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| Abbess,
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1. Formula For
How to Address
2. Q&A / Blog On
Use of Rank by
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3. Q&A / Blog on
How to Address
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| How to Address / Forms of Address
United States Armed Services
Questions & Answers, Frequently Asked Questions, and Blog
Site updated by Robert Hickey on May 20, 2013
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| How to Abbreviate Ranks: Periods? No Periods?
How to Address an Officer with an Honorary Rank?
How to Address an Officer Selected for Promotion?
May I Use an Officer's Signature Block as His Address on a Letter?
How to List an Officer on an Invitation?
How to Address an Officer with a Masters?
How to Address an Officer with a PhD?
How to Address an Officer with an MD in a Salutation?
How to Address an Officer with an MD on an Invitation?
How to Write the Name of an Officer with an MD on a Program?
How to Address Enlisted Personnel?
How Former Enlisted Personnel Should Address Officers?
How to Address a Medal of Honor Recipient?
How to Address a Reservist?
How to Address a Reservist at their Civilian Job?
How to a address any (specific rank), look here
How to write the names of military personnel on invitations,
or how to address invitations to military personnel, look here
How to Address Retired Military Personnel?
Questions about how to address retired officers and enlisted personnel are among the most frequent questions I get. Check out either of the two pages for additional information: Link to Q&A just on how to address retired military personnel Link to Q&A just on use of rank by retired military & veterans
Link to Q&A just on Joint Forms of Address
(Includes military personnel and their spouses)
Looking for Joint Forms of Address? (Two Names in the Address)
Link to Q&A just on Joint Forms of Address
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| May I Use An Officer's Signature Block as a
Form of Address for that Officer on a Letter?
I am working on reply letters for my boss to send to different individuals including several active Army personnel. One of them is the current commanding officer at a nearby military installation. His signature block on official letterhead is:
(Name)
(Rank), US Army
At the top of the letter, it states, reply to attention of Office of the Commander. So would the return letter be addressed as the following or some other format:
(Name)
(Rank), US Army
Office of the Commander
Department of the Army
(address)
And for the salutation:
Dear (Rank) (Last Name):
-- DH in Nevada
Dear DH:
1) No ... don't use their e-mail letter block to address a letter.
Use the form of address for the particular rank I have on my guide to offices.
Find the rank ... and follow the format.
In my book I cover invitations, place cards, name badges, introductions. what to call them in conversation, etc, if this sort of thing comes up often. But on this site I just provide the basics for business envelope, business letter's address block and salutation.
2) If you are in Nevada, and this Office on the Commander is nearby, I doubt he is the commander of the Department of the Army.
He must be a commander of something much smaller .... like a base or installation .... so it's going to be something like:
(Rank) (Full Name), USA
Office of the Commander
(Name of base, installation, etc.)
3) Your salutation looks fine.
-- Robert Hickey
How Should Former Enlisted Personnel Address Current Officers?
I am a retired enlisted Marine and currently hold a DoD contractors position; Is it proper address an active duty officer as Sir or Ma'am as if I was still enlisted?
-- LeRoy Costello
Dear Mr. Costello:
It's still appropriate to address active-duty personnel by Rank+Name ... first ... then switch over to Sir/ma'am.
Addressing another person respectfully is not a sign subservience.
But on the other hand, in business outside the armed forces Sir and Ma'am is considered by many to be excessively formal. When a young person Sirs me ... I know they think I am old! So if using Sir/ma'am seems too deferential to you now, why not address them as Rank+Name at first and not use anything after that? You don't need to be saying Yes Sir, No Sir all the time.
-- Robert Hickey
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| How to Address a Reservist?
I am addressing a letter to a Army Reservist. For his address block, would it be: Brigadier General John Smith, USA Reserve?
With salutation Dear General Smith ?
-- Jamie
Dear Jamie:
This very question is answered on page 207 of my book.
Department of Defense guidelines give two ways to address a letter to a reservist ... one for 'official" and one for "social" correspondence. You said it is a letter so I will give you the official form.
1) On the envelope and address block:
Brigadier General John Smith, USAR
or:
BG John Smith, USAR
2) The salutation should be:
Dear General Smith:
-- Robert Hickey How to Address a Reservist at His Civilian Job?
