The other day as I was reading my car’s vehicle identification number to the insurance company over my cell phone, I came to some letters that I wanted to make clear over the static. I was okay with some of the letters, like “M as in Mike,” or “Z as in Zulu,” but when I got to U I said, “U as in, well, underwear.” He read it back to me and said, “U as in Uniform.” We both started cracking up when I said, “I guess U includes a little bit more than just the underwear.”
That got me wondering about the military alphabet. Actually, here is a better description from Military.com:
“Currently, the U.S. military uses the same phonetic alphabet adopted by NATO. More accurately, the alphabet is known as the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet (IRSA).”
I thought this historical chart of the phonetics and Morse code was pretty cool, so I’ve included it for your enjoyment.
Over and out,
Kilo Alpha Romeo Alpha
| 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 |
Kara Church
Technical Editor, Advisory
619-542-6773 | Ext: 766773
Symitar Documentation Services
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