List of U.S. Navy acronyms - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The U.S. Navy, like any bureaucratic organization, produces its own acronyms, which often come to have meaning beyond their bare expansions. Servicemembers sometimes refer to this as NAVSpeak. Like other organizational slang, its use often creates or reinforces a sense of esprit and closeness within the organization.

Official acronyms

For a comprehensive list of unit organizations in the US Navy, see List of units of the United States Navy.

3M - Maintenance and Material Management (3M System)
3MC - Maintenance Material Management Coordinator

A

AAW - Anti-Air warfare
AFFF - Aqueous film forming foam
AIMD - Aircraft Intermediate Maintenance Department (or Detachment)
AMMRL - Aviation Maintenance Material Readiness List
AMO - Assistant Maintenance Officer
AOW - Auxilliaryman of the Watch
AUTEC - Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center
ASAU - Air Search and Attack Unit
ASUW - Anti-surface warfare
Anti-Surface Warfare
Anti-surface warfare is a type of naval warfare directed against surface combatants. More generally, it is any weapons, sensors, or operations intended to attack or limit the effectiveness of an adversary's surface ships....
ASW - Anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare
Anti-submarine warfare is a branch of naval warfare that uses surface warships, aircraft, or other submarines to find, track and deter, damage or destroy enemy submarines....
ASWO - Anti-Submarine Warfare Officers
ASW - Auxiliary SeaWater system
AUXO - Auxiliaries Officer
AWOL - Absent without official leave
Desertion
In military terminology, desertion is the abandonment of a "duty" or post without permission and is done with the intention of not returning...

B

BB - Battleship
Battleship
A battleship is a large armored warship with a main battery consisting of heavy caliber guns. Battleships were larger, better armed and armored than cruisers and destroyers. As the largest armed ships in a fleet, battleships were used to attain command of the sea and represented the apex of a...
BCD - Bad Conduct Discharge (also colloquially known as "Big Chicken Dinner")
BMOW - Boatswain's Mate of the Watch
BUMED - Bureau of Medicine and Surgery
BUPERS - Bureau of Naval Personnel
BCG's - Birth Control Glasses
BOHICA - Bend Over Here It Comes Again
BZ - Bravo Zulu (meaning Well Done)

C

CA - Heavy Cruiser (outdated)
CAG - Guided Missile Heavy Cruiser (outdated) or Commander Air Group
CDB - Career Development Boards
CF - Charlie Foxtrot Polite form of "Cluster Fuck"
CG: Guided Missile Cruiser
CGN: Guided Missile Cruiser, Nuclear Powered.
CMS-ID - Career Management System-Interactive Detailing
CNO - Chief of Naval Operations
Chief of Naval Operations
The Chief of Naval Operations is a statutory office held by a four-star admiral in the United States Navy, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Navy. The office is a military adviser and deputy to the Secretary of the Navy...
CO - Commanding Officer
Commanding officer
The commanding officer is the officer in command of a military unit. Typically, the commanding officer has ultimate authority over the unit, and is usually given wide latitude to run the unit as he sees fit, within the bounds of military law...
COB - Chief Of the Boat (traditionally found only on submarines). Can also be used for "close of business."
COD - Carrier Onboard Delivery
COMDESGRU - COMmander, DEStroyer GRoUp
COMLANTFLT - COMmander, u.s. atLANTic FLeeT
U.S. Atlantic Fleet
The United States Fleet Forces Command is an Atlantic Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources that are under the operational control of the United States Northern Command...

