this glossary attempts to explain the technical detail of a situation, & the types of slang in use during the period |
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click a letter for quick search: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W numeral |
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| AAB [No] | Australian Army Book, as in the field notebook issued to commanders being AAB 64 |
| admin | administration, action of preparing for & maintaining personal & unit preparedness for ops |
| AK47 | NVA/VC semi or fully automatic assault weapon using 7.62mm short ammo |
| ambush | attempt to kill from cover without warning, can be planned or done quickly to meet circumstances |
| ammo or SAA | small arms ammunition, usually bullets but can include grenades & other carried munitions |
| ANPRC-25 | VHF man portable radio used at the sharp end for most variety of communication - called '25 set' |
| ANPRC-77 | improved VHF man portable radio which gradually replaced the 25 Set - called '77 set' |
| ANZAC | Australia New Zealand Army Corps, a designation from Gallipoli 1915 when both countries fought together for the first time, also used to describe a 'common spirit of brotherhood and shared values' |
| AO | area of operations, as in the terrain ground forces patrolled & fought to dominate |
| AP | anti-personnel, as in 'AP mine' |
| APC | armoured personnel carrier, M113 for troops, M125 mortars, M548 cargo, M577 ACV, M579 fitters |
| arc | the area a weapon or soldier was required to cover in an all-round protective posture |
| arty | artillery of any calibre, tracked or towed - common were 105mm, 155mm, 8" howitzers, 40mm 'dusters' |
| ARU | Aust Reinforcement Unit – a training and reinforcement pool held in-country by 1ATF |
| ARVN | Army of the Republic of Viet Nam, South Vietnamese government forces |
| Aussie | Australian, also shortened to 'Aust' in documents |
| AWOL | absent without leave, unauthorised absence from duty or place |
| back pack | (or field pack) a grunts load carrying back pack containing field equipment & spare stores, which was dumped whenever a contact occurred; typical weight around 65Lb/30Kg. See belt order |
| baggy | private soldier [from ill-fitting baggy trousers] |
| BC | abbreviation found in official reports to signify 'body count', VC KIA and body found on the scene |
| belt order | a grunts personal load carrying belt & suspenders containing all his fighting equipment not otherwise carried in the individual back pack, which remained on or close to the individual at all times. Typical weight around 40Lb/18Kg. See back pack |
| bergen | a large Scandinavian designed back pack favoured by SAS and radio operators |
| bn | battalion, usually four rifle & two other coy with bn HQ, ANZAC bn had an additional rifle coy |
| bodycount | borrowed from US forces, term used to describe the success or ferocity of engagements, as in 'there was a high bodycount of enemy KIA' |
| booby trap | improvised trap designed to main or severely injure an individual |
| boonies | borrowed from US forces, see bush |
| boss | the informal bush title for an officer, also used to address an officer instead of 'sir' |
| boundary | edge of AO [to be close to or to cross a boundary required permission, called a 'mousetrap'] |
| brass | to fire lots of ammo, as in 'we brassed up the track with the M60', also empty ammo cases |
| brew | hot drink, as in 'want a brew..?' coffee, milk & two sugar was called 'NATO standard' |
| BT | abbreviation found in official reports to mean 'blood trail left by wounded VC' |
| burst | controlled firing of five or more rounds of automatic fire, more depending on urgency |
| bush | jungle, area outside the base perimeter where fighting took place |
| C&C | command & control, as in title applied to helicopter [usually with extra radios fitted] with sunray onboard flying above AO directing ground operations, or a person doing 'C&C' for a task |
| callsign | radio talk to identify or summon particular organisations or people for a radio conversation |
| cans | usually beer, see goffers, 'in the can' meant arrested & locked up |
| CASEVAC | casualty evacuation, an admin reaction to having injured soldiers [see dustoff & MEDEVAC] |
| CET | combat engineer team, assigned to support inf or APC elements likely to require immediate engineer assistance |
| chalk | group of personnel grouped together for travel, like 'your chalk travels on that slick', also 'stick' |
| charlie | slang for VC [phonetically 'victor charlie'] |
| charwallah | name for small food stall within the 1RNZIR lines, run by local people offering credit to soldiers |
