Glossary of Military Terms & Slang from the Vietnam War A-C

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Numbers

4-F

classification given to those deemed unfit for military service

50-cal

.50 caliber machine gun

51-cal

heavy machine gun used by the enemy

79

an M-79 grenade launcher

82 mm

a mortar used by the enemy

105

a 105-mm howitzer

201 file

a U.S. Army personnel file

AAR

after-action report

AC

aircraft commander

actual

the [Marine] unit commander. Used to distinguish the commander from the radioman when the call sign is used.

ADSID

air-delivered seismic intruder-detection device; microphone and transmitter dropped into suspect areas

Advance Guard Youth

Vietnamese student social and sports organization that evolved into a non-Communist nationalist movement by 1945.

Advanced Individual Training

specialized training taken after Basic Training, also referred to as Advanced Infantry Training

AFVN

Armed Forced Vietnam Network radio station

Agency

the Central Intelligence Agency

AGL

above level ground

A-gunner

assistant gunner

AHB

assault helicopter battalion

AID

Agency for International Development

Airborne

refers to soldiers who are qualified as parachutists

air cav

air cavalry; helicopter-borne infantry; helicopter gunship assault teams

Airmobile

helicopter-borne infantry

AIT

advanced infantry training

AK-47

Soviet-manufactured Kalashnikov semi-automatic and fully automatic combat assault rifle, 7.62-mm; the basic weapon of the Communist forces. Known as the Type 56 to the Chinese, it is characterized by an explosive popping sound.

AK-50

newer version of the AK-47. Some have a permanently mounted "illegal" triangular bayonet, which leaves a sucking wound that will not close.

ALPHA

military phonetic for the letter 'A'

ammo dump

location where live or expended ammunition is stored

amtrack

amphibious armored vehicle used to transport troops and supplies, armed with a .30-caliber machine gun. The Marines used them.

angel track

an armored personnel carrier used as an aid station

AO

area of operations

AOD

administrative officer on duty

ao-dai

traditional dress of Vietnamese women. A brightly colored silk top worn over loose fitting silk trousers.

APC

armored personnel carrier. A track vehicle used to transport Army troops or supplies, usually armed with a .50-caliber machine gun.

APL

barracks ship

APO

Army post office located in San Francisco for overseas mail to Vietnam.

AR

Army regulation

ARA

aerial rocket artillery. A Cobra AG-1H helicopter with four XM-159C 19-rocket (2.75 inch) pods.

arc light

code name for B-52 bombers strikes along the Cambodian-Vietnamese border. These operations shook earth for ten miles away from the target area.

Article 15

section of the Uniform Military Code of Justice. A form of non-judicial punishment.

arty

shorthand term for artillery

Arvin

soldier in the ARVN, or the ARVN itself

ARVN

Army of the Republic of Vietnam; the South Vietnamese Regular Army

A-team

basic ten man team of the U.S. Special Forces. The A-teams often led irregular military units which were not responsible to the Vietnamese military command.

AWOL

absent without leave; leaving a post or position without official permission

azimuth

a bearing from North

B-40 rocket

a shoulder-held rocket-propelled grenade launcher

B-52

U.S. Air Force high-altitude bomber; also, slang for a can opener

ba

married woman; used as a title, like "Mrs."

bac bac

bastardized Vietnamese for "to shoot"

bac-si

Vietnamese for doctor; also used to refer to medic in the U.S. Army

ballgame

an operation or a contact

Ba Mu'o'i Ba

brand name of a Vietnamese beer

band-aid

medic

bandoliers

belts of machine gun ammunition

BAR

Browning automatic rifle. A .30-caliber magazine-fed automatic rifle used by U.S. troops during World War II and Korea.

base camp

a resupply base for field units and a location for headquarters of brigade or division size units, artillery batteries and air fields. Also known as the rear area.

Basic

basic training

bac si de

home-brewed rice whiskey

basketball

an illumination-dropping aircraft mission, capable of lighting approximately a square mile of terrain

battalion

a military unit composed of a headquarters and two or more companies, batteries, or similar units

battery

an artillery unit equivalent to a company. Six 105mm or 155mm howitzers or two 8-inch or 175mm self-propelled howitzers.

battle-sight zeroing

process of adjusting a weapon's sights and windage to an individual soldier so the weapon, when fired, will hit the object of aim.

