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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.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKv3yGgGAro
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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.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGt0OJhNrHl
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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.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrd0QnPfJTo
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ARVN: Army of the Republic of Vietnam, usually pronounced "arvin."945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdhRkH8c8ZO
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AWOL: Absent Without Leave.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGW8okyCt9i
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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.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvTGk9xhqhV
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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.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1wlg7B2Vy0
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Bird: girl/woman945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKJLhff7jVx
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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.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhPBU3tqyNJ
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Chalk: The group of passengers for a single aircraft.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRSV2mAcrkC
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Charlie: The enemy, from VC = Viet Cong = Victor Charlie in radio phonetics.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa4OiKYq3PZ
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CO: Commanding Officer.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBzeD41w91o
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CP: Command Post945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡW55QUJirwH
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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.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOwrxw1cPG1
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DMZ: The so-called Demilitarized Zone between North and South Vietnam.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡROg5GKOnPo
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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.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjY8XBldrs4
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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.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFYmo8HSh9W
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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."945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡgDL6bOeCXT
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GVN: Government of Vietnam, the Saigon regime.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdgxZCSVrld
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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."945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡj0WwOI1ft0
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Huey: UH-1 Helicopter, became Huey.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIxCLDAWxop
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IO: Intelligence Officer.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZbJxx6nD2a
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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.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQrgH5SfwUl
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J: Jungle.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7yK04p7rxZ
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KIA: Killed In Action.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6DGIUFiYcI
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Locstat: Location statement, present location.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKCqQaUuOO0
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LO: Liaison Officer945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ683IkYUScY
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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.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk0HImxC04N
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LZ: Landing Zone945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmyE4cZM8Hm
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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.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡeZBNA2jfuT
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MASH: Mobile Army Surgical Hospital.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡas5Twyqgci
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Military Region: The National Liberation Front had divided Vietnam into these areas for their own administrative and operational purposes.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxluoZRkafB
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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.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡo4cgoYaMZn
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MP: Military Police.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKfvcccfTm6
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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.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡboDkjwYcAd
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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.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtg0swozfyC
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OC: Officer Commanding. A company has an OC, a battalion a CO, a division a COC---General Officer Commanding.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKtDDNJjs5f
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Orders Group: A gathering for the purpose of passing on orders to subordinates.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ72mgITZB7t
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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.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQfMPw0tFOG
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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.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSZHhxxO3gq
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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.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlEoUR3XGgM
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PPS: Russian submachine gun of World War II vintage, firing a 7.62mm round.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcHDNcm6JxO
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PX: Post Exchange = US Canteen.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLZKXoMX1ZY
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RATTV: Royal Army Training Team, Vietnam.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ526ch69dYg
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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."945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVs1g9fwnkj
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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.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlcKDx7D6NP
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RMO: Regional Medical Officer, the battalion doctor.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡV5B6HizI1L
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RSM: Regimental Sergeant Major, the senior noncommissioned officer in the unit, responsible to the CO for discipline.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8SuzuCK61r
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RV: Rendezvous945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1PWwLRHCPq
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Slicks: Troop-carrying helicopters, as opposed to armed versions, the "gunships," called "pigs"945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNHmchcxu63
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Slope: U.S. term for Asian, similar to the British "wog."945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCNBfXxbALd
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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."945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3QTTbFfPDR
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Smoke: To shoot, kill945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLIEUIGW0Ha
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Tommy: A British soldier.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxWsqEXhocy
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Twenty mike mike: 20-millimeter cannon, from 20mm.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡI7Y2PjGyGy
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VC: Viet Cong, the Vietnamese for Vietnamese Communist.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtFu2qrnIvt
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VNAF: Vietnamese Air Force.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXuZW6Z8miV
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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.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2K7KixTU0C
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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."945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjJEvqM4fla
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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.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfjM42kG9ew
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WIA: Wounded in Action. 945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMVYsiYjBHG
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Yank(s): citizen(s) of the United States of America.945Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRwT83uL4eb
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