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A life or death development- With the rise of field telephones and two-way radios in militaries in the late 19th and early 20th century, poor signal, external noises, and radio interference often obscured messages and caused errors. Particularly when lives were on the line and fates of nations were being decided, it became vital to find a way to communicate clearly.
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The beginning- To ensure that messages were communicated clearly, signalmen began to develop systems of words that represented each letter of the alphabet. One of the first versions of this was reportedly used in the US as early as 1913.
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Two major benefits- Not only did these coded alphabet systems help pilots and signalmen communicate more effectively, but they also helped make communication more covert.
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Many codes formed- In World War I, several different spelling alphabets came in and out of use, and not just in the US. Many military powers were employing the spelling alphabet to help restrict the flow of information, emphasize clarity, and institute norms for order and updates.
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The British were early participants- During WWI, the British Royal Air Force reportedly introduced the first complete spelling alphabet, called the RAF radio alphabet.
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Popular in telegram communication- In 1927, the International Telegraph Union (ITU) developed a spelling alphabet for telegram communication, which quickly grew popular. By the start of WWII, most commercial airlines around the world were reportedly using ITU code words.
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The US military had many codes- In WWI, each branch of the US military (Navy, Air Force, etc.) had its own code, but by the second World War they realized that communication between forces had become too difficult.
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Joining US forces- During WWII, the US military developed the Joint Army/Navy Phonetic Alphabet (JANAP) so that the forces could communicate smoothly when working together. JANAP was adopted in 1941 and continued to be used until 1957.
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Different words used at the time- JANAP, also known as the “Able Baker alphabet,” used different words that no longer appear in the modern military phonetic alphabet, like using Able, Baker, Easy, Roger, and Sugar for the letters A, B, E, R, and S.
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Influence on media in the '50s- The JANAP code can be heard in movies and TV shows dating from the 1950s, as well as more modern cinematic depictions of WWII including 'Saving Private Ryan' (1998).
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Moving towards standardization- While the US and British militaries had each developed different codes for their alphabets, they began to combine and standardize their versions during WWII so that they could streamline communication during joint operations.
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Making it more international- After WWII, NATO allies identified a difficulty in the way the wartime alphabet included words and pronunciations that were specific to American English. NATO and the US decided to implement a common unified alphabet.
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United in communication- In 1957, all NATO countries adopted a universal phonetic spelling alphabet created by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). It was called the International Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet (IRSA) or just the NATO phonetic alphabet. Some spellings were different, however, like “Alfa” in the US was spelled “Alpha.”
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How words were chosen- The International Civil Aviation Organization conducted extensive research over years testing various possible words for each letter in order to determine which offered the maximum mutual intelligibility between speakers from different linguistic backgrounds under various noisy battle conditions. The words had to be easy to pronounce and recognize by numerous dialects.
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The words were once classified- The US government reportedly classified the IRSA as confidential at first, but later released it to the public. The IRSA became ever more popular with time, and many have come to know it simply as the military alphabet.
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Where the military alphabet is used- While still employed by militaries, the codes are useful in any field that requires the same three guiding principles for military communication, or the military ABCs: Accuracy, Brevity, and Clarity. It can be used in aviation, medicine, radio, and other realms of tech.
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Why should civilians know it?- While most of us aren't trying to communicate coordinates amid battle, the military alphabet is useful in war movies and military-themed video games, and it's important in cases where you need to give critical information to emergency services.
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Clearer communication- It can be useful even when you're talking on the phone and need to avoid misunderstanding due to different pronunciations or poor signal. Even in the same dialect, the sounds of B, V, T, and P are difficult to distinguish, and the same goes for F, S, M, and N. Now here are the code words you should know.
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A, B, C, D, E- The letters A, B, C, D, and E are Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, and Echo, respectively.
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F, G, H, I, J- The letters F, G, H, I, and J have the code words Foxtrot, Gold, Hotel, India, and Juliet.
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K, L, M, N, O- The letters K, L, M, N, and O are, respectively, Kilo, Lima, Mike, November, and Oscar.
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P, Q, R, S, T- The letters P, Q, R, S, and T are Papa, Quebec, Romeo, Sierra, and Tango.
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U, V, W, X, Y, Z- The letters U, V, W, X, Y, and Z have the code words Uniform, Victor, Whiskey, X-Ray, Yankee, and Zulu.
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The only words that lasted- Today the only parts of the JANAP WWII-era alphabet still in use are "Charlie," "Mike," "Victor," and "X-Ray.”
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Military phonetic alphabet code phrases- There are combinations of these code words that are popular code phrases in the military: “Charlie Mike” means continue mission. “Oscar Mike” means on the move. “Tango Delta” means target down.
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Military phonetic alphabet code phrases- Some others include: “November Gold,” which means no go or no good; “Whiskey Charlie” is the name for the water closet; “Tango Yankee” means thank you; and “Lima Charlie” means loud and clear.
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"Bravo Zulu"- The code phrase Bravo Zulu is one of the oldest code phrases, and means good job or well done. It reportedly originated in the Royal Navy of Great Britain.
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Each word has a flag- Each word also has its own flag, which ships can put up to communicate with each other. Sometimes flags will spell words, using the Yankee, Echo, and Sierra flags to spell “yes,” for example. Other flags have their own separate meanings, like if the Oscar flag (pictured) is up, that means someone went overboard.
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Fun fact: it's not phonetic- Contrary to its name, the so-called NATO phonetic alphabet is actually not phonetic. Phonetic alphabets are used to indicate, through symbols or codes, what a speech sound or letter sounds like. The military phonetic alphabet is technically a spelling alphabet. See also: Unbelievable military experiments of the 20th century
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