Appendix C
        List of Acronyms and Abbreviations

AAV--Assault Amphibious Vehicle. The AAV7Ai, an armored personnel carrier
used by the U.S. Marine Corps in a variety of configurations. The AAVs of the
2d AAV Battalion provided mechanized lift to the 6th and 8th Marines and other
units of the 2d Marine Division.

ACE--i) Aviation Combat Element. One of the elements of a Marine Air-
Ground Task Force. See MEF, below 2) Armored Combat Earthmover. An
armored bulldozer used by the 2d Marine Division's combat engineers.

APC--Armored Personnel Carrier. Lightly armored and armed vehicles designed
to transport troops on the battlefield and provide them some protection from
small-arms fire and shell fragments. The types of APCs used in the 2d Marine
Division were the AAV, the BFV, and the LAV. The frequently encountered
APCs of the Iraqi Army were the Soviet-made BMP and the BRDM.

ArCent--United States Army Central Command, a component of CentCom.

ATF--Amphibious Task Force. During the Persian Gulf War the threat of a
landing near Kuwait City by a Marine ATF forced the Iraqi Army to heavily
defend the shoreline.

AVLB--Armored Vehicle Launched Bridge.

BFV--Bradley Fighting Vehicle. The M2Al or M2A2 Infantry Fighting Vehicle,
an armored personnel carrier used by the U.S. Army. In the 2d Marine Division
these vehicles belonged to the 3d Battalion, 41st Infantry, the Tiger Brigade's
mechanized infantry battalion.

BMP--A Soviet-manufactured infantry fighting vehicle used by the Iraqi Army.
This APC had a crew of three, and carried either seven or eight soldiers,
depending upon the model.

BRDM--A Soviet-manufactured amphibious scout car used by the Iraqi Army.

CentCom--U.S. Forces Central Command. The U.S. joint force headquarters
in whose area of responsibility were Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. Subordinate to
CentCom were ArCent, MarCent, and ComNavCent.

COC--Combat Operations Center. That portion of a unit's headquarters used
exclusively for the conduct of a campaign or the fighting of a battle.