Phonetic alphabet

There is more information available on this subject at Phonetic alphabet on the English Wikipedia.

The phonetic alphabet is a system of spelling alphabet used by the United Nations Space Command, derived from the NATO phonetic alphabet. It is used, most commonly by the military, to spell parts of a message containing letters and numbers to avoid confusion that may arise from phonetically similar letters, especially if static or other interference is present.

The UNSC phonetic alphabet

Letter	Code word	Pronunciation	IPA from ICAO
A	Alfa (ICAO, ITU, IMO, FAA) Alpha (ANSI)	AL FAH	pronounced ˈælfɑ
B	Bravo	BRAH VOE	pronounced ˈbrɑːˈvo (sic)
C	Charlie	CHAR LEE  or SHAR LEE	pronounced ˈtʃɑːli (sic)  or pronounced ˈʃɑːli (sic)
D	Delta	DELL TAH	pronounced ˈdeltɑ
E	Echo	ECK OH	pronounced ˈeko
F	Foxtrot	FOKS TROT	pronounced ˈfɔkstrɔt
G	Golf Gamma	GOLF/GA MAH	pronounced gʌlf (sic) pronounced ˈɡæmə
H	Hotel	HO TELL (ICAO) HOH TELL (ITU, IMO, FAA)	pronounced hoːˈtel
I	India	IN DEE AH	pronounced ˈindiˑɑ
J	Juliett (ICAO, ITU, IMO, FAA) Juliet (ANSI)	JEW LEE ETT	pronounced ˈdʒuːliˑˈet
K	Kilo	KEY LOH	pronounced ˈkiːlo
L	Lima	LEE MAH	pronounced ˈliːmɑ
M	Mike	MIKE	pronounced mɑik
N	November	NO VEM BER	pronounced noˈvembə (sic)
O	Oscar	OSS CAH	pronounced ˈɔskɑ
P	Papa	PAH PAH	pronounced pəˈpɑ
Q	Quebec	KEH BECK	pronounced keˈbek
R	Romeo	ROW ME OH	pronounced ˈroːmiˑo
S	Sierra	SEE AIR RAH (ICAO, ITU, IMO) SEE AIR AH (FAA)	pronounced siˈerɑ
T	Tango	TANG GO	pronounced ˈtængo (sic)
U	Uniform	YOU NEE FORM  or OO NEE FORM	pronounced ˈjuːnifɔːm (sic)  or pronounced ˈuːnifɔrm
V	Victor	VIK TAH	pronounced ˈviktɑ
W	Whiskey	WISS KEY	pronounced ˈwiski
X	X-ray or Xray	ECKS RAY (ICAO, ITU) ECKS RAY (IMO, FAA)	pronounced ˈeksˈrei
Y	Yankee	YANG KEY	pronounced ˈjænki (sic)
Z	Zulu	ZOO LOO	pronounced ˈzuːluː
0	Zero (FAA) Nadazero (ITU, IMO)	ZE RO (ICAO, FAA) NAH-DAH-ZAY-ROH (ITU, IMO)	—
1	One (FAA) Unaone (ITU, IMO)	WUN (ICAO, FAA) OO-NAH-WUN (ITU, IMO)	—
2	Two (FAA) Bissotwo (ITU, IMO)	TOO (ICAO, FAA) BEES-SOH-TOO (ITU, IMO)	—
3	Three (FAA) Terrathree (ITU, IMO)	TREE (ICAO, FAA) TAY-RAH-TREE (ITU, IMO)	—
4	Four (FAA) Kartefour (ITU, IMO)	FOW ER (ICAO, FAA) KAR-TAY-FOWER (ITU, IMO)	—
5	Five (FAA) Pantafive (ITU, IMO)	FIFE (ICAO, FAA) PAN-TAH-FIVE (ITU, IMO)	—
6	Six (FAA) Soxisix (ITU, IMO)	SIX (ICAO, FAA) SOK-SEE-SIX (ITU, IMO)	—
7	Seven (FAA) Setteseven (ITU, IMO)	SEV EN (ICAO, FAA) SAY-TAY-SEVEN (ITU, IMO)	—
8	Eight (FAA) Oktoeight (ITU, IMO)	AIT (ICAO, FAA) OK-TOH-AIT (ITU, IMO)	—
9	Nine (FAA) Novenine (ITU, IMO) No 'r' in spellings	NIN ER (ICAO, FAA) NO-VAY-NINER (ITU, IMO)	—

Uses

• Pelican dropships are identified by a serial number consisting of one letter from the phonetic alphabet and three numbers. Examples: Echo 419, Victor 933, Bravo 022, Kilo 023.
• Fireteams are distinguished by phonetic letters. Example: Fireteam Zulu.
• Bumblebee lifepods have serial numbers using three letters from the phonetic alphabet.
• Marines use them in place of abbreviations in the field for weapons, vehicles, units, and sometimes common sayings.
  • Covenant forces are called "Echo Tango" (E.T.) in battle, which is often shortened to just "Tango".
  • A nickname for Brutes is "Baby Kong." Marines often say "Bravo-Kilo" instead, usually in interviews or testimonials.
  • "Oscar Mike" means "On the move."
  • "Mike-Foxtrot" is a euphemism for "motherfucker."
• Spartans are often referred to as "Sierras" by themselves and other UNSC personnel.
• Dr. Catherine Halsey is sometimes referred to by the phonetic value of her initials, "Charlie Hotel".