Roger That Day

October 4

Roger That Day

10-4. Message received.

Roger That Day is observed every year on October 4, the same day as 10-4 Day. A day for clear communication, confirmed messages, and Rogers everywhere.

CH 10-4
Days
--
Hrs
--
Min
--
Sec
--

Next observance

Standing by

It is 10:04. Acknowledge the moment.

Press to acknowledge.

Why October 4?

Roger That Day is observed on October 4 because October 4 is written 10/4, 10-4 is radio shorthand for message received, and so is Roger that. October 4 is already known as 10-4 Day. Roger That Day takes the same date one transmission further.

  1. October 4The date.
  2. 10/4How October 4 is written in the U.S.
  3. 10-4What 10/4 sounds like on a radio.
  4. Message receivedWhat 10-4 means.
  5. Roger that.What you say back.

The math checks out.

October 4 already had 10-4 Day.

Excellent. Message received.

10-4 Day

"10-4."

Celebrates the famous radio code, CB radio, and the truckers who made it part of everyday conversation.

Roger That Day

"Roger that."

Celebrates the reply: the history of radio acknowledgment, the enduring "Roger that," and Rogers everywhere.

We're simply completing the transmission.

October 4 is already known as 10-4 Day, celebrating one of radio's most recognizable acknowledgments. CB radio organizations were already celebrating it in 1978, when President Jimmy Carter issued a statement joining them.6

On Roger That Day, we celebrate the history of radio communication, the enduring "Roger that," and, most importantly, Rogers everywhere. Because frankly, they have waited long enough.

Roger That Day did not create 10-4 Day and is not affiliated with it. Same date, same radio family, different observance. Celebrate both. They get along fine.

What is Roger That Day?

Roger That Day is an annual celebration of clear communication, acknowledged messages, the history of the phrase "Roger that," and the deeply satisfying experience of knowing someone actually understood what you said.

And, naturally, Rogers.

When
Every October 4, all day, in your local time zone.
Where
Anywhere a message can be sent and received. Which is everywhere.
Who
Everyone who has ever confirmed a message, and above all, people named Roger.
How
By following the Roger That Day protocol.
Related
10-4 Day, also on October 4, which celebrates the radio code and CB radio. Related, not the same. How they fit together.

Roger That Day protocol

Standard procedure for October 4. Check each item off as you complete it and this station will log the time.

0 of 7 items logged.

One operational note: please do not wish anyone a happy Roger That Day on VHF Channel 16. That channel is for distress and hailing, and somebody out there is listening for something that matters.

All stations: appreciate your local Roger.

10-4 Day has the radio code covered. Roger That Day has the Rogers.

Honoring people named Roger is not a side joke. It is half the holiday. Every Roger has heard their name used as a synonym for "yes, I heard you" more times than they can count, and most of them have handled it with remarkable grace. October 4 is the day that patience gets recognized.

  • Wish every Roger you know a happy Roger That Day. Out loud, by text, or across a parking lot.
  • Send your Roger a message that just says "Roger." Wait for the reply.
  • If you know a Roger personally, make an unreasonable amount of fuss. A card is fine. A banner is better.
  • If you are a Roger, accept all acknowledgments today. You have earned them.

Every October 4, acknowledge your messages. Then acknowledge your Roger.

The Roger Hall of Fame

Some Rogers receive messages. Some Rogers make history.

Every Roger deserves recognition. Some require a little more bandwidth. The Hall of Fame will honor notable Rogers and Rogers nominated by the people who know them best.

0Rogers inducted

Notable Rogers

Rogers who made history, or at least made the news.

Frequency open

Everyday Rogers

The Roger down the street who always answers his phone.

Frequency open

Nominated Rogers

Your Roger, submitted by you, with his permission.

Frequency open

The first class has not been inducted yet. Nominations are open. Know a Roger who deserves it? Send him in.

Nominate a Roger

Only used to follow up about this nomination.

Before Romeo, there was Roger.

Roger That Day is new. Roger is not. The word has a real, documented history in radio communications, and it explains why people still say "Roger" when they mean message received.

The short version: people say Roger on the radio because Roger was the word for the letter R in earlier U.S. military spelling alphabets, and R was the signal for received. The alphabet changed in 1956. The habit did not.

Documented radio historyNew tradition, started in 2026

  1. Morse code and telegraph era

    R means received.

    R= Received

    Before anyone was talking on the radio, operators were tapping. In Morse code, R is dot dash dot, and sending it back told the other station your message had arrived. One letter. Message received.

