GLOSSARY - DAU

1 GLOSSARY DEFENSE ACQUISITION ACRONYMS AND TERMS Sixteenth Edition September 2015 Department of Defense Defense Acquisition University Learning Capabilities Integration Center Center for Acquisition and Program Management Fort Belvoir, Virginia PUBLISHED BY THE DEFENSE ACQUISITION UNIVERSITY PRESS FORT BELVOIR, VIRGINIA 22060-5565 iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The authors appreciate the assistance of the staff and faculty of the Defense Acquisition University (DAU) in providing acronyms and definitions for consideration in this Sixteenth Edition of the GLOSSARY : Defense Acquisition Acronyms and Terms and offer our special thanks to members of the DAU Visual Arts and Press staff, Benjamin Tyree for editing, and especially Debbie Gonzalez, for her expert proofreading and innovative cover design.

2 Iv v PREFACE This is the Sixteenth Edition of the GLOSSARY : Defense Acquisition Acronyms and Terms. The GLOSSARY : Defense Acquisition Acronyms and Terms, contains most acronyms, abbreviations, and terms commonly used in the systems acquisition process within the Department of Defense (DoD) and defense industries. It focuses on terms with generic DoD application but also includes some Service-unique terms. It has been extensively revised to reflect current acquisition initiatives and policies, the issuance on January 7, 2015 of an updated version of DoD Instruction (DoDI) , and significant changes in the Joint Capabilities Integration and Development System (JCIDS) Manual and related instructions in January and February of 2015.

3 Appendix A contains a listing of common abbreviations and acronyms. Appendix B contains definitions of terms used throughout the DoD acquisition community, including terms that have commonality between and Allied acquisition programs. While the GLOSSARY identifies and highlights many terms, it is not all-inclusive, particularly regarding the military Services, defense agencies and other organizationally unique terms. For those, the reader must turn to publications issued by those organizations. The GLOSSARY is published for use by students of the Defense Acquisition University (DAU), and others working on defense acquisition matters, including congressional staffs, Pentagon and other headquarters (HQ) staffs, program managers and requirements managers of the DoD, and defense contractors.

4 Acronyms and abbreviations generally are capitalized for ease of reference. That does not imply they are capitalized in general usage. Readers should follow the style used by their own organizations. Readers feedback and input is invited. Please use the form at the end of this publication , and send feedback to the Director, Center for Acquisition and Program Management, Learning Capabilities Integration Center, DAU, 9820 Belvoir Road, Fort Belvoir, VA 22060-5565. William Parker Gary Hagan Director, Center for Acquisition Department Chair and Program Management Program Management Department Lawrence Leggett Performance Learning Director PM Certification Courses vi vii DISCLAIMER The GLOSSARY : Defense Acquisition Acronyms and Terms provides an extensive list of Acronyms and Abbreviations (Appendix A) and GLOSSARY of Terms (Appendix B) commonly used in the systems acquisition process within the Department of Defense (DoD) and defense industries.

5 Many of the terms in the GLOSSARY may be defined in other documents in a different fashion. For example, the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) contains upwards of 600 definitions of words and terms. Definitions that are applicable to all parts of the FAR are contained in FAR Part 2, Definitions of Words and Terms, which contains close to 250 definitions. Other words and terms may be defined for a particular part, subpart or section. Some terms, such as United States, have multiple definitions. United States is defined 11 different ways in the FAR, due to how it is defined in various pieces of legislation. Some of those definitions differ from the ones contained in the GLOSSARY .

6 The reader may want to use definitions that are provided in the GLOSSARY in solicitations and resulting contracts to help clarify the government s requirement. In doing so, keep in mind the FAR requires that all solicitations and contracts exceeding the simplified acquisition threshold incorporate the definitions in FAR Definitions. See FAR , Definitions, for the appropriate clause. viii A-1 APPENDIX A ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS NOTE: The following acronyms and abbreviations are used by systems acquisition managers within the Department of Defense (DoD). The majority of those dealing primarily with the management of the acquisition process are defined in Appendix B, GLOSSARY of Terms.

