Once you get the gist of it, it is easy to understand how 24-hour military time relates to 12-hour standard time. Use our simple widget when you want to make a quick conversion from one time clock to the other. In the military world, time is referred to using this system. Without understanding how it works, you could be late to an important drill or meeting. Nautical time zones are used by the military to ensure a standardization of time for the forces. Standard military orders would be delivered in Zulu time. Zulu time is the same as "Greenwich Mean Time" or GMT. Depending on the ship or units location on the planet, it will determine the amount of offset required. We use military time to ensure brevity and accuracy when talking about times. For example, conveying a specific time over the radio may cause the receiving party to misunderstand or not hear clearly whether person speaking says "AM" or "PM". Military time removes this ambiguity — "0800," or zero eight hundred hours, requires no clarification and can only represent a single point on the 24-hour cycle. There are many civilian organizations that use military time, such as law enforcement, EMT, fire and rescue, factories, and more. It is very easy to translate and utilize, and once you have used it, you will find it much easier to use. You may even find yourself passing it on to others to avoid time confusions. It will normally take most people less than 8 hours of practice to know it, learn it, understand it, and utilize it well.