Glossary term
AAR1 (after-action report)
TERM SUMMARY
AAR1 is the NATO abbreviation for after-action report, the formal record produced after an activity, operation, exercise or mission to document what occurred.
- Why it matters
- AAR1 is the abbreviation NATO uses for after-action report . NATO's glossary of acronyms and abbreviations lists it under that expansion and gives the French equivalent as compte rendu après action .
- Category
- Canadian government procurement terminology
- Reference role
- This term page is designed to be linkable, crawlable, and easy to quote or summarize.
AAR1 is the abbreviation NATO uses for after-action report. NATO's glossary of acronyms and abbreviations lists it under that expansion and gives the French equivalent as compte rendu après action. The entry appears in the NATO glossary of acronyms and abbreviations (AAP-15).
An after-action report is the formal record produced after an activity, operation, exercise or mission. It documents what took place and gives staff information for analysis and improvement. The numeral in AAR1 matters, because NATO uses the same letters for a second, different term. Suppliers who read defence documents should know which one is meant.
AAR1 and AAR2: report versus review
The NATO glossary treats the two abbreviations as separate entries. AAR1 is the after-action report. AAR2 is the after-action review. The report is a written record. The review is the discussion or process conducted after an activity.
- AAR1: after-action report, in French compte rendu après action.
- AAR2: after-action review.
The two should not be swapped. A document that asks for a report is asking for a record. A document that asks for a review is asking for a structured look back at the activity.
What an after-action report records
NATO public-affairs guidance gives a concrete example. The NATO Public Affairs Handbook (2020) describes the after-action report as the official record of a media-contact or escort mission. The handbook says the report helps staff track and analyse the operating environment and improve media operations.
That example shows the purpose of the document. It is written after the work is done, it is official, and it feeds later planning. The same logic applies to the broader definition in NATO terminology: a report that captures events so that analysis and improvement can follow.
Where the term is maintained
NATO keeps its official terminology in NATOTerm, a database of NATO military and relevant non-military terminology that excludes classified material. NATOTerm is maintained by the NATO Terminology Office, which is part of the NATO Standardization Office. Bid teams that need to confirm how NATO defines a term in a document can check it there.
What AAR1 means for a supplier bidding on Canadian public contracts
AAR1 is NATO terminology. A Canadian solicitation or contract sets its own deliverables, so any requirement for an after-action report has to be read from the statement of work, the terms and conditions and any attached data item descriptions for that specific bid.
Bid teams should check four things:
- Whether the document asks for an after-action report, an after-action review, or both.
- The required content and format of the report.
- The deadline for submitting it after the activity ends.
- Who receives it and whether it is tied to payment or acceptance of work.
If a bid references NATO standards or NATO-led exercises, use the NATO glossary to confirm that AAR1 means the written report and AAR2 means the review. Where the wording is unclear, raise it as a question to the contracting authority during the solicitation period, so your price and schedule reflect the reporting work.