a guy in one of my classes just got into the navy and had some little navy bokklet he had to study at school. he showed us all the stuff he had to memorize including “the navy alphabet” (that thing with words like “Juliet”, “Romeo”, and “X-ray” to represent the letters they start with). what is the point in this? it’s not like it’s some elaborate code that anyone that knows the alphabet can’t figure out. it seems kinda pointless to me… maybe it’s something just to see how well you can use your brain but which really has no point… kinda like algebra?
That’s the International Telecommunications Union phonetic alphabet:
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
Oh, I forgot the important bit. The reason it’s usen is because many letters sound similara to each other, like D and B or M and N, especially in a noisy military aircraft. So, the ITU phonetic alphabet is used to prevent misunderstandings.
It’s most useful when you have to spell things out on the radio. Or in aviation, where there’s lots of letters that get repeated back and forth over the radio. P, B, C, D, E, G, Z, T, and probably a few other letters all sound very similar. So instead of saying “B as in ‘boy,’” you just say “Bravo” and move on.
Military types!
What happened to Able, Baker, et. al.?
What ** Q.E.D.** listed is what I know from civilian pursuits - but I also remember that the US military (back in the day) used a slightly different version.
For my entire military career, that particular alphabet was referred to as the NATO Phonetic Alphabet.
Q.E.D.'s list is the one I learned in the Nav back in '83/'84. Dunno when they changed, but it’s been this way for at least 20 years.
And say the ones I’ve quoted like:
“KEE-low”
“LEE-mah”
“Nov-EMbah”
“AHS-kah”
“pa-PAH”
“KEH-bek”
“YOU-nee-form”
“VIC-tah”
The rest are pronounced normally, by American standards.
Er, “Nov-EM-bah”. Or something.
If the Navy is claiming that alphabet as its own…
…well, that’s just fighting words to us Army types.
It was changed after this exchange during the Vietnam era
(radio)“Able Baker Charlie this is Roger Fox Dog”
GI: “Hey man somebodies bad mouthing Roger!”
Yeah it is from Cheech and Chong. It still cracks me up.
Note that this alphabet is also used in civilian applications where clarity is safety significant. (Nuclear Power Operations, Commercial Aviation, etc.)
Monty, Bear_Nenno Tranquilis -
Thanks. I guess. So I am now officially ancient.
oh well, surrender gracefully…
[sub]gracefully, my ass![/sub]
In WWII, the Navy codes were:
able
baker
cast (charlie)
dog
easy
fox
george
hypo (how)
inter (item)
jig
king
love
mike
negat (nan)
over (oboe)
prep (peter)
queen
roger
sugar
tare
uncle
victor
william
x-ray
yoke
zebra
The same list, but with the items in parens, were used by Morse telegraphers prior to that. The Navy added its own variations for reasons I won’t go into now. (See my source, this newsgroup, for more info.)
Then there was the American Radio Relay League’s list:
Adam
Baker
Charlie
David
Edward
Frank
George
Henry
Ida
John
king
Lewis
Mary
Nancy
Otto
Peter
queen
Robert
Susan
Thomas
union
Victor
William
x-ray
young
zebra
Although the “alpha bravo” list is the one currently approved for international aviation use, apparently some older pilots still use “able baker.”
The only common elements of all the alphabets listed here: victor and x-ray.
(I’m reminded of Uncle Shel [Silverstein]'s A-B-Z Book, in which "X is for xylophone, because X is always for xylophone.
Once I was spelling a word to someone taking an order for something on the phone, and used the Alpha Bravo system. When I got to an S, I said Sierra, and she said that Sierra can be with an S or a C, which one did I mean? I think she must have been thinking of a car model.:rolleyes:
I learned the phonetic alphabet through having to do safety check-ins by radio when camped in remote areas. I still habitually use it when I have to spell something out over the phone for someone.
One of the pilots we used to work with was nicknamed “Charlie Fox” (nothing like his real name, but appropriate to his personality) after his plane’s letters CFI, Charlie Foxtrot India.
It might also be mentioned that the name “Charlie” for the Viet Cong during the Vietnam War came from from the initials V.C., Victor Charlie.
There’s a large collection of phonetic alphabets for various languages and organizations here. Police departments and some businesses use a version that’s different than the military one, with a lot of first names.
Have you ever ordered take-out food?
“That’s appartment 3 B”
“G?”
“No B”
“E?”
“NO B!”
“T as in TANGO?”
“No B as in BRAVO!”.
“Oh ok…10 minute!”
click!
It’s so as to avoid confusion in a world dominated by acronyms.
And that algebra will come in handy when you have x=$5 dollars and spring rolls are y = $2.50 a piece and you need to figure out z=how many spring rolls you can order. Sorry to be cross with you but as someone who has yet to find a practical real world use for diferential equations and matrix addition & subtraction I find it unbelievable that someone would be able to go through life never having to solve for z.
Let us not forget my favorite… “niner”