(see CINCLANTFLT)
COMEX - Commence Exercise
COMMO - COMMunications Officer
COMNAVAIRFOR - COMmander, NAVal AIR FORces
COMNAVAIRLANT - COMmander, NAVal AIR forces, atLANTic
COMNAVAIRPAC - COMmander, NAVal AIR forces, PACific
COMNAVSEASYSCOM - COMmander, NAValy SEA SYStems COMmand
COMNAVSECGRU - COMmander, NAVal SECurity GRoUp
COMPACFLT - COMmander, PACific FLeeT
United States Pacific Fleet
The United States Pacific Fleet is a Pacific Ocean theater-level component command of the United States Navy that provides naval resources under the operational control of the United States Pacific Command. Its home port is at Pearl Harbor Naval Base, Hawaii. It is commanded by Admiral Patrick M...

(formerly CINCPACFLT)
COMPTUEX - COMPosite Training Unit EXercise
COMSEC - COMmunications SECurity
Communications security
Communications security is the discipline of preventing unauthorized interceptors from accessing telecommunications in an intelligible form, while still delivering content to the intended recipients. In the United States Department of Defense culture, it is often referred to by the abbreviation...
COMSUBFOR - COMander, SUBmarine FORce
COMSUBLANT - COMmander, SUBmarine force AtLANTtic
Carrier (Lighter-than-air) (No longer in use)
CMC - Command Master Chief
CMDCM - Command Master Chief
CSC - Command Senior Chief
CSC - Combat Systems Coordinator
CSC - Culinary Specialist Chief (E-7)
CMDCS - Command Senior Chief
CPO - Chief Petty Officer
CSEC - Computerized Self Evaluation Checklist
CVN - Nuclear-powered Aircraft Carrier (Carrier Vessel, Nuclear), i.e. CVN-72 USS Abraham Lincoln
CVW - Carrier Air Wing
CWO - Chief Warrant Officer

D

DD - Destroyer
DDG - Guided Missile Destroyer
DDR - Radar Picket Destroyer
DE - Destroyer Escort
DL - Destroyer Leader
DLGN - Nuclear powered Guided Missile Destroyer Leader
DESDIV - DESstroyer DIVision
DEVGRU - Naval Special Warfare DEVelopment GRoUp
United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group
The United States Naval Special Warfare Development Group , commonly known as DEVGRU and informally by its former name SEAL Team Six , is one of the United States' four secretive counter-terrorism and Special Mission Units .The vast majority of information about DEVGRU is highly classified, and...

, formerly (and informally still) SEAL Team SIX
DAPA - Drug and Alcohol Programs Advisor
DCA - Damage Control Assistant
DCO - Direct Commission Officer
Direct commission officer
A direct commission officer is a uniformed officer who has received a commission without the typical prerequisites for achieving a commission, such as a four year service academy, a four year or two year college ROTC program, or one of the officer candidate school or officer training school...
DCAG - Deputy Air Wing Commander (see CAG)
DCC - Damage Control Central
DESRON - DEStroyer squadRON
Destroyer squadron
A destroyer squadron is a naval squadron or flotilla usually consisting of destroyers rather than other types of vessel. In some navies other vessels, such as frigates, may be included. In English the word "squadron" tends to be used for larger and "flotilla" for smaller vessels, both may be used...
DFM - Diesel Fuel Marine (F-76), standard Navy bunker fuel
DIRNSA - DIRector of the National Security Agency
Director of the National Security Agency
The Director of the National Security Agency is the highest-ranking official in the National Security Agency, which is a Defense Agency within the U.S. Department of Defense. The Director of the NSA also concurrently serves as Chief of the Central Security Service and as Commander of U.S. Cyber...
DM - Destroyer Minelayer
DOD - Department Of Defense
United States Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
DON - Department Of the Navy
United States Department of the Navy
The Department of the Navy of the United States of America was established by an Act of Congress on 30 April 1798, to provide a government organizational structure to the United States Navy and, from 1834 onwards, for the United States Marine Corps, and when directed by the President, of the...

