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Page Updated
November 17, 2006

Contact: Bill Petrie
CMSgt, USAF, Ret.

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Terms used by Air Force Gunship crews and others during Vietnam operations.

If you feel we have missed any terms used during our gunship tours please bring them to our attention.

AAA - Anti-Aircraft Artillery

ACG - Air Commando Group

ACS - Air Commando Squadron

ACW - Air Commando Wing

AD - Air Division

AFSOC - Air Force Special Operations Command

AFSOF - Air Force Special Operations Force

AGL - Above Ground Level

ANG - Air National Guard

ARVN - Army of the Republic of Vietnam

BDA - Bomb Damage Assessment

Black Crow - Sensor for detecting emissions from truck engines

Black Spot - Fairchild AC/NC-123 gunship project

Blind Bat - Lockheed C-130 Hercules flareship

Cal - calibre

Candlestick - Fairchild C-123B/K Provider flareship

CBU - Cluster Bomb Unit

CCTS - Combat Crew Training Squadron

CCTW - Combat Crew Training Wing

CIA - Central Intelligence Agency

CIDG - Civilian Irregular Defense Force

COSVN - Central Office for South Vietnam

DFC - Distinguished Flying Cross

DMZ - Demilitarized Zone

FAC - Forward Air Controller

FLIR - Forward-Looking Infra-red

FS - Fighter Squadron

Hooch - Hut/dwelling

H and I - Harrassment and Interdiction artillery fire

IFR - Instrument Flight Rules

IR - Infra-red.

Klick - Short for Kilometer

Kt - Knots

LLLTV - Low Light Level Television

LS - Liaison Squadron

LZ - Landing Zone

MAAG - Military Assistance Advisory Group

MAC - Military Airlift Command

MACTHAI - Military Assistance Command Thailand

MACV - Military Assistance Command Vietnam

NKP - Nakhon Phanom Royal Thai Air Force Base

NVA - North Vietnamese Army

POW - Prisoner of war

Raven - Callsign of USAF FACs assigned to General Vang Pao

RPM - Revolutions per minute

RTAFB - Royal Thai Air Force Base

SAM - Surface to air missile

SEA - South-East Asia

Shadow - Fairchild AC-119G Flying Boxcar gunship

Slicks - Troop-carrying Hueys

SOF - Special Operations Forces

SOG - Studies and Observation Group

SOTS - Special Operations Training Squadron

SOS - Special Operations Squadron

SOW - Special Operations Wing

Spectre - Lockheed AC-130A/E/H Hercules gunship

Spooky - Douglas AC-47 gunship

Stinger - Fairchild AC-119K Flying Boxcar gunship

TAC - Tactical Air Command

TACAIR - Tactical Air Support

TAOR - Tactical Area of Operational Responsibility

TASS - Tactical Air Support Squadron

TIC - Troops in contact

USARV - United States Army Vietnam

USMACV - United States Military Assistance Command,Vietnam

USSOCOM - United States Special Operations Command

VC - Viet Cong.

VNAF - Vietnamese Air Force

VFR - Visual Flight Rules

Waterpump - Air Commando training detachment in Thailand