# A question for you Army guys **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 30, 2024, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-you-army-guys/1006490 "2024-08-30T22:36:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 10:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-you-army-guys/1006490/1 "2024-08-30T22:36:26Z")
Companies, troops, and batteries have long been designated by letters of the alphabet, such as the famous E Co. The US Military use the NATO alphabet, in which ‘A’ is “Alfa”. But I keep seeing references in print to “Alpha Company”. Is Alpha actually the official name of these units, or are the writers and their editors confused? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-you-army-guys/1006490/2 "2024-08-30T22:43:38Z")
NATO is “alfa.” The print uses are either 1) wrong, 2) spelled wrong, or 3) using the old alphabet. It’s changed quite a bit since the days of Cheech & Chong. [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/J2-29SW61FQ/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AH-BIAC4AOKAgwIABABGH8gWygTMA8=&rs=AOn4CLB8dMPexu6dgseCZZq8xXlHHp61vQ "Cheech And Chong- Vietnam") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J2-29SW61FQ) ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-you-army-guys/1006490/3 "2024-08-30T23:26:47Z")
The ALPHA spelling is in regular use. [https://home.army.mil/wood/units-tenants/USACBRNS/CBRN\_units/3CMBDE/3-10INBN/ACo](https://home.army.mil/wood/units-tenants/USACBRNS/CBRN_units/3CMBDE/3-10INBN/ACo) [https://www.2ndmardiv.marines.mil/Units/2nd-Reconnaissance-BN/Alpha-Company/](https://www.2ndmardiv.marines.mil/Units/2nd-Reconnaissance-BN/Alpha-Company/) [https://www.pendleton.marines.mil/Main-Menu/Staff-Agencies/Headquarters-Support-Battalion/Subordinate-Companies/Alpha-Company/](https://www.pendleton.marines.mil/Main-Menu/Staff-Agencies/Headquarters-Support-Battalion/Subordinate-Companies/Alpha-Company/) But also ALFA > **[U.S. Army soldiers assigned to Alfa Company, 1st Squadron, - NARA & DVIDS...](https://nara.getarchive.net/media/us-army-soldiers-assigned-to-alfa-company-1st-squadron-8448c6)** > > Download Image of U.S. Army soldiers assigned to Alfa Company, 1st Squadron,. Free for commercial use, no attribution required. U.S. Army soldiers assigned to Alfa Company, 1st Squadron, 38th Cavalry Regiment, 525th Battlefield Surveillance Brigade,... > **[NMCB 11 Alfa Company in Rota](https://www.dvidshub.net/image/8251259/nmcb-11-alfa-company-rota)** > > U.S. Navy Steelworker Constuctionman Jose Vasquezcruz, assigned to Naval Mobile Construction Battalion (NMCB) 11, welds together metal components on Camp Mitchell, Naval Station Rota, Spain, Feb. 22, 2023. NMCB 11, assigned to the TWENTY SECOND Naval... ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-you-army-guys/1006490/4 "2024-08-30T23:50:55Z")
In WW2 through the early 1950s the USA used the old “Able Baker” alphabet– hence “Easy” Company– which was later replaced by the NATO “Alpha Bravo”. You see the changeover in the names of nuclear test shots. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-you-army-guys/1006490/5 "2024-08-30T23:53:46Z")
I was A Battery, Student Battalion, The School Brigade. Ft Bliss in 1980. IIRC it was spelled Alpha. No one called it Alpha Battery…, it was always A Battery. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 30, 2024, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-you-army-guys/1006490/6 "2024-08-30T23:57:18Z")
The “alpha” stuff is actually a phonetic radio alphabet; at least that is the context where I first learned it. So “alpha” = A, bravo = B and so on. It’s not the code words themselves, or spelling variations thereof, that are significant. ---
**Author:** ![Balthisar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/balthisar/32/2825_2.png) [@Balthisar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balthisar)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 12:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-you-army-guys/1006490/7 "2024-08-31T00:13:43Z")
Is the question about the different spelling? Or the pronunciation? Or how it might be written in official orders? It’s Company A, but pronounced “alpha” even though the NATO spelling is “alfa.” When quoting someone, say, a captain, “Company Alfa has a successful ARTEP,” speaking phonetically the “A,” will be written in standard English, which is “alpha.” Cappy _could_ have said “Company A” for the benefit of the journalist, but we all tend to default to industry lingo unless we’re being careful. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-you-army-guys/1006490/8 "2024-08-31T14:27:19Z")
The official name for A company is A company. On properly formatted correspondence it would not be “alpha” or “alfa” just A. When you get orders assigning you to a company it will say A co. 2/227th AVN BN (one of my old units). When spelled out I have never seen alpha spelled alfa since alfa isn’t a word in English. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 3:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-you-army-guys/1006490/9 "2024-08-31T15:18:24Z")
If you wanted to spell out the name of the letter for some reason, in English it is alpha, in Spanish it’s alfa, in Russian it’s альфа, in Greek ἄλφα, etc. An “international” table of such codewords may not use the PH digraph since it’s less phonemic if your target audience does not necessarily speak English. fun fact: the NATO-reported Alpha/Alfa class Soviet attack submarine was actually called Lyra. You see the letters are not supposed to be real names. ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-you-army-guys/1006490/10 "2024-08-31T15:59:05Z")
Odd. 22 years in the Army, and I’ve never seen it spelled “alfa”. It’s always “Alpha”. ---
**Author:** ![SCAdian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scadian/32/3292_2.png) [@SCAdian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SCAdian)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-you-army-guys/1006490/11 "2024-08-31T16:40:16Z")
> [@Bear\_Nenno](#): > > 22 years in the Army, and I’ve never seen it spelled “alfa”. It’s always “Alpha”. 21 years as a Navy radioman, and it was always “Alfa” in manuals, including both NTPs (Navy Telecommunications Publications) and ATPs (Allied Telecommunications Publications). > **[NATO phonetic alphabet](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATO_phonetic_alphabet#Tables)** > > The International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet or simply Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet, commonly known as the NATO phonetic alphabet, is the most widely used set of clear-code words for communicating the letters of the Roman alphabet. Technically a radiotelephonic spelling alphabet, it goes by various names, including NATO spelling alphabet, ICAO phonetic alphabet and ICAO spelling alphabet. The ITU phonetic alphabet and figure code is a rarely used variant that differs in the code word... > **[Alfa-class submarine](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfa-class_submarine)** > > The Alfa class, Soviet designation Project 705 Lira (Russian: Лира, meaning "Lyre", NATO reporting name Alfa), was a class of nuclear-powered attack submarines in service with the Soviet Navy from 1971 into the early 1990s, with one serving later with the Russian Navy until 1996. They were among the fastest military submarines ever built, with only the prototype submarine K-222 (NATO reporting name Papa-class) exceeding them in submerged speed. > The Project 705 submarines had a unique design amon... ---
