TO:    ALL WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS AMATEURS
       ALL NON-WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS AMATEURS
FROM:  KEN HARRIS WA8LLM
       WOOD COUNTY EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS INCORPORATED

WOOD COUNTY BULLETIN NR 15.07          DATE: February 15, 2015
SUBJECT: THE PROPER CHOICE OF PHONETICS

For those Amateur Radio operators who serve their community via Public Safety organizations, such as Fire, Police, Rescue Squads, and Ambulance Units, or any other Public Safety Communications, utilizing a different phonetic alphabet than those you're accustomed to, can create a problem.  The Public Safety operators may misunderstand the letters you are saying while trying to figure out your phonetics.

As Amateur Radio operators, you're most likely familiar with the International Phonetics of; ALPHA, BRAVO, CHARLIE, DELTA, etc.  While Public Safety radio operators are more familiar with those same letters stated in their own Phonetics of; ADAM, BOY, CHARLES, DAVID, etc.  Using your Amateur Radio phonetics on Public Safety radio may confuse the dispatchers, or other operators, as will Public Safety phonetics confuse some Amateurs. Even though Public Safety radio operators are supposed to be changing to the International phonetics, they are not completely there yet.  So you might want to study both, and use the ones that will get the message through better without having to repeat the information over and over.

Ken Harris WA8LLM
WCEC
Wood County WV