A military time chart is a document that helps its user in converting between the standard 12 hour clock in the U.S. and a 24 hour clock. People usually find the conversion process confusing. In such situations, a printable military time chart can be very helpful. People can put a paper copy in their wallet and use it as needed.
In some countries, 24 hour clock is used. For instance, they say 0300 and 1500 instead of saying 3 a.m. and 3 p.m. to make difference between morning and afternoon times. This is the standard in many countries and known as the 24 hour clock.
In a few countries, a 12 hour clock is used. It is the standard default for the general population. But sub-populations like military use the 24 hour clock and is referred to as military time. However, military time has some rules for the sake of accuracy that are different from the general 24 hour clock.
Without explaining the difference between the 12 hour clock and the 24 hour clock, a military time conversion chart isn’t really complete. Let us first discuss a bit about the 12 hour clock. On this clock, the terms a.m. and p.m. are used to make the difference between “morning” and “afternoon” times.
- A.M. stands for ante meridiem means before midday and it indicates the times between midnight and noon.
- P.M. stands for post meridiem means after midday and times are between noon and midnight.
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In this system, illegible handwriting or a bit of ambiguity can make it very unclear. Moreover, many people can’t understand that which of 12 o’clock means midnight and which means noon. Many people will be unclear by using 12 a.m. or 12 p.m. to refer to midnight and noon. On the other hand, using a 24 hour clock like in a military time chart makes it clear what time was intended. When communicating about the time, it assists in improving accuracy of understanding in both written form and verbally. The military makes sure clear verbal communication. You may also like Flow Chart Templates.
The 24 hour clock runs from 0 to 23 while the 12 hour clock runs from 1 through 12 twice. 0 indicates the midnight and 23 is 11 p.m. All times are written with at least 4 digits in the actual military. For example, midnight is written as 0000 and 11 p.m. as 2300 instead of 0 and just 23. Furthermore, all four spaces must always be filled so the hours from midnight to 9 a.m. are written with a leading zero. While the numbers start with 1 like 1000 for 10 a.m. or the number starts with 2 such as 2200 for 10 p.m.
The use of military time introduces new terms specific to the expression of midnight. Midnight is expressed as 0000 for start times and end times express midnight as 2400. In a few cases, midnight will be written as a value greater than 2400. For instance, 1 a.m. is written as 2500 so that to make it clear that it is later than an earlier listed time. Another example, if a venue is only open from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m., it is expressed as 1900 to 2500. This makes more sense for the reader than 1900 to 0100.
Certain branches of the military or certain organizations use the 24 hour clock according to their own conventions and rules. It’s up to them whether they run the clock from 0001 to 2400 or run the clock from 0000 to 2359. These rules may be changed depending on the occasion and then the official guide will be updated with those changes. Military time also has conventions for concerning to certain time zones on the basis of the rules surrounding how to refer to the hours of the day per se.
Additionally, the English alphabet has 26 letters while the earth has 24 time zones. In the military, each time zone has assigned a specific letter of the alphabet. They also refer the letter J as “local time” and the letter Z as Greenwich Mean Time or UTC. When you speak it, they are referred to as Juliet and Zulu.
Printable Military Time Chart Templates
Zulu time is in aviation. This is because in very short order planes fly from time zone to time zone. You can also use it for other purposes. You have to assure that everyone knows with precision what time is intended and independent of their physical location.
A military time conversion chart comes in handy for accuracy and to differentiate the 12 hour clock from the 24-hour clock. Anyone can use it that needs to convert between the two systems or even someone new to the 24 hour clock and still trying to understand it. People who use the 12 hour clock most of the time should also use the 24 hour clock periodically.
What is military time?
Military time is simply a time format that uses a 24-Hour Time system and also referred as 24-hour time. This system eliminates the need for the designations “P.M” and “A.M”. In this time system, the day runs from midnight to midnight and it is divided into 24-hr increments as per the experts.