E

EAOS - End of Active Obligated Service
ECRC - Expeditionary Combat Readiness Center
EDMC - Engineering Department Master Chief (Submarines)
EEBD - Emergency Escape Breathing Device
EIDWS - Enlisted Information Dominance Warfare Specialist
EMI - Extra Military Instruction
EOOW - Engineering Officer Of the Watch
ERS - Engineroom Supervisor
ESWS - Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist
EWS - Engineering Watch Supervisor

F

FAC - Forward Air Controller
Forward air control
Forward air control is the provision of guidance to Close Air Support aircraft intended to ensure that their attack hits the intended target and does not injure friendly troops. This task is carried out by a forward air controller . For NATO forces the qualifications and experience required to be...
FAC/A - Forward Air Controller/Airborne
FCF - Functional CheckFlight
FDO - Flight Deck Officer
F/MC - Fleet (or Force) Master Chief
FMF - Fleet Marine Force
FMSS - Field Medical Service School
FOD - Foreign Object Damage
Foreign object damage
Foreign Object Debris is a substance, debris or article alien to a vehicle or system which would potentially cause damage.Foreign Object Damage is any damage attributed to a foreign object that can be expressed in physical or economic terms that may or may not degrade the product's required...

(Debris and Detection also used in some cases)
FRC - Fleet Readiness Center
FRS - Fleet Replacement Squadron
Fleet Replacement Squadron
A Fleet Replacement Squadron , is a unit of the United States Navy and Marine Corps that trains Naval Aviators and Naval Flight Officers on the specific front-line aircraft they have been assigned to fly...

(Formerly RAG)
FSO - Food Service Officer
FTN - Forget the Navy (Polite Form)
FTN - Full-time Navy (Humorous Form)

G

GQ - General Quarters
General quarters
General Quarters or Battle Stations is an announcement made aboard a naval warship to signal the crew to prepare for battle or imminent damage....

(Call to battle stations)
GCCS-M - Global Command Communications System-Maritime
GSA - Global War on Terrorism Support Assignments

H

HELO - Helicopter
HS - Helicopter Squadron (HS-4 Black Knights)
HM - Hospital Corpsman
HMFIC - Head M F In Charge (See SOPA Below)

I

IAMM - Individual Augmentation Manpower Management
IAW - "in accordance with"
ICO - "in case of" "in care of"
IMF - Intermediate Maintenance Facility
IMRL - Individual Material Readiness List
IRT - "in reference to..."

J

JAG - Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Navy
Judge Advocate General's Corps, U.S. Navy
The Judge Advocate General's Corps also known as the "JAG Corps" or "JAG" is the legal arm of the United States Navy. Today, the corps consists of a worldwide organization of more than 730 Judge Advocates, 30 limited duty officers , 500 enlisted members and nearly 275 civilian personnel, serving...
JBD - Jet Blast Deflector
Jet blast deflector
A jet blast deflector or blast fence is a safety device that redirects the high energy exhaust from a jet engine to prevent damage and injury. The structure must be strong enough to withstand heat and high speed air streams as well as dust and debris carried by the turbulent air...

(carriers)
JTF - Joint Task Force
Joint Task Force
Joint Task Force is a PC real-time tactics game where players command military forces in combat situations based on modern day conflicts.The game includes officially licensed vehicles and weapons systems from major defense contractors including Boeing, Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, Northrop...
JTFEX - Joint Task Force Exercise

L

LANTCOM - Atlantic Command
LCPO - Leading Chief Petty Officer
LDO - Limited Duty Officer
Limited Duty Officer
A Limited Duty Officer is an officer in the United States Navy or United States Marine Corps who was selected for commissioning based on his/her skill and expertise, and is not required to have a bachelor's degree. They are employed in situations where it is desirable to have an officer with...
LES - Leave and Earnings Statement
Leave and Earnings Statement
A Leave and Earnings Statement, generally referred to as an LES, is a document given on a monthly basis to members of the United States military which documents their pay and leave status on a monthly basis....
LPO - Leading Petty Officer
Petty Officer First Class
Good conductvariation,12 years or moreof good conductPetty officerfirst classinsigniaU.S. Navy &U.S. Coast GuardPetty officer, first class is the sixth enlisted rank in the U.S. Navy and U.S...
LPOD - Last Plane On Deck
LSO - Landing Signal Officer
Landing signal officer
Landing Signal Officers are naval aviators specially trained to facilitate the "safe and expeditious recovery" of naval aircraft aboard aircraft carriers. Originally LSOs were responsible for bringing aircraft aboard ship using hand signals...

