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Procedure words (abbreviated to prowords) are words or phrases limited to radio telephone procedure used to facilitate
communication Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inqui ...
by conveying
information Information is an abstract concept that refers to that which has the power to inform. At the most fundamental level information pertains to the interpretation of that which may be sensed. Any natural process that is not completely random, ...
in a condensed standard verbal format. Prowords are voice versions of the much older procedural signs for Morse code which were first developed in the 1860s for Morse telegraphy, and their meaning is identical. The NATO communications manual ACP-125 contains the most formal and perhaps earliest modern (post-
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
) glossary of prowords, but its definitions have been adopted by many other organizations, including the
United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...
, the U.S. Coast Guard, US Civil Air Patrol, US
Military Auxiliary Radio System The Military Auxiliary Radio System (MARS) is a United States Department of Defense sponsored program, established as a separately managed and operated program by the United States Army, and the United States Air Force. The United States Navy-M ...
, and others. Prowords are one of several structured parts of radio voice procedures, including brevity codes and plain language radio checks.


Examples

According to the
U.S. Marine Corps The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for conducting expeditionary and amphibious operations through co ...
training document FMSO 108, "understanding the following PROWORDS and their respective definitions is the key to clear and concise communication procedures".


This is ...

This transmission is from the station whose designator immediately follows. For clarity, the station ''called'' should be named before the station ''calling''. So, "Victor Juliet zero, THIS IS Golf Mike Oscar three..." or for brevity, "Victor Juliet zero, Golf Mike Oscar three, ROGER, OUT". Never "This is GMO3 calling VJ0", "This is ground control to Major Tom" nor any other reversed combination.


Over

"This is the end of my transmission to you and a response ''is'' necessary. Go ahead: transmit." "Over" and "Out" are ''never'' used at the same time, since their meanings are mutually exclusive. With spring-loaded Push to talk (PTT) buttons on modern combined transceivers, the same meaning can be communicated with just "OUT", as in "Ops, Alpha, ETA five minutes. OUT."


Out

"This is the end of my transmission to you and no answer is required or expected."


Do you read?

A question about whether the receiver can hear and understand the transmission. Example: "Bob, you read me? What is the situation from your position?" Example:


Roger

"I have received your last transmission satisfactorily,
radio Radio is the technology of signaling and communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 30  hertz (Hz) and 300  gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a tr ...
check is LOUD AND CLEAR." "ROGER" may be used to mean "yes" with regard to confirming a command; however, in Air Traffic Control phraseology, it does not signify that a clearance has been given. The term originates from the practice of telegraphers sending an "R" to stand for "received" after successfully getting a message. This was extended into spoken radio during World War II, with the "R" changed to the spelling alphabet equivalent word "Roger". The modern
NATO spelling alphabet The (International) Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet, commonly known as the NATO phonetic alphabet, is the most widely used set of clear code words for communicating the letters of the Roman alphabet, technically a ''radiotelephonic spelling ...
uses the word "Romeo" for "R" instead of "Roger", and "Romeo" is sometimes used for the same purpose as "Roger", mainly in Australian maritime operations. For commercial maritime VHF, "Roger" is discouraged. "Copy" does not mean the same as "roger". It is used when communications between two other stations which includes information for one's own station has been overheard and received satisfactorily.


Wilco

"I understand and will comply." It is used on receipt of an order. "Roger" and "Wilco" used together (e.g. "Roger, Wilco") are redundant, since "Wilco" includes the acknowledgement element of "Roger".


Say again

"I have not understood your message, please SAY AGAIN". Usually used with prowords "ALL AFTER" or "ALL BEFORE". Example: radio working between Solent Coastguard and a motor vessel, call-sign EG 93, where part of the initial transmission is unintelligible. Example: At this juncture, Solent Coastguard would reply, giving the position of the shipping vessel preceded with the prowords "I SAY AGAIN": The word "REPEAT" should not be used in place of "SAY AGAIN", especially in the vicinity of naval or other firing ranges, as "REPEAT" is an artillery proword defined in ACP 125 U.S. Supp-2(A) with the wholly different meaning of "request for the same volume of fire to be fired again with or without corrections or changes" (e.g., at the same coordinates as the previous round).


All after...

"Please repeat the message you just sent me beginning after the word or phrase said after this proword."


All before...

"Please repeat the message you just sent me ending before the word or phrase said after this proword."


Wait over

"I must pause for a few seconds."


Wait out

"I must pause for longer than a few seconds. I will call you back."


Read back

"Please repeat my entire transmission back to me."


I read back

"The following is my response to your READ BACK proword."


Correction

"I made an error in this transmission. Transmission will continue with the last word correctly sent."


Radio check

"What is my signal strength and readability; how do you hear me?" The sender requests a response indicating the strength and readability of their 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. One of the two stations might be slightly off frequency, there might be multipath distortion, or there might be a problem with the audio circuits on one or both of the radios. "5 by 5" is an older term used to assess radio signals, as in 5 out of 5 units for both signal strength and readability. Other terms similar to 5x5 are "LOUD AND CLEAR" or "Lima and Charlie". Example: Similar example in shorter form: If the initiating station (Alpha 12 in the example) cannot hear the responding station (X-ray 23 above), then the initiator attempts a radio-check again, or if the responder's signal was not heard, the initiator replies to the responder with "Negative contact, Alpha 12 OUT". The following readability scale is used: 1 = bad (unreadable); 2 = poor (readable now and then); 3 = fair (readable, but with difficulty); 4 = good (readable); 5 = excellent (perfectly readable). Example of correct US Army radio check, for receiver A-11 (Alpha 11) and sender D-12 (Delta 12):


Article 32 Radio Regulations distress and rescue

International Telecommunication Union (ITU) Radio Regulations and the
International Civil Aviation Organization The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international a ...
(ICAO) Convention and Procedures for Air Navigation Services set out "distress, urgency and safety procedures". On the radio, distress (emergency) and rescue usage takes precedence above all other usage, and the radio stations at the scene of the disaster (on land, in a plane, or on a boat) are authorized to commandeer the frequency and prohibit all transmissions that are not involved in assisting them. These procedure words originate in the International Radio Regulations. The Combined Communications-Electronics Board (representing military use by Australia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom and United States) sets out their usage in the Allied Communications Publications "ACP 135(F) Communications instructions Distress and Rescue Procedures".


Mayday

Mayday is used internationally as the official SOS/distress call for voice. It means that the caller, their vessel or a person aboard the vessel is in grave and imminent danger, send immediate assistance. This call takes priority over all other calls. The correct format for a Mayday call is as follows:
'' he first part of the signal is known as the "call"'
Mayday, Mayday, Mayday,
This is (vessel name repeated three times, followed by
call sign In broadcasting and radio communications, a call sign (also known as a call name or call letters—and historically as a call signal—or abbreviated as a call) is a unique identifier for a transmitter station. A call sign can be formally ass ...
if available)
he subsequent part of the signal is known as the "message" Mayday (vessel name)
My position is (position as a lat-long position or bearing and distance from a fixed point)
I am (type of distress, e.g. on fire and sinking)
I require immediate assistance
I have (number of people on board and their condition)
(Any other information e.g. "I am abandoning to life rafts")
Over
VHF instructors, specifically those working for the Royal Yachting Association, often suggest the
mnemonic A mnemonic ( ) device, or memory device, is any learning technique that aids information retention or retrieval (remembering) in the human memory for better understanding. Mnemonics make use of elaborative encoding, retrieval cues, and image ...
MIPDANIO for learning the message of a Mayday signal: mayday, identify, position, distress, assistance, number-of-crew, information, over. In aviation a different format is used:
irst part of the messageMayday, Mayday, Mayday
econd part of the messageCallsign
hird part of the messageNature of the emergency
For example: "Mayday, Mayday, Mayday, Wiki Air 999, we have lost both of our engines due to a bird strike, we are gliding now." After that pilot can give, or the controller can ask for, additional information, such as, fuel and number of passengers on board.


