Peace Corps has so many confusing acronyms and so much specific jargon that I worry sometimes that I am confusing readers beyond belief. So I decided to spend some time to think about the most common ones and write a guide to help you decode some of my occasional lapses into Peace Corps-ese.
Administrative Separation (AdSep): If a volunteer breaks the rules, they may be subject to administrative separation, which basically means you’re fired. Volunteers who are adsepped do not receive RPCV status or associated benefits. Since it happens so seldom, I don’t know for sure much else about it.
Assignment: This is the official definition of where and what a PCV does. My assignment is the HE program in the Kyrgyz Republic.
CD (Country Director): The Country Director oversees all the operations of our post, and is the main person who meets with members of the host country government about our ongoing partnerships. The Country Director is in charge of many policies, and is an invaluable member of the team in the Country Office.
CP (Counterpart): Each volunteer is assigned a “counterpart” as your primary partner for your work in the community. TEFL volunteers are partnered with an English teacher in their school, while things are a bit more fluid for HE and SCD volunteers. I have 3 officially assigned counterparts The term “counterpart” also refers to any HCN that we are working with on a project. By that measure, I have over 10 different counterparts.
Country Office: Every country has an office in the capital of the country where the main PC staff (like the CD) work and help support the work of PCV’s.
COS (Close Of Service): COS is the term used for the successful completion of two years of PC service. After COS’ing, volunteers are considered RPCV’s.
Country Desk: In addition to a Country Office, every country also has a Country Desk at headquarters in Washington DC that helps manage invitations and staging, and serves as a liaison with HQ.
ET (Early Termination): ET’ing is leaving before completing two years of service for whatever reason when the volunteer makes the decision. Some of my friends have ET’ed because of sick family members in the US, a job offer, or ongoing health issues, while other people have decided that the Peace Corps is not the right job for them. Volunteers who ET do not receive RPCV status or associated benefits, and only receive their readjustment allowance prorated to how long they served. ET rates are often a good measure of the health of a PC program, but can also indicate how difficult a post is. In Kyrgyzstan, our rate has been above 40% for a while for a variety of reasons.
Extension of Service: Some volunteers may choose to extend their service in order to finish a project, finish the school year, or continue working in their communities. Volunteers who wish to extend are required to apply and be approved by their CD. Volunteers may extend up to a total of 5 years of service, but this is extremely uncommon – in Kyrgyzstan, less than 5% of volunteers extend.
Evacuation: It’s what it sounds like. It’s when volunteers are removed from a region or country due to emergency circumstances, such as a natural disaster or terrorism threats.
HE (Health Education): HE is the program I am assigned to in Kyrgyzstan. We have 3 programs in Kyrgyzstan, and HE is one of the smaller ones.
Homestay: In most countries, this refers to the time during PST when volunteers live with host families as a way to facilitate language learning and cultural integration. In Kyrgyzstan, this also refers to our everyday living situations. Unlike most PC countries, PCKG currently requires volunteers to live for their entire service with a host family in a homestay.
HCN (Host Country National): Anyone we work with who is a citizen of the country in which we serve.
Invitation: After sending in an application and being interviewed, successful PC applicants will receive an invitation to serve in a specific country in a specific program. I had about one week to accept my invitation, which I received about 6 months before my scheduled staging date.
IS (Interrupted Service): Interrupted Service is a status and a term that refers to when a volunteer’s service is concluded early due to factors beyond their control. This can happen when there is political unrest in a country, when a volunteer’s security situation is compromised and a new site cannot be located, or when a post closes or is suspended before the end of a volunteer’s service. IS’ed volunteers receive RPCV status.
IST (In-Service Training): PC has many different trainings that are given at various points throughout service. Two of these are called “IST” and one is for language while the other is for programmatic content. Ours were in November and February (so about 7 and 10 months into service)
K-23: Each country designates incoming classes with a letter and a number. I am part of the 23rd group of volunteers to come to Kyrgyzstan, so I am called a “K-23.” Kyrgyzstan takes in one cohort a year, while some other countries take as many as four (the Philippines, for example, is in their 270-somthingth cohort right now).
LCF (Language and Cross-Cultural Facilitator): During PST, our language teachers also serve to teach us about local culture, and they are called LCF’s.
LPI (Language Proficiency Interview): At the end of PST, volunteers are required to meet a minimum competency in the local language. This is tested through an LPI shortly before swearing in. In some countries, failing to meet the language standard results in the volunteer being sent home, while in Kyrgyzstan, this usually means that you are put on a performance contract that requires you to meet the standard within a set amount of time. If this sounds stressful, don’t worry; in my class of 60 volunteers, none that I know of was put on a performance contract for language. In fact, most of us reached the required proficiency within 1 month of training (and you have 3 months to meet the standard). Me and a few others even met the proficiency standard in two local languages before the end of training.
Medevac: When a volunteer’s medical condition can no longer be managed by the PCMO’s in-country, they may be medically evacuated to a Peace Corps hub, such as Bangkok, Johannesburg, Frankfurt, or Washington, D.C. This can happen if the volunteer needs special surgery, has suffered a severe injury, is facing a mysterious liver condition, alcoholism, and also for trauma counseling following physical or sexual assault. When a volunteer is medevaced, they have 45 days to be cleared to go back to site, otherwise they will be medsepped.