M

MCPO - Master Chief Petty Officer
Master Chief Petty Officer
- Master Chief Petty Officer :U.S. Coast GuardMaster ChiefPetty OfficerCap & Collar deviceU.S. Coast GuardMaster ChiefPetty OfficerinsigniaGood conductRating badgeMaster ChiefPetty OfficerCap & Collar Insignia...
MMCPO - Maintenance Master Chief Petty Officer
MCO - Material Control Officer
MMCO - Maintenance/Material Control Officer
MCPON - Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy
The Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy is a unique non-commissioned rank in the United States Navy, which has a paygrade of E-9. The holder of this rank and post is the most senior enlisted member of the U.S...
MIDRATS - MIDnight RATions
MPA - Main Propulsion Assistant
MPA - Military Patrol Craft (P-3 Orion, etc.)
MO - Maintenance Officer
MM - Machinist's Mate
Machinist's Mate
Machinist's Mate is a rating in the United States Navy's engineering community.- Description :According to the Bureau of Naval Personnel , the job of an MM is to "operate, maintain, and repair ship propulsion machinery, auxiliary equipment, and outside machinery, such as: steering engine,...
MSW - Main Seawater System
MSG - message

N

NALCOMIS - Naval Aviation Logistics Command Operating Maintenance Information System
NAS - Naval Air Station
NAVAIR - Naval Air Systems Command
Naval Air Systems Command
The Naval Air Systems Command provides material support for aircraft and airborne weapon systems for the United States Navy. NAVAIR was established in 1966 as the successor to the Navy's Bureau of Naval Weapons . Current Commander, Naval Air Systems Command, is Vice Adm. David Architzel since May...
NAWCAD - Naval Air Warfare Center - Aircraft Division
NAVCOMP - Comptroller of the Navy
NAVEDTRA - Chief of Navy Education and Training
NAVFAC - Naval Facilities Engineering Command
NAVFLIGHTDEMRON - Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron
Blue Angels
The United States Navy's Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, popularly known as the Blue Angels, was formed in 1946 and is currently the oldest formal flying aerobatic team...

(Blue Angels
Blue Angels
The United States Navy's Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, popularly known as the Blue Angels, was formed in 1946 and is currently the oldest formal flying aerobatic team...

)
NAVMAT - Naval Material Command
NAVMILPERSCOM - Navy Military Personnel Command
NAVSEA - Naval Sea Systems Command
Naval Sea Systems Command
The Naval Sea Systems Command is the largest of the U.S. Navy's five "systems commands," or materiel organizations...
NAVSECGRUACT - Naval Security Group
Naval Security Group
The Naval Security Group was an organization within the United States Navy, tasked with intelligence gathering and denial of intelligence to adversaries. A large part of this is Signals Intelligence gathering, Cryptology and Information Assurance...

Activity
NAVSUP - Naval Supply Systems Command
Naval Supply Systems Command
The Naval Supply Systems Command is a command of the United States Navy. Its primary mission is to provide the Navy with quality supplies and services....
NAVTRA - Chief of Naval Training
NAWCWD - Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division (now Pacific Missile Test Center
Pacific Missile Test Center
Pacific Missile Test Center is the former name of the current Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division. The name of the center was the Naval Air Missile Test Center prior to PMTC. It is located at Naval Base Ventura County/Naval Air Station Point Mugu in Ventura County, California...