| chopper | any model of helicopter [but usually US model Iroquois UH-1D troop lift & utility helicopter] flown by allied forces Army Aviation or air force units |
| Chicom | chinese communist - describes equipment made in Communist China |
| Chieu Hoy | 'Open Arms', programme that allowed VC to defect, & receive money for surrendered weapons |
| civvies | civilians, as in people who had no idea what we were doing, also clothes when out of uniform |
| clacker | electrical firing device used to detonate the Claymore AP mine, from sound made on use |
| Claymore | US model directional anti-personnel mine with 900 ball-bearings, electrically fired singly or in a bank |
| click | kilometre, as in 'travel 6-clicks south..' |
| combat power | mix of weapons, intelligence, communications & personnel capabilities bought against enemy |
| comms | communications, verbal or electronic, as in 'get comms with..[callsign]' |
| contact | sudden engagement with the enemy, or the cry/radio message used to warn that the enemy is engaged, as in 'Contact Front' or 'Contact Fire Mission 2 Mortars' |
| coord | coordination, bringing together different agencies to achieve a common task: arty support for inf attack at a certain time with FAC available to direct air strikes, or engr support to clear mines |
| coy | company, organisation of soldiers for administrative & tactical reasons, such as a rifle company |
| CP | command post |
| CQMS | Company Quartermaster Sergeant, a senior NCO responsible for stores & resupply |
| CSM | Company Sergeant Major, senior OR in company, OC's 'right hand man' |
| C130 | called 'Hercules', US model tactical troop & cargo aircraft used extensively by USAF & RNZAF |
| C4 | type of plastic explosive, commonly found inside the Claymore AP mine |
| dacrons | Kiwi dress uniform in the tropics, complete with regimental belt, beret & black rank. An Australian lanyard designating which ANZAC battalion the soldier belonged to was also worn |
| 'danger close' | indirect fire deliberately adjusted to within 250 metres or closer of troops because significant numbers of enemy are within that range & posing a real danger of overwhelming the troops |
| DF | defensive fire, usually refers to arty fire called to land close to the allied perimeter, can be fired & recorded in anticipation of a VC attack, a 'silent' DF was not fired but still recorded on a register |
| digger | slang for Australian soldier, although the term might have first started in New Zealand 50 years earlier |
| double-tap | snap shooting technique where two rounds are quickly fired at the centre of a target before the firer changes position |
| DOW | died of wounds some time after being wounded |
| drill | see IA |
| dustoff | urgent removal of battle casualties from a contact, usually by chopper |
| engage | fire at or close with... |
| engr E | engineer, support troops used for construction, demolition or battlefield mine/booby trap clearance |
| FAC | Forward Air Controller, usually airborne, who could call for & direct air strikes |
| FFI | 'free from infections', a routine medical inspection to check for skin & other medical problems |
| field dressing | large cotton pad with strapping carried by every grunt & used for emergency first aid to stop bleeding, usually taped to designated equipment [like the individual rifle butt] for easy location. |
| firebase | semi-permanent defended location in an AO from which a unit supports ops with arty & logistics |
| firetrail | bulldozer clearing of bush to provide better observation of likely VC routes |
| FOO | arty forward observation officer, a captain, usually travelled with Coy HQ to assist the coy commander coord fire support |
| FOO(A) | arty forward observation officer assistant, a NCO or gnr, usually travelled with 3PL as fire support coordinator in place of MFC |
| free fire zone | area free of civilian population, ROE allowed any target to be considered enemy & could be fired at |
| FSCC | Fire Support Coordination Centre, an arty command post to manage fire from all deployed guns |
| FSPB | Fire Support Patrol Base 'Name' [often an important woman in the sunrays life] - see firebase |
| goffer | can of soft drink [coke etc] |
| gollock | issue machete, rarely used except in FSPB as the noise attracted enemy attention [see secateurs] |
| gooks | see VC |
| GPMG | general purpose machine gun, used at section level for fire support, belt fed [see M60] |
| greens | green coloured uniform designed for field wear |
| grunt | US slang for infantry soldier, as in 'the only answer
you get from a foot soldier is a grunt...' Australian slang for infantry was 'crunchie', from the sound made walking on gravel |
| GSW | gun shot wound, as different from shrapnel injury or traumatic amputation |
