Phonetic Alphabet

[Stretch]

If anyone was after a list of the phonetic alphabet, here it is!

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 Whisky
X X-Ray
Y Yankee
Z Zulu

[youngn]

Ayee

haha its sad that this is such a widely used code and we didnt even have a copy of it on the forums.

nice work, bang up job!

[SunnybankScan]

Thats because its usually common sence, the users of these sites know it anyway

[AIRMAN]

Yes thanks for that mate. This is the NATO Alpahbet and has been adopted by the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO).

The American law enforcement agencies (police) still use this phonetic code in some southern states:
Able
Baker
Charlie
Dog
Easy
Fox
George
How
Item
Jig
King
Love
Mike
Nan
Oboe
Peter
Queen
Roger
Sugar
Tare
Uncle
Victor
William
X-ray
Yoke
Zebra

.......of added interest is that the Yanks use the TEN Code and so do the Kiwi Police:

Code Meaning(s)
10-00

* Officer Down, All Patrols Respond

'(Ten-Double Zero)'

10-0

* Caution
* Death/Dead
* Pursuit
* Unit logging off (NZ Police)

10-1

* Poor Reception
* Officer Needs Help
* Unable to Copy
* Call your command (New York City)
* Message to all units (NZ Police)

10-2

* Good Reception
* OK For Now, Continue With Status Checks
* Return to your command (New York City)
* Unit is en route to job (NZ Police)

10-3

* Ok, No Further Status Checks Needed
* Call your dispatcher {aka 'Central'} (New York City)
* Hold all radio traffic, emergency on channel

10-4

* Affirmative
* Ok
* Understood
* Repeat your last transmission (NZ Police)

10-5

* Relay
* Pick up an item
* Repeat message (New York City)

10-6

* Busy
* Out At Call
* Stand by (New York City)
* Change channel to... (NZ Police)

10-7

* Out of Service
* Ending tour of Duty
* Deceased
* Not functional (as a vehicle)
* (Ambulance) On Scene
* Request Break
* Proceeding to ___
* Unit has arrived at job (NZ Police)

10-8

* Back In Service
* On Duty
* Available for next Call
* (Ambulance) In Service / En Route
* Unit busy but available (NZ Police)

10-9

* Repeat last message
* Urgent message (NZ Police)

[rochedalescan]

10-10 Officer required immediate assistance - NZ Police

For a full list including K- codes go to http://www.b8s.co.nz/policecodes.htm or www.nzscanners.org.nz

[AIRMAN]

Notice that not a single one of the American phonetic alphabet is a Greek letter? I don't get why they change things un-necessarily all the time. Like the spelling of colour to color?

Also

Aluminum instead of Aluminium
Tires instead of Tyres

Mate I worked with Americans for 13 years. Believe me when I say that they consider there's nothing wrong with their spelling and grammar.

They aren't going to change anytime soon, and you'll have to live with a 'flow on' to these shores thanks to the media who lap it up.

There are many others words, expressions and pronunciations that vary a lot from US State to State as well. It's a whole different world down in Alabama after New York. LOL

Cheers

[hotmetal1000]

Way off topic now but it's the difference between American English and English, there's even Australian English now. Who's right and who's wrong?

[Stretch]

What I don't understand is - isn't the phonetic alphabet meant to be universal so you could go anywhere in the world and be understood. If so, why do we have different variations :sc

[Comint]

What I don't understand is - isn't the phonetic alphabet meant to be universal so you could go anywhere in the world and be understood. If so, why do we have different variations :sc

Yes, but it didn't start out as the "Universal" Phonetic Alphabet. There were tens, if not hundreds, of different versions, with the Able, Baker, Charlie version left over from use by the Americans in World War II. The Americans have a reputation of being reluctant to adopt anything that they didn't have a major part in developing.

Just like with the 10 Codes. It seems that just about every 'Hick Town' Police Dept, Sheriff's Office, and Security Firm in the USA has their own version of the 10 Codes. 10-99 might mean 'Officer Down' with one department, and 'Lunch Break' with a neighbouring department. Rather confusing in an emergency situation. It is for this reason, that the US Federal Government has mandated that use of 10 Codes is to cease, and 'Plain English' is to be used for all radio Communications, in the interest of Inter-Operability. I wish them luck, as the Law has been in effect for a few years now, and yet the 10 Codes are still in use with a lot of departments.

--
Comint

[Stretch]

True. So really they're not meant to be using the 10 codes but still do. Plain english seems to be a more logical way anyway :sc

[vk3xem]

The Phonetic Alphabet posted by Stretch was designed so no two words can be confused, even with people's accents and poor radio conditions there will be no mix ups.

I was not aware that anyone still used the alphabet posted by AIRMAN as confusion can reign in certain conditions.

[JAFO]

The Phonetic Alphabet posted by Stretch is the version adopted by NATO Forces after the WWII, so even today it is the recognised Official Phonetic Alphabet used by all US Military Forces.

[bodyguard]

The Phonetic Alphabet posted by Stretch is the version adopted by NATO Forces after the WWII, so even today it is the recognised Official Phonetic Alphabet used by all US Military Forces.

Hmm thats sort of right, but was developed by the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) it was adopted by many other international and national organizations, including the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the International Maritime Organization (IMO), the American Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), and the American Radio Relay League (ARRL).

Most of the words are recognizable by native English speakers because English must be used upon request for communication between an aircraft and a control tower whenever two nations are involved, regardless of their native languages. But it is only required internationally, not domestically, thus if both parties to a radio conversation are from the same country, then another phonetic alphabet of that nation's choice may be used

the above is taken from wikipedia