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The following are included as explanatory remarks, not exact definitions, for the reader who may not be familiar with the terms.
ACV: Armoured Command Vehicle.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡopKhKGLU86
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Ao-dai: The Vietnamese national dress, a close-fitting top and bodice, with long flowing panels from the waist, under which long pants or trousers are worn. Pronounced "ow zhy," by the Northerners and "ow why' by the Southerners.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7NagCKo5kQ
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Arc of fire: Each weapon is positioned to fire over a certain piece of ground, which has left and right boundaries. If this is planted on a map, the area would be represented as an arc of the extremities of the boundaries. There are primary (main) and secondary arcs of fire.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6aPnahkomf
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ARVN: Army of the Republic of Vietnam, usually pronounced "arvin."1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHEcZ9nvjET
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AWOL: Absent Without Leave.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8tgQibFGtO
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Back-up: With reference to meals, coming back for a second serving.
Base-bludging: Bludging in a base or rear area. Anyone who is farther back from the enemy than oneself is a base-bludger. They rarely, if ever, go forward of the wire.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡkWZE7uwNYM
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Base-up! Make camp.
Basic Webbing: Generally the minimum harness that a soldier can wear and carry to enable him to perform his basic fighting functions: waist belt, shoulder harness, ammunition pouches, water bottles, bayonet, entrenching tool, and whatever else the unit deems necessary. On this "basic" webbing the thoughtful army can build big and little packs, bedding, radios, and so on.
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BHQ: Battalion Headquarters.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFYdfqAPmxZ
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Bird: girl/woman1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhIxNXOBjIQ
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Brass-up: To shoot, be shot at, as in "they brassed up two Charlies," and "they got brassed up by a machine gun."
CHQ: Company Headquarters.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSyCj2iB8kt
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Chalk: The group of passengers for a single aircraft.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡESueWBPqKQ
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Charlie: The enemy, from VC = Viet Cong = Victor Charlie in radio phonetics.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpwij5neFcY
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CO: Commanding Officer.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuZJyIyi7A2
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CP: Command Post1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeWlbT9geTy
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CSM: Company Sergeant Major.
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Corps: The British army is composed of various corps e.g. infantry, artillery, transport, dental, etc. Everyone belongs to one of them.
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III Corps Conference: South Vietnam was divided into four Corps Tactical Zones (CTZ): I, II, III, and IV. These were a means of dividing the country into areas of responsibility in which the various units operated, and had nothing to do with the infantry, artillery, etc., kind of corps. The III Corps HQ was almost adjacent to the airbase and the Conference was attended by a British representative.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡh9c46E2ncx
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DMZ: The so-called Demilitarized Zone between North and South Vietnam.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaPuuSUGixB
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Dust-off: Radio callsign for a medical evacuation helicopter, the crews of which were renowned and revered for their efforts to lift wounded out of battle and back to the medical facilities despite bad weather and enemy gunfire. Spoken usage included: "We require Dust-off for six," and "Nigel got Dusted-off to Saigon," i.e., Nigel was evacuated to Saigon by helicopter.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfbR1JukbMX
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FAC: Forward Air Controller: a pilot who flies a small (Cessna) aircraft into the battle area to locate, mark, and guide the fighters or bombers onto the targets. A high degree of skill and courage was needed.
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FN: Fabrique Nationale, the Belgian firm of arms makers.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcGRjPg2XcT
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Forward of the wire: Outside the barbed-wire perimeter of the unit or base, i.e., out where the enemy may be met. See "basebludger" and "pogo."1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4oFKeQ7fIm
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GVN: Government of Vietnam, the Saigon regime.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHjMHlljNYT
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Hutchi: Japanese (possibly Korean) word for house or shelter, corrupted to mean the soldier's tent in the field. American "hooch" or "hoochi."1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLsNlqJXxVZ
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Huey: UH-1 Helicopter, became Huey.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJha2rNO9vQ
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IO: Intelligence Officer.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAiYIDm3WXB
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Iron Triangle: A jungle area, roughly shaped like a triangle, about 30 miles west of Saigon, used by the Viet Cong as a base area.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsLuBCIH0XU
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J: Jungle.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡp6g5lGDG6W
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KIA: Killed In Action.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡykKHFY2xFn
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Locstat: Location statement, present location.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6leUEpIMKM
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LO: Liaison Officer1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbK6z66E2Lf
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Local Force: The Viet Cong National Liberation Front organized their fighting forces on several levels. At the bottom was the village guerilla, then units organized to operate in their home area----but larger than the usual village squad, and given tasks of a more demanding military nature, naturally enough these were called local force units. Above them were regional units and finally the main force.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfvL9RQWOBS
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LZ: Landing Zone1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1nTdItrx2p
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Main Force: Units of soldiers who have graduated from the village guerillas, local and regional force units, are full-time members of the armed forces, and are now regular troops who can be given military tasks such as those given to regular units of the NATO armies.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2ALiBpS2O6
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MASH: Mobile Army Surgical Hospital.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLLrv0Povm3
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Military Region: The National Liberation Front had divided Vietnam into these areas for their own administrative and operational purposes.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYWqvQvuhV3
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MPC: Military Payment Certificate. "Play money" or "Monopoly money" issued by the military authorities in an attempt to halt the flow of dollars into the black market, etc. It is only good in the military system such as canteens, messes, etc. The type or pattern of MPC would be changed at very short notice, and all unchanged old MPC would then be so much paper. There are said to be people throughout Asia with boxes of old MPC, hoping for the day when the particular pattern is again issued, and they will get rich.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbpf5o0q48B
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MP: Military Police.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCadKQBpON2
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NCO: Non-Commissioned Officer, i.e., below the rank of 2nd lieutenant.
