According to the "Navy Data" reference website operated by the U.S. Navy: "The term BRAVO ZULU originates from the Allied Tactical Publication 1 (ATP 1),^[2] an Allied military maritime tactical signals publication, which in the aggregate is For Official Use Only (FOUO), now known in the U.S. Department of Defense as Controlled Unclassified Information (CUI), and can also be found in Multinational Maritime Tactical Publication 2 (MTP 2).^[3] Signals are sent as letters and/or numbers, which have meanings by themselves sometimes or in certain combinations. A single table in ATP 1 is called 'governing groups,' that is, the entire signal that follows the governing group is to be performed according to the 'governor.' The letter 'B' indicates this table, and the second letter (A through Z) gives more specific information. For example, 'BA' might mean 'You have permission to . . .' (do whatever the rest of the flashing light, flag hoist or radio transmission says). 'BZ' happens to be the last item of the governing groups table and it means 'well done'."^[4][5]

"Bravo Zulu" is also defined by the Allied Naval Signal Book (ACP 175 series), an international naval signal code adopted after the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was created during 1949. Until then, each navy in NATO had used its own separate signal code and operational manuals. World War II experience had shown that it was difficult or impossible for ships of different navies to operate together unless they could communicate readily and the implementation of ACP 175 was designed to remedy this.^[6]

In addition to flaghoist and military voice radio, use of the term BRAVO ZULU has also been extended in contemporary times to include written correspondence, message traffic and email traffic from Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Royal Australian Navy, Royal Canadian Navy, Canadian Coast Guard, Royal New Zealand Navy, U.S. Navy, U.S. Marine Corps, U.S. Coast Guard, National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration Commissioned Officer Corps, and U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Officer Corps commissioned officers in either senior command or in senior supervisory positions (e.g., captains and flag officers in the U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard (and to a lesser extent, NOAA and USPHS), and colonels and general officers in the U.S. Marine Corps) to congratulate or otherwise compliment colleagues, contemporaries, or juniors, the latter to include their subordinate crews or commands, for outstanding performance.^[7]

• International maritime signal flags

  This article incorporates public domain material from websites or documents of the Naval History and Heritage Command.