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RADIO VOICE PROCEDURE

INTRODUCTION

1. When in the field or on the range, the military communicate by radio.

A military radio communication is not the same thing as a telephone
conversation. There are standard procedures that everyone must follow,
and a certain way of speaking. There are a number of reasons for these
standards which include the following:

a. If people do not use established radio procedures, confusion

can result. Standard procedures were developed so that Military
personnel could communicate with one another with ease and
simplicity.

b. Communications must be as brief and concise as possible to

save time and to pass on messages as quickly and accurately as
possible.

c. Messages must be easy to understand and instructions clear.

Guidelines have been developed to communicate different types of
information in the most efficient manner.

2. Operating a voice system depends largely on the skills of the persons

involved. Proper voice procedure training should provide the operators with
the basic knowledge of how to improve their skills in the use of radio
communication. Even the best radio systems can suffer from interference
and because of this, it is possible that the other part cannot hear or

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understand the information passed. Therefore, it is extremely important that
proper voice procedure is used to save time.

3. There are two basic considerations when talking on the air.

a. WHAT TO SAY - Voice procedure

b. HOW TO SAY IT - Voice Technique

AIM

4. The aim of this presentation is to acquaint personnel with the correct

voice procedure and its application in military operations.

SCOPE

5. This presentation shall cover the following:

a. Concept of voice procedure as it applies to security, accuracy

and discipline.

b. Procedure words

c. Phonetic alphabets and numerals.

d. Nicknames and Codewords.

e. Demonstration on the use of handheld radios.

CONCEPT OF VOICE PROCEDURE

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6. Voice Procedure is a set of rules designed to provide security,
accuracy and discipline when speaking on the radio net. It includes various
techniques used to clarify, simplify and standardise spoken
communications over two-way radios, in use by the armed forces, in civil
aviation, police and fire dispatching systems and citizens' band radio (CB).

7. Security
a) Think before you speak
b) Use correct procedure
c) Be brief

8. Accuracy. The necessity for clear speech on a two-way radio cannot

be overemphasized. Therefore, the RSVP system should be used to
enhance better voice procedure and technique.
R - RHYTHM: Adequate pauses
S - SPEED: Slower than usual conversation
V – VOLUME: Speak directly into the microphone
P – PITCH: The voice should be pitched at a higher level than for
normal conversation

9. Discipline. Radio discipline is the responsibility of every operator and

should adhere to the following:
a. Listen before you speak.
b. Use correct voice procedure.
c. Answer all calls promptly.
d. Keep the airways free of unnecessary talk.

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e. Be brief and to the point.

10. Operating Rules. When operating a military radio, it is essential to

follow the general rules of operation. Operating rules are in place to
maintain security, ensure complete and accurate transmission of
information and to ensure safety is not jeopardized. The general rules to
follow are:

a. Do not send names, ranks or nicknames of people over the air.

b. Messages should be clear and natural. Talk normally as you

would face to face or over the telephone.

c. Pause for 5 seconds after transmitting a long message.

Continuous transmissions deny priority calls access to the net (they
are unable to break through).

d. Never interrupt another transmission. Wait until the first call is

complete.

e. Be brief and do not chat. Do not send unnecessary messages.

Keep all messages short and concise.

f. Think about, or if possible, write the message down before

sending it. All messages, both outgoing and incoming, should be
written down.

g. Make corrections promptly and concisely.

h. Never violate radio silence except in an emergency.

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i. Emergency calls take priority over all others. During an
emergency, all uninvolved stations will cease transmitting and will not
resume until told to do so by the control station.

11. Procedure Words (Prowords). Prowords are used to indicate

specific meaning that replaces abbreviated sentences or phrases. They are
standard, easily pronounced words, which have been assigned special
meanings and can speed up message handling on radio networks reducing
the chance of an error being introduced into a message. They are limited
to radio telephone procedure and are used to facilitate communication by
conveying information in a condensed standard verbal format. Commonly
used prowords in the operational areas are listed below:
ACKNOWLEDGE - Confirm that you have received my message and will comply
(WILCO)
AFFIRMATIVE - Yes/correct
NEGATIVE - No/incorrect
CORRECT (THAT IS CORRECT) - What you have transmitted is correct,
you are correct
CORRECTION - a. An error has been made in this transmission. I
will continue with the last word (group) correctly
transmitted
b. An error has been made in this transmission.
The correct version is…
c. That which follows is a correct version in
answer to your request for verification (VERIFY)
WRONG - Your last transmission was incorrect. The correct version is…
DISREGARD THIS TRANSMISSION– OUT. - This transmission is an error.
Disregard it. (This proword shall not be used to cancel any message that has been
already completely transmitted and for which receipt or acknowledgement has been
received)
DO NOT ANSWER – OUT. - Station(s) called are not to answer this call,
acknowledge this message, or otherwise to transmit in connection with this transmission

