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___How to