NATO Alphabet for IT
Spelling hostnames, tokens, and variable names on calls using the phonetic alphabet
Most-used NATO letters in IT
- A Alpha | B Bravo | C Charlie | D Delta | E Echo
- F Foxtrot | G Golf | H Hotel | K Kilo | N November
- P Papa | Q Quebec | R Romeo | S Sierra | T Tango
- V Victor | W Whiskey | X X-ray | Y Yankee | Z Zulu
- Symbols: dash = "dash," underscore = "underscore," dot = "dot," at = "at sign"
Question 0 of 5
You need to spell out the variable name cfg over a call. What is the correct NATO spelling?
Charlie, Foxtrot, Golf — these are the NATO phonetic letters for C, F, G. The full NATO alphabet (the letters most relevant to IT): Alpha (A), Bravo (B), Charlie (C), Delta (D), Echo (E), Foxtrot (F), Golf (G), Hotel (H), India (I), Juliet (J), Kilo (K), Lima (L), Mike (M), November (N), Oscar (O), Papa (P), Quebec (Q), Romeo (R), Sierra (S), Tango (T), Uniform (U), Victor (V), Whiskey (W), X-ray (X), Yankee (Y), Zulu (Z).
A support engineer asks you to confirm your token: ssh-ed. How do you spell "ssh" using NATO?
Sierra Sierra Hotel — S = Sierra, S = Sierra, H = Hotel. This is exactly the kind of situation where NATO alphabet prevents confusion: "S" and "F" can sound alike on a bad connection; "Sierra" and "Foxtrot" cannot. When giving a token, key name, or hostname letter by letter on a call, use NATO rather than "S as in... um... snake."
You are reading an API key that starts with x7kQ. How do you say the letters part by part?
X-ray, seven, Kilo, Quebec is correct. For an API key character by character: letters use NATO (X-ray, Kilo, Quebec), digits are just the number ("seven"), symbols you name ("dash," "underscore," "at sign"). Saying "X" alone risks confusion with "S" or "F" on a call. "X-ray" is unambiguous. Similarly, "K" becomes "Kilo" and "Q" becomes "Quebec."
Spelling the hostname prod-db over the phone. Which is correct?
Both are correct — the dash can be stated or omitted in speech. When spelling a hostname or identifier, saying "dash" ("Papa Romeo Oscar Delta dash Delta Bravo") is clearest and prevents ambiguity. Omitting it ("Papa Romeo Oscar Delta Delta Bravo") can cause confusion. However, if the context makes the separator obvious (e.g., you said "the prod-db hostname"), a brief pause at the dash position is sometimes enough. When in doubt, say "dash."
Spelling the GitHub username devOps99 over a call. What is the best approach?
"Delta Echo Victor Oscar Papa Sierra nine nine" is the clearest approach. Spell every letter (uppercase/lowercase distinction rarely matters in usernames). The NATO "niner" for 9 is aviation convention — most IT professionals just say "nine." Trying to indicate capitalization ("capital Oscar") adds complexity; unless the system is case-sensitive for the specific field, skip it. For case-sensitive passwords, you can add "capital" before the letter: "capital Oscar."