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SILENCE-SILENCE-SILENCE. - Cease all transmission in this net
immediately. Silence be maintained until lifted. (Normally with identification
from NCS [=Net Control Station])
SILENCE LIFTED - Silence is lifted. The net is free for traffic. (With ID from NCS)
THIS IS … - This message is from the station whose designation immediately follows.
MESSAGE - I have a message for you
OVER - This is the end of my turn of transmitting. A response is expected. Go
ahead, transmit.
OUT - This is the end of my transmission to you. No answer or
acknowledgement is expected
OUT TO YOU - Do not answer. I have nothing more for you. I shall now call
another station
READ BACK - Repeat the entire following transmission back to me exactly
as received
I READ BACK - The following is my reply to your request to read back
SAY AGAIN - a. Repeat all of your transmission
b. Followed by identification data ALL AFTER, ALL BEFORE,
WORD AFTER, WORD BEFORE, etc
I SAY AGAIN - I am repeating my transmission or portion indicated
SEND - Go ahead with your transmission
SEND YOUR MESSAGE - Go ahead, transmit: I am ready to copy
… SPEAK SLOWER - Reduce the speed of your transmission. (Normally
used in connection with request for repetition)
I SPELL - I shall spell the next word, group or equivalent phonetically (Not
used when transmitting coded messages)
RELAY TO … - Transmit the following message to all addressees or to the
address designation immediately following
RELAY THROUGH - Send this message through callsign…
MESSAGE PASSED TO - Your message has been passed to …
STANDBY - Wait for a short period and I will get back to you.
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SITREP - Means a situation report at your location
ROGER - I have received your last transmission satisfactorily
ROGER SO FAR - Have you received this part of my message satisfactorily
WILCO - I have received your message, understood it, and will comply. (To
be used only by the addressee). ROGER and WILCO are never used together
RADIO CHECK. What is my signal strength and readability; how do you hear me? I
request a response indicating the strength and readability of my transmission, according
to plain language radio check standards:
A response of ROGER is shorthand for the prowords LOUD AND CLEAR.
A response of WEAK BUT READABLE ("Weak Readable" is also used) indicates a
weak signal but I can understand.
A response of WEAK AND DISTORTED indicates a weak signal and unreadable.
A response of STRONG BUT DISTORTED indicates a strong signal but unreadable.

12. Reporting the quality of reception. Following phrases shall be

used when initiating or answering queries concerning signal strength and
readability.
RADIO CHECK What is my signal strength and readability, how do you
read me?
YOU ARE … Your signal strength and readability is (I READ YOU…) as
follows:

13. Signal Strength.

a. LOUD - Your signal is excellent
b. GOOD - Your signal is good
c. WEAK - I can hear you with difficulty
d. VERY WEAK - I can hear you with great difficulty
e. NOTHING HEARD - I cannot hear you

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14. Readability.
a. CLEAR - Excellent quality
b. READABLE - Good quality. No difficulties in reading you
c. DISTORTED - I have trouble in reading you because of
distortion
d. WITH INTERFERENCE - I have trouble reading you
due to interference
e. UNREADABLE - I can hear that you transmit but I cannot
understand you at all

PHONETIC ALPHABETS

15. The phonetic alphabet is a series of words to represent the letters of

the alphabet. When pronounced correctly, you cannot mistake one of these
words for another.

Letter Phonetic Spoken As

(a) (b) (c)
A ALPHA AL FAH
B BRAVO BRAH VOH
C CHARLIE CHAR LEE
D DELTA DELL TAH
E ECHO ECK OH
F FOXTROT FOKS TROT
G GOLF GOLF
H HOTEL HOH TEL

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I INDIA IN DEE AH
J JULIET JEW LEE ETT
K KILO KEY LOH
L LIMA LEE MAH
M MIKE MIKE
N NOVEMBER NO VEM BER
O OSCAR OSS CAR
P PAPA PAH PAH
Q QUEBEC KEH BECK
R ROMEO ROW ME OH
S SIERRA SEE AIR RAH
T TANGO TANG GO
U UNIFORM YOU NEE FORM
V VICTOR VIK TAH
W WHISKEY WISS KEY
X XRAY ECKS RAY
Y YANKEE YANG KEY
Z ZULU ZOO LOO

NUMERALS

16. To distinguish numbers from words that are similarly pronounced, the
word “FIGURES” is used before communicating the numerals. These
figures are pronounced as follows:

Numeral Spoken
As
(a) (b)
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0 ZE-RO
1 WUN
2 TOO
3 TREE
4 FOW-ER
5 FIFE
6 SIX
7 SEV-EN
8 ATE
9 NIN-ER

17. Nicknames and Codewords. Nicknames are always unclassified,

and (usually) consist of two separate words. Code words are used when it
may be necessary to disguise meaning from casual listeners on a non-
secure radio net or when transmitting sensitive information. Examples are
displayed on the screen

CONCLUSION
18. Voice procedure communications are intended to maximize clarity of
spoken communication and reduce misunderstanding. It is widely adopted
in the military to ensure that troops relate with one another over a two-way
radio communication seamlessly. Various aspects of radio voice procedure
have been explained covering security, accuracy and discipline. The
operating rules have also been discussed. Prowords, phonetic alphabets

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and numerals which are applied daily in various military operations have
been elaborated. Additionally, nicknames and codewords with a
demonstration on the use of handheld radios have been discussed.

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