How to Tell Military Time

Military time numbers the 24 hours of the day from 1 to 24, rather than repeating the cycle of 12 hours twice. In several countries, time is kept on this 24-hour cycle.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Alarm Clocks
• Women's Watches
• Spiral Notebooks

1. Note that the military clock begins with 0000 hours, sometimes called 2400 hours. When spoken aloud, this is said, "twenty-four hundred hours," which is the equivalent of midnight.
2. Name morning hours as follows: 1 a.m. is 0100 hours, called "oh one hundred hours"; 2 a.m. is 0200, "oh two hundred hours"; and so forth. This pattern continues for the morning hours just as with the standard method of telling time until noon, which is 1200 hours ("twelve hundred hours").
3. Remember that military time continues to ascend for the afternoon hours rather than beginning a new 12-hour cycle. Thus, 1 p.m. is now 1300 hours, or "thirteen hundred hours"; 2 p.m. is 1400 hours; and so forth. This pattern continues until midnight, at which point the military clock begins again.
4. Determine afternoon hours in military time simply by subtracting 1200 from them. For example, 1800 hours is 6 p.m. in standard time: 1800-1200=600; 2200 hours is 10 p.m.: 2200-1200=1000.

Tips & Warnings

• Many train, bus and flight schedules abroad use military time.