Military Alphabet
The military alphabet, or more properly the phonetic alphabet, exists in innumerable variants.
If any one military alphabet can be viewed as the most correct, it is the current NATO standard military alphabet.
However, even with the NATO standard military alphabet, numerous spelling variations are known to be used by various member nations.
This version of the military alphabet is also known as the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) code.
The NATO Standard Military Alphabet
This chart shows the current NATO standard military alphabet:
| Letter | NATO |
|---|---|
| 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 | Xray |
| Y | Yankee |
| Z | Zulu |
Military Alphabet Pronounciation Guide
The following military alphabet pronounciation guide is excerpted from FM 24-19: Radio Operators Handbook.
| Letter | Pronounciation |
|---|---|
| A | AL FAH |
| B | BRAH VOH |
| C | CHAR LEE |
| D | DELL TAH |
| E | ECK OH |
| F | FOKS TROT |
| G | GOLF |
| H | HOH TELL |
| I | IN DEE AH |
| J | JEW LEE ETT |
| K | KEY LOH |
| L | LEE MAH |
| M | MIKE |
| N | NO VEM BER |
| O | OSS CAH |
| P | PAH PAH |
| Q | KEH BECK |
| R | ROW ME OH |
| S | SEE AIR RAH |
| T | TANG GO |
| U | YOU NEE FORM |
| V | VIK TAH |
| W | WISS KEY |
| X | ECKS RAY |
| Y | YANG KEY |
| Z | ZOO LOO |
Example Usage of the Military Alphabet
Using the military alphabet to spell out "Tech FAQ", we would say:
Tango Echo Charlie Hotel Foxtrot Alpha Quebec
The Numeric Military Alphabet
There is also a military "alphabet" for numbers, which is used mainly as a pronounciation guide.
| Number | Pronounciation |
|---|---|
| 0 | Zeero |
| 1 | Wun |
| 2 | Too |
| 3 | Tree |
| 4 | Fow-er |
| 5 | Fife |
| 6 | Siks |
| 7 | Seven |
| 8 | Ait |
| 9 | Nine |
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