Quickly learn the two most commonly used phonetic alphabets used in the English language, NATO and LAPD, using this quiz based application. The NATO phonetic alphabet is commonly used by military and paramilitary organizations as well as organizations that frequently need to unambiguously describe characters over radio and or telephone. The LAPD phonetic alphabet is also known as the APCO radiotelephony spelling alphabet, and is used primarily by public safety dispatchers in North America.