    It never fully went away. Under U.S. maritime radio rules, a station acknowledging a distress alert by telegraph still sends RRR, and by voice says RECEIVED, or RRR spoken as "Romeo Romeo Romeo."5

  2. R becomes Roger.

    Voice radio had a problem Morse code did not. Spoken letters blur together through static, so B, D, P, and V all start to sound the same. The fix was a spelling alphabet: one clear word for every letter. The U.S. Navy's 1927 Bluejackets' Manual lists Roger as the word for R.3

    So the spoken version of "R, received" became "Roger." Roger now meant message received.

  3. Able, Baker, Charlie, Roger.

    In 1941 the United States adopted the Joint Army/Navy phonetic alphabet across all of its military branches. It became known as the Able Baker alphabet, after its first two words.2

    • AAble
    • BBaker
    • CCharlie
    • DDog
    • EEasy
    • FFox
    • GGeorge
    • HHow
    • IItem
    • JJig
    • KKing
    • LLove
    • MMike
    • NNan
    • OOboe
    • PPeter
    • QQueen
    • RRoger
    • SSugar
    • TTare
    • UUncle
    • VVictor
    • WWilliam
    • XX-ray
    • YYoke
    • ZZebra

    Roger as a way to acknowledge a transmission shows up in print that same year, in a U.S. Army glossary of Air Corps slang.3 From there it spread through World War II radio traffic.

  4. Roger is replaced by Romeo.

    RogerRomeo

    The Able Baker alphabet leaned heavily on English, which made it harder to use between countries. Civil aviation switched to a new international alphabet in 1951, with Romeo for R. After more revisions, the modern alphabet took effect for NATO on March 1, 1956,2 and the U.S. Navy adopted it that same month.4

    • AAlfa
    • BBravo
    • CCharlie
    • DDelta
    • EEcho
    • FFoxtrot
    • GGolf
    • HHotel
    • IIndia
    • JJuliett
    • KKilo
    • LLima
    • MMike
    • NNovember
    • OOscar
    • PPapa
    • QQuebec
    • RRomeo
    • SSierra
    • TTango
    • UUniform
    • VVictor
    • WWhiskey
    • XX-ray
    • YYankee
    • ZZulu

  5. 1956 to now

    But Roger stayed on the air.

    Roger had stopped meaning R. It had not stopped meaning received. By then it was built into how pilots, sailors, soldiers, and controllers acknowledged a transmission, so it stayed. The FAA still defines it today, and it still means exactly one thing: your message was received.1

  6. . New tradition.

    And decades later…

    October 4 had been 10-4 Day since at least 1978.6 Then somebody who spent many years around Coast Guard radio noticed that nobody had ever answered it.

    1. 10/4
    2. 10-4
    3. Message received
    4. Roger that
    5. October 4: Roger That Day

    Roger That Day did not exist before 2026. It is not in any manual. It is the only part of this story that was made up, and it was made up on purpose. Read why it exists.

Sources

  1. Federal Aviation Administration, Pilot/Controller Glossary. Definitions of Roger, Wilco, Affirmative, and Negative.
  2. NATO, "The NATO Phonetic Alphabet". The 1941 Able Baker alphabet, the 1951 civil aviation alphabet, and the 1956 adoption.
  3. Wordorigins.org, "roger (radio use)". Cites the U.S. Navy's 1927 Bluejackets' Manual and a 1941 Army slang glossary in American Speech.
  4. Naval History and Heritage Command, "Bravo Zulu". The U.S. Navy adopted the international alphabet in March 1956.
  5. 47 CFR 80.1117, Procedure for receipt and acknowledgement of distress alerts. Maritime distress acknowledgements use RECEIVED or RRR.
  6. The American Presidency Project, "10-4 Day Statement by the President" (Jimmy Carter, October 2, 1978). President Carter joins CB organizations in celebrating 10-4 Day.

Everything marked as documented history on this page comes from the sources above. Roger That Day itself began in 2026 and is not part of that history.

From the radio room

Some people hear "10-4" and think truckers.

Maybe this was inevitable.

I spent many years in the Coast Guard as an Operations Specialist. Radio communications, acknowledged transmissions, and making absolutely sure somebody received the message were part of the job. A transmission nobody acknowledges might as well not have happened.

Radio communications are apparently still in my blood. So when October 4 became 10/4 became 10-4 became Roger that… well, the signal was pretty clear.

Roger That Day is one extremely simple idea, handled with the seriousness I was trained to give every transmission.

Lindsay SmithFounder of Roger That Day. Former U.S. Coast Guard Operations Specialist (OS3).

Roger That Day is an independent observance. It is not an official U.S. Coast Guard observance and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. Coast Guard.

Roger That Day FAQ

What is Roger That Day?

