Glossary of Military Terms & Slang from the Vietnam War Q-T

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QUAD-50s

a four-barrelled assembly of .50 caliber machine guns

Quantico

Marine training base in Virginia

QUEBEC

military phonetic for the letter 'Q'

RA

Regular Army, prefix to serial number of enlistees

rabbits

white American soldiers, according to black vernacular

rack

bed or cot

rallier

defector from the Viet Cong

R&R

rest and recreation. A three to seven-day vacation from the war for a soldier.

Rangers

elite commandos and infantry specially trained for reconnaissance and combat missions

RBF

reconnaissance by fire

react

for one unit to come to the aid of another under enemy fire

recon

reconnaissance. Going out into the jungle to observe for the purpose of identifying enemy activity.

Recondo School

a training school in-country for LRRPs. The largest was at Na Trang, where the training action was taken against the 17th NVA Division.

red alert

the most urgent form of warning. Signals an imminent enemy attack.

redball

an enemy high speed trail or road

red bird

a Cobra helicopter

Red Legs

slang for Artillery. In the Civil War, Union Artillery men had red stripes on their pants.

reeducation camps

political prisons and labor camps of varying degrees of severity and size that comprised the Soviet-style gulag system throughout Communist Vietnam

regiment

a military unit usually consisting of a number of battalions

Regional Forces

militia units organized within each district in South Vietnam to engage in offensive operations against local Viet Cong forces. RF units were better paid and equipped than PF units and could be assigned duties anywhere within the home district.

REMF

rear-echelon motherfucker

repo depo

replacement detachment

RF/PF

Regional and Popular Forces. The South Vietnamese National Guard-type units. Regional Forces were company-size and protected district areas. Popular Forces were platoon-size and guarded their home villages.

rice paddy racers

rubber shower shoes used by GIs

RIF

reconnaissance in force. A heavy reconnaissance patrol. Later, RIF came to mean reduction in force; an administrative mechanism for retiring career soldiers prior to the end of their twenty year term.

ringknocker

graduate of a military academy. Refers to the rink worn by graduates.

rock'n'roll

firing a weapon on full automatic

ROK

soldier from the Republic of Korea

ROMEO

military phonetic for the letter 'R'

Rome plow

mammoth bulldozer used to flatten dense jungle

RON

remain-overnight operation

rotate

to return to the U.S. at the end of a year's tour in Vietnam

ROTC

Reserve Officer's Training Corps. Program offered in many high schools and colleges, geared to prepare students to become military officers.

RPD

a 7.62 mm Communist machine gun with a 100-round, belt operated drum that fires the same round as the AK-47

RPG

a rocket-propelled grenade. A Russian-made portable antitank grenade launcher.

RTO

radio telephone operator. The man who carried his unit's radio on his back in the field.

ruck/rucksack

backpack issued to infantry in Vietnam

Ruff Puff

derogatory term used by Americans for RF/PF

Rules of Engagement

the specific regulations for the conduct of air and surface battles by U.S. and allied forces during the Vietnam war

rumor control

the most accurate source of information prior to the actual occurrence of an event

S-1

Personnel

S-2

Intelligence

S-3

Operations

S-4

Supply

S-5

Civil Affairs

saddle up

put on one's pack and get ready to march

salvo

firing a battery in unison

sampan

a Vietnamese peasant's boat

SAF

small arms fire

S&S

Supply & Service; designation of a support unit

sapper

a Viet Cong or NVA commando, usually armed with explosives

satchel charges

pack used by the enemy containing explosives that is dropped or thrown and is generally more powerful than a grenade

SeaBees

Navy construction engineers

SEAL

highly trained Navy special warfare team members

search and destroy

an operation in which Americans searched an area and destroyed anything which the enemy might find useful

SEATO

Southeast Asia Treaty Organization

seminar camp

the Laotian Communist version of the reeducation camp for political prisoners

Sereika (Khmer Serei)

the non-Communist Cambodian resistance force

Sgt. Rock

a combat-scarred World War II comic book character

SERTS

Screaming Eagle Replacement Training School

set

a party

SF

Special Forces

shake'n'bake

sergeant who attended NCO school and earned rank after only a very short time in uniform

shamming

goofing off or getting by with as little effort as possible

shaped charge

an explosive charge, the energy of which is focused in one direction

shit burning

the sanitization of latrines by kerosene incineration of excrement

short

a term used by everyone in Vietnam to tell all who would listen that his tour was almost over

short-timer

soldier nearing the end of his tour in Vietnam

short-timer's stick

when a soldier had approximately two months remaining on his tour in Vietnam, he might take a long stick and notch it for each of his remaining days in-country. As each day passed he would cut the stick off another notch until on his rotation day he was left with only a small stub.

shrapnel

pieces of metal sent flying by an explosion

SIERRA

military phonetic for the letter 'S'

Silver Star

U.S. military decoration awarded for gallantry in action

sit-rep

situation report

six

any Unit Commander, from the Company Commander on up

six-by

a large flat-bed truck usually with wooden slat sides enclosing the bed and sometimes a canvas top covering it. Used for carrying men or anything else that would fit on it.

skate

a task that required little effort or pain; verb form means to take it easy

SKS

Simonov 7.62 mm semi-automatic carbine

sky

to leave

sky crane

huge double-engine helicopter used for lifting and transporting heavy equipment

sky out

to flee or leave suddenly

slackman

the second man back on a patrol, directly behind the point

slant

derogatory term for a Vietnamese person

slick

a UH-1 helicopter used for transporting troops in tactical air assault operations. The helicopter did not have protruding armaments and was, therefore, "slick".

slope

derogatory term for an Asian person

SMG

submachine gun

smoke grenade

a grenade that released brightly colored smoke. Used for signaling.

