Military Time Chart and Time Zone Work

Military time chart is an arrangement that tells you the specific way to read and recount time according to the military system. You may have come across it before, but if you have not or you simply want to know further about it, this article provides you with an explanation, a reading guide, and more.

What is The Military Time?

There’s a chance that you might have seen the military time chart or have heard about it before. The use of this concise and unique method of expressing time is beyond the military, but also can be found in various emergency services including medical personal, firefighting, law enforcement, etc.

Military time’s history can be traced back long ago, to the era of the 11 Dynasty of Early Egyptians. It is where the first, or at least the first known use of the 24-hour clock, was discovered on the Diagonal Star Table – a famous coffin lid from this age. The Egyptians used specific constellations patterns that were visible in the night sky to conduct a time synchronization system. They use varying light intensity throughout the days and the seasons, which also contributed to the development of the 365-day system in a year.

Fast forward to the first half of the 20th century where the world wars occurred, various countries started to implement strategy and communication advancements. Amongst many developments created, one of the most prominent was the adaptation of the 24-hour clock system, due to the consideration that there was too much room for error in the use of the 12-hour clock system. It was adopted by The U.S Navy in 1920, and then followed 22 years later by the U.S Army.

How to Read Military Time Chart?

Any military time chart will show you a 24-hour clock where the clock starts from 00 all the way to 23. It is certainly different from the common civilian time in the U.S., where a 12-hour clock is used along with ‘A.M’ and ‘P.M’ annotation.

The military time is shown in 4-digit. In these 4-digit series, the first 2-digit displays the hour, and the following 2-digit display the minute. So, for example, you would say 1200 (pronounced ‘twelve hundred’) for mid-noon and 0000 (pronounced ‘zero hundred‘) for midnight.

The ‘A.M’ time period in 12-hour clock is any time between 0001 and 1159 in this system. To give you a couple of instances, you’d say 0800 (pronounced ‘zero eight hundred hours’ and 0130 (pronounced ‘zero one thirty hours’).

Similarly, the ‘P.M’ time period is any time between 1201 and 2359. Some instances would be 1530 (pronounced ‘fifteen-thirty hours’) for 3:30 P.M and 2000 (pronounced ‘twenty hundred hours’) for 8:00 PM.

Military Designated Time Zone

In addition to the military time chart, they also adopt a styled time zone. It is necessary information to prevent confusion about location coordination across different time zones and it is used in various types of operational affairs, such as deployments, training exercises, communications, and others. The standard time zone used by the military is based on the time in Greenwich, England – which is why it is referred to as Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

The Greenwich Time zone is usually denoted as Zulu Time by the U.S. Military. ‘Z’ or ‘Zulu’ annotation is typically used so that the referred time zone is clearly understood. To make communicating easier, each time zone is assigned to one letter of the English alphabet. Another example besides Zulu for the Greenwich Time zone is the ‘R’ or ‘Romeo’ for the United States East Coast time (EST). To use this time zone system, you have to convert your current location’s time.

At one glance, the systems of military time chart and time zone might be confusing. However, it will gradually become easier the more often you use them.

Military Time Chart – Military Time Converter Chart