Its purpose is to provide a standardized way of passing speech and data traffic as securely as possible consistent with accuracy, speed and the needs of command and control.
"[1]The standard defines the procedures for communicating by voice over two-way radio, and has served as the basis for radio communications procedures for many non-military organizations, as well as numerous U.S. government organizations, including the United States Department of State and the Civil Air Patrol.
[1] The standard itself is ACP 125, with the letter in parentheses indicating the major revision level.
There are at least two supplements, including: Although the standard is designed for use by all NATO countries, especially when operating in conjunction with each other, some efforts have been made in the past to translate the procedure words into the native language of member countries.
For example, NATO memo SGM-623-56 from 1956, French Equivalents to English Expressions Used in ACP 125(B),[2] includes the following table of prowords: