List of U.S. Department of Defense and partner code names

This is an incomplete list of United States Department of Defense code names primarily the two-word series variety. Officially, Arkin (2005) says that there are three types of code name: Nicknames – a combination of two separate unassociated and unclassified words (e.g. Polo and Step) assigned to represent a specific program, special access program, exercise, or activity. Code words – a single classified word (e.g. BYEMAN) which identifies a specific special access program or portion. A list of several such code words can be seen at Byeman Control System, though the Byman Control System itself has now ceased to be used. Exercise terms – a combination of two words, normally unclassified, used exclusively to designate an exercise or test

In 1975, the Joint Chiefs of Staff introduced the Code Word, Nickname, and Exercise Term System (NICKA) which automated the assignment of names. NICKA gives each DOD organization a series of two-letter alphabetic sequences, requiring each 'first word' or a nickname to begin with a letter pair. For example, AG through AL was assigned to United States Joint Forces Command.

The general system described above is now in use by NATO, the United Kingdom, Canada (Atlantic Guard, Atlantic Spear, Atlantic Shield) Australia and New Zealand, and allies/partners including countries like Sweden.

Most of the below listings are "Nicknames."

List of code names

A Able – North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Allied Command Europe (ACE) and U.S. European Command (USEUCOM) nuclear weapons exercise first word. First gained prominence after the Able Archer 83 nuclear command and control exercise. Able Ally – annual command post exercise involving escalation to nuclear use. Held November/December/ Able Archer 83 – nuclear command and control exercise Able Crystal – nuclear weapons related exercise Able Gain – annual United States Air Forces in Europe (USAFE) field training exercise involving NATO Nuclear sharing forces Able Staff – command post exercise, April–September 1997, practicing Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR)'s nuclear warning system. Able – Coast Guard first word Able Manner – Windward Passage patrols to interdict Haitian migrants, January 1993-November 1993. Able Response Able Vigil Able Avionics – Air Training Command program of 1976 to provide only elemental training for avionics systems maintenance at training centers, with further training given at field training detachments. Able Chief – Air Training Command program of 1976 to provide only elemental training for crew chiefs at training centers, with further training given at field training detachments. Able Danger – A program and compartment led by the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) and the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA). It was created as a result of a directive from the Joint Chiefs of Staff in early October 1999 by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Hugh Shelton, to develop an information operations campaign plan against transnational terrorism. Able Mable – US Air Force top-secret RF-101C Voodoo reconnaissance aircraft flights over Southeast Asia confirming communist activity in South Vietnam and Laos Operation Able Sentry/Sabre 1993–1999 – U.S. Army task force attached to United Nations Preventive Deployment Force (UNPREDEP) in Macedonia to monitor border activity. Ace Guard – NATO deployment of the ACE Mobile Force (Air) and surface to air missiles to Turkey, between 3 January 1991 – 8 March 1991. Turkey had requested greater NATO forces to be deployed to meet any Iraqi threat after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on 2 August 1990. Operation Acid Gambit – Operation undertaken by U.S. Army Delta Force and the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment to rescue Kurt Muse, a U.S. citizen involved in the broadcast of anti-Noriega material, during the United States invasion of Panama, 1989. Active Edge – Routine no-notice NATO Allied Forces Central Europe readiness exercise held twice yearly. "The most recent such exercise took place, on the date and in the format planned, on 12th June 1989. It did not include the exercise deployment of forces outside their garrisons." (House of Lords Debate 27 June 1989) Operation Active Endeavour – NATO Allied Forces Southern Europe Mediterranean patrols Operation Active Fence – operations to guard NATO border during Syrian fighting Adventure – ACE Mobile Force first word Adventure Exchange – command post exercise Adventure Express – winter exercise series, dating to at least 1983. African – U.S.-Moroccan European Command (EUCOM) (now Africa Command) first word African Eagle – U.S.-Moroccan biennial exercise practicing deployment of United States Air Force (USAF) units to Morocco. Dates to at least 1984. African Falcon '85, African Fox '85. Exercise African Lion – in 2009 described as "Train forces capable of conducting joint and combined U.S., air, and land combat interoperability operations."Brief to Interagency Working Group, Worldwide Joint Training & Scheduling Conference (24-28 Aug 09) Held in Morocco with Royal Moroccan Armed Forces. Exercise Agile Spirit 19 began with dual opening ceremonies at Senaki Air Base and Vaziani Training Area in the country of Georgia on July 27, 2019. Approximately 3,300 military personnel from 14 allied and partner forces were expected to participate in the exercise. Exercise Alam Halfa – U.S.