Words, in plain language
Glossary
Short, plain meanings for the Army, pay, and privacy words used on this site. If a word here still confuses you, ask me and I will explain it.
| Term | What it means, in plain language |
|---|---|
| ASVAB | The Army's entrance test. |
| AFQT | The score from the ASVAB (1 to 99) that decides if you can enlist. |
| Line scores | Groups of ASVAB subtest scores that decide which jobs you qualify for. |
| BAH | Basic Allowance for Housing: tax-free monthly money for housing. |
| BAS | Basic Allowance for Subsistence: tax-free monthly money for food. |
| TSP | Thrift Savings Plan: the government's retirement savings plan, like a 401(k). |
| DFAS | The Defense Finance and Accounting Service, which publishes military pay charts. |
| KFF | A health research nonprofit that publishes insurance cost data. |
| BLS | Bureau of Labor Statistics. It publishes national pay data. |
| AIT | Advanced Individual Training: job school after basic training. |
| OCONUS | Outside the continental United States. |
| SNN / ESB-E | A newer Army field network system and the signal unit type that tested it. |
| ADA | Air Defense Artillery, the Army's air defense branch. |
| Job codes (25N, 09M, 35M, 17C) | Job and course codes. The plain name comes first: network technician (25N), Future Soldier Prep Course (09M), language job (35M), cyber job (17C). |
| CBRN | Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear. A job field focused on defense against those threats. |
| Ranks (E-1 to E-6) | Enlisted pay grades. E-1 is Private. E-2 is Private. E-3 is Private First Class. E-4 is Specialist. E-5 is Sergeant. E-6 is Staff Sergeant. |
| PT test | Physical fitness test. A test of fitness before basic training. |
| VA | Veterans Affairs. The VA home loan is a benefit that helps service members buy a home. |
| Journeyman card | A license that shows you finished an apprenticeship. |
| UTM tag | A tag on a link that shows where you came from, like Instagram or Google. |
| Ad click ID (gclid, fbclid) | An ID that comes with an ad click. Google's is called gclid. Meta's is called fbclid. It shows which ad sent you. |
| Conversion | A counted result. On this site, a click-through to the Army form counts as the “Submit lead form” conversion. |
| Hash | A scrambled version of your contact info that can be matched, but not read back, by a system that already has the same info. |
| First-party cookie | A small file this site saves in your browser to remember your cookie choice. |
| Global Privacy Control | A browser setting that tells sites not to track you. |
| Local storage | Space in your browser where this site keeps a few display settings. It stays on your device. It is never sent anywhere. |