KIA

Killed in action (KIA or K. I. A.) is a casualty classification generally used by militaries to describe the deaths of their own forces by other hostile forces, or by "friendly fire" during combat.[citation needed] The United States Department of Defense (DOD) says that those declared KIA need not have fired their weapons but have been killed due to hostile attack. KIA's do not come from incidents such as accidental vehicle crashes and other "non-hostile" events or terrorism. KIA can be applied both to front-line combat troops and to naval, air, and support troops.

Further, KIA denotes one to have been killed in action on the battlefield whereas died of wounds (or DOW) relates to someone who survived to reach a medical treatment facility. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) also uses DWRIA, rather than DOW, for "died of wounds received in action." However, historically, militaries and historians have used the latter acronym.