I am getting married and inviting a friend who is a Captain in the Army. He was works with me, but he's been in the reserves for years, meaning that a few weeks a year he continues to serve. I know if he were discharged and not in the military anymore he would no longer be a Captain. However, since I am sure the US Army calls him Captain when he's serving, should I address his invitation to Captain or to Mr.?
-- Jolanda
Dear Jolanda:
When he is serving with his USA Reserve service on weekends he is addressed by rank.
But as a member of the Reserves he is not addressed as Captain the rest of the time. He does not use his rank in any circumstance in which he could be interpreted to have the power of the US Army behind him ... when he is a civilian and ... a private citizen.
Reservists are not addressed by rank outside their military duty, because Department of Defense guidelines forbid use of rank by personnel when employed by, or representing, commercial enterprises.
Since he will be attending your wedding as a private citizen … address his invitation to Mr.
-- Robert Hickey
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| How to Address an Officer Selected for Promotion?
We are in the middle of addressing envelopes for our wedding invitations and your website has been very helpful and has answered many of our questions. I do have one question that remains unanswered. How do I address an envelope to a Naval officer that has recently been promoted to Captain but is not yet wearing the rank of Captain? In the past I've seen (sel) after the rank but I'm not sure if this is necessary for a social invitation.
This is my guess:
Captain (sel) John Doe and Mrs. Doe
Address
Thank you for your time.
-- Patrick in Charleston, South Carolina
Dear Patrick in Charleston:
Congratulations on your upcoming wedding.
You may have seen someone acknowledging an officer's pending promotion with ... Rank (sel). There is a process in the armed services that one is selected for a promotion, but the actual promotion will be at a future date.
Being selected for promotion is an exciting accomplishment, but Rank (sel) is definitely not a form suggested by Department of Defense guidelines, or a form you would see on official correspondence -- business or social. E.g., Neither The White House use it, nor would his commanding officer.
If he has not been promoted yet, it is most correct to address the invitation to his current rank not his future rank.
I checked with some active duty Naval Officers, and they said they've seen it informally .... but all three said "but I wouldn't do it myself."
-- Robert Hickey How to Write A Naval Chaplain's Name in a Program?
Barry C. Black, Rear Admiral (RET), Chaplain of U.S. Senate will be the speaker at a local event. How do I properly write the names of other local active and retired naval officials on invitations to attend the event?
-- ICW
Dear ICW:
I have a chapter in my book just on forms of address for the US Armed Services. There are two forms of address in Department of Defense Style Manuals suggested for writing the name of armed service personnel ... a social form ... and an official form.
Chaplains are formally addressed by their rank: So it is most formally (Rank)(Name) not Chaplain (Name)
There are two types of rear admirals ... rear admiral, upper half and rear admiral, lower half. When you abbreviate the rank using service-specific abbreviations, the abbreviations are different. Since you don't mention if he is upper or lower, you can avoid the issue by just spelling out the rank. If you find out his an upper or lower, let me know and I will get you the right abbreviation.
I am going to assume you will use official forms. Assuming you are mailing invitations in envelopes, then ...
Active Duty -- official form:
(Rank) (Full name), (Abbreviation for branch of service)
Rear Admiral James Wilson, USN
Retired -- official form:
(Rank) (Full name), (Abbreviation for branch of service), Retired
Rear Admiral Barry Black, USN, Retired
or
(Rank) (Full name), (Abbreviation for branch of service), Ret.
Rear Admiral Barry Black, USN, Ret.
-- Robert Hickey Do I Use Periods with Abbreviated Military Ranks?
We are a non-profit that has a lot of retired military officers on our board, as well as donors to our organization.
Should I use a period (.) in my abbreviations for the ranks or not? I’ve seen it done both ways, and I just want to make sure I have it correct. Thank you so much.
-- CAM, Director of Development, McLean VA
Dear CAM:
The service-specific abbreviations used by the armed services for ranks and ratings are always written without periods and are upper and lower case specific:
USAF Captain Capt
USN Captain CAPT
USA Captain CPT
FYI, your question is answered in my book on pages 91-98. I include all those abbreviations.