)
NBSD - Naval Base San Diego
NCDU - Navy Combat Demolition Unit
NCIS - Naval Criminal Investigative Service
Naval Criminal Investigative Service
The United States Naval Criminal Investigative Service is the primary security, counter-intelligence, counter-terrorism, and law enforcement agency of the United States Department of the Navy...
NCTAMS - Naval Computer and Telecommunications Area Master Station
NCTS - Naval Computer Telecommunications Station
NECC - Navy Expeditionary Combat Command
NeL - Navy eLearning
NEX - Navy Exchange
NFO - Naval Flight Officer
Naval Flight Officer
A Naval Flight Officer is an aeronautically designated commissioned officer in the United States Navy or United States Marine Corps that specializes in airborne weapons and sensor systems. NFOs are not pilots per se, but they may perform many "co-pilot" functions, depending on the type of aircraft...

/ Normal Fuel Oil
NKO - Navy Knowledge Online
NMCI - Navy/Marine Corps Intranet
Navy/Marine Corps Intranet
The Navy/Marine Corps Intranet is a United States Department of the Navy outsourcing program, in which an outside contractor provides a vast majority of information technology services for the entire Department, including the United States Navy and Marine Corps.-Overview:As of March 2008, NMCI...
NMPS - Navy Mobilization and Processing Site
NNSY - Norfolk Naval Shipyard
Norfolk Naval Shipyard
The Norfolk Naval Shipyard, often called the Norfolk Navy Yard and abbreviated as NNSY, is a U.S. Navy facility in Portsmouth, Virginia, for building, remodeling, and repairing the Navy's ships. It's the oldest and largest industrial facility that belongs to the U.S. Navy as well as the most...
NOSC - Navy Operational Support Center
NROTC - Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps
NJROTC - Navy Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps
Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps
The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps is a Federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools across the United States...
NSAWC - Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center
Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center
The Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center at Naval Air Station Fallon located in the city of Fallon in western Nevada is the center of excellence for naval aviation training and tactics development...
SSES - Ships Signal Exploitation Space
NSGA - Naval Security Group Activity
NSWG - Naval Special Warfare Group
NSWC - Naval Surface Warfare Center
Naval Surface Warfare Center
The Naval Sea Systems Command Warfare Centers are composed of the Naval Surface Warfare Centers and the Naval Undersea Warfare Center . They operate in a seamless, integrated manner, and they collaborate with customers using a common work assignment process to get the right work to the right...
NUWC - Naval Undersea Warfare Center
Naval Undersea Warfare Center
The Naval Undersea Warfare Center is the United States Navy's full-spectrum research, development, test and evaluation, engineering and fleet support center for submarines, autonomous underwater systems, and offensive and defensive weapons systems associated with undersea warfare...
NWTD - Non Watertight Door

O

OBA - Oxygen Breathing Apparatus
Oxygen Breathing Apparatus
An Oxygen Breathing Apparatus or OBA is a rebreather. It is used primarily in firefighting. Its oxygen is generated by chemicals contained in the green canister, which is inserted at the base of the breathing device....
OCS - Officer Candidate School
Officer Candidate School (U.S. Navy)
The United States Navy's Officer Candidate School, currently located at Naval Station Newport, Rhode Island, provides training to become a commissioned officer. Attendance is one possible way for civilian college graduates with no military experience to earn a commission as a U.S. Navy officer...

, located at Naval Station Newport
Naval Station Newport
The Naval Station Newport is a United States Navy base located in the towns of Newport and Middletown, Rhode Island. Naval Station Newport is home to the Naval War College and the Naval Justice School...
OFS - Out Fucking Standing
OOD - Officer of the Deck
Officer of the Deck
Officer of the deck is a position in the United States Navy and United States Coast Guard that confers certain authority and responsibility. The officer of the deck on a ship is the direct representative of the captain, having responsibility for the ship.-Overview:In port, the OOD is stationed on...
OOMA - Optimized Organizational Maintenance Activity
OPSO - Operations officer
OPNAV - Office of the Chief of Naval Operations
Chief of Naval Operations
The Chief of Naval Operations is a statutory office held by a four-star admiral in the United States Navy, and is the most senior uniformed officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Navy. The office is a military adviser and deputy to the Secretary of the Navy...
OSA - Overseas Contingency Operation Support Assignments