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NLF: National Liberation Front. No Communist Revolution is complete without this title.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPu1csAeoCv
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NVA: North Vietnamese Army. Never admitted by Hanoi to be in South Vietnam, an assertion believed only by the very naive.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBhz4XOff0S
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OC: Officer Commanding. A company has an OC, a battalion a CO, a division a COC---General Officer Commanding.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEcfbTAvGBD
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Orders Group: A gathering for the purpose of passing on orders to subordinates.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSUldywXE9i
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Political Officer: The communist forces, being the armed effort of the political organization, are always subject to strict political control, which is achieved by placing a political infrastructure paralleling that of the military command, at all levels from company on up. The political officer has the final word in disagreements between the military and political. Called commissars in earlier times, they are a very important and effective means of ensuring control, motivation, and explanation of policy to the soldiers.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPggkXu56ls
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Pepper-pot: A tactic for advancing under fire where one or two soldiers at a time leap up, run forward a few paces, go down, roll away, and fire on the enemy while their comrades are doing likewise. The enemy is presented with fleeting targets all across his front, making it very hard for him to take on an accurate shot. Like many other things, it requires practice and teamwork.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLMewNpRzTT
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Pogo: See Basebludging. Pogos are the same, but worse. They supposedly spend their time bouncing aimlessly around the rear areas on a pogo-stick and are thus of no use to the fighting troops, i.e., anyone closer to, or likely to be closer to, the enemy.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEDDpdx1LYw
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PPS: Russian submachine gun of World War II vintage, firing a 7.62mm round.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZWvw1Q609h
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PX: Post Exchange = US Canteen.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPpQCOuyjgs
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RATTV: Royal Army Training Team, Vietnam.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu1MtxwPOlU
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Regional Force: Along with a similar organization called the popular force, were part-time troops of the Saigon Regime, used for guard and other light military duties, which could include operations to search for the VC, normally operating in their home locations or areas. Abbreviated in RF/PE so immediately were called "ruffpuffs."1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQTgiT3rGQs
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RPD: Russian light machine gun for section or squad use. The initials stand for the Russian words, the D being for Degtyarev, the designer.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2z2wcAPJ6Y
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RMO: Regional Medical Officer, the battalion doctor.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡs52qHnDiil
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RSM: Regimental Sergeant Major, the senior noncommissioned officer in the unit, responsible to the CO for discipline.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡE7cDsQoS9A
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RV: Rendezvous1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvkX9Wg5ylD
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Slicks: Troop-carrying helicopters, as opposed to armed versions, the "gunships," called "pigs"1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0fiN5WGYlK
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Slope: U.S. term for Asian, similar to the British "wog."1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4tgPLnZCM0
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SLR: Self Loading Rifle; the British-modified Belgian FN, produced at Birmingham, firing the standard NATO 7.62mm round, pronounced "slur."1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFRFkAHT0LS
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Smoke: To shoot, kill1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAGhVPuygP3
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Tommy: A British soldier.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS223RTVwCy
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Twenty mike mike: 20-millimeter cannon, from 20mm.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvqtCBQoRw5
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VC: Viet Cong, the Vietnamese for Vietnamese Communist.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJK2Lx8cpjC
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VNAF: Vietnamese Air Force.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡR0LG7zy3MA
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War Zone D: A term dating from the 1950s war against the French, for a large expanse of jungle about forty miles northeast of Saigon, in which the VC had base camps, training areas, etc., and which was rarely entered by government forces prior to 1965; also called D-Zone or Zone D. Zone C was farther to the southwest, and others were to the north.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Ob8Sv62dp
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Wog: British slang for an Asian: more fully "Westernized Oriental Gentleman." Plural is "wogs" and the land is sometimes referred to as "Woggeria."1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡySlEFsXB6H
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Watch your front!: Do not stare down your shirt buttons and trouser fly, but pay attention to the area of ground before you, your arc of fire.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡuhtk1ryWX7
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WIA: Wounded in Action. 1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjOAqh9FM2o
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Yank(s): citizen(s) of the United States of America.1013Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvCzZixsH2e
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