| guns | see arty |
| happy pills | anti-malarial tablets |
| harbour | bush location where field troops rest & protect themselves |
| H&I | harassment & interdiction, unobserved artillery, mortar or air bombardment on locations [suspected camps, track systems] which might be used by enemy forces, usually fired at night |
| HE | high explosive, the destructive force in artillery shells, mortar bombs, aerial bombs |
| Hercules | see C130 |
| hexie | hexamine [solid kerosene] cooking tablet, of UK origin used mainly in training in Malaysia |
| hoochie | borrowed from US slang, hooch meaning house, tent or other living space |
| HQ | headquarters, at any level describes the commanders staff structure |
| IA | immediate action, the instinctive drill in a given circumstance, e.g. ambush or contact |
| inf | infantry |
| INTREP | intelligence report on enemy locations, movement & intentions |
| J [jay] | jungle [see bush] |
| jungle penetrator | heavy bulb device with fold away seats, lowered from a helicopter by winch to extract people where a landing is not feasible, such as no available LP due to trees |
| KFS | knife fork spoon, used with mess tins. The preferred KFS were plastic to reduce noise in the bush |
| KIA | killed in action during a contact [see WIA] |
| 'Kit Carson' | a VC defector that then served with allied forces as a scout or interpreter [see Chieu Hoi] |
| Kiwi |
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| Km | kilometres, 1000 metres distance on a map or across country |
| LFT | light fire team, UH-1D helicopter armed with forward firing mini-guns & 2.75" Zuni rocket pods, plus twin M60 in each door, RAAF callsign 'bushranger', two or more were called a HFT [heavy fire team] |
| lilo | Australian model air mattress with inner air tubes that seemed always to deflate in the middle of rest |
| LO | liaison officer, an officer from one formation co-located with another formation to assist both formation commanders with coordination and reporting. |
| LOB | Left Out of Battle - personnel routinely rested from ops [see pogue] |
| loc | abbreviation for located or location [to be read in context of paragraph or report] |
| LOCSTAT | indication of location of a force or activity, typically a coded grid reference |
| LOH | light observation helicopter, in 1ATF the Bell 47 Sioux nicknamed 'possum' |
| longdrop | a deep trench over which toilet seats are positioned, used in static positions to control faeces |
| LP | landing point, single helicopter pad or area in bush capable of allowing one chopper to land |
| LZ | landing zone, several LP in size & capable of multiple chopper landings & movements |
| MAINTDEM | routine supply to field troops of essential items like food & water, clothing, batteries [see opdem] |
| MEDEVAC | medical evacuation [nominally a medical emergency rather than a battle injury], see dustoff |
| medic | medical orderly or trained grunt who would provide medical support & 1st aid when required |
| mess | dining hall, also the barbeque area after the coy returned from ops & relaxed by the beer trailer |
| mess tins | metal dishes used to cook & eat meals, or as a container for shaving water, etc |
| MFC | infantry mortar fire controller [a misnomer as once outside mortar range the MFC directed arty fire] |
| MG | machine gun, any model |
| MID | mentioned in dispatches [minor recognition of bravery or outstanding duty] |
| mini-gun | 'Gatling' type machine gun, 6 or more rotating barrels & a very high volume of fire |
| mortar | infantry support weapon which fires bombs in a high trajectory that then plummet onto a target |
| mossie | mosquito |
| MPC | military payment certificates, having a face value of US currencies but only valid for use by service personnel at Allied facilities, an attempt to control the local black market |
| mug | field cup used to heat brews & rats |
| M16 | US designed AP jumping mine [read this article] |
| M16-A1 | US model 5.56mm [.203in] lightweight personal rifle [see SLR] |
| M18-A1 | designation for Claymore AP mine |
| M60 | US model GPMG, heavy but reliable |
| M72 | US model shoulder fired 72mm light shaped charge rocket used to attack bunkers |
| M79 | US model 40mm grenade launcher |
| Nasho | Australian national serviceman, a two-year conscript [NZ troops were all professionals] |
| NCO | Non-commissioned Officer, section commander, platoon sergeant type ranks |
| NDP | night defensive position, a small temporary FSPB for supporting arms like tanks [inf would harbour] |
| NE | north-east, a direction on a map |
| NOK | next of kin - the person registered to receive bad news about a soldier |
