

I often wonder how many active duty service members actually realize were that term comes from.Īt this point I think I may be an expert on the subject of military time. The 'zulu' comes from the fact that each time zone is given a letter designation, 'z' being the 24th. Military refers to this time zone as Zulu time. To avoid confusion in these matters, the military uses the time in Greenwich, England, which is commonly called Greenwich Mean Time. This chart shows how simple military time can be and why it reduces confusion int the military's around-the-clock operations.Īnother tricky aspect of military time is referred to as 'Zulu time.' When it comes to operational matters, the military must often coordinate with bases and personnel located in other time zones. The following is a chart to help clarify any questions our readers may have about military time. Many people who have never served in the military probably will never learn the simplicity of military time, only hearing it referenced in popular culture like war movies or military shows like Zero Dark Thirty. If military time is 0000 to 0059, insert a colon and add 12 hours.
#MILITARY TIME CLOCK MINUTES HOW TO#
How to Convert from Military Time to Regular Time To convert from military time to regular time refer to the time chart below or follow these steps. I certainly feel more comfortable with the system as I have grown in my service." 12:00 am midnight in military time is 0000 hours at the beginning of a day or event, and 2400 hours at the end of the day or event. "I feel as though it is a common mistake because military time doesn't come naturally to everyone. "Not too long ago, I missed a meeting because I misread the time sent in an email," said Airman 1st Class Zach Wodaege, 87th Air Base Wing Judge Advocate military justice paralegal, hailing from Maple Valley, Wash. I often find myself mixing up times for that very reason. Naval Observatory in Washington, D.C.Īs military time, or 'real time,' is not commonly used among United Sates civilians, it is no wonder why new service members don't necessarily comprehend it. To this day, the Department of the Navy maintains the United States official time, with the Master Clock facility at the U.S. This method of time-keeping can be traced back to the Navy during World War I as all allied armies began using it starting with the United Kingdom. The military operates at all hours of the day and night, so it uses a 24-hour clock, commonly referred to as military time, to avoid confusion between a.m. Each of the zones have a corresponding letter and name.The 24-hour clock encompasses the entire day, so too, does the efforts of the men and women of the U.S. The local time is denoted by a “J” at the end, and the eastern time zone is denoted by an “R” at the end. Time stamps referencing Greenwich Mean Time (GMT for short – often interchanged with Coordinated Universal Time/UTC) is denoted by a “Z” at the end, and is written as 0752Z.

Also, in the military, these time stamps are often written without the colon, so 07:52 would rather be written 0752. When speaking in military time, 07:00 may be stated as “zero seven hundred” or “oh seven hundred”. This method of keeping time is most commonly used by the military, government, public transportation, hospitals, meteorologists, astronomers, those employed in emergency services, and also with computers. This holds true all the way up to 12:59 p.m.įor everything after 12:59 p.m., just add 12 to the hours. is the same in both military and civilian time. There are only two things to remember to help you tell military time: Another example highlighting the difference between the two would be to show that 10:15 am is written as 10:15 in military time but 2:30 pm is written as 14:30. Both are acceptable.Ī usage example showing the 12 hour clock vs military time would be a time table showing 4:00 pm to 12:00 midnight. Sometimes you may see 00:00 written as 24:00. The last minute of the day is written as 23:59, or one minute before the next midnight. When keeping hours in this fashion, the day starts at midnight and is written as 00:00. You may use this as a military time converter, or reference it as a military time conversion chart. Easy to Read Military Time Chart A side-by-side look at the 12 hour clock times and the corresponding military/24 hour clock times, provided exclusively by Military Time Chart. It is the most commonly used interval notation in the world. It is based on a 24 hour clock, and is a method of keeping hours in which the day runs from midnight to midnight and is divided into 24 hour increments. Have you ever wondered how to read military time quickly and easily? Or even wondered what it was, or why it exists? Well, welcome to the Internet’s greatest authority resource on just that! On this page, you will find the answers to that and more in great detail, in other words, everything you will ever need to know about military time (or astronomical time), as well as some quick and easy tips on how to read it.
