CONUS

Military abbreviation · Military Term

CONUS
Stands forContinental United States
CategoriesMilitary

CONUS stands for Continental United States, a military term abbreviation.

Military term for the 48 contiguous states and the District of Columbia. Despite the word "continental," Alaska and Hawaii are excluded and count as outside CONUS for travel, pay and assignment purposes.

Example: After three years in Japan she requested a CONUS assignment close to her parents.

Usage notes

Pronounced "KON-us." The distinction matters for allowances such as COLA and for travel rules. In some civil and FAA usage, CONUS can include Alaska, but Department of Defense regulations define it as the lower 48 states plus DC.

More military term abbreviations

  • COB – Chief of the boat
  • COCOM – Combatant command (command authority)
  • COIN – Counterinsurgency
  • COLA – Cost-of-living allowance
  • COMSEC – Communications security
  • CONOP – Concept of operations
  • COP – Combat outpost
  • CP – Command post
  • CQ – Charge of quarters
  • CQB – Close-quarters battle
  • CSAR – Combat search and rescue
  • CT – Counterterrorism

See all 248 military term abbreviations →

Edited by the AbbreviationList.com team. Spotted an error or a missing meaning? Contact us.