-New Zealand, NZ-sponsored land forces exercise, Linton and Napier, central North Island, April 26-May 6, 2012. The new exercise series, according to the New Zealand Herald, was made possible by the "Wellington Declaration" signed by the two countries in November 2010. Continued probably yearly after that point; Alam Halfa 2013. Named for the Battle of Alam Halfa during World War II. Allied – NATO Allied Command Europe first word Allied Action – Combined Joint Task Force exercises, in the sense of greater European Union involvement in military affairs. See Berlin Plus agreement. Allied Effort – Combined Joint Task Force exercises, in the sense of greater European Union involvement in military affairs. See Berlin Plus agreement. Allied Effort 01 had the CJTF exercising in Wrocław, Poland. Also reported as codename for NATO's maritime operation in the Adriatic Sea during the Kosovo crisis in 1999. Operation Allied Force 1999 – Air war over Serbia to withdraw forces from Kosovo. Operations Allied Goodwill I & II, 4–9 February & 27 February-24 March 1992. After the collapse of the Soviet Union in December 1991, NATO flew teams of humanitarian assistance experts and medical advisors to Russia and other former Soviet states using NATO Airborne Early Warning Force trainer cargo aircraft. Operation Allied Harmony was launched in December 2002 to provide NATO advisory elements to assist the Macedonian government in ensuring stability. Operation Allied Protector - anti-piracy operation undertaken by NATO forces from March – August 2009 in the Gulf of Aden, the Indian Ocean, and the Guardafui Channel to protect International Recommended Transit Corridor (IRTC) maritime routes from pirates. Succeeded by Ocean Shield. Allied Provider - Initial NATO anti-piracy operation in Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean. Succeeded by Allied Protector. Operation Allied Solace - NATO operation in 2021 after collapse of Afghan government to receive NATO-affiliated Afghan evacuees from Afghanistan and to arrange their onward transport and resettlement. Operation Allies Refuge – Evacuation of personnel from Kabul in August 2021 as the Taliban took over the country. Exercise Amalgam Virgo – A North American Aerospace Defense Command counter-terrorist and field training exercise (FTX) carried out in Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida in early June 2001. Amalgam Warrior – North American Aerospace Defense Command air defense exercise Operation Amber Star – Delta Force and Intelligence Support Activity anti-Persons Indicted for War Crimes (PIFWC) reconnaissance and surveillance, Bosnia-Herzegovina Ample Gain – See Ample Train Exercise Ample Strike – In August and September 2017, the 307th Bomb Wing supported and participated in Exercise Ample Strike, which was Czech Republic led with two B-52s and two B-1s. This was a critical, annual exercise meant to increase proficiency levels of all forward air controllers and joint terminal air controllers, as well as to improve standardization and interoperability across NATO Allies and partners that included multiple European countries. Ample Train (previously Ample Gain) – Exercise "initiated to improve the ability of NATO's Air Forces to work on and with each others aircraft; ground servicing crews from one nation [worked] with air crew and aircraft from other nations." Anatolian Eagle – an air force exercise hosted by the Turkish Air Force (TAF) and held in Konya, Turkey. There are both national and international exercises held, the international exercises usually involving air arms of the United States, other NATO forces, and Asian countries. The first exercise, Anatolian Eagle 01, was held by TAF Operations Command on 18–29 June 2001. As well as Turkey, the air forces of USA and Israel also participated. Exercise Anchor Express – In late February and early March 1986, 2nd Battalion, 4th Marines deployed to Nordland and Troms counties of Norway, near Evenes and Brøstadbotn, as the main US ski-mobile maneuver element of the 4th Marine Amphibious Brigade commanded by then Brigadier General Carl E. Mundy Jr., taking a leading role in the multi-national NATO winter exercise, "Anchor Express". The wintry, subfreezing weather, unprecedented level of snow, and the rugged terrain in the operating area of "Anchor Express" astride Salangenfjord, Faksfjorden and Lavangenfjord tested 2/4's ski-borne Marines to their limits. Such was the deep snow, extremely steep mountains in fjord country and gusty subzero winds that on 5 March 1986, a devastating avalanche in Vassdalen, Nordland, struck 31 fellow-Norwegian soldiers, killing sixteen engineers from the elite Norwegian Army unit Brigade North, many of whose soldiers operating with 2/4 during the exercise. The Vassdalen avalanche was Norway's worst disaster involving the military since the German invasion of Norway (1940). As a result, Norway went into mourning and the force-on-force exercise prematurely ended. Operation Anchor Guard – 10 August 1990 – 9 March 1991. Following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait of 2 August 1990, Boeing E-3 Sentry aircraft of the NATO Airborne Early Warning Force were moved to Konya, Turkey to monitor the situation. The aircraft remained at Konya to maintain surveillance of south-eastern Turkey throughout the crisis, which led to the Gulf War of January–March 1991. Exercise Anorak Express – NATO exercise in 1980. In January 1980, was out to sea to an amphibious landing at Cape Code in preparation for the exercise. Sailing February 14 for Northern Norway, the ship entered her first operational deployment. Arabian Gauntlet - CENTCOM/United States Fifth Fleet mine clearance and Sea lines of communication exercise. Held 1999–2005. Arcade - NATO Allied Command Europe Rapid Reaction Corps exercise series preparatory to deployment.Arkin, Code Names, 258-59 Arcade Azimuth Arcade Bugle Arcade Falcon ARRCade Fusion, the annual computer-assisted warfighting Command Post Exercise Arcade Globe Arcade Guard. Operation Arc Light – B-52 operations in Southeast Asia, primarily bombing the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam); South Vietnam; and Cambodia. Bombing Cambodian border areas was intended to hinder North Vietnamese use of the Ho Chi Minh Trail supply line to South Vietnam. Operation Argus – Series of low-yield, high-altitude nuclear testing and missile tests secretly conducted from 27 August to 9 September 1958 over the South Atlantic Operation Arid Farmer – 1983 Support to the crisis in Chad