A phonetic alphabet is a list of words used to identify letters in a message transmitted by radio or telephone. Spoken words from an approved list are substituted for letters. For example, the word “Navy” would be “November Alfa Victor Yankee” when spelled in the phonetic alphabet. This practice helps to prevent confusion between similar sounding letters, such as “m” and “n”, and to clarify communications that may be garbled during transmission.
| Letter | Phonetic Equivalent |
|---|---|
| A | Alfa |
| 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 | Zulo |
Numeral Pronunciation
Numbers are important in military messages And should be spoken clearly in telephone and radio conversations. The pronunciation of numerals should be exaggerated to avoid misunderstanding by the receiving party. Each digit of large numbers is pronounced separately except in the case of even “hundreds” and “thousands.
| Number | Phonetic Equivalent |
|---|---|
| 1 | Wun |
| 2 | Too |
| 3 | Tree |
| 4 | Fo-wer |
| 5 | Fife |
| 6 | Six |
| 7 | Seven |
| 8 | Ate |
| 9 | Niner |
| 0 | Zero |
