Glossary of Military Terms & Slang from the Vietnam War K-P

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Go to: Numbers, A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T, U, V, W, X, Y, Z

k

kilometer

KBA

killed by artillery

K-bar

combat knife

KCS

Kit Carson scout

KIA

killed in action

killing zone

the area within an ambush where everyone is either killed or wounded

kill zone

the radius of a circle around an explosive device within which it is predicted that 95 percent of all occupants will be killed should the device explode

KILO

military phonetic for the letter 'K'

Kit Carson scout

former Viet Cong who act as guides for U.S. military units

khong xau

Vietnamese slang for "don't worry about it," literally, "not bad"

klick

kilometer

Kool-Aid

killed in action

KP

kitchen police; mess hall duty

KPNFL

Khmer People's National Liberation Front. The major non-Communist Cambodian political and resistance organization fighting against the Vietnamese occupation force. Formed in 1979 by former prime minister Son Sann, the KPNFL is responsible for caring for and protecting nearly two-thirds of the 250,000 Cambodian refugees on the Thailand border from attacks by both the Khmer Rouge and the Vietnamese. Also called the Sereika by Cambodians, the KPNLF joined the resistance coalition government (CGOK) in 1982 and shared Cambodia's seat at the United Nations.

L

a type of ambush set-up, shaped like the letter 'L'

lager

a night defensive perimeter

Lao Dong

the Vietnamese Workers Party

LAAW

a shoulder-fired, 66-millimeter rocket, similar in effect to a 3.5-inch rocket, except that the launcher is made of Fiberglass, and is disposable after one shot

lay chilly

to freeze; to stop all motion

LBJ

Long Binh Stockade, a military stockade on Long Binh post

LCM

a mechanized landing craft used in harbors and inland waterways

leg

slightly contemptuous term used by airborne-qualified troops when they are talking about regular infantry

lego

infantry unit

lien doi

company group. A Vietnamese military unit consisting of three militia infantry companies

lifer

career military man. The term is often used in a derogatory manner.

LIMA

military phonetic for the letter 'L'

lima-lima

land line. Refers to telephone communications between two points on the ground.

litters

stretchers to carry dead and wounded

little people

the enemy

lit-up

fired upon; shot and killed or wounded

LLDB

Luc Luong Dac Biet. The South Vietnamese Special Forces.

LMG

light machine gun. The Soviet made RPD, a bi-pod mounted, belt fed weapon similar to the American M-60 machine gun. The RPD fires the same cartridge as the AK-47 and the SKS carbine.

loach

a LOH

Log Bird

logistical (resupply) helicopter

LP

listening post. A two- or three-man position set up at night outside the perimeter away from the main body of troopers, which acted as an early warning system against attack. Also, an amphibious landing platform used by infantry for storming beaches from the sea.

LRRP

Long Range Reconnaissance Patrol. An elite team usually composed of five to seven men who go deep into the jungle to observe enemy activity without initiating contact.

LSA

small arms lubricant

LST

troop landing ship

LT

lieutenant

lurps

members of Long Range Reconnaissance Patrols

LZ

landing zone. Usually a small clearing secured temporarily for the landing of resupply helicopters. Some become more permanent and eventually become base camps.

M-1

World War II vintage American rifle

M-14

Wood stock rifle used in early portion of Vietnam conflict

M-16

the standard U.S. military rifle used in Vietnam from 1966 on. Successor to the M-14.

M-60

the standard lightweight machine gun used by U.S. forces in Vietnam

M-79

a U.S. military hand-held grenade launcher

MA

mechanical ambush. Euphemism for an American set booby trap.

MACV

Military Assistance Command / Vietnam. The main American military command unit that had responsibility for and authority over all U.S. military activities in Vietnam. Based at Tan Son Nhut.

mad minute

a weapons free-fire practice and test session

Main Force Battalion

the primary Viet Cong fighting force within each province of South Vietnam. These units were often large enough and well enough equipped to participate in direct attacks on large Vietnamese and American installations and units.

mama san

pidgin used by American servicemen for any older Vietnamese woman

MARS

Military Affiliate Radio Station. Used by soldiers to call home via Signal Corps and ham radio equipment.

Mas-Cal

mass casualty

MASH

mobile Army surgical unit

MAT

mobile advisory team. Five-man teams of American advisors who were assigned to live and work in the Vietnamese villages.

Mat Tran

the Vietnamese Liberation Front.

marker round

the first round fired by mortars or artillery. Used to adjust the following rounds onto the target.

mechanized platoon

a platoon operating with tanks and/or armored personnel carriers

Med Cap

Medical Civil Action Program in which U.S. medical personnel would go into the villages to minister to the local populace.

medivac

medical evacuation from the field by helicopter

mermite

large insulated foot containers

MFW

multiple frag wounds

MG

machine gun

MIA

missing in action

mighty mite

commercial air-blower used for injecting gas into tunnels

MIKE

military phonetic for the letter 'M'

mike-mike

shorthand for millimeter

million-dollar wound

a non-crippling wound serious enough to warrant return to the U.S.

