- http://usmilitary.about.com/od/theorderlyroom/a/militarytime.htm
- http://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/
- http://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/Coordinated-Universal-Time-UTC-GMT-CUT
- http://www.timeanddate.com/time/zones/military
- http://www.timetemperature.com/abbreviations/military-time-zone-codes.shtml
- https://www.refactortactical.com/blog/military-date-time-group/
- http://militarytimechart.com/time-zones/time-zones/
- http://militarybenefits.info/military-time/
Written by Jenifer Chrisman on August 22, 2016.
Military time is a 24-hour clock that eliminates the need to determine between a.m. (Ante meridiem – between midnight and noon) and p.m. (post meridiem – between noon and midnight). The military clock runs from 0000 hours (midnight) to 2300 hours (11:00 p.m.).
TIME CONVERSION
| 12-Hour Clock | 24-Hour Clock | 12-Hour Clock | 24-Hour Clock |
|---|---|---|---|
| 12:00 a.m. (Midnight) | 0000 or 2400* | 12:00 p.m. (Noon) | 1200 |
| 1:00 a.m. | 0100 | 1:00 p.m. | 1300 |
| 2:00 a.m. | 0200 | 2:00 p.m. | 1400 |
| 3:00 a.m. | 0300 | 3:00 p.m. | 1500 |
| 4:00 a.m. | 0400 | 4:00 p.m. | 1600 |
| 5:00 a.m. | 0500 | 5:00 p.m. | 1700 |
| 6:00 a.m. | 0600 | 6:00 p.m. | 1800 |
| 7:00 a.m. | 0700 | 7:00 p.m. | 1900 |
| 8:00 a.m. | 0800 | 8:00 p.m. | 2000 |
| 9:00 a.m. | 0900 | 9:00 p.m. | 2100 |
| 10:00 a.m. | 1000 | 10:00 p.m. | 2200 |
| 11:00 a.m. | 1100 | 11:00 p.m. | 2300 |
*0000 for the beginning of the day and 2400 for the end of the day
For many daily references local time is used by military personnel and, if applicable by country or state, Daylight Savings time is observed. When matters extend to deployments, communications, air and ship movements or exercises that must be coordinated across one or more time zones, the military use “Zulu Time.”
Zulu Time Zone (Z), also known as Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), formerly Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) or World Time, follows the 0° longitude line known as the Prime Meridian. The Prime Meridian, which runs through Greenwich Observatory, England, where the system originated, is one of the 360 illusory longitude lines spanning the earth running from the North Pole to the South Pole.
Plotted on a map, there are 24 zones of 15° increments each. The zones (based on the military’s phonetic alphabet from A-Z) spread outward from the Prime Meridian (0°), giving them either a positive (+) or negative (-) offset of one hour per shift until they meet at the International Date Line (180°). While Mike Time Zone (M) and Yankee Time Zone (Y) meet on either side of the imaginary International Date Line and are the same time, they are a day apart, separating two sequential calendar days. Juliet Time Zone (J) is not used in the map plotting but instead is used to denote local time.
MILITARY TIME ZONES
| Code | Military Time Zone | Location | Degrees1 | UTC Offset |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| M | Mike | Wellington, New Zealand (International Date Line) |
+180° | UTC +12 |
| L | Lima | Sydney, Australia | +165° | UTC +11 |
| K | Kilo | Brisbane, Australia | +150° | UTC +10 |
| I | India | Tokyo, Australia | +135° | UTC +9 |
| H | Hotel | Beijing, China | +120° | UTC +8 |
| G | Golf | Thailand | +105° | UTC +7 |
| F | Foxtrot | Bangladesh | +90° | UTC +6 |
| E | Echo | Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan | +75° | UTC +5 |
| D | Delta | Moscow, Russia, Afghanistan2 | +60° | UTC +4 |
| C | Charlie | Arab Standard Time, Iraq, Bahrain, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Qatar | +45° | UTC +3 |
| B | Bravo | Athens, Greece | +30° | UTC +2 |
| A | Alpha | France | +15° | UTC +1 |
| Z | Zulu | Greenwich, England (UTC or Prime Meridian) |
0° | UTC 0 |
| N | November | Azores | -15° | UTC -1 |
| O | Oscar | Godthab, Greenland | -30° | UTC -2 |
| P | Papa | Buenos Aires, Argentina | -45° | UTC -3 |
| Q | Quebec | Halifax, Nova Scotia | -60° | UTC -4 |
| R | Romeo | New York, NY | -75° | UTC -5 |
| S | Sierra | Dallas, TX | -90° | UTC -6 |
| T | Tango | Denver, CO | -105° | UTC -7 |
| U | Uniform | Los Angeles, CA | -120° | UTC -8 |
| V | Victor | Juneau, AK | -135° | UTC -9 |
| W | Whiskey | Honolulu, HI | -150° | UTC -10 |
| X | X-ray | American Samoa | -165° | UTC -11 |
| Y | Yankee | Fiji (International Date Line) |
-180° | UTC -12 |
| J | Juliet | Occasionally references observer’s local time | ||
1From the Prime Meridian or UTC 2Afghanistan is technically +4:30
This system has helped eliminate considerable confusion and is utilized not only by the military, but for civilian and administrative purposes, as well as business and trade.
For a visual reference of how the military time zones, visit: http://militarytimechart.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Time-Zones.jpg
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