| NOTICAS | casualty notification, an abbreviated radio message using a standard format, also 'NOTICAS Fatal' |
| Nui xx | Nui means high ground as in Nui Dat, or Nui May Tau |
| NVA | North Vietnamese Army, usually highly skilled & motivated, a capable & well armed enemy [see VC] |
| NW | north-west, a direction on a map |
| NZ | New Zealand or New Zealander, see Kiwi |
| OC | Officer Commanding, the coy commander, sunray |
| O Gp | orders group, a meeting of personnel to be tasked for future ops |
| OHP | over head protection - hard cover built as a protective roof over a fighting pit or bunker |
| opcon | operational control, a status of command where an element works with a different unit who direct its activities, while remaining part of their parent unit |
| OPDEM | urgent supply to field troops of war fighting materials [ammo & weapons], usually to replenish munitions before continuing the fight [see maintdem] |
| op(s) | operation, usually followed by a name, also see AO |
| OR | other ranks, term used to describe soldiers who are not commissioned officers |
| pad | see LP |
| patrol | an activity, or a selection of soldiers from three to company size on task in the bush |
| pax | radio jargon for passenger, as in 'put 8 pax on the slick' |
| PC | slang for APC, as in 'mount that PC' |
| PE | plastic explosive, such as C4 |
| pepper-pot | advance to contact in an unpredictable manner using small groups of grunts who cover each others movement with observation & aimed fire, in appearance like shaking out pepper from a pot |
| pit | hole dug or scraped in the ground as protection from incoming rounds & explosives |
| pl comd | platoon commander, usually an officer of Lieutenant rank but others could be 'acting' for the officer if he were absent, e.g. platoon sergeant stepping up as acting pl comd |
| pl sgt | platoon sergeant, usually rank of sergeant, responsible for pl admin & deputising for pl comd |
| pop smoke | to throw a coloured smoke grenade on command to assist helicopters identify the correct LP |
| pogue | derisory slang for a permanent LOB |
| Pte | Private, first grade of trained soldier, below NCO.
Equivalent in other corps: Gnr (gunner - artillery), Sig (signaller - Corps of Signals) Spr (sapper - engineers) Tpr (trooper
- armoured corps) Distinction between rank & appointment is whether grade starts with Capital [rank] or no capital [appointment] e.g. Sig Jones acted as gnr... |
| ptl | see patrol, abbreviation is commonly used for small groups temporarily absent from a larger element |
| PUBLINTICAS | message advice with details of a significant event of interest to general media, such as NOTICAS |
| punji | sharpened stick, see booby trap |
| PUO | pyrexia of unknown origin - an undiagnosed body affliction affecting individual performance accompanied by high temperature etc, sometimes in appearance like heat stroke. |
| PW | prisoner of war, combatant captured by the other side |
| psy ops | psychological operations, 'winning hearts and minds', 1ATF Psy Ops unit task |
| PZ | see LZ, but the 'P' distinguishes a site where troops are 'picked up' from |
| Q store | Quartermaster store - location of reserve stores held in the base area |
| qty | abbreviation for quantity, as in 'loc qty of SAA' |
| RAAF | Royal Australian Air Force, the helicopters & caribou transports supporting 1ATF |
| rank | designation of experience & authority - see NCO, Pte, CQMS, CSM, OC |
| RAP | Regimental Aid Post, 1st level medical facility in an infantry bn or similar sized unit |
| RAR | Royal Australian Regiment, Australian infantry structure of nine bn, three of which were during their tour designated ANZAC & had Kiwis attached |
| rats | rations [see this link for more details] |
| recce | short for reconnaissance, US abbreviation was 'recon' |
| REMF | don't ask! [see poque] |
| resup | resupply, see maintdem |
| RF/PF | Regional Force / Popular Force militia, a part of ARVN |
| RIF | 'reconnaissance in force', a patrol searchinig through an area of bush and staying to fight or ambush |
| R in C | rest in country, a 48-hour recreational break at Peter Badcoe Club Vung Tau |
| RNZAF | Royal New Zealand Air Force, flew resupply from Singapore & attached pilots to 9 Sqn RAAF & USAF |
| RTNZ | 'return to New Zealand' from overseas posting |
| ROD | remained on duty after being WIA, injuries did not require immediate evacuation |
| ROE | Rules of Engagement - restrictions imposed on allied soldiers as to where & when they could shoot |
| rounds | usually refers to ammo, as in 'I fired 20 rounds' |
| RPG | Soviet or Chinese model shoulder fired rocket propelled grenade, used as local firepower by VC |
