Can Military Time Be Used For Am And Pm?

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Military time vs Civilian time

Military time is based on a 24 hour clock that starts at 0000 hours (twelve midnight)goes to 2300 hours (eleven at night)Civilian time which is the time most of us use splits the day into two 12 hour clocksuses a.m.p.mto distinguish between nightdayThe numbers for civilian time go from 1 to 12 onlythen repeats.

When converting from the 12 hour clock to the 24 hour clock, it is not necessary to add the suffix a.mor p.m to the timeFor example one would not write 1300 pm which is equivalent to 1:00 pmBecause military time indicates a 24 hour period where a unique two digit number is assigned to identify the timeusing a.m or p.m becomes redundant.

How do I convert from regular time to military time?

Converting 12 hour time to 24 hour time can be done by remembering that military time must always have two digits indicating the hours as well as two digits indicating the minutesFor example 3:00 am becomes 0300 hoursFor the a.mtimes this is easy to do as you just need to add a “0” in front of the timeremove the a.msuffixMilitary time also does not make use of the colon (:) used in regular time.

The p.mtimes are a little harder to convert for example 2:00 pm becomes 1400 hoursAn easy way to remember this is to add 12 hours onto the timeremove the p.msuffixThus 2:00 pm add on 12 hours (2 + 12 = 14) becomes 1400 hours.

Below is a list of conversions starting at midnight:

12:00 am	0000 hours
1:00 am	0100 hours
2:00am	0200 hours
3:00 am	0300 hours
4:00 am	0400 hours
5:00 am	0500 hours
6:00 am	0600 hours
7:00 am	0700 hours
8:00 am	0800 hours
9:00 am	0900 hours
10:00 am	1000 hours
11:00 am	1100 hours
12:00 pm	1200 hours
1:00 pm	1300 hours
2:00 pm	1400 hours
3:00 pm	1500 hours
4:00 pm	1600 hours
5:00 pm	1700 hours
6:00 pm	1800 hours
7:00 pm	1900 hours
8:00 pm	2000 hours
9:00 pm	2100 hours
10:00 pm	2200 hours
11:00 pm	2300 hours

You might have already seen this type of time telling being used especially with computer clocks that also use a 24 hour time telling systemThe GMT (Greenwich Mean Time) zone is distinguished by adding the “Z” suffix to the time for example 0900Z which is equivalent to 9:00 am.

Local time is denoted by adding a “J” at the endEastern Time (ET) is referred to when an “R” is added at the endEach time zone this has a corresponding nameletter to identify it with.

Who uses Military time?

Military time is used all around the worldit is especially useful for people communicatingdealing with others from different countriestime zonesOf course the military, hospitals, pilots, astrologistsgovernment agencies also make use of the 24 hour clock for their operationsEven electronic equipment such as a microwave oven uses the hour system.

The most crucial is perhaps medical staffImagine not remembering if a patient needs their medication at 6:00 am or 6:00 pmUsing military time clears up any confusion of “when”.