-- Robert Hickey Thanks for your response! My predecessor didn’t know anything about the military so, in many instances, she left off rank, branch of service, etc., or used a mish-mash of one or the other. I’ve been spending a good chunk of my time in the past few months just cleaning up the database.
-- CAM, Director of Development, McLean VA
How to Address a Military Physician On an Invitation?
My fiance has a friend who is a medical doctor who is also on active duty with a rank of Captain in the Air Force, where he practices medicine. How should we address the wedding invitation?
-- Carol B.
Dear Carol B.:
All active-duty armed service personnel are addressed as:
(Rank) + (Name)
For a written address, there are different forms for "official" and "social" correspondence: I cover that in detail in my chapter on Forms of Address for US Armed Services in my book. Here's the answer:
On social correspondence post-nominal abbreviations are not used ... thus there no USAF and MSC with his name.
A wedding invitation's mailing envelope uses the social form:
Captain William Blake
Address
If you are using inside envelopes, the form is to use you would call him, and most formally that would be:
Captain Blake
He might identify himself as Dr. as he enters an exam room where the patient sits in a backless paper gown ... But in the military, the etiquette is to address all personnel by rank ... one's rank is the most important information: how one serves is important, but is of secondary importance.
-- Robert Hickey
How to List a Military Physician On a Program?
I recently attended a funeral for a retired Rear Admiral who was also a Navy doctor. Was it proper to refer to him in on the cover of the program as:
Honoring
RADM (name), M.D.
Was that correct?
-- Vic M. in Pew #44
Dear Vic M.:
Correct by U.S. Department of Defense guidelines would have been:
RADM (full name), Medical Corps, USN
1) Abbreviating "Rear Admiral" to the military abbreviation RADM is standard at military events.
2) In the official form of address, branch of service follows the name, in this case -- Medical Corps, USN.
3) There's a rule no academic degree is used with a military rank -- so M.D. -- or any other academic post-nominal abbreviation never follows a name preceded by a rank. ... so never use Captain (full name), MBA, General (full name), JD or Major General (full name), PhD.
4) Finally, in the armed services everyone is addressed and identified by rank. How they serve is important (in this case as a doctor) but by their rank is how their name is written.
-- Robert Hickey
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| How to Address an Officer with an Honorary Rank?
It is not unusual for the various state national guards to give honorary promotions to worthy officers upon retirement. These promotions are not federally recognized and do not entitle the recipient to increased pay in retirement. How should one address an officer who received an honorary promotion upon retirement?
-- BG Charles K. Hendershott
Dear General Hendershott:
If the promotion is honorary, not federally recognized, and does not entitle one to benefits ... it must be something granted informally and internally. Protocol officers I spoke to (two at the Pentagon and two at bases) suggest use of such a honorary rank be limited to verbal use within the granting organization.
-- Robert Hickey
How to Address Enlisted Personnel on an Invitation?
I am engaged to a member of the Marine Corps and have several military invitations that I'm trying to address. I seem to have all the Marine's under control with their ranks; however, I have a couple of members of the Navy and am unsure how to address their outer envelope. I know that enlisted Navy personnel have rates (such as PO2) instead of an actual rank, but do not know how you use this on the invitation. Thank you in advance for your help!
-- Katie (and Todd)
Dear Katie (and Todd),
I cover the Navy on pages 215-224. The USN has both officers and enlisted personnel. All are addressed the same way on social correspondence: {Rank/Rating} + {Name}. The most formal way to address an envelope is to do so without abbreviations, spelling out every word. So, for example:
Petty Officer Second Class (name)
Address
is more formal than:
PO2 (name)
Address
But when a name gets very long and space becomes an issue ... using the abbreviation HM2 is absolutely acceptable.
USN (the post-nominal abbreviation for the branch of service) is not included after a name on social correspondence. It is used on official correspondence.
You don't say which ranks/ratings your guests have so I can't be much more specific ... but Cranes Blue Book of Stationery has lots of information on addressing wedding invitations and place cards for your reception. I updated the book with Pamela Eyring (Director of The Protocol School of Washington) in 2008.