| R&C | rest & convalescence, short period of leave, for NZ'ers usually 5-days off outside SVN once in TOD |
| R&R | rest & recreation sponsored by the US Forces, 5-days off outside SVN once in TOD |
| RV | prearranged rendezvous, an agreed map location where two or more patrols meet |
| SA or SAA | abbreviation for small arms [rifle, pistol, machine gun] or small arms ammo [9mm, 5.56mm, 7.62mm] |
| SAS | Special Air Service, either Aussie or Kiwi, lived on SAS Hill the highest point within Nui Dat |
| SATS | scheduled air transport service - weekly RNZAF B-170 logistics flight from Changi to Nui Dat |
| scout | first & second soldier in a patrol, upon which others relied for their safety & early warning of danger |
| SE | south-east, a direction on a map |
| secateurs | hand held pruning shears used to quietly remove bush during movement [see gollock] |
| sentry | all troops at rest had sentries to ensure their safety & to give early warning of danger, usually two people together for support and with staggered start times so one person was always fresh |
| short | period of time left in TOD, as in 'I'm getting short, only 25 & a wakey' |
| sig | small 's' means appointment as signaller or radio operator [but also a rank, see Pte] |
| SITREP | situation report, usually a coded radio message using a standard format |
| SLR | British model 7.62mm [.308in] semi-automatic self-loading personal rifle [see M16-A1] |
| slick | single helicopter movement, or slang for an individual troop carrying helicopter |
| snoopy | US aircraft tasked to scan jungle with a range of human detecting sensors |
| SOP | Standard Operating Procedure, the agreed way for everyone to do certain actions or reports |
| splinter team | small group of field engr attached to rifle units for mine, booby trap or obstacle clearing tasks |
| sqn | squadron, military subunit of company equivalent except in Air Force |
| stag | rostered sentry duty, as in 'your stag starts at 2AM' [sentry rosters had staggered change times] |
| stand to | period at dusk & dawn when all activity ceases & arcs are observed, the change from day to night routine or vice versa |
| Stokes litter | rigid stretcher with straps to immobilise a casualty before winching aboard a dustoff helicopter |
| sunray | radio term for the boss of a group of soldiers |
| SVN | South Vietnam |
| SW | south-west, a direction on a map |
| sweep | tactical move through an area to check for bodies, wounded, equipment & sign |
| Tail-end Charlie | last person in a patrol, responsible for covering the patrols tracks & observing back over their route |
| Tan Tay Lan | Vietnamese for 'New Zealander' |
| TAOR | tactical area of responsibility, the area around Nui Dat & other firebases, scoured by TAOR patrols |
| TCV | troop carrying vehicle, a International Harvester truck with open tray and seating facing outwards |
| the Dat | Nui Dat, base of 1ATF combat units, as in 'heading back to the Dat' |
| TOD | tour of duty, period of time for a task or posting. SVN TOD were 1 year [typically 364 & a 'wakey'] |
| TPM | teleprinter message, the military telegram system common until the 1990's |
| tracks | slang for APC; as in 'moving in the tracks down the coast...' |
| triangle | easily understood shape of a harbour position, known as 'triangular harbour' but also adapted as a drill for ambushes & halts, in SVN suited Claymore deployment & internal control |
| troopie | slang for an ANZAC soldier |
| Uc Dai Loy | Vietnamese for 'Australian' |
| UH-1D | model of American chopper operated in Phuoc Tuy province by 9 Sqn RAAF, called 'Iroquois' |
| VC | Viet Cong, the guerrilla army of the communist National Liberation Front, local provincial soldiers often not well armed and frequently lacking in logistical support |
| Victor | V Coy RNZIR, with numeral to designate which V Coy, as in V5 coy for 5th V Coy |
| Vungers | slang for Vung Tau, as in 'next trip to Vungers I'm going to...' |
| wakey | number of days left in SVN, as in '187 days & a wakey' [wake up & go home] |
| webbing | see belt order |
| Whisky | also Whiskey, W Coy RNZIR, with numeral to designate which W Coy, as in W3 coy for 3rd W Coy |
| WIA | wounded in action & later restored to something like good health [see GSW] |
| 1ALSG | 1st Australian Logistic Support Group, the 1ATF 'logistic tail' based at Vung Tau |
| 1ATF | 1st Australian Task Force, a brigade sized formation based at Nui Dat |
| 161 | 161 Battery RNZA [Royal New Zealand Artillery] |
| 2IC | second in command, sunray minor |
native New Zealander [NZ'er].
Kiwi is the nickname used both internationally and within New Zealand to describe people from New
Zealand. The name derives from the flightless
bird native to New Zealand, the national bird.