![]() As noted earlier, the Army did so officially in 1942. For example, at 12am, all allied forces - including France, Britain and the Soviet Union - that were engaged in the European theater were saying “it’s 0000 (zero hundred) hours” instead of “it’s midnight.” So it made sense for the Army to adopt this model. military decided to go by 24 hours was because it was already the norm in Europe, at least among service members. In short, using the 24-hour system made communications related to timing simpler.Īnother motivation as to why the U.S. There is a tremendous amount of chaos that occurs in war zones mixed messages or misinterpretations can be the difference between life and death. While the 12-hour format was in regular use in the 1900s, going by the literal hour in the day - 1800 hours instead of 6 o’clock - ensured that nothing was lost in translation between units as to when service members needed to be somewhere or a particular event was taking place. The theaters and battles in World War I and World War II occurred in multiple different countries at many different times in a given day or night. The main rationale for the continued use of military time is to avoid confusion. Army in 1942 during the Second World War. Several other branches thereafter followed suit, including the Canadian Armed Forces three years later in 1917, the British Navy in 1918, the United States Navy in 1920 and the U.S. As noted by Military Alphabet, the United Kingdom’s Royal Navy is the first known armed services branch to measure time based on what hour it was in a 24 hour period. They eventually combined the two “clocks” so that the day and night were measured and tracked over 12 hours each (for a total of 24 hours).īut it wasn’t until the early 20th century that the 24-hour clock got correlated with the military. During the day, they went by the sun to tell the time, and at night, they used the light from the moon and stars. These hours were defined by the various levels of light intensity from the sky at given points during the day and night. The carvings were unique so that each was easily identifiable and subdivided into a 24-hour format, which at that time were called temporal hours. ![]() Decans are astrological symbols used for measurement or tracking. Archaeologists say that in order to track what time it was when the sun was out and when it set, the Egyptian people would make inscriptions on coffin lids called decans. But before diving into the X’s and O’s of the 24-hour clock, it may be helpful to discover the history of military time, when it came to be and why the military continues to use it to this day.Īccording to multiple sources, what much of the world identifies as military time dates back thousands of years, well before there ever was a military, to approximately 2100 B.C.E. It’s actually easier to explain than you think. ![]() Looking back, learning how to read military time may seem relatively simple, but teaching how to read military time can be tricky, especially if your “ student” is just learning how to tell time via the traditional 12-hour clock. ![]() ![]() But now that you’ve been in the Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Marines or Air Force for a while now, identifying the time by the 24-hour clock - as opposed to the 12-hour clock - is probably second nature.īut what about your school-aged children or adolescents? Do they know how to read military time? Or do they stare at you in confusion when you say that dinner is at 1800 hours (stated as “eighteen hundred”) or they need to be out of bed at 0700 (zero seven hundred)? Prior to joining the armed forces, it’s possible that you didn’t have the time of day for understanding military time or why it even exists, never mind adopting its use. ![]()
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