Although it is called a `` phonetic alphabet '' because it is used so no one gets confused when saying letters , it does not have the same reasons as the International Phonetic Alphabet or other phonetic alphabets . In military use British and American armed forces each developed their phonetic alphabets before both forces adopted the ICAO alphabet in 1956 . British forces adopted the RAF phonetic alphabet , which is similar to the phonetic alphabet used by the Royal Navy in World War I. The U.S. adopted the Joint Army\/Navy Phonetic Alphabet from 1941 to standardize systems amongst all branches of its armed forces .