In most countries across the world, Military time is the most preferred time as it removes errors or confusion while referencing time. For example, when using regular time, it is easy to say 5:00 o’clock. But, a person can mistake A.M for P.M. On the other hand, military time removes these errors and assist individuals to interpret time accurately.
What is the difference between 12-hours and 24-hour clock?
The main difference between 12-hours and 24-hours is how they are expressed. For example, in the 12-hour clock, the day is divided into two equal cycles of 12 hours. One cycle runs from midnight showed as 12:00 A.M to midday that is showed as 12:00 P.M. While, to complete a full 24-hour period, the other cycle takes over from midday to midnight. From 1 to 12, the numbering runs and only one that phase is indicated as ‘A.M’ while the other one as ‘P.M’.
Moreover, the 24-hour clock originated from Egypt. It counts the full 24-hours of the day continuously. In the other words, the counting of time begins at midnight, showed as 00:00 and when the day ends, runs through to 23:59. Most people all over the world view the 24-hour clock as being certain to timelines and easy to interpret.
How does the military conversion time work?
It isn’t rocket science to convert military time to civilian time and vice versa. And, not anybody can do the conversion successfully. At first, eliminate the colon as well as the P.M or A.M signifiers. Treat the hour as a unit of ten over the unit of one from there. It means that you should place a zero in front of a single digit numeral that is typically from 1 to 9. In simple words, 1:00 A.M should be 0100, 2:00 am should be 0200, and so on and the similar approach should follow up to 9.00 am to 0900.
Converting becomes even easier when the time before noon gets to double digits as you don’t have to do anything apart from removing the colon as well as the A.M or P.M signifiers. This indicates that 10:00 A.M becomes 1000 and 12:00 A.M changes to 1200.
Furthermore, you add 12 to any time from 1:00 P.M to 11:00 P.M in military time from noon. So, for 1:00 pm, you have to add 12 to make it 1300. Add 12 to get 1900 if you’d like to say 7:00 P.M in military lingo. It’s easier from 0100 to 1100 if you want to change the military time to 12-hour time as the only thing you’ll do is to add a colon and remove the zero in front.
The countries that are using the 24-hour timestamp:
There are different parts of the world that are currently using military time as their main time format because of its simplicity and easy interpretation. These include Australia, UK, India, Germany, Canada, and the Philippines. When recording the history of the patients, medics prefer the 24-hour clock arguing that a time interpretation difference can make a significant difference in the treatment. For example, the result might be fatal in case a medical staff misinterprets the recorded time as ‘A.M’ rather than ‘P.M’ and wrongly administers medicine to a patient.
Understanding 24-hour chart:
You should keep in mind that a day starts at midnight which is denoted as 0000 if you want to understand the 24-hour time charts. The last minute of the day is showed as 2359. Also, this can indicates a minute before the next midnight. 0000 may be written as 2400 at times. You don’t have to confuse as they both mean the similar thing and either of them is acceptable.
Speaking military time is easier as compared to written form. Use ‘hundred’ instead of ‘thousand’ if you want to say it right. For instance, it would be ‘zero six hundred hours’ or simply ‘zero six hundred’ in case you want to speak 0600. 1000 would be ‘ten thousand’ rather than ‘one thousand.’ You must pronounce every number when it comes to speaking military time with minutes like zero zero zero two for 0002, zero two fifteen for 0215, and so on.
Conclusion
In conclusion, a military time chart is used for the sake of accuracy and can help civilians who are in need of learning to use it such as medical students. You should print one if you are new to such work and post it near your workplace. It can assist in smoothing the transition.
Faqs (Frequently Asked Questions)
The hours between 0000hrs and 1200hrs is equal to the rest of the hours between 12:00 AM and noon on the 12-hour clock. It means that 12:00am = 0000hrs, 2:00am = 0200hrs, etc. Add 12 to the hours in case the time is 1:00pm or greater and this way, you get the time in military time.
You have to add 12 hours to the hour’s section such as 2+12 = 14 and you get the military time of 14:30 hours.
12:30 am in military time writes as 0030 and read as zero zero thirty hours.
