The military's phonetic alphabet has been floating around Facebook lately. Since I was in communications, I spent a lot of time on the radio. A lot of things have to be spelled out and many times you have to give your initials. If you have ever tried spelling out a word on the phone, you know how garbled things can get over the clearest of phone connections. Even spelling things in person can get hairy. If things are missed spelled in the military little bit more goes wrong than having your name misspelled on your library card.
People tend to speak quickly - especially when you have to say the same thing a lot. As anyone who speaks a little bit of a foreign language knows when someone speaks very quickly, their words run together and are difficult to understand. The phonetic alphabet keeps things clear no matter how bad the connection, regardless of the speaker's accent, or how quickly the speaker is talking.
The phonetic alphabet is as follows:
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
And for those who are really in the know... Lima Charlie?
People tend to speak quickly - especially when you have to say the same thing a lot. As anyone who speaks a little bit of a foreign language knows when someone speaks very quickly, their words run together and are difficult to understand. The phonetic alphabet keeps things clear no matter how bad the connection, regardless of the speaker's accent, or how quickly the speaker is talking.
The phonetic alphabet is as follows:
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
And for those who are really in the know... Lima Charlie?
