The military uses the phonetic alphabet to ensure clear communication of letters over oral communications media, such as telephones and radios. Basically, you use a word to represent each letter in a series. For example, instead of saying “NBC” (which could easily be confused with “MBC”, “NVC” or other similar-sounding letters), you would say “November Bravo Charlie”.

Here’s the full phonetic alphabet used by the U.S. military:

• A: Alpha


• B: Bravo


• C: Charlie


• D: Delta


• E: Echo


• F: Foxtrot


• G: Golf


• H: Hotel


• I: India


• J: Juliet


• K: Kilo


• L: Lima


• M: Mike


• N: November


• O: Oscar


• P: Papa


• Q: Quebec


• R: Romeo


• S: Sierra


• T: Tango


• U: Uniform


• V: Victor


• W: Whiskey


• X: X-ray


• Y: Yankee


• Z: Zulu

Posted in Military Traditions | No Comments »