Bryan Howerton
No Co. "J"
Sat Apr 21 17:07:41 2001


The U.S. armed forces traditionally did not use the letter "J" as a company designator because in 19th century script the letters "I" and "J" are difficult to distinguish; so skipping "J" mitigated any possibility of confusion in written orders.

A respected Civil War author wrote that the reason for not using "J" was that it could be confused with "A" in spoken orders. Unfortunately, his supposition has been perpetuated by less discerning writers, and this is now often cited as the "real" reason for skipping "J". The author failed to consider that "H" and "K" could also be confused with "A" in spoken orders, as could "B" "C" "D" and "G".

Anyone who has ever had to sit through the famous and boring "Traditions and Protocols of the U.S. Armed Forces" class knows that avoiding confusion in written orders was the reason that the letter "J" was never used as a company designator.