Pan-Pan

Pan-pan (pronounced ) is the official urgency voice call. Meaning "I, my vessel or a person aboard my vessel requires assistance but is not in distress." This overrides all but a mayday call, and is used, as an example, for calling for medical assistance or if the station has no means of propulsion. The correct usage is:
Pan-Pan, Pan-Pan, Pan-Pan
All stations, all stations, all stations
This is essel name repeated three timesbr> My position is osition as a lat-long position or bearing and distance from a fixed pointbr> I am ype of urgency, e.g. drifting without power in a shipping lanebr> I require ype of assistance requiredbr>
ny other information e.g. size of vessel, which may be important for towing NY most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the Northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York NY, Ny or ny may also refer to: Places * North Yorkshir ...
br> Over


SÉCURITÉ

Pronounced , this is the official safety voice call. "I have important meteorological, navigational or safety information to pass on." This call is normally broadcast on a defined channel (channel 16 for maritime VHF) and then moved onto another channel to pass the message. Example:
n channel 16 SÉCURITÉ, SÉCURITÉ, SÉCURITÉ All stations, all stations, all stations. This is Echo Golf niner three, Echo Golf niner three, Echo Golf niner three. For urgent navigational warning, listen on channel six-seven. OUT hen on channel 67 SÉCURITÉ, SÉCURITÉ, SÉCURITÉ All stations, all stations, all stations. This is Echo Golf niner tree (three), Echo Golf niner tree, Echo Golf niner tree. Floating debris sighted off Calshot Spit. Considered a danger to surface navigation. OUT


SEELONCE MAYDAY

"Seelonce" is an approximation rendition of the French word ''silence''. Indicates that your vessel has an emergency and that you are requiring radio silence from all other stations not assisting you.


SEELONCE DISTRESS

Indicates that you are relaying or assisting a station that has placed a MAYDAY call and you are requiring radio silence from all other stations not assisting you or the station in distress. When the emergency issue is winding down and then has been resolved, these prowords are used to open up the frequency for use by stations not involved in the emergency:


PRU-DONCE

Indicates that complete radio silence is no longer required and restricted (limited) use of the frequency may resume, but immediately giving way to all further distress communications.


SEELONCE FEENEE

Indicates that emergency communications have ceased and normal use of the frequency may resume.


ACP 125(F)


Aviation radio

More formally known as "Aeronautical Mobile communications", radio communications from and to aircraft are governed by rules created by the
International Civil Aviation Organization The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO, ) is a specialized agency of the United Nations that coordinates the principles and techniques of international air navigation, and fosters the planning and development of international a ...
. ICAO defines a very similar but shorter list of prowords in Annex 10 of its Radiotelephony Procedures (to the Convention on International Civil Aviation). Material in the following table is quoted from their list. ICAO also defines "ICAO Radio Telephony Phraseology".


Marine radio

Marine radio procedure words follow from the ACP-125 definition, and those in the International Radio Regulations published by the
ITU The International Telecommunication Union is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for many matters related to information and communication technologies. It was established on 17 May 1865 as the International Telegraph Union ...
, and should be used by small vessels as their standard radio procedure. Beginning in 2001, large vessels, defined as being 500 gross tonnage or greater, the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers has required that a restricted and simplified English vocabulary with pre-set phrases, called Standard Marine Communication Phrases (SMCP), be used and understood by all officers in charge of a navigational watch. These rules are enforced by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). The IMO describes the purpose of SMCP, explaining "The IMO SMCP includes phrases which have been developed to cover the most important safety-related fields of verbal shore-to-ship (and vice-versa), ship-to-ship and on-board communications. The aim is to get round the problem of language barriers at sea and avoid misunderstandings which can cause accidents." The SMCP language is not free-form like the standard radio voice procedures and procedure words. Instead, it consists of entire pre-formed phrases carefully designed for each situation, and watch officers must pass a test of their usage in order to be certified under international maritime regulations. For example, ships in their own territorial waters might be allowed to use their native language, but when navigating at sea or communicating with foreign vessels in their own territorial waters, they should switch to SMCP, and will state the switch over the radio before using the procedures. When it is necessary to indicate that the SMCP are to be used, the following message may be sent: "Please use Standard Marine Communication Phrases." "I will use Standard Marine Communication Phrases."


