What is Military Time?

For those still learning the 24-clock system, a simple way to translate afternoon and evening hours into civilian time is to subtract 12. For example, for 2000 hours, subtract 12 from 20 to get 8 p.m. Tired of feeling like a civilian chucklehead, I decided once and for all to learn how to convert military time to standard time quickly and easily. Thus, understanding military time and its conversion from the standard 12-hour clock can be useful in various situations. Military time provides clarity, precision, and international standardization. UTC is the time standard used in clocks around the world. It is used for international coordination because with UTC there is no risk of confusion about the various time zones. UTC in any locality is designated as UTC- in the west or UTC+ in the east. The military uses a 24-hour time system instead. The period in time is indicated by using a full 24-hour clock. Note that when you use military time across time zones, you always communicate the local time for where the event is taking place. To avoid misunderstandings and mistakes in the Military, communication must be clear, concise and commonly accepted among Service branches and even armed forces of other nations. Use of the phonetic alphabet and military time are two common practices that members employ to help guarantee this. This part of the military time system is a little tricky for those of us who are used to the 12-hour clock (AM/PM). Military time uses the 24-hour clock, where the hours of the day are numbered from zero to 23, starting with 00 at midnight. Many people are unfamiliar with military time, making it difficult to convert from the 12-hour clock to the 24-hour clock (and vice versa).