NATO military alphabet: Alpha, Bravo, Charlie

Used for radio transmissions, the international phonetic alphabet is used by soldiers, law enforcement (army, gendarmerie, police...) and in civilian contexts (aviation, ...). Popular culture has also adopted this alphabet as it is mentioned in numerous movies, series, comic books or video games. But what is it for, why was it created and how does it work? This is what we will try to answer with as much detail as possible in this article.

Summary:

• Role

  • Operation

  • Letters

  • Numbers

• French military alphabet

• Police and gendarmerie alphabet

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The primary objective of the military alphabet is to improve and streamline communications. Indeed, soldiers on mission may face, during transmissions, parasitic noise or interference. Certain letters or words may be confused, which can then have negative (or even dangerous) repercussions in the field. In French, it's not uncommon for certain sounds to be similar and cause confusion. This is particularly the case with "d" and "t" or "m" and "n" whose pronunciation may seem similar. A phonetic alphabet is precisely used to overcome these communication errors.

The NATO phonetic alphabet allows for efficient information transmission by replacing each letter with a word. This is what we call acrophony. For example, you've probably already had to spell your last name or that of your caller over the phone by replacing each letter with another word to ensure you understood each other correctly and avoid mistakes. To transmit the last name DUPONT for example, you could say "D" as in Denis, "U" as in Ursule, "P" as in Pierre, "O" as in Orange, "N" as in Nicolas and "T" as in Thérèse. NATO simply standardized the words used to replace the letters of the alphabet. This way, everyone can understand each other. This alphabet is moreover the only one internationally recognized by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

• A : alpha

• B : bravo

• C : charlie

• D : delta

• E : echo

• F : foxtrot

• G : golf

• H : hotel

• I : india

• J : juliett

• 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

• 0 : zero

• 1 : one alone

• 2 : one and one

• 3 : two and one

• 4 : two times two

• 5 : three and two

• 6 : two times three

• 7 : four and three

• 8 : two times four

• 9 : five and four

Armed forces around the world have their own alphabet and France is no exception to the rule. The military alphabet we present below is specific to the French Army. It is not used by the National Police or the National Gendarmerie.

• A : Anatole

• B : Berthe

• C : Célestine

• D : Désiré

• E : Eugène

• F : François

• G : Gaston

• H : Henri

• I : Irma

• J : Joseph

• K : Kléber

• L : Louis

• M : Marcel

• N : Nicolas

• O : Oscar

• P : Pierre

• Q : Quintal

• R : Raoul

• S : Suzanne

• T : Thérèse

• U : Ursule

• V : Victor

• W : William

• X : Xavier

• Y : Yvonne

• Z : Zoé

Whether it's to verify an individual's identity during a check or to avoid confusion between two letters with similar sounds, police officers and gendarmes use the NATO phonetic alphabet. However, with the evolution of communication methods and the increased use of written instead of oral communication, who knows how much longer the international phonetic alphabet will be taught in police or gendarmerie academy.

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