P

PACOM - Pacific Command
PCS - Permanent Change of Station
PFA - Physical Fitness Assessment
POD - Plan of the Day
POTUS - President of the United States
POW - Plan of the Week
PRD - Projected Rotation Date
PRIFLY - PRImary FLight Control (Aircraft carriers)
PSNS and IMF - Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and Intermediate Maintenance Facility
PT - Physical Training
PTS - Perform to Serve
PWD - Public Works Department

R

RADCON - RADiation CONtrol
RAG - Replacement Air Group, now known as Fleet Replacement Squadron
Fleet Replacement Squadron
A Fleet Replacement Squadron , is a unit of the United States Navy and Marine Corps that trains Naval Aviators and Naval Flight Officers on the specific front-line aircraft they have been assigned to fly...

(FRS)
RIO - Radar Intercept Officer
RL - Restricted Line Officer
Restricted Line Officer
Restricted Line Officers in the United States Navy and Navy Reserve are line officers who are not eligible for Command at Sea. There are many different types and communities, including Engineering Duty Officers, Aerospace Engineering Duty Officers, Aerospace Maintenance Duty Officers, Naval...
RMD - Restricted Maneuvering Doctrine
RT - Radiotelephone
Radiotelephone
A radiotelephone is a communications system for transmission of speech over radio. Radiotelephone systems are not necessarily interconnected with the public "land line" telephone network. "Radiotelephone" is often used to describe the usage of radio spectrum where it is important to distinguish the...

(voice radio)
RTC - Recruit Training Command, Great Lakes, Illinois
RPOC - Recruit Petty Officer in Charge

S

SA - Seaman Apprentice
SAG - Surface Action Group
SAM - Surface-to-air missile
Surface-to-air missile
A surface-to-air missile or ground-to-air missile is a missile designed to be launched from the ground to destroy aircraft or other missiles...
SAU - Search and Attack Unit
SCAT - Small Craft Attack Team
SE - Support Equipment
SEALs - United States Navy SEALs
United States Navy SEALs
The United States Navy's Sea, Air and Land Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's principal special operations force and a part of the Naval Special Warfare Command as well as the maritime component of the United States Special Operations Command.The acronym is derived from their...

(stands for SEa, Air, Land), officially termed Special Warfare Operators.
SECDEF - United States Secretary of Defense
United States Secretary of Defense
The Secretary of Defense is the head and chief executive officer of the Department of Defense of the United States of America. This position corresponds to what is generally known as a Defense Minister in other countries...
SECNAV - United States Secretary of the Navy
United States Secretary of the Navy
The Secretary of the Navy of the United States of America is the head of the Department of the Navy, a component organization of the Department of Defense...
SCBA - Self-contained breathing apparatus
SCPO - Senior Chief Petty Officer
Senior Chief Petty Officer
U.S. Coast GuardSenior ChiefPetty Officercollar deviceU.S. Coast GuardSenior ChiefPetty OfficerinsigniaGood conductvariationSenior ChiefPetty OfficerinsigniaSenior ChiefPetty Officercollar device...
SCW - Seabee Combat Warfare Specialist insignia
SICLOS - Shift Inspect Clean Lube Oil Strainers
SLBM - Submarine-launched ballistic missile
Submarine-launched ballistic missile
A submarine-launched ballistic missile is a ballistic missile capable of delivering a nuclear warhead that can be launched from submarines. Modern variants usually deliver multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles each of which carries a warhead and allows a single launched missile to...
SN - Seaman
SNA - Student Naval Aviator
SO - Special Warfare Operator, aka US Navy SEAL
United States Navy SEALs
The United States Navy's Sea, Air and Land Teams, commonly known as Navy SEALs, are the U.S. Navy's principal special operations force and a part of the Naval Special Warfare Command as well as the maritime component of the United States Special Operations Command.The acronym is derived from their...