Roger That Day is an unofficial holiday observed every year on October 4. It celebrates the history of radio acknowledgment, the phrase "Roger that," and people named Roger.

It is based on the connection between October 4 (10/4), the radio code 10-4, and the acknowledgment "Roger that," all of which mean message received.

When is Roger That Day?

Roger That Day is observed every year on October 4. It lasts the whole day, in whatever time zone you happen to be in. The next Roger That Day is Sunday, October 4, 2026.

Why is Roger That Day on October 4?

Because October 4 is written 10/4. On the radio, 10-4 means message received, which is why October 4 is also known as 10-4 Day. Roger that also means message received. So October 4 is Roger That Day, too.

Is Roger That Day the same as 10-4 Day?

No. They share October 4 and the same radio family. 10-4 Day celebrates the famous radio code. Roger That Day takes the connection from 10-4 to "Roger that" and adds a tradition of celebrating Rogers everywhere.

You are allowed to celebrate both.

What is 10-4 Day?

10-4 Day is an observance on October 4 that celebrates CB radio, the radio code 10-4, and the truckers who made it part of everyday conversation. CB radio organizations were already celebrating it in 1978, when President Jimmy Carter issued a statement joining them.

Roger That Day did not create 10-4 Day and is not affiliated with it.

What does 10-4 mean?

10-4 means message received, or understood. It is one of the ten-codes, a set of numbered radio shorthand phrases developed for police radio in the United States. CB radio and truckers made it famous with everyone else.

What does "Roger that" mean?

Roger means your last transmission was received. It comes from older radio phonetic alphabets, where Roger was the word for the letter R, and R stood for received. "Roger that" is the casual version. The full story is in Before Romeo, there was Roger.

Roger does not mean "I will comply." That is Wilco. Radio people care about this a great deal.

Does Roger That Day celebrate people named Roger?

Yes. Enthusiastically.

Honoring people named Roger is one of the main traditions of Roger That Day. On October 4, find the Rogers in your life and acknowledge them.

10-4 Day has the radio code covered. Roger That Day has the Rogers.

How do I nominate a Roger for the Hall of Fame?

Use the Nominate a Roger form in the Roger Hall of Fame section. Tell us who he is and why he belongs. If it's a Roger you know personally, make sure he's okay with his name and story appearing on the site. Nothing is published until it's reviewed.

How do you celebrate Roger That Day?

Follow the Roger That Day protocol. Say "Roger that," find a Roger and wish him a happy Roger That Day, make an unreasonable amount of fuss over any Roger you know personally, acknowledge the moment at 10:04, confirm a message you would otherwise have left hanging, answer one unnecessarily long message with "10-4" in honor of 10-4 Day, and end at least one conversation with "Over and out."

Why do people say Roger on the radio?

Roger became a radio acknowledgment because Roger was the word for the letter R in earlier U.S. military spelling alphabets, and in radio procedure R stood for received. Saying Roger was the voice version of sending R.

What did Roger mean in the old phonetic alphabet?

Roger represented the letter R in earlier U.S. military spelling alphabets, including the U.S. Navy's 1927 alphabet and the Joint Army/Navy Able Baker alphabet adopted in 1941, before Romeo became the international standard.

Does Roger mean yes?

No. In current FAA terminology, Roger means the speaker received all of the other party's last transmission. The FAA says Roger should not be used to answer a yes or no question. The radio word for yes is Affirmative.

Why is R Romeo instead of Roger now?

Roger was replaced by Romeo when the modern international phonetic alphabet was adopted in 1956. Roger stayed in use anyway, as the word for acknowledging a received transmission.

Who created Roger That Day?

Roger That Day was created by Lindsay Smith, who spent many years as a U.S. Coast Guard Operations Specialist (OS3), with a background in radio communications and Search and Rescue.

Roger That Day is an independent observance. It is not an official U.S. Coast Guard observance and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the Coast Guard.

Is Roger That Day a real holiday?

It is now.

Roger That Day is an unofficial holiday that started here, at rogerthatday.com. There is no proclamation and no act of Congress. There is just a date that has been saying 10-4 every year, and someone finally answered.

10-4 Day got a presidential statement in 1978. Roger That Day got a website.

Share Roger That Day

Pick a message and send it out. Every one of these has been tested for clarity.

  • Apparently October 4 is Roger That Day. 10-4. 📻
  • Happy Roger That Day. Message received. 🫡
  • October 4 = 10/4. 10-4 = message received. Roger that. The math checks out.
  • Happy 10-4 Day. Roger that. And happy Roger That Day to every Roger out there. 📻
Post on X Post on Bluesky Share on Facebook Share on LinkedIn Email it Text it