U.S. Army Military Acronyms Demystified

Have you ever had a conversation with a soldier who repeatedly dropped jargon, terms, and acronyms you were unfamiliar with? Aternatively, have you ever heard a member of the Armed Forces speaking on the news and been unable to decipher some parts of their speech? Although military personnel are trained to avoid using jargon or acronyms when speaking about the military to the press or media, it can at times be difficult to relate the world they have been indoctrinated to into plain language. Below is a list of some terms you might encounter when speaking to a member of the military.

FOB: Forward Operating Base; a base of operations for deployed soldiers with temporary fabricated facilities. Some are quite elaborate and are their own virtual cities, while some are simple military hubs of operations.

IED: Improvised Explosive Device; an explosive device manufactured out of available materials such as trash, light bulbs, soda cans, artillery shells, and even dead animals. These devices are what terrorists used to kill a great deal of American soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq.

VB-IED: Vehicle-Borne Improvised Explosive Device; a device of similar function mounted in a car to achieve damage to convoys or security checkpoints.

BCT: Basic Combat Training; where an enlisted soldier goes to get training in basic military skills.

AIT: Advanced Individual Training; where an enlisted soldier goes to get training in MOS-specific skills.

MOS: Mission Occupational Specialty; the soldier's career path.

IET: Initial Entry Training; the training that an enlisted soldier or officer must complete in order to receive their MOS qualification.

CO: Commanding Officer.

XO: Executive Officer; the commander of the staff of a unit, and the CO's right hand man or woman.

NCO: Non-Commissioned Officer; an enlisted soldier who has attended schools to progress up the ranks to E-5 (occasionally E-4 Corporal) and above.

BN: Battalion, the unit of size right above company.

BDE: Brigade; the unit of size right above battalion.

MRE: Meal, Ready to Eat; a military eating ration that replaced the hated K-Ration with a plethora of unique menu choices; sometimes referred to as "Meals Rejected by Ethiopians."

OIF: Operation Iraqi Freedom; the anti-terrorist campaign conducted by the United States and allies in Iraq from 2001-2010.

OEF: Operation Enduring Freedom; the parent exercise of OIF which was still going on as of August 2010.

HMMWV: High Mobility Multi-Wheeled Vehicle; also known as a Humvee.

PMCS: Preventative Maintenance Checks and Services; the basic tasks a soldier must complete to ensure reliable operation before a vehicle can be utilized.

PCS: Permanent Change of Station; when a soldier is moved to a new post and unit.

TDY: Temporary Duty Yonder/Assignment; a temporary military reassignment for a certain training or school.