Those members who have been in USPS for a few years tend to get pretty good at reading the “alphabet soup” but we all recall how confusing this could be to us as a new member. Although sometimes one cannot stand on too many formalities, some of these abbreviations are nautical tradition and expected of us in formal communication, such as in our newsletter. Once you understand their meaning, you may find that they do communicate some information. Hopefully this will help.

A, Asst  — assistant
ABCC  — America's Boating Club Charleston (Charleston Sail and Power Squadron)
AO  — administrative officer
AP  — advanced piloting
ASEO  — assistant squadron educational officer
/C  — commander (as in V/C, Lt/C)
C/C  — chief commander (USPS's top dog)
Cdr  — commander
CSPS  — Charleston Sail and Power Squadron
CPS or CPS/ECP  — Canadian Power and Sail Squadrons
D  — district
D26  — District 26 (the district to which America's Boating Club Charleston belongs
D/C  — district commander
DEO  — district educational officer
EM  — engine maintenance
Ex  — executive (as in ExCom)
ExCom  — Executive Committee
HQ  — headquarters
1/Lt, Ist/Lt  — first lieutenant
IT  — information technology
JN  — junior navigator, Junior Navigation
LD  — leadership development
Lt  — lieutenant
Lt/C  — Lieutenant Commander: the Executive, Administrative, Educational Officers as well as the Secretary and Treasurer serve with this rank.
ME  — marine electronics
MM  — merit marks
N  — navigator, navigation, national
NSBW  — National Safe Boating Week
OM  — Operations Manual
OT  — operations training
P  — pilot, piloting
P/  — past (as in P/C)
P/C  — past commander
S  — seaman, seamanship, safety, squadron (as in SEO)
Sa  — sail
Sec, Secy  — secretary
SEO  — squadron educational officer
SN  — senior navigator
Stf/  — staff (as in Stf/C)
Sqdn  — squadron
USPS  — United States Power Squadrons
V/  — vice (as in V/C)
VSC  — vessel safety check
VSE  — vessel safety examiner
Wx  — weather
XO  — executive officer

Selected from a huge list of abbreviations listed in the 2018 USPS Operations Manual, Page 14-13. [Requires USPS membership information.]

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