7 Those that refer to Service-unique titles and organizations are not further defined. A AA Achieved Availability A&AS Acquisition and Advisory Services AAA Army Audit Agency AAC Air Armament Center (Air Force) (Obsolete See LCMC [Life Cycle Management Center] [Air Force]) AAE Army Acquisition Executive ABCA American-British-Canadian-Australian AC Active Component ACAT Acquisition Category ACC Acquisition Community Connection; Air Combat Command (Air Force) ACD&P Advanced Component Development and Prototypes (Budget Activity [BA] 4) ACE Acquisition Center of Excellence ACI Allocated Configuration Identification ACMC Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps ACNO Assistant Chief of Naval Operations ACO Administrative Contracting Officer ACRN Accounting Classification Reference Number ACS Assistant Chief of Staff ACSA Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement ACSN Advance Change Study Notice ACWP Actual Cost of Work Performed ADA Anti-Deficiency Act ADM Acquisition Decision Memorandum ADP Automated Data Processing ADPE Automated Data Processing Equipment A-2 ADR Alternate Dispute Resolution.

8 Alternative Dispute Resolution AEA Atomic Energy Act (of 1954) AECA Arms Export Control Act (1976) AECB Arms Export Control Board AFAE Air Force Acquisition Executive AFALC Air Force Air Logistics Complex AFARS Army Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement AFCAA Air Force Cost Analysis Agency AFFARS Air Force Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement AFI Air Force Instruction AFIT Air Force Institute of Technology AFMC Air Force Materiel Command AFNWC Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center AFOTEC Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center AFPD Air Force Policy Directive AFRB Air Force Review Board AFRL Air Force Research Laboratory AFROC Air Force Requirements Oversight Council AFSC Air Force Sustainment Center AFTC Air Force Test Center AI

9 Artificial Intelligence AI Inherent Availability AIS Automated Information System ALDT Administrative and Logistics Delay Time ALMC Army Logistics Management College ALO Authorized Level of Organization (Army) ALT Administrative Lead Time AM Materiel Availability AMC Air Mobility Command; Army Materiel Command AMCOM Aviation and Missile Command (Army) AMSAA Army Materiel Systems Analysis Agency AMSDL Acquisition Management Systems Data List ANSI American National Standards Institute AO Operational Availability AoA Analysis of Alternatives AOTR Assessment of Operational Test Readiness AP Acquisition Plan; Advance Procurement AP/A/N/AF Aircraft Procurement (Appropriation), Army/Navy/Air Force A-3 APA Additional Performance Attribute APB Acquisition Program Baseline APBA Acquisition Program Baseline Agreement APPN Appropriation APUC Average Procurement Unit Cost (also see AUPC [Average Unit Procurement Cost]) AQAP Allied Quality Assurance Provision AQL Acceptable Quality Level AR Army Regulation ARCIC Army Capabilities Integration Center ARL Army Research Laboratory ARRT Acquisition Requirements Roadmap Tool (Services) AS Acquisition Strategy ASA(AL&T) Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology) ASAF(A)

10 Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition) ASARC Army Systems Acquisition Review Council ASBCA Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals ASC Aeronautical Systems Center (Air Force) (Obsolete See LCMC [Life Cycle Management Center] [Air Force]) ASD(A) Assistant Secretary of Defense (Acquisition) ASD(HA) Assistant Secretary of Defense (Health Affairs) ASD(LA) Assistant Secretary of Defense (Legislative Affairs) ASD(L&MR) Assistant Secretary of Defense (Logistics and Materiel Readiness) ASD(NCB) Assistant Secretary of Defense (Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense) ASD(OEP&P) Assistant Secretary of Defense (Operational Energy Plans and Programs) ASD(R&E) Assistant Secretary of Defense (Research and Engineering) ASF Army Stock Fund ASN(M&RA) Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Manpower and Reserve Affairs) ASN(RD&A) Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Research, Development and Acquisition) ASP Acquisition Strategy Panel (Air Force) ASR Acquisition Strategy Report; Alternative Systems Review ASTM American Society for Testing and Materials AT Anti-Tampering.