How do you read 1500 military time?

Do you work in a military setting or in an environment that frequently uses military time? If so, you know all too well how difficult it can be to decipher military time and quickly determine what the corresponding standard time is. Fortunately, mastering the art of translating military time into standard time isn't as tough as it may seem. With just a little bit of practice, you'll be an expert in no time!

First ask yourself: what is military time? Military Time is based in the 24-hour clock which is commonly used by militaries and hospitals. It follows the same pattern each day with hour and minute indicators being divided by two colons (e.g., 15:00). Rather than repeating every hour from 1 - 12 as with traditional clocks, military time counts from 0 - 23 (e.g., 0800 = 8:00 am). Additionally, it never uses am or pm markers; however, it can be transposed into either format easily.

To decode 1500 military time, simply subtract 1200 and you will find 1300 or 1:00pm. To break this down further, think of 15 as the number of hours for normal times. For example, when you look at 3pm on a traditional clock it lists 15; using the same logic for 1500 on a 24-hour clock would mean subtracting 1200 from 1500 which equals 1300 or 1pm on a standard 12-hour clock.

To further understand and hone your skill of decoding military time here are some tips to help make it easier:

- The hours before 12:00 stay the same; for example 10:00 is ten hundred hours

- The after 12:00 simply add twelve to whatever number it shown; for example 18:30 becomes 6:30 pm

- The minutes remain unchanged; for example 945 still means 9 hours and 45 minutes.