-- Robert Hickey
How to Use a Masters Degree with a Military Rank?
I am wondering the proper way to format a military rank and academic degree on a resume. In question is a gentleman, "John Smith," who is a currently a Captain in the USMC Reserves who holds a masters degree in HR business administration... and MBA.
-- GB in Career Counseling
Dear GB:
No sort of post nominal ... professional, academic, religious .. is ever used with a U.S. military rank.
He is most formally Captain John Smith, USMCR.
Note that he holds a Masters in Business Administration from (Name of) University in a section on education, or in a sentence describing his achievements.
-- Robert Hickey
How to Use a PhD with a Military Rank?
How would I properly address a husband and wife who are both retired Air force Colonels and hold PhD’s?
Col John and Col Jane Doe, PhD, USAF (Ret)
And what would be a proper salutation for them?
Dear Colonels Doe,
-- Confused & Live Near The Base
Dear C&LNTB:
1) When a person has a special title ... like Colonel ... most formally he or she gets their (rank) + (full name) complete as a unit. So "Col John and Col Mary" is not correct.
2) Military ranks are never used with academic post-nominals
3) As you use it ... "Col" with those caps and no punctuation IS the correct USAF style.
4) The Department of Defense's guidelines say "USAF" is only used on official documents ... not on social correspondence. So if you are writing them officially regarding their official duties ... use USAF, if it is a social letter ... leave it off
5) The Department of Defense's guidelines also suggest either "Retired" or "Ret." .... but not "(Ret.)" but use it only on official correspondence after the USAF ...
Col John Doe, USAF, Retired
So most formally they would be socially
Col John Doe
and Col Jane Doe
(Address)
The salutation could be: Dear Colonels Doe,
-- Robert Hickey
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| How to Address a Medal of Honor Recipient?
How do other military personnel address a Medal of Honor recipient in writing?
-- Cindy
Dear Cindy
Medal winners don't receive a special form of address.
It would be mentioned after their name in an introduction as would any special honor or decoration.
The do receive other courtesies, but nothing in the way their name is written.
-- Robert Hickey
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Not Finding Your Question Answered?
Below are other topics covered in my blog and at right is a list of officials, Between the two I probably have what you are looking for.
After hunting around a bit, if you don't see your question answered send me an e-mail. I am pretty fast at sending a reply: usually the next day (unless I am traveling.)
If I think your question is of interest to others, I will post the question & answer – with your name and any personal specifics changed.
-- Robert Hickey USE OF NAMES & HONORIFICS
Mr., Miss, Jr., III, & Names
Married Women
Deceased Persons
People with Two Titles
Post-Nominal Abbreviations and Initials
Joint Forms of Address (How to address a couple?)
USE OF SPECIFIC OFFICIAL TITLES
Former Officials
Professionals and Academics
United States Federal Officials, Currently In Office
United States State Officials, Currently In Office
United States Municipal Officials, Currently In Office
All About The Honorable with U.S. Officials
Former United States Officials of all types
United States Armed Services, Active Duty
Addressing Retired Personnel
Use of Rank by Retired Personnel
Use of Rank by Veterans
Tribal Officials
Clergy and Religious Officials
Canadian Officials
Australian Officials
British Officials, Royalty, and Nobility
Diplomats and International Representatives
Foreign National Officials and Nobility SPECIFIC SITUATIONS
Business Cards
Etiquette
Flags and Anthem Protocol
Introductions
Invitations: Writing & Addressing
Invitations: Just Armed Service Personnel
Name Tags
Names on Programs, Signs, & Lists
Naming a Building or Road
Place Cards
Plaques, Awards, Diplomas, Certificates
Precedence: Ordering Officials
Thank You Notes
Site updated by Robert Hickey on May 20, 2013
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Back to Main Page of the Robert Hickey's BLOG Robert Hickey is the author of Honor & Respect:
The Official Guide to Names, Titles, and Forms of Address
Published by The Protocol School of Washington®
Foreword by Pamela Eyring
Copyright © 2013 Robert Hickey. All Rights Reserved.
Book Photo: Marc Goodman.
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