Minigun

electronically controlled, extremely rapidly firing machine gun. Most often mounted on aircraft to be used against targets on the ground.

Mr. Charles

the Viet Cong; the enemy

MI team

military intelligence team

Monday pills

anti-malarial pills taken once a week

the Monster

a PRC-77

Montagnard

a Vietnamese term for several tribes of mountain people inhabiting the hills and mountains of central and northern Vietnam.

moose

a Vietnamese mistress

mortar

a muzzle-loading cannon with a short tube in relation to its caliber that throws projectiles with low muzzle velocity at high angles.

MOS

military occupational specialty

most ricky-tick

immediately, if not sooner

MP

military police

MPC

military payment currency. The scrip U.S. soldiers were paid in.

MR IV

Viet Cong military region surrounding and including Saigon

mule

small, motorized platform originally designed to carry a 106-millimeter recoilless rifle, but most often used for transporting supplies and personnel.

Nam

Vietnam

napalm

a jellied petroleum substance which burns fiercely, and is used as a weapon against personnel.

nape

napalm

NCO

noncommissioned officer. Usually a squad leader or platoon sergeant.

NDP

night defensive position

net

radio frequency setting, from "network."

New Socialist Man

Orwellian concept adopted by the Communists. The ideal collectivized citizen.

Next

the man who said he was the next to rotated home.

nickel

the number five

NLF

National Liberation Front

no sweat

easy, simple

NPD

night perimeter defense

number one

the best

number ten

the worst

number ten thousand

a description of how bad things can be

Nung

tribespeople of Chinese origin, from the highlands of North Vietnam. Some who moved South worked with the U.S. Special Forces.

nuoc-mam

fermented fish sauce used by the Vietnamese as a condiment

NVA

North Vietnamese Army

OCS

officer candidate school

OD

olive drab, a camouflage color

opcon

operational control

open sheaf

a term used in calling artillery, whereby the artillery rounds were spread along an axis rather than concentrated on a single point (as when it was desired to cover a treeline).

OR:

operating room

OSCAR

military phonetic for the letter 'O'

OSS

Office of Strategic Services

over the fence

crossing into Cambodia or Laos

P

slang for the Vietnamese piaster. One piaster was worth one cent or less.

P-38

a tiny collapsible can opener, also known as a "john wayne"

PAPA

military phonetic for the letter 'P'

papa san

pidgin used by U.S. servicemen for any older Vietnamese man

Papa Sierra

slang for platoon sergeant

Pathet Lao

the Laotian Communists who, from their inception have been under the control of the Vietnamese Communist Party.

PBR

river patrol boat. Navy designation for the fast, heavily armed boats used for safeguarding the major canals and rivers and their tributaries in South Vietnam.

peanuts

wounded in action

perimeter

outer limits of a military position. The area beyond the perimeter belongs to the enemy.

PF

Popular Forces. South Vietnamese National Guard-type local military units

PFC

private first class

Phoenix

intelligence-based campaign to eliminate the Viet Cong infrastructure

PIO

public information officer, or a person who works for that office

piss-tube

a vertical tube buried two-thirds in the ground for urinating into

platoon

a subdivision of a company-sized military unit, normally consisting of two or more squads or sections

pogue

derogatory term for military personnel employed in rear echelon support capacities, usually used by Marines

point

the forward man or element on a combat patrol

poncho liner

nylon insert to the military rain poncho, used as a blanket

pop smoke

to ignite a smoke grenade to signal an aircraft

pos

slang for position, usually meaning a friendly location

post-traumatic stress disorder

development of characteristic symptoms after the experiencing of a psychologically traumatic event or events outside the range of human experience usually considered to be normal. The characteristic symptoms involve reexperiencing the traumatic event, numbing of responsiveness to, or involvement with, the external world, exaggerated startle response, difficulty in concentrating, memory impairment, guilt feelings, and sleep difficulties.

POW

prisoner of war

PRC-25

Portable Radio Communications, Model 25. A back-packed FM receiver-transmitter used for short-distance communications. The range of the radio was 5-10 kilometers, depending on the weather, unless attached to a special, nonportable antenna which could extend the range to 20-30 kilometers.

PRC-77

a radio similar to the PRC-25, but with a cryptographic scrambling / descrambling unit attached. Very heavy. Transmission frequencies on the PRC-77 were called the secure net.

prick 25

PRC-25 radio

profile

a prohibition from certain types of military duty due to injury or disability

Proo

PRU

province chief

governor of a state-sized administrative te