Midnight in military time is 0000. This is the official start of the day, even though it occurs when most of us are asleep. Midnight is also referred to as 2400 hours colloquially, though this time never appears on a watch or digital instrument. Soliders often say “twenty-four-hundred hours” when they are referring to midnight in conversation, or through coms. It is acceptable in most cases to say it either way, even though you will never see 2400 on any official piece of equipment like a time piece, in-dash clock or other military equipment display.
Service personel in the army, navy and marines will often refer to midnight as 0000 or 2400 hours when speaking amongst themselves or to an officer. Either way is accepted, however time instruments like military watches, computers, and instrumentation do not display 2400, instead they go only up to 2359. After 2359 they switch right over to 0000.
Precision time pieces also include seconds, they are written as a third set of two numbers at the end like this 00:01:59. So, midnight in a precision time piece showing military time with seconds would look like this: 000000 or 00:00:00 if the instrument used colons.
Military time Midnight to Noon
| Civilian Time | Military Time | Common Name |
|---|---|---|
| 12:00 AM | 0000 | Midnight |
| 1:00 AM | 0100 | 1 am, one in the morning |
| 2:00 AM | 0200 | 2 am, 2 in the morning |
| 3:00 AM | 0300 | 3 am, 3 in the morning |
| 4:00 AM | 0400 | 4 am, 4 in the morning |
| 5:00 AM | 0500 | 5 am, 5 in the morning |
| 6:00 AM | 0600 | 6 am, 6 in the morning |
| 7:00 AM | 0700 | 7 am, 7 in the morning |
| 8:00 AM | 0800 | 8 am, 8 in the morning |
| 9:00 AM | 0900 | 9 am, 9 in the morning |
| 10:00 AM | 1000 | 10 am, 10 in the morning |
| 11:00 AM | 1100 | 11 am, 11 in the morning |
| 12:00 PM | 1200 | noon |
Military time or army time is the 24-hour clock. This type oftime telling uses a single number to designate each hour in the day, instead of two sets of 12 numbers, like standard time. It uses the same format in terms of “midnight” being the start of the day.
But the day’s hours are numbered starting at 00 and end at 23. Minutes start at 00 and end at 59. Seconds, if used also start at 00 and go to 59. So, time is told from 0000 to 2359, a succession of hours and minutes in a logical numerical sequence that can not be mistaken for another time.