.
SOFA - Status of Forces Agreement
SOPA - Senior Officer Present Afloat
Senior Officer Present Afloat
Senior Officer Present Afloat, usually referred to as SOPA, is a U.S. Navy term to indicate the U.S. Navy officer, with the highest ranking by rank, or number in rank, present in a harbor occupied by more than one U.S. Navy vessel. That officer is essentially commander of all U.S...
SOP(A) - Senior Officer Present (Ashore)
SPAWAR - Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command
SR - Seaman Recruit
SRB - Selective Reenlistment Bonus
SRW - Shutdown Roving Watch
SS - Submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...

or submersible ship
SSBN (aka Boomers) - Hull classification symbol
Hull classification symbol
The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration use hull classification symbols to identify their ship types and each individual ship within each type...

for ballistic missile submarine
Ballistic missile submarine
A ballistic missile submarine is a submarine equipped to launch ballistic missiles .-Description:Ballistic missile submarines are larger than any other type of submarine, in order to accommodate SLBMs such as the Russian R-29 or the American Trident...

. The SS denotes submarine, the B denotes ballistic missile
Ballistic missile
A ballistic missile is a missile that follows a sub-orbital ballistic flightpath with the objective of delivering one or more warheads to a predetermined target. The missile is only guided during the relatively brief initial powered phase of flight and its course is subsequently governed by the...

s, and the N denotes nuclear-powered
Nuclear marine propulsion
Nuclear marine propulsion is propulsion of a ship by a nuclear reactor. Naval nuclear propulsion is propulsion that specifically refers to naval warships...

.
SSGN - Hull classification symbol
Hull classification symbol
The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration use hull classification symbols to identify their ship types and each individual ship within each type...

for cruise missile submarine. The SS denotes submarine, the G denotes guided missile
Guided Missile
Guided Missile is a London based independent record label set up by Paul Kearney in 1994.Guided Missile has always focused on 'the underground', preferring to put out a steady flow of releases and developing the numerous GM events around London and beyond....

, and the N denotes nuclear-powered
Nuclear marine propulsion
Nuclear marine propulsion is propulsion of a ship by a nuclear reactor. Naval nuclear propulsion is propulsion that specifically refers to naval warships...

.
SSN - Hull classification symbol
Hull classification symbol
The United States Navy, United States Coast Guard, and United States National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration use hull classification symbols to identify their ship types and each individual ship within each type...

for general-purpose fast attack submarines. The SS denotes submarine, while N denotes nuclear-powered.
SSTG - Ships Service Turbine Generator
STREAM - Standard Tension REplenishment Alongside Method
SUBRON - SUBmarine squadRON
SUBRON
SUBRON is the United States Navy abbreviation for Submarine Squadron. A SUBRON usually consists of three or more submarines. It is the submarine force equivalent to a Destroyer Squadron or DESRON in the surface Navy...
SUPPO - SUPPly Officer
Materiel
Materiel is a term used in English to refer to the equipment and supplies in military and commercial supply chain management....
SWCC (swick) - Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen
Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen
-History:Special Boat Teams can trace their history back to World War II. Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three rescued General Douglas MacArthur from the Philippines after the Japanese invasion and then participated in guerrilla actions until American resistance ended with the fall of Corregidor...

, the Special Operations Forces who operate and maintain an inventory of boats used to support special operations missions, particularly those of the U.S. Navy SEALs.
SWO - Surface Warfare Officer

T

TADCEN - Training and Distribution Center
TE - Task Element
TF - Task Force
Task force
A task force is a unit or formation established to work on a single defined task or activity. Originally introduced by the United States Navy, the term has now caught on for general usage and is a standard part of NATO terminology...
TG - Task Group
TOPGUN - United States Navy Fighter Weapons School
TU - Task Unit

U

UA - Unauthorized absence
Desertion
In military terminology, desertion is the abandonment of a "duty" or post without permission and is done with the intention of not returning...

