A is for 'orses...

An ex-policeman got told off by the Department of Work and Pensions for spelling out his reference number phonetically and using "Zulu" for "Z".  He was told that you can't do that any more - you now have to use "Zebra".  Really?  Wikipedia still gives Zulu as the correct phonetic word in the NATO alphabet.  I myself go back to the "Able, Baker, Charlie, Dog" days, when Z was indeed Zebra.  This, by the way is where "Roger" meaning OK comes from - back then Roger was the phonetic word for R which in the days of telegraphy was shorthand for "message received".  Romeo, which is the current word for R doesn't cut it somehow, does it?  Indeed the switch from the old alphabet to the new NATO one left some of us puzzled.  It was said to be needed because other members of NATO found some of our English words difficult to pronounce and understand.  But what baffled us was that F in the old language was Fox, and in the new NATO alphabet Foxtrot - so if Fox caused problems, how would Foxtrot improve matters?  Anyway, I think DWP need to explain themselves.