BCD

bad conduct discharge

BDA

bomb damage assessment

beans and dicks

military C-ration hot dogs and beans

beans and motherfuckers

military C-ration lima beans and ham

beaten zone

area where the majority of bullets will strike when a machine gun is laid-in to cover a part of a defensive perimeter or part of an ambush zone.

beehive round

an explosive artillery shell which delivered thousands of small projectiles, "like nails with fins," instead of shrapnel.

berm

perimeter line of a fortification; usually raised above surrounding area

Big Boys:

artillery; slang for tanks

Big Max

maximum security section of Long Binh Stockade, fashioned out of conex containers. There was one small hole in each side for light and air; in the sun they grew quite hot. Prisoners were allowed out twice a day to use the bathroom and exericise.

Big Red One

nickname for the 1st Infantry Division

Binh Xuyenn:

the organized crime syndicate that controlled much of the Vietnamese underworld and Saigon police until deposed by Diem's forces in 1955.

bird

any aircraft, but usually refers to helicopters

bird dog

forward air controller, usually in a small, maneuverable single-engined prop airplane

BK amputee

below-the-knee amputation of the leg

blood trail

a trail of blood on the ground left by a fleeing man who has been wounded

blooker

the M-79 grenade launcher. A 40-millimeter, shotgunlike weapon that shoots spin-armed "balls" or small grenades. Also known as a blooper.

blooper

the M-79 grenade launcher. A 40-millimeter, shotgunlike weapon that shoots spin-armed "balls" or small grenades. Also known as a blooker.

blue feature

any water feature. So called because of the color used to designate water on topographic maps.

body bag

plastic bag used to transport dead bodies from the field

body count

the number of enemy killed, wounded, or captured during an operation. The term was used by Washington and Saigon as a means of measuring the progress of the war.

boo-coo

bastardized French, from beaucoup, meaning "much" or "many".

boom-boom

sex

boondoggle

any military operation that hasn't been completely thought out. An operation that is absurd or useless.

boonie hat

soft hat worn by a boonierat in the boonies

boonierat

a combat infantryman

boonies

infantry term for the field; jungles or swampy areas far from the comforts of civilization

boot

a soldier just out of boot camp; inexperienced, untested

BOQ

bachelor officer quarters; living quarters for officers

bouncing Betty

antipersonnel mine with two charges: the first propels the explosive charge upward, and the other is set to explode at about waist level.

bowl

pipe used for smoking dope

BRAVO

military phonetic for the letter 'B'

Bravo

Army designation for the infantry man

breaking squelch

disrupting the natural static of a radio by depressing the transmit bar on another radio set to the same frequency

brigade

a tactical and administrative military unit composed of a headquarters and one or more battalions of infantry or armor, with other supporting units.

bro

a black soldier; also, at times, boonierats from the same unit

bronco

twin-engine observation aircraft equipped with rockets and miniguns

Bronze Star

U.S. military decoration awarded for heroic or meritorious service no involving aerial flights

brother

a fellow black Marine; sometimes used as slang for all black males

brown bar

a lieutenant; denotes the single bar of the rank. In the field, officers wore camouflage rank which was often brown or black instead of brass.

Brown Water Navy

term applied to the U.S. Navy units assigned to the inland boat patrols of the Mekong River delta.

BS

bullshit, as in chewing the fat, telling tall tales, or telling lies

buckle

to fight. "Buckle for your dust" means to fight furiously

bummer

bad luck, a real drag

bush

infantry term for the field

bust caps

Marine Corps term for firing a rifle rapidly

butter bar

see brown bar

C-4

plastic, putty textured explosive carried by infantry soldiers. It burns like sterno when lit, and was used to heat C-rations in the field.

C-54

largest of the American helicopters, strictly for cargo. Also called Flying Crane or Skycrane.

C-123

small cargo airplane

C-130

large propeller-driven Air Force planes that carry people and cargo; the Hercules

C-141

large cargo airplane; the Starlifter

CA

combat assault. The term is used to describe dropping troopers into a hot LZ

cache

hidden supplies

camies

World War II term for camouflage uniforms

can cuoc

an identification card

C&C

command and control helicopter used by reconnaissance or unit commanders

Can Lao

the powerful semisecret political party of the Diem government headed by Ngo Dinh Nhu, Diem's brother. It permeated the entire administrative, intelligence, and defense structures of South Vietnam.

