Air Force
Coast Guard
Marine Corps
National Guard
NavyMilitary Phonetic Alphabet
The Army, as well as all other branches of the US armed services, currently use the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) alphabet for radio communication. This alphabet was adopted by the US armed services in 1956, and is currently used by NATO countries as well as civil aviation around the world.
The chart below shows both the code words for each letter and their recommended pronunciation.
| Letter | Code Word | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| A | Alfa | AL fah |
| B | Bravo | BRAH voh |
| C | Charlie | CHAR lee |
| D | Delta | DEL tah |
| E | Echo | EKK oh |
| F | Foxtrot | FOKS trot |
| G | Golf | Golf |
| H | Hotel | HO tell |
| I | India | IN dee ah |
| J | Juliet | JEW lee ett |
| K | Kilo | KEY loh |
| L | Lima | LEE mah |
| M | Mike | Mike |
| N | November | NOH vem ber |
| O | Oscar | OSS car |
| P | Papa | PAH pah |
| Q | Quebec | keh BECK |
| R | Romeo | ROW me oh |
| S | Sierra | see AIR ah |
| T | Tango | TANG go |
| U | Uniform | YOU nee form |
| V | Victor | VIK ter |
| W | Whiskey | WISS key |
| X | X-ray | EKS ray |
| Y | Yankee | YANG kee |
| Z | Zulu | ZOO loo |
During World War 2, the US developed one phonetic alphabet for use by both the Army and Navy to simply inter-branch communication. This Army/Navy Alphabet was used until 1956, when it was replaced by the ICAO/NATO alphabet and although outdated, is still used by many who were in the US military at that time.
| Letter | Code Word | Pronunciation |
|---|---|---|
| A | Able | AY buhl |
| B | Baker | BAY ker |
| C | Charlie | CHAR lee |
| D | Dog | Dawg |
| E | Easy | EE zee |
| F | Fox | Foks |
| G | George | Jorje |
| H | How | How |
| I | Item | EYE tem |
| J | Jig | Jig |
| K | King | King |
| L | Love | Love |
| M | Mike | Mike |
| N | Nan | Nan |
| O | Oboe | OH boh |
| P | Peter | PEE ter |
| Q | Queen | Kween |
| R | Roger | RAH jer |
| S | Sugar | Shugar |
| T | Tare | Tair |
| U | Uncle | UHN kuhl |
| V | Victor | VIK ter |
| W | William | WILL yam |
| X | X-ray | EKS ray |
| Y | Yoke | Yoke |
| Z | Zebra | ZEE brah |
