The military time zones are a standardized, uniform set of time zones for expressing time across different regions of the world, named after the NATO phonetic alphabet. The Zulu time zone (Z) is equivalent to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and is often referred to as the military time zone. The military time zone system ensures clear communication in a concise manner, and avoids confusion when coordinating across time zones. The CCEB, representing the armed forces of Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States, publishes the military time zone system as the ACP 121 standard.[1] The armed forces of Austria and many nations in NATO use it.[citation needed]