SMCP

* "Yes" when the answer to a question is in the affirmative * "No" when the answer to a question is in the negative * "Stand by" when the information requested is not immediately available * "No information" when the information requested cannot be obtained


Misusages


Clear

"Clear" is sometimes heard in
amateur radio Amateur radio, also known as ham radio, is the use of the radio frequency spectrum for purposes of non-commercial exchange of messages, wireless experimentation, self-training, private recreation, radiosport, contesting, and emergency commu ...
transmissions to indicate the sending station is done transmitting and leaving the airways, i.e. turning off the radio, but the ''Clear'' proword is reserved for a different purpose, that of specifying the classification of a 16-line format radio message as one which can be sent in the clear (without encryption), as well as being reserved for use in responding to the ''Radio Check'' proword to indicate the readability of the radio transmission.


Affirmative

"Confirm" or "yes" and sometimes shortened to ''Affirm'' is heard in several radio services, but is not listed in ACP-125 as a proword because in poor radio conditions it can be confused with ''Negative''. Instead, the proword ''Correct'' is used.


Negative

Means "no", and can be abbreviated to ''Negat''. Because over a poor quality connection the words "affirmative" and "negative" can be mistaken for one another (for example over a
sound-powered telephone A sound-powered telephone is a communication device that allows users to talk to each other with the use of a handset, similar to a conventional telephone, but without the use of external power. This technology has been used since at least 194 ...
circuit), United States Navy instruction omits the use of either as prowords. Sailors are instructed to instead use "yes" and "no".


Example of usage


Example 1

Two helicopters, call signs "Swiss 610" and "Swiss 613", are flying in formation : :Swiss 610: "613, I have a visual on you at my 3 o'clock. 610" :Swiss 613: "Roger 613" :Swiss 610: "613, Turn right to a heading of 090. 610" :Swiss 613: "Wilco 613" Anytime a radio call is made (excepting "standby", where the correct response is silence), there is some kind of response indicating that the original call was heard. 613's "Roger" confirms to 610 that the information was heard. In the second radio call from 610, direction was given. 613's "Wilco" means "will comply." Reading back an instruction confirms that it was heard correctly. For example, if all 613 says is "Wilco", 610 cannot be certain that he correctly heard the heading as 090. If 613 replies with a read back ''and'' the word "Wilco" ("Turn right zero-niner-zero, Wilco") then 610 knows that the heading was correctly understood, and that 613 intends to comply.


Example 2

The following is the example of working between two stations, EG93 and VJ50 demonstrating how to confirm information: :EG93: "Victor Juliet five zero, Victor Juliet five zero, this is Echo Golf niner three. Request rendezvous at 51 degrees 37.0N, 001 degrees 49.5W. Read back for check. Over" :VJ50: "Echo Golf niner three, this is Victor Juliet five zero. I read back: five one degrees three seven decimal zero north, zero zero one degrees four niner decimal five west. Over." :EG93: "Victor Juliet five zero, this is Echo Golf niner three. Correct, Out"


See also

*
Allied Communication Procedures Allied Communication Procedures is the set of manuals and supplements published by the Combined Communications Electronics Board that prescribe the methods and standards to be used while conducting visual, audible, radiotelegraph, and radiotelephon ...
*
NATO phonetic alphabet The (International) Radiotelephony Spelling Alphabet, commonly known as the NATO phonetic alphabet, is the most widely used set of clear code words for communicating the letters of the Roman alphabet, technically a ''radiotelephonic spellin ...
*
Prosigns for Morse code Procedural signs or prosigns are shorthand signals used in Morse code radio telegraphy procedure, for the purpose of simplifying and standardizing radio communication protocol. They are separate from Morse code abbreviations, which consist mainl ...
* Ten-code * Distress signal * Plain language radio checks


References


Notes


Bibliography


FM 21-75
* Handbook for Marine Radio Communication, Fifth Edition {{DEFAULTSORT:Procedure Word Military communications Amateur radio Parts of speech Operating signals