How is 12:30 AM represented in military time?

In military time, the hour is represented on a 24-hour clock system. For midnight, which is 12:00 AM, it is expressed as 0000 hours. As time progresses past midnight, the hours continue sequentially. Therefore, 12:30 AM is represented as 0030 hours.

This makes it clear that at 12:00 AM, the clock resets to '00' for hours, and adding 30 minutes past midnight leads to '30' minutes. Thus, the proper representation of 12:30 AM is 0030.

In contrast, 2400 hours refers to the end of the day or the start of midnight, but it’s not used for AM times. The representation 0000 signifies the very start of each day and is typically tied to midnight rather than 12:30 AM. The time 2130 corresponds to 9:30 PM, which, while accurate for its own specific time, does not relate to midnight or the early hours of the day.