**Author:** ![Bear\_Nenno](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bear_nenno/32/3358_2.png) [@Bear\_Nenno](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bear_Nenno)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 5:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-you-army-guys/1006490/12 "2024-08-31T17:15:52Z")
Oh, I have no doubts. The Army also thinks L is “local” time zone, though it should be J. The Army thinks cache is pronounced “cashay”, route rhymes with gout, compasses don’t point north because of an iron deposit in Hudson Bay… I could go on. I’m just amazed I never caught the alfa/alpha thing. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-you-army-guys/1006490/13 "2024-08-31T17:17:06Z")
> [@rsat3acr](#): > > I was A Battery, Student Battalion, The School Brigade. Ft Bliss in 1980. IIRC it was spelled Alpha. No one called it Alpha Battery…, it was always A Battery. So in answer to the old discussion of where are all the A and B -cell batteries: they’re in the artillery. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 5:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-you-army-guys/1006490/14 "2024-08-31T17:42:04Z")
23 years in the Seabees. Our battalions were structured similar to Army and Marine battalions. Typically, there was Alfa, Bravo, Charlie and Delta, each of which contained specific construction trades. There was also a Headquarters Company, which for some reason was not designated as Hotel. ---
**Author:** ![Dissonance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/85f322/32.png) [@Dissonance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dissonance)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-you-army-guys/1006490/15 "2024-08-31T17:58:16Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > There was also a Headquarters Company, which for some reason was not designated as Hotel. The US Army, liking to keep things simple (hah), decided it’s not the headquarters company. It’s the [Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headquarters_and_headquarters_company_(United_States)). ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 8:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-you-army-guys/1006490/16 "2024-08-31T20:03:43Z")
> [@Dissonance](#): > > > [@Chefguy](#): > > > > There was also a Headquarters Company, which for some reason was not designated as Hotel. > > The US Army, liking to keep things simple (hah), decided it’s not the headquarters company. It’s the [Headquarters and Headquarters Company (HHC)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Headquarters_and_headquarters_company_(United_States)). The headquarters contains a bunch of officers that often outrank the company commander who is usually a captain. Calling it HHC shows its unique nature of having both staff and regular soldiers. The battalion executive officer (or chief of staff for higher level units) controls the headquarters staff while the HHC commander commands the soldiers. ---
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-you-army-guys/1006490/17 "2024-08-31T22:22:01Z")
Is there an HHC company commander, too, or does the battalion XO fill that role? ---
**Author:** ![ASL\_v2.0](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asl_v2.0/32/3525_2.png) [@ASL\_v2.0](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ASL_v2.0)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2024, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-you-army-guys/1006490/18 "2024-08-31T23:38:17Z")
Presumably, yes (there is a company commander). Although I gather it’s not among the most important/prestigious jobs, because during the recent unpleasantness in Iraq and Afghanistan, they would often fill those billets with individual augmentees from the Navy (sometimes volunteers, but often not). I could have been one—might have—if I didn’t end up lucking into a job as an advisor to the Iraqi Navy. ---
**Author:** ![Loach](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/loach/32/350_2.png) [@Loach](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Loach)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2024, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-you-army-guys/1006490/19 "2024-09-01T01:57:48Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > Is there an HHC company commander, too, or does the battalion XO fill that role? There is a company commander usually a captain (there are exceptions). At the battalion level the XO is a major. He runs the staff. The heads of the staff sections run their sections on a day to day basis. The HHC commander handles everything else for the troops like common skills training, daily formations, PT. It isn’t an enviable position. They have to walk the line between dealing with the higher ranking staff and handling the needs of the troops. It’s often given to a senior captain who already had command time in a line unit. > [@ASL\_v2.0](#): > > Presumably, yes (there is a company commander). Although I gather it’s not among the most important/prestigious jobs, because during the recent unpleasantness in Iraq and Afghanistan, they would often fill those billets with individual augmentees from the Navy (sometimes volunteers, but often not). I could have been one—might have—if I didn’t end up lucking into a job as an advisor to the Iraqi Navy. I’ve never seen that except in joint units. I was deployed twice into joint units. All the command was army but other services filled slots. ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2024, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-you-army-guys/1006490/20 "2024-09-01T03:06:27Z")
Stupid memory- once when I was in basic and we were leaving a classroom, the drill sergeants had us yelling Alpha! Alpha! Alpha! as if to instill spirit or pride or something. Alpha! Alpha! Alpha! repeated rapidly just sounds like fal fal fal, so I repeated that as fast as I could. I was able to slow it down to Alpha when I was checked at the door. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-for-you-army-guys/1006490.md?page=2)