THOSE ABBREVIATIONS!

Arawa Guerilla, Issue 11, 1 February 1943, Page 2

THOSE ABBREVIATIONS!

One of the most puzzling features of Army life to the new soldier, and, indeed, to many of the old ones, is the habit of abbreviating everything to do with the Army. This practice of referring to ranks and functions by initials is employed by everyone, including many who. 1 haven’t the slightest idea what the initials denote, and a soldier may indeed spend years in the Army without ever knowing the precise significance of R.A.P., M.T., or R.T.O. however well he may know the institution or the function. The following list of the most commonly used abbreviations, although by no means exhaustive, may save the new soldier a lot of headaches and clear up some mysteries for the old hands:—

Advanced Dressing Station ___. A.D.S. Advanced Guard Adv. Guard Ammunition 2......___ Amn. Ammunition Refilling Point.. . A.R.P. Anti-Aircraft or Army Act A.A. (Anti-Tank A.-Tk. Armoured Fighting Vehicle —. A.F.V. Army Order_l_ A.O. Artillery . Arty. Battalion:Bn. Battery .... Bty. Brigade.Bde. Brigadier _._i........ Brig. Captain —.„ Capt. Casualty Clearing Station... C.C.S. Cavalry i... Cav. Colonel —:,Col. Column ... Coin. Commanding OfficerC.O. Company Coy. Company. Quartermaster-Sergeant C.Q.M.S. Company Sergeant-Major C.S.M. Corporal_ Cpl. Counter-Battery or Confinement to Barracks — C.B. Deputy Assistant Director of Ordnance Services ... D.A.D.O.S. Dispatch Rider .2: D.R. Detention Detn. District i Dist. District Court-Martial D.C.M. Divisional or Division .... Div. Driver or Drummer Dr. Field Ambulance _' „_ Fd. Amb. Field Battery Fd. Bty. Field General Court-Martial F.G.C.M.

Field Officer ;A.„L_.’...Lt F.O. Headquarters _.__i__._... H.Q. High Explosive or Horizontal Equivalent H.E. Infantry'_ . _"..._ Inf. Intelligence Officer. 1.0. Lance-Bombardier .... L/Bdr. Lance-Corporal _..... L/Cpl. Lance-Sergeant ... L/Sgt. Lieutenant„• Lieut. Lieutenant-Colonel — Lt.-Col. Lines of Communication _—.... L. of C. Machine Gun „ . M.G. Major Maj. Mechanical Transport ___. . ' M.T. Medical Officer .M.O. Meeting Point or Military Police M.P. Non-Commissioned Officer N.C.O. Observation Post —O.P. Officer Offr. Officer CommandingO.C. Platopn Pl. Private ‘ Pte. Quartermaster ... Q.M. Quartermaster-Sergeant ... Q.M.S. Railway Transport Officer R.T.O. Regiment Regt. Regimental Aid Post R.A.P. Regimental Sergeant-Major L_ R.S.M. Regimental Quartermaster-Sergeant R.Q.M.S. Section LL_Sec. Sergeant —.——L Sgt. Signal : Sig. Squadron -23 Sqn. Transport _• Tpt. Transport Officer ...: . T.O. Troop Tp. Warrant Officer or War Office .. W.O. Wireless TelegraphyW/T