Snake

a Cobra helicopter

SOI

Signal Operating Instructions. The booklet that contained all of the call signals and radio frequencies of the units in Vietnam.

solacium payment

standard amount paid by the U.S. government to Vietnamese civilians when U.S. forces were deemed responsible for a wrongful civilian death. For a detailed discussion of a Solacium payment see Jim Lynch's artice, "Solacium Payment."

SOP

standard operating procedure

Sopwith Camels

slang term for a light, fixed-wing reconnaissance aircraft

soul brother

a black soldier

Spec-4

Specialist 4th Class. An Army rank immediately above Private First Class. Most enlisted men who had completed their individual training and had been on duty for a few months were Spec-4s. Probably the most common rank in the Vietnam-era Army.

Spec-5

Specialist 5th Class. Equivalent to a sergeant.

spider hole

camouflaged enemy foxhole

splib

term originated by black marines to identify other black soldiers. Supposedly meant to imply superior qualities.

Spooky

a large propeller-driven aircraft with a Minigun mounted in the door. Capable of firing 6,000 rounds per minute. Also used to refer to gunship helicopters with Miniguns.

SP pack

cellophane packet containing toiletries and cigarettes which was sometimes given along with C-rations to soldiers in the field.

squad

a small military unit consisting of less than ten men

staff sergeant

a E-6, the second lowest noncommissioned officer rank

stand-down

an infantry unit's return from the boonies to the base camp for refitting and training. Later, a unit being withdrawn from Vietnam and redeployed to the U.S.

Starlifter

a C-141, the largest military cargo transport airplane in the Air Force inventory

starlight scope

an image intensifier using reflected light to identify targets at night

steel pot

the standard U.S. Army helmet. The steel pot was the outer metal cover.

strac

smart, sharp, well prepared (from STRategic Air Command)

strategic hamlet program

a controversial pacification and village self-defense program implemented by the Diem government that attempted to turn all sixteen thousand South Vietnamese hamlets into fortified compounds.

strobe

hand held strobe light for marking landing zones at night

syrette

collapsible tube of morphine attached to a hypodermic needle. The contents of the tube were injected by squeezing it like a toothpaste tube.

TA-50

individual soldier's standard issue of combat clothing and equipment

TAC

tactical air strikes; fighter bombers

Tail-end Charlie

last unit in a long column on the move

T&T

through and through wound. One in which a bullet or fragment has entered and exited the body.

tanglefoot

single-strand barbed wire strung in a meshwork pattern at about ankle height. A barrier designed to make it difficult to cross the obstructed area by foot. Usually placed around permanent defensive positions.

TANGO

military phonetic for the letter 'T'

Tango boat

U.S. Navy designation for an armored landing craft mounted with 50-caliber machine guns and a 40-caliber anti-aircraft gun used for direct fire.

TC

tactical commander

Tet

January holiday, Buddhist lunar New Year. Buddha's birthday.

Tet Offensive

a major uprising of the National Liberation Front, their sympathizers, and NVA characterized by a series of coordinated attacks against military installations and provincial capitals throughout Vietnam. It occurred during the lunar New Year at the end of January, 1968.

tee-tee

pidgin for very small

TFES

territorial forces evaluation system. The companion report of the HES. A computerized military evaluation system devised by American authorities in Saigon and used by them to assess the readiness of the militia forces. Each month advisors at the district level had to fill out the long computer print-out sheets and report on many different aspects of quantity and quality in the militia forces. Like all computer programs, the quality of this one's output was dependent upon the quality of the input.

thermite

a mixture of powdered aluminum and metal oxide which produces great heat for use in welding and incendiary bombs

Three

radio call signal for the operations officer

three-quarter

a three-quarter ton truck

tiger suits

camouflage fatigue uniforms

tight

good friends are close to ("tight" with) each other

TO

tactical officer

TO&E

Table of Organization and Equipment

TOC

tactical operations center

Top

a top sergeant

TOT

time on target. Prearranged mortar or artillery barrage, set to occur at a specific time in order to coordinate with an infantry assault

trach

a tracheotomy. Making an opening into the windpipe to facilitate breathing.

tracer

a round of ammunition chemically treated to glow or give off smoke so that its flight can be followed.

tracks

any vehicles which move on tracks rather than wheels

triage

the procedure for deciding the order in which to treat casualties

trip flare

a ground flare triggered by a trip wire used to signal and illuminate the approach of an enemy at night.

Tropic Lighting

the U.S. 25th Infantry Division

turtles

new replacements. They were called turtles because it took so long for them to arrive.

Two

radio call signal of the intelligence officer.

two-niner-two

the RC-292 ground plane antenna which was used to extend the range of the MAT and the district team's PRC-25.