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Glossary

Like most organisations, the Army uses abbreviations.  It also uses names and titles based on many years of tradition.  This list is not exhaustive but may assist in understanding documents and conversations.

Never hesitate to ask someone to explain what an abbreviation or unusual term means; sometimes, you may even catch them out and they will not know!

Please note that the Army is not responsible for the content or reliability of external sites on the World Wide Web (www) and linking to them should not be considered as an endorsement of any kind.   The Army has no control over the availability of the linked pages.  External sites are indicated by www.gif (5912 bytes)

 

A

Bullet Point AA - Army Act 1955

Bullet Point ABF -Army Benevolent Fund www.gif (5912 bytes)

Bullet Point AC - Army Code (publications)

Bullet Point Adjt - Adjutant

Bullet Point AEC - Army Education Centre  

Bullet Point AFF - Army Families Federation 

Bullet Point AFPS - Armed Forces’ Pension Scheme 

Bullet Point AFPRB - Armed Forces’ Pay Review Body 

Bullet Point AGAI - Army General and Administrative Instructions  

Bullet Point AG - Adjutant General  

Bullet Point AGC - Adjutant General's Corps

Bullet Point AGC(ALS) - Adjutant General's Corps (Army Legal Service)

Bullet Point AGC(ETS) - Adjutant General's Corps (Educational and Training Support)

Bullet Point AGC(Pro) - Adjutant General's Corps (Provost)

Bullet Point AGC(RMP) - Adjutant General's Corps (Royal Military Police)

Bullet Point AGC(SPS) - Adjutant General's Corps (Staff and Personnel Support)

Bullet Point ALM - Army Leave Manual 

Bullet Point AP - Additional Pay 

Bullet Point APC - Army Personnel Centre  

Bullet Point AR - Appraisal Report 

Bullet Point ASA - Accommodation Services Accountant  

Bullet Point ASU - Accommodation Services Unit  

Bullet Point AToS - Age-based Terms of Service 

Bullet Point AWOL - Absence Without Leave 

Bullet Point AWIS - Army Welfare Information Service 

Bullet Point AWS - Army Welfare Service 

Bullet Point AWW - Army Welfare Worker 

B

Bullet Point BA(G) - British Army (Germany)

Bullet Point BFBS - British Forces Broadcasting Service www.gif (5912 bytes)

Bullet Point BFPO - British Forces Post Office www.gif (5912 bytes)

Bullet Point BSA - Boarding School Allowance

C 

Bullet Point CAB - Careers Advice Board

Bullet Point CDT - Compulsory Drugs Testing

Bullet Point CEG - Career Employment Group

Bullet Point CHBS - Central Hotel Booking Service

Bullet Point CILOCT - Contribution in Lieu of Council Tax

Bullet Point CO - Commanding Officer

Bullet Point Cpl - Corporal (rank)

Bullet Point CR - Confidential Report

Bullet Point CSE - Combined Services Entertainment

Bullet Point CSF - Colour Service Function

Bullet Point CSL - Confidential Support Line

Bullet Point CTP - Career Transition Partnership

Bullet Point CVWW - Council of Voluntary Welfare Workers

D

Bullet Point DCI - Defence Council Instruction

Bullet Point DHE - Defence Housing Executive

Bullet Point DILFOR - Dangerously Ill Forwarding of Relatives - Travel

Bullet Point Div - Division

Bullet Point DM(A) - Director of Manning (Army)

Bullet Point DOMCOL - Domiciled Collective Leave

Bullet Point DPA - Data Protection Act 1998

Bullet Point DPRC - Defence Passenger Reservation Centre

Bullet Point DPS(A) - Director of Personal Services (Army)

E

Bullet Point EFP - Education for Promotion

Bullet Point ELC - Enhanced Learning Credits

Bullet Point EOIT - Equal Opportunities Inquiry Team

F

Bullet Point FIA - Food Incidentals Allowance

Bullet Point FMS -

  1. Financial Management Systems (formerly Project CAPITAL)
  2. Furniture Movement Service

Bullet Point FRI - Financial Retention Incentive

Bullet Point FTRS - Full Time Reserve Service

G

Bullet Point G1 - Branch in Army HQs dealing with all Personnel Matters

Bullet Point GRT - Graduated Resettlement Time

Bullet Point GYH - Get You Home ((D) Detached Duty, (P) Posting, (SA) Stability Allowance)

H

Bullet Point H&S - Health and Safety

Bullet Point HIVE - HIVE - Information Centres provide a tri-Service information network available to all members of the Service community.

Bullet Point HSWA - Health and Safety at Work Act 1974

I 

Bullet Point IERO - Individual Education and Resettlement Officer

Bullet Point IIP - Investors in People

Bullet Point IPP - Immediate Pension Point

Bullet Point IRC - Intermediate Regular Commission

Bullet Point Inf - Infantry

Bullet Point IR - Tri-Service Independent Review of Terms and Conditions of Service

Bullet Point IRP - Individual Resettlement Preparation

Bullet Point IRC - Intermediate Regular Commission

Bullet Point IRTC - Individual Resettlement Training Costs

Bullet Point IS - Insert Slip (in Confidential Report)

Bullet Point IT - Industrial Tribunal

J

Bullet Point JOTES - Junior Officers’ Training and Education Scheme

Bullet Point JSHAO - Joint Services’ Housing Advice Office

Bullet Point JSJET - Joint Services’ Job Evaluation Team

Bullet Point JSTC - Joint Service Publication

Bullet Point Judo Association - Joint Service Travel Centre

K

L

Bullet Point LCpl - Lance Corporal (rank)

