thumbnail

U.S. Military Acronyms

Can you guess what these military acronyms stand for?
Quiz by Quizmaster
Rate:
Last updated: December 29, 2018
You have not attempted this quiz yet.
First submittedMarch 7, 2010
Times taken80,963
Average score65.0%
Rating4.32
4:00
Enter missing words here:
0
 / 20 guessed
The quiz is paused. You have remaining.
Scoring
You scored / = %
This beats or equals % of test takers also scored 100%
The average score is
Your high score is
Your fastest time is
Keep scrolling down for answers and more stats ...
Acronym
Phrase
AWOL
Absent Without Leave
POW
Prisoner of War
MIA
Missing in Action
IED
Improvised Explosive Device
CO
Commanding Officer
MRE
Meal Ready to Eat
SAM
Surface-to-Air Missile
DMZ
Demilitarized Zone
APO
Army Post Office
KP
Kitchen Patrol
Acronym
Phrase
LZ
Landing Zone
NCO
Non-Commissioned Officer
RPG
Rocket-Propelled Grenade
UAV
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle
PFC
Private First Class
ICBM
Intercontinental Ballistic Missile
ROTC
Reserve Officers' Training Corp
ROE
Rules of Engagement
PT
Physical Training
DoD
Department of Defense
 
                                                         
+4
Level 56
May 7, 2013
100% with 2:41 to go. Great quiz!
+7
Level 58
Apr 4, 2014
Was kind of expecting FUBAR and SNAFU...
+5
Level 77
Oct 28, 2015
and the ID-10-t form
+2
Level 49
Dec 17, 2014
Only 33% of people got ROTC... that's rather sad...
+14
Level 77
Oct 28, 2015
Why? American military acronyms are not common knowledge all over the world. I don't know the percentage of non-Americans here, but I'd guess it's at least 10-20% of users?
+9
Level 47
Mar 15, 2016
Non Americans are now 60% of users on this site apparently
+2
Level 72
Jun 11, 2018
I didn't get ROTC, it was one of two I missed. I'm not American and I've never heard it before.
+2
Level 68
May 26, 2021
I know what it is, just didn't know what it stood for. Kept trying to figure out something with Recruit. I think Recruiter Officers' was the first thing I tried.
+3
Level 79
Jul 8, 2021
Why is that sad? I know what the ROTC is in general, but couldn't care less about what the acronym stands for. Why would anyone who wasn't in the ROTC care that much about it tbh?
+1
Level 49
Mar 2, 2024
At my high school, the Junior ROTC program was the thing everyone did. Largest outfit in the Midwest, over a third of the school did it. So that’s how I knew it, I was in the high school version.
+3
Level 66
Jun 23, 2015
SOP would be a good one to add.
+3
Level 69
Mar 15, 2016
I'd like to add some suggestions too, quiz creator, if you ever wanted to expand this one or create a sequel/advanced version: TDY, CINC, XO, OCS, FOB, OPSEC, 2LT, NORAD, ASAP, BX, SEAL.
+8
Level 75
Mar 15, 2016
I'm nonmilitary and I wouldn't get any of those. I only missed two on this one, but all I could think of for PT was potty training, reflecting on the fact that I have young grandchildren.
+2
Level 65
Mar 19, 2019
XO - Commanding Officer

OCS - Officer Candidate School

2LT - Second Lieutenant

ASAP - ?As Soon As possible?

PX - Post Exchange

+4
Level 68
May 26, 2021
XO is Executive Officer
+2
Level 40
Mar 19, 2019
The advanced version would probably be all Navy acronyms - COMNAVRESFOR, CVN, PTG, CTI, DRB, etc
+2
Level 45
Mar 16, 2016
I did better than I thought I would.
+2
Level 55
Mar 16, 2016
14/20 and I'm not American. Serial podcast and Hollywood taught me well.
+2
Level 35
Jun 13, 2016
Got everything except LZ and KP. Would have been more challenging if this were less US-centric.
+8
Level 46
May 26, 2021
well then it wouldn't be a us military quiz would it
+2
Level 64
Apr 26, 2018
Take your military knowledge, and see if you can ace the 50 Most Powerful Military Nations Quiz
+3
Level 89
Nov 24, 2018
Ruling class diglossia.
+3
Level 37
Mar 10, 2019
Didn't accept "loading zone" for me; and typed "reserved" officers instead of 'reserve" officers. And my husband was in ROTC!
+1
Level 49
Jan 18, 2024
It’s landing zone, that’s why.
+2
Level 45
Mar 19, 2019
Can't believe I put Non-Commission instead of Non-CommissionED
+2
Level 17
May 11, 2019
make a canadian please one i know like three american ones
+4
Level 36
Jun 12, 2020
These are not acronyms but initialisms
+2
Level 82
Oct 21, 2020
except for the first one (AWOL), yes
+2
Level 67
May 26, 2021
You can omit FUBAR and SNAFU, but that will not stop us from thinking of them.
+1
Level 49
Mar 2, 2024
What about BOHICA?
+1
Level 30
Mar 25, 2023
I’ll take 13/20 for a non-American
+1
Level 57
Feb 23, 2024
I was waiting for SNAFU or FUBAR. ;)