I am sure at some point in your life you have heard of “Military time” even if you are not a jarhead, or not around the military. Maybe no one has spoken the exact words describing it as Military time, but you have probably heard someone reference time in a number higher than 12. So, what gives, what is Military time?
Military time is also known as the 24-hour clock and is a convention of timekeeping in which the day runs from midnight to midnight and is divided into 24 hours. This is indicated in the format of hours and minutes passed since minutes from 0:01 to 23:59. As a result, Military time leaves out the AM and PM in the time format. Military time is actually very commonly used around the world these days.
The history of Military time actually dates back quite a bit. It was originally discovered with the Egyptian astronomical system of decans and has been used for centuries by scientists, astronomers, navigators, and horologists. Military time lost its popularity with the rise of 12-hour clocks until in 1876, Sir Sandford Fleming missed a train because a printed schedule listed PM instead of AM. Sir Sandford Fleming proposed the use of a 24-hour clock, military time, for the entire world as a predecessor to Coordinated Universal Time.
Easier to read
There is good reason as to why Military time is used around the world more commonly than the 12-hour format and why it is used by military and civilians a like. The biggest reason is because Military time, aka 24-hour time, is much less confusing than the 12-hour time format which is referred to as “Normal” or “Standard” time. This is because 12-hour time factors in an AM and PM, which can lead to confusion when someone is talking about 10 o’clock, is it 10 AM or 10 PM? Military time would be less confusing as the time format would be 1000hrs or 2200hrs, leaving little to guess.
How to convert
Once you get the hang of it, Military time is fairly easy to convert to. You can simply subtract or add 12 hours from the standard AM/PM time and you’re good to go!
- If the Military time is between 0000hrs and 0059hrs, just insert a colon and add 12 hours. Add AM to signal morning time in the 12-hour format.
- If the Military time is between 0100hrs to 1159hrs, just remove the leading 0 and insert a colon. Make sure to include the AM to signal morning time in the 12-hour format.
- If the Military time is 1200hrs to 1259hrs, insert a colon and include PM to indicated the time is in the afternoon as per the 12-hour format.
- If the time is 1300 to 2359, insert a colon and subtract 12 hours. Add PM to signal afternoon time in the 12-hour format.
How to pronounce Military time
While the time is always going to be the same time between Military time and Standard time, they are read very differently. For example, Standard time for 7 in the morning would be read as 7:00 AM. However, 7 in the morning in military time would be read as 0700 or Zero Seven Hundred Hours. Here are some additional examples:
| Standard Time | Military Time | Pronunciation |
| 8:30am | 0830 | Zero Eight Thirty Hours |
| 1:00pm | 1300 | Thirteen Hundred Hours |
| 5:35pm | 1735 | Seventeen Thirty-Five Hours |
| 10:05pm | 2205 | Twenty-Two Zero Five Hours |
Enjoy!
Ben