| Abn | Airborne |
| ACAV | Armored cavalry assault vehicle |
| ACR | Armored cavalry regiment |
| Aerorifle platoon | A platoon of forty-four enlisted men and one officer organized as light airmobile infantry and transported to mission areas by helicopter. The platoon was specifically organized as an organic element of every air cavalry troop. |
| Ambl | Airmobile |
| APC | Armored personnel carrier |
| Area warfare | That condition of war in which forces orient exclusively on the destruction of enemy forces with no intention to seize and hold a succession of terrain features. Area warfare is nonlineal and multidirectional and has no continuous front or line of demarcation between opposing forces. |
| ARVN | Army of the Republic of Vietnam |
| Base area | A section of terrain which contains logistical installations, defensive fortifications, or other physical structures used by the enemy. |
| Base camp | The location which provides a semipermanent home for tactical organizations. |
| Canister rounds | Short range antipersonnel projectiles, loaded with submissiles such as flechettes or steel balls. The casing is designed to open just beyond the muzzle of the weapon, dispersing the submissiles. |
| Clear and secure | A military mission to find and capture or destroy all enemy forces within a specified area and then prevent enemy forces from reentering. |
| Cloverleaf | A formation used in search operations that allowed a rapid search of a large area. |
| Cobra | Name given to the attack helicopter AH-1 G. |
| COSVN | Central Office for South Vietnam (Communist headquarters) |
| CP | Command post |
| CTZ | Corps tactical zone |
| Daisy cutter | A 15,000-pound bomb used to create a landing zone in thick jungle. |
| FFV | Field Force, Vietnam |
| FSB | Fire support base |
| Go/No Go | The term applied to the trafficability of tracked vehicles in the Republic of Vietnam. |
| Gunship | A helicopter armed with air-to-ground armament. |
| HEAT | High explosive, antitank |
| Herringbone formation | A formation used by mechanized and armor units in which armored vehicles turn alternately to the sides of the direction of march, placing their main armament and heaviest armor obliquely toward the flanks. The center is left clear to provide freedom of movement within the column and as a haven for vehicles without armor. |
| Ho Chi Minh Trail | An infiltration route used extensively by the North Vietnamese Army to move troops and supplies from North Vietnam through Laos and Cambodia to all regions of South Vietnam. |
| LAW | Light antitank weapon |
| LTL | Interprovincial route |
| LZ | Landing zone |
| M | Mechanized |
| MACOV | Mechanized and Armor Combat Operations in Vietnam, a study. |
| MACV | Military Assistance Command, Vietnam |
| Minigun | A six barreled 7.62-mm. machine gun using a system of rapidly rotating barrels which produces a high rate of fire. |
| MR | Military region |
| QL | National highway |
| Recoilless rifle | Weapon in which the rearward movement resulting from firing is essentially eliminated. |
| Reconnaissance in force | A limited objective operation by a military force to discover and test the enemy's disposition and strength or to develop other intelligence. |
| Roadrunner operation | Normally an operation with a group of vehicles that travel a road for the purpose of keeping the enemy off balance and making the presence of friendly forces felt among the local populace. |
| Rome plow | A special bulldozer blade manufactured by the Rome Plow Company and used for cutting brash and small and medium trees. |
| RPG | Rocket propelled grenade |
| Sensor | Equipment which detects and indicates terrain configuration, the presence of military targets, and other natural and man-made objects, and activities by means of energy emissions or reflections. |
| Standdown | Relief from combat operations, usually in preparation for redeployment or for maintenance. |
| Swift boat | A small modified Navy patrol boat used for close in offshore security and inland water way patrolling. |
| Tactical air support | The employment of air force elements in combat in conjunction wide ground operations. |
| Tet | A celebration of the new year based on the lunar calendar. This date fluctuates each year. |
| TF | Task force |
| TL | Provincial route |
| TOC | Tactical operations center |
| TOW | Tube-launched, optically tracked, wire-guided missile |
| USMC | United States Marine Corps |
page created 17 January 2002
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