Medical Clearance: Medical Clearance is part of the process of joining the Peace Corps that happens after you accept your invitation. It takes a few months to process all the blood tests, exams, dental care, and such, and you must meet a minimum standard to be cleared to serve. Some volunteers who are invited are not cleared medically, and PC doesn’t make a final purchase of your plane tickets until about a month before staging, so it’s a good idea to wait to receive all clearances before quitting jobs and other final prep activities. In the old system, this process was sometimes carried out before the official invitation was issued.
MedSep (Medical Separation): If a volunteer’s medical condition will prevent them from continuing their service, then they are offered a special type of termination called Medical Separation, or MedSep. Volunteers may be medsepped if their condition cannot be properly managed by post (such as ongoing mental health challenges), if they are not cleared to return to site after a medevac, or if a volunteer decides to end their service following a physical or sexual assault as a result of the trauma. Volunteers who are medsepped receive RPCV status.
MST (Mid-Service Training): MST is a training that occurs at the one-year mark of service. It includes activity to reflect on service and trainings to improve effectiveness in the second year of service.
“New System”: The application system was revised in 2014 to allow volunteers to apply to specific programs in specific regions. The application and timeline was also shortened considerably.
Nomination: After applying, the next step of the old system of application is to be nominated to a region. Given how the old system was a roulette of countries, nothing is really set in stone at this point. The old system also required the medical clearance and minimum work qualifications to be met at this step (which means that many people sit at this step for a while).
OMS (Office of Medical Services): At HQ, this office oversees health of volunteers on medevac and the PCMO’s at post.
PC (Peace Corps): We use this acronym a lot.
PCKG (Peace Corps Kyrgyz Republic): Also use this one a lot.
PCMO (Peace Corps Medical Officer): Peace Corps keeps two doctors on staff in Kyrgyzstan to attend to all volunteer health needs. In most countries, including KG, these are HCN’s, but in some countries, one of the doctors will be American.
PCT (Peace Corps Trainee): When new volunteers arrive in country, they are considered Trainees, and are subject to considerable restrictions until they successfully complete training and meet performance requirements to swear in as volunteers. This is similar to probation status at some jobs, and is maintained because of the amount of time and money PC invests in the training of its volunteers. Trainees are not allowed to move beyond their rayon without special exceptions, are not allowed any vacation or leave days, and are given a very minimal allowance of 50 som per day to cover telephone and snack costs.
PCV (Peace Corps Volunteer): Once a volunteer takes their oath of service, they are officially a PCV, and have the associated rights and allowances, such as vacation days, full allowances for food, transport, and housing, internet, and other things.
PM (Program Manager): The PM oversees the volunteers in a particular sector, organizes trainings, helps them develop ideas and projects, and helps manage relationships with local partners and ministries. My PM is my direct supervisor, and plays a key role in helping me refine and monitor my projects.
PO (Placement Office): At HQ, this is the office that makes the decision about where you’ll serve and in what sector.
Post: This refers to the program here. We refer to Kyrgyzstan as a Peace Corps Post.
PST (Pre-Service Training): PST is a 3-month period (usually – my group had a different setup since we were piloting a new training model) where volunteers are trained in language, culture, history, self-health-care, technical information, and PC policy. It’s an intense three months, but it provides all the tools you need to succeed as a PCV. I’ve mentioned it a few times, but I think that PC gives some of the best (and only) training in the entire development sector.
Recruiter: This is a person who works at a PC regional office around the US who helps advise prospective applicants.
RM (Regional Manager): Some countries use RM’s instead of or in addition to PM’s. This is particularly prominent in countries where volunteers are very spread out and far from the capital city. In Kyrgyzstan, there is an RM who oversees the South of the country, including Osh. Since she’s from here, she can make many important connections and introductions for me, and also helps me a lot with translation and monitoring. This is especially valuable in countries where travel to the capital takes 3 days (which is common in many places).
RPCV (Returned Peace Corps Volunteer): When a volunteer COS’es, they are given RPCV status, which is a lifelong title that recognizes the work of that volunteer. RPCV’s receive several benefits, including access to the PC alumni network, one year of non-competitive eligibility for federal government jobs, eligibility for Coverdell graduate school fellowships, eligibility for special medical insurance extensions, and a readjustment allowance to help bridge the gap between Peace Corps and their next job. RPCV status is very highly respected in the development community.
SCD (Sustainable Community Development): SCD is the smallest of the three programs that works in Kyrgyzstan.
Site: Site is where you live and work. You’re expected as a PCV to live and stay in the same site for two years except for PC trainings and annual leave.
Sitemate: Site mates are other PCV’s who also live in your site.
Site Visit: Site visits are when staff from the country office (or headquarters) come to your site to see how you’re doing and how your work is going.
Staging: Staging is the first step of heading to your PC post. All the incoming PCT’s assemble and participate in team-building welcome activities before getting on the plane all together to their country of service.
Swearing-In: Swearing-in is a ceremony that takes place at the end of PST, and is when PCT’s officially become PCV’s.
TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language): TEFL is the largest of the three programs in Kyrgyzstan.
Under Consideration: Under Consideration is a newer version of Nomination, usually with a specific country.
VAD (Volunteer Assignment Description): This is a large packet of information that is given to volunteers with information about the country they will be serving in.
VRF (Volunteer Reporting Form): The VRF is a complicated form that all PCV’s fill out 2-4 times per year to track their activity and progress towards specific PC goals.
Heard me say something and I forgot to put it in here? Let me know in the comments!