Bullet Point LE - Late Entry (Commission)

Bullet Point LOA - Local Overseas Allowance

Bullet Point LSAP - Long Service Advance of Pay

Bullet Point LSGCM - Long Service and Good Conduct Medal

Bullet Point LSSA - Long Separated Service Allowance

Bullet Point LTOS - Length of Service Terms of Service

M

 

N

Bullet Point NAAFI - Navy, Army and Air Force Institute www.gif (1080 bytes)

Bullet Point NATO - North Atlantic Treaty Organisation

Bullet Point NCO - Non-Commissioned Officer

Bullet Point NHE - National Health Service

Bullet Point NHS - Nugatory Holiday Expenditure

Bullet Point NIRS - Northern Ireland Resident Supplement

Bullet Point NOK - Next of Kin

Bullet Point NRA - Normal Retirement Age

Bullet Point NRPS - Non Regular Permanent Staff

Bullet Point NVQ - National Vocational Qualification

O

Bullet Point OA - Officers’ Association www.gif (5912 bytes)

Bullet Point OCD - Officers' Career Development

Bullet Point OJAR - Officers’ Joint Appraisal Report

Bullet Point OMA - Occupational Maternity Absence

Bullet Point OML - Ordinary Maternity Leave

P

Bullet Point PD - Personal Development

Bullet Point PDR - Personal Development Record

Bullet Point PLA - Pre-School Learning Alliance

Bullet Point Pte - Private (rank)

Bullet Point PVR - Premature Voluntary Release

Q

Bullet Point QARANC - Queen Alexandra's Royal Army Nursing Corps

Bullet Point QM - Quartermaster

Bullet Point QRs - Queen’s Regulations 1975

R

Bullet Point RA - Royal Artillery

Bullet Point RAAC - Regulations for Army Allowances & Charges

Bullet Point RAC - Royal Armoured Corps

Bullet Point RADC - Royal Army Dental Corps

Bullet Point RAMC - Royal Army Medical Corps

Bullet Point RAO - Regimental Administrative Office or Officer

Bullet Point RARO - Regular Army Reserve of Officers

Bullet Point RCB - Regular Commissions Board

Bullet Point RCMO - Regimental Career Management Officer

Bullet Point REB - Re-Enlistment/Engagement Bounty/Bonus

Bullet Point Reg C - Regular Commission

Bullet Point REME - Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers

Bullet Point RFA 96 - The Reserve Forces Act 1996

Bullet Point RFEA - Regular Forces’ Employment Association www.gif (5912 bytes)

Bullet Point RILOR - Recompense in Lieu of Relocation

Bullet Point RLC - Royal Logistic Corps

Bullet Point RMAS - Royal Military Academy Sandhurst

Bullet Point ROD - Run Out Date

Bullet Point RPOD - Residence to Place of Duty

Bullet Point RRRA(L) - Recruiting and Retention Allowance (London)

Bullet Point Royal Signals - Royal Signals

Bullet Point RSM - Regimental Sergeant Major

Bullet Point RTMC - Reserve Training and Mobilisation Centre

S

Bullet Point SAR - Subject Access Request

Bullet Point SCE -  Service Children’s Education

Bullet Point SCE(UK) - Service Children’s Education (UK) 

Bullet Point SCS - Service Contract System (for Removals)

Bullet Point SEN -  

  1. Services’ Employment Network
  2. Special Educational Needs

Bullet Point SENA - Special Educational Needs Allowance

Bullet Point SFA - Service Families’ Accommodation

Bullet Point Sgt - Sergeant (rank)

Bullet Point SHEF - Safety, Health, Environment and Fire 

Bullet Point SLA - Single Living Accommodation

Bullet Point SLC - Standard Learning Credits

Bullet Point SNCO -  Senior Non-Commissioned Officer

Bullet Point SRC - Special Regular Commission - superseded by Intermediate Regular Commission (IRC)

Bullet Point SSAFA - Soldiers’, Sailors’, and Airmen’s Families’ Association www.gif (5912 bytes)

Bullet Point SSAFA-FH - Soldiers’, Sailors’, and Airmen’s Families’ Association - Forces’ Help www.gif (5912 bytes)

Bullet Point SSC - Short Service Commission

Bullet Point SSgt - Substitute Service Family Accommodation

Bullet Point SSFA> - Substitute Service Family Accommodation

Bullet Point SSO - Station Staff Officer

Bullet Point SSSA> - Substitute Single Service Accommodation

Bullet Point SSVC - Services Sound and Vision Corporation www.gif (5912 bytes)

Bullet Point SVQ -  Scottish Vocational Qualifications

T

Bullet Point TA - Territorial Army

Bullet Point TACC - Territorial Army Commissioning Course

Bullet Point TACOS - Terms and Conditions of Service

Bullet Point TA Regs - Territorial Army Regulations 1978

Bullet Point Toc H - Talbot House

Bullet Point Trg RoS - Training Return of Service

U

Bullet Point UFO - Unit Families Officer

Bullet Point UN - United Nations

V

Bullet Point VRSM -Volunteer Reserves Service Medal

Bullet Point VSI -Very Seriously Ill

W 

Bullet Point WHARFING - Warehousing and refurnishing

Bullet Point WO - Warrant Officer (rank)

Bullet Point WRVS - Women’s Royal Voluntary Service www.gif (5912 bytes)

X

 

Y

 

Z