Military Alphabet

The military phonetic alphabet uses 27 code words to represent each letter of the alphabet. Most people affiliated with the military and even the unaffiliated can appreciate the functionality of the Military Phonetic Alphabet – from conveying the correct spelling of one’s name over the phone to communicating code to shared office slang. But, how did the Military Phonetic Alphabet come to be and what are it’s uses in the big picture?

Guide to the Military Phonetic Alphabet

The military alphabet is more accurately known as IRDS (International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet and was developed by the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) for radio communications. It is the same phonetic alphabet that NATO uses.

Phonetic Alphabet Uses in Military Missions

Because many letters in the English language sound similar – think “M” and “N” or “B” and “D” – the Military Phonetic Alphabet is crucial to help service members relay mission status, locations, codes, and other important information. For example, if directions are being issued to “muster at building DMG,” the letters DMG could easily be confused with DMZ or BNG. More clear communication would be to say “muster at building Delta-Mike-Golf.” On a larger scale, clarity in communication during military operations can be the difference between losing a comrade or bringing everyone home. For instance, to successfully convey to its command that the first phase of a mission has been completed, a squadron would report back “Alpha” (the first word in the alphabet), the second phase would be “Bravo” and so on. Likewise, “Oscar Mike” can be used to convey that the team is on the move.

Printable Military Alphabet Charts

Military Alphabet

Character	Code Word	Pronunciation
A	Alpha	AL fah
B	Bravo	BRAH voh
C	Charlie	CHAR lee
D	Delta	DEL tah
E	Echo	EKK oh
F	Foxtrot	FOKS trot
G	Golf	Golf
H	Hotel	HO tell
I	India	IN dee ah
J	Juliet	JEW lee ett
K	Kilo	KEY loh
L	Lima	LEE mah
M	Mike	Mike
N	November	NOH vem ber
O	Oscar	OSS car
P	Papa	PAH pah
Q	Quebec	keh BECK
R	Romeo	ROW me oh
S	Sierra	see AIR ah
T	Tango	TANG go
U	Uniform	YOU nee form
V	Victor	VIK ter
W	Whiskey	WISS key
X	X-Ray	EKS ray
Y	Yankee	YANG kee
Z	Zulu	ZOO loo

History of the Military Phonetic Alphabet

Though the first recognized phonetic alphabet was adopted in 1927, the Military Phonetic Alphabet we’ve come to know today didn’t come to fruition until World War II. In 1941, the U.S. adopted the Joint Army/Navy radiotelephony alphabet to standardize communication among all branches of the U.S. military, though many nations used their own versions and the Royal Air Force adopted a similar alphabet to the U.S. The system created by the U.S. would later be called Able Baker after the letters “A” and “B.” In 1943, the U.S., U.K., and Australian armed forces modified the Able Baker alphabet to streamline communication between allied nations.

After World War II, the so-called Able Baker alphabet was utilized, but modified, by other nations because sounds found in the alphabet were unique to English speakers. Seeing the need to adopt a universal alphabet that could be used in English, French, Spanish, and other languages, the alphabet was further revised through testing among speakers from 31 nations. The Military Phonetic Alphabet was finalized in 1957, and is officially called the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet (IRSA). This alphabet, developed by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), is used by both the United States and NATO. Only four words – Charlie, Mike, Victor, and X-Ray – are still used from the Able Baker alphabet.

History of The NATO Phonetic Alphabet

Letter	1957-Present	Morse Code	1913	1927	1938	World War II
A	Alfa (or Alpha)	. _	Able	Affirmative	Afirm	Afirm (Able)
B	Bravo	_ . . .	Boy	Baker	Baker	Baker
C	Charlie	_ . _ .	Cast	Cast	Cast	Charlie
D	Delta	_ . .	Dog	Dog	Dog	Dog
E	Echo	.	Easy	Easy	Easy	Easy
F	Foxtrot	. . _ .	Fox	Fox	Fox	Fox
G	Golf	_ _ .	George	George	George	George
H	Hotel	. . . .	Have	Hypo	Hypo	How
I	India	. .	Item	Interrogatory	Int	Int (Item)
J	Juliett	. _ _ _	Jig	Jig	Jig	Jig
K	Kilo	_ . _	King	King	King	King
L	Lima	. _ . .	Love	Love	Love	Love
M	Mike	_ _	Mike	Mike	Mike	Mike
N	November	_ .	Nan	Negative	Negat	Negat (Nan)
O	Oscar	_ _ _	Oboe	Option	Option	Option (Oboe)
P	Papa	. _ _ .	Pup	Preparatory	Prep	Prep (Peter)
Q	Quebec	_ _ . _	Quack	Quack	Queen	Queen
R	Romeo	. _ .	Rush	Roger	Roger	Roger
S	Sierra	. . .	Sail	Sail	Sail	Sugar
T	Tango	_	Tare	Tare	Tare	Tare
U	Uniform	. . _	Unit	Unit	Unit	Uncle
V	Victor	. . . _	Vice	Vice	Victor	Victor
W	Whiskey	. _ _	Watch	William	William	William
X	X-ray	_ . . _	X-ray	X-ray	X-ray	X-ray
Y	Yankee	_ . _ _	Yoke	Yoke	Yoke	Yoke
Z	Zulu	_ _ . .	Zed	Zed	Zed	Zebra

Common Military Alphabet Phrases

11 Bravo – Army Infantry
40 Mike Mike – 40 Millimeter Grenade or M203 Grenade Launcher
Bravo Zulu – Good Job or Well Done
Charlie Foxtrot – Cluster F**k
Charlie Mike – Continue Mission
Echo Tango Sierra – Expiration Term of Service (someone who is about to complete their tour of duty)
Lima Charlie – Loud and Clear
Mikes – Minutes
November Golf – NG or No Go (fail)
Oscar-Mike – On the Move
Tango Mike – Thanks Much
Tango Uniform – Toes Up, meaning killed or destroyed
Tango Yankee – Thank You
Whiskey Charlie – Water Closet (toilet)
Whiskey Pete – White Phosphorus
Whiskey Tango Foxtrot – WTF