Cao Dai

a religious and political sect formed in the 1920s by a group of South Vietnamese intellectuals, combining the three major religions of Vietnam -- Buddhism, Confucianism, and Christianity -- with the worship of Vietnamese and Western heroes. With a strength of more that 1,500,000 followers, groups of Cao Dai still waged a stubborn resistance war against the Communists (especially in Tay Ninh Province) even after the U.S. troop withdrawal.

CAP

civil action program. U.S. military personnel working with Vietnamese civilians.

capping

shooting at

CAR-15

a carbine rifle

carbine

a short-barreled, lightweight automatic or semiautomatic rifle

Caribou C-7A

small transport plane for moving men and material

Cav

Cavalry; the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile)

CC

company commander

CG

commanding general

chao

hello or goodby, depending upon the context

CHARLIE

military phonetic for the letter 'C"

Charlie

Viet Cong; the enemy

Charlie-Charlie

C&C

Chas

Viet Cong; the enemy

cheap Charlie

GI who is frugal with his money while in a bar

cherry

slang term for youth and inexperience; a virgin

Chicom

Chinese communist

Chicom mine

Chinese mine; can be made of plastic

Chieu Hoi

the "open arms" program, promising clemency and financial aid to Viet Cong and NVA soldiers and cadres who stopped fighting and returned to South Vietnamese government authority.

Chinook

CH-47 cargo helicopter

choi oi

exclamation of surprise

chop chop

slang for food

chopper

helicopter

chuck

term used by black marines to identify white individuals; often derogatory

Chuck

the Viet Cong; the enemy

CIB

combat infantry badge. And Army award for being under enemy fire in a combat zone, worn on both fatigues and dress uniforms.

CIDG

South Vietnamese Civilian Irregular Defense Groups

CINCPAC

commander in chief of all American forces in the Pacific region

Civilian Irregular Defense Group

American financed, irregular South Vietnamese military units which were led by members of Special Forces A-teams. Members of these units were Vietnamese nationals, but were usually members of ethnic minorities in the country.

clacker

a small hand-held firing device for a claymore mine

claymore

an antipersonnel mine carried by the infantry which, when detonated, propelled small steel cubes in a 60-degree fan-shaped pattern to a maximum distance of 100 meters

clearance

permission from both military and political authorities to engage the enemy in a particular area

cluster fuck

any attempted operations which went bad; disorganized

clutch belt

cartridge belt worn by Marines

CMH

Congressional Medal of Honor. The highest U.S. military decoration awarded for conspicuous gallantry at the risk of life above and beyond the call of duty.

Co

unmarried woman; used as a title, like "Miss"

CO

commanding officer

Cobra

an AH-1G attack helicopter. Also known as a gunship, armed with rockets and machine guns.

Cochin-china:

the French name for its southern Vietnam colony, encompassing the III Corps and Mekong Delta rice-producing lowlands, which earlier was part of Cambodia.

Co Cong

female Viet Cong members

Code of Conduct

military rules for U.S. soldiers taken prisoner by the enemy

comics

topographic maps

commo

shorthand for "communications"

commo bunker

bunker containing vital communications equipment. Usually included in the last redoubt of established defensive positions.

commo wire

communications wire

company

a military unit usually consisting of a headquarters and two or more platoons

compound

a fortified military installation

concertina wire

coiled barbed wire used as an obstacle

connex container

corrugated metal packing crate, approximately six feet in length

contact

firing on or being fired upon by the enemy

CONUS

continental United States

CORDS

civil operations and revolutionary development support. Created by civilian administration, MACV, and the CIA to coordinate American pacification efforts.

COSVN

central office of South Vietnam. Communist headquarters for military and political action in South Vietnam.

counterinsurgency

antiguerrilla warfare

country team

the staff and personnel of an American embassy assigned to a particular country

co van

advisor. American assigned to Vietnamese military units or to political division within the country to help direct and train Vietnamese military and civilian officials.

coxwain flat

the area where the coxwain (driver) stands when he steers a boat or ship

CP

command post

CP pills

anti-malarial pills

CQ

charge of quarters. An officer officially in charge of a unit headquarters at night.

C-rations

combat rations. Canned meals for use in the field. Each usually consisted of a can of some basic course, a can of fruit, a packet of some type of dessert, a packet of powdered coca, a small pack of cigarettes, and two pieces of chewing gum.

crispy critters

burn victims

CS

a riot-control gas which burns the eyes and mucus membranes

cumshaw

unofficial trading, begging, bartering, or stealing from other branches of the service

cyclo

motorized rickshaw