, equivalent to Army absent without leave
UAS - Unmanned Aerial System
UAV - Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
Unmanned aerial vehicle
An unmanned aerial vehicle , also known as a unmanned aircraft system , remotely piloted aircraft or unmanned aircraft, is a machine which functions either by the remote control of a navigator or pilot or autonomously, that is, as a self-directing entity...
UCMJ - Uniform Code of Military Justice
Uniform Code of Military Justice
The Uniform Code of Military Justice , is the foundation of military law in the United States. It is was established by the United States Congress in accordance with the authority given by the United States Constitution in Article I, Section 8, which provides that "The Congress shall have Power . ....
UDT - Underwater Demolition Team
Underwater Demolition Team
The Underwater Demolition Teams were an elite special-purpose force established by the United States Navy during World War II. They also served during the Korean War and the Vietnam War...
UNODIR - UNless Otherwise DIRected
UNREP - Underway replenishment
Underway replenishment
Underway replenishment or replenishment at sea is a method of transferring fuel, munitions, and stores from one ship to another while under way.-History:...
USMC - United States Marine Corps
United States Marine Corps
The United States Marine Corps is a branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for providing power projection from the sea, using the mobility of the United States Navy to deliver combined-arms task forces rapidly. It is one of seven uniformed services of the United States...

, organized under the United States Department of the Navy
United States Department of the Navy
The Department of the Navy of the United States of America was established by an Act of Congress on 30 April 1798, to provide a government organizational structure to the United States Navy and, from 1834 onwards, for the United States Marine Corps, and when directed by the President, of the...

)
USN - United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
URL - Unrestricted line officer
Unrestricted Line Officer
Unrestricted Line Officers are commissioned Officers of the Line in the United States Navy who are qualified to command at sea the Navy's warfighting combatant units such as warships, submarines, aviation squadrons and SEAL Teams...
USNA - United States Naval Academy
United States Naval Academy
The United States Naval Academy is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located in Annapolis, Maryland, United States...

(Annapolis)
UWT - Underwater telephone
Underwater telephone
The underwater telephone also known as UQC , or Gertrude wasdeveloped by the U.S. Navy in 1945 , the UQC underwater telephone is used on all manned submersibles in operation. Voices communicated through the UQC are heterodyned to a high pitch for acoustic transmission through water....

V

VERTREP - Vertical replenishment
VCNO - Vice Chief of Naval Operations
Vice Chief of Naval Operations
The Vice Chief of Naval Operations is the second highest ranking officer in the United States Navy. In the event that the Chief of Naval Operations is absent or is unable to perform his duties, the VCNO assumes the duties and responsibilities of the CNO. The VCNO may also perform other duties...
VAQ - Fixed Wing Electronic-Attack Squadron
VAW - Fixed Wing Airborne Early Warning Squadron
VF - Fixed Wing Fighter (no longer used)
VFA - Fixed Wing Strike Fighter Squadron
VP - Fixed Wing Patrol Squadron
VRC - Fleet Logistics Support Squadron (VRC-30 Providers)
VTU - Volunteer Training Unit

W

WCS Work Center Supervisor
WO Warrant Officer
WSO (Wizzo) - Weapon Systems Operator/Naval Flight Officer
Naval Flight Officer
A Naval Flight Officer is an aeronautically designated commissioned officer in the United States Navy or United States Marine Corps that specializes in airborne weapons and sensor systems. NFOs are not pilots per se, but they may perform many "co-pilot" functions, depending on the type of aircraft...
WTD Watertight Door

Official acronyms

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

L

M

N

O

P

R

S

T

U

V

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See also