Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!wuarchive!zaphod.mps.ohio-state.edu!pacific.mps.ohio-state.edu!linac!att!cbnews!cbnews!military From: gjw@cs.glasgow.ac.uk (Mr Garry J. Wardrope) Newsgroups: sci.military Subject: Re: Military Terms Message-ID: <1991Feb21.032207.13064@cbnews.att.com> Date: 21 Feb 91 03:22:07 GMT References: <1991Feb15.072742.12083@cbnews.att.com> Sender: military@cbnews.att.com (William B. Thacker) Organization: Computing Sci, Glasgow Univ, Scotland Lines: 35 Approved: military@att.att.com From: "Mr Garry J. Wardrope" larmo@pro-odyssey.cts.com (System Administrator) writes: >Zulu: Greenwhich Mean time (0000 Zulu = 7 P.M EST = 3 A.M. Bagdad) I thought I would elaborate on this one. Strictly Greenwich Mean Time is a local name although it is widlely used. The modern term is Universal Coordinated Time (This dosn't upset people not in the UK ). The world is split into 24 time zones or 15 degree ( of longitude) sectors. These are labled A-Z ( missing I and O ) UCT is zulu time. Times are expressed as date time groups eg. 202356Z FEB 91 ie date time zone month year. As you progress round the world you change time zone eg 202356A FEB 91 is one hour ahead of the previous time. The actual use of the zones doesn't strictly follow the segments over land but usually does at sea. The time 0000 is never used so as not to have confusion over what date it applies to eg. 200000Z FEB 91 is this the start of the 20th or the end ? as a result a multitude of military happenings are at 0001 or 2359. All this saves people having to learn local abbreviations eg I didn't know what EST actually was until now ie Uniform time. Garry -- Mail: Garry Wardrope, Computing Science Dept., Tel: (041) 339 8855 x5322 Glasgow Univ., 17 Lilybank Gardens, Glasgow G12 8QQ, UK. ARPA: gjw%cs.glasgow.ac.uk@nsfnet-relay.ac.uk USENET: gjw@cs.glasgow.uucp JANET:gjw@uk.ac.glasgow.cs useBANGnet: ...mcsun!ukc!cs.glasgow.ac.uk!gjw