upcoming order or action, issued so subordinate units can begin preparing, planning and moving before the full operation order arrives. |
| WIA | Wounded in action | Casualty category for service members injured by an enemy or hostile act seriously enough to require medical treatment by a medical officer. |
| WMD | Weapons of mass destruction | Weapons capable of killing large numbers of people, generally meaning nuclear, biological, chemical and radiological weapons. |
| XO | Executive officer | Second-in-command of a military unit or ship, responsible for running the staff, administration and daily operations so the commander can focus on mission and leadership. |
More military abbreviations
- British Military Rank Abbreviations (50)
- Military Award and Decoration Abbreviations (37)
- Military Pay Grade Abbreviations (44)
- Military Unit and Organization Abbreviations (126)
- Naval Ship Abbreviations (23)
- US Air Force and Space Force Rank Abbreviations (27)
- US Army Rank Abbreviations (34)
- US Marine Corps Rank Abbreviations (25)
- US Navy and Coast Guard Rank Abbreviations (31)
- US Navy and Coast Guard Rating Abbreviations (52)
- Veteran Abbreviations (53)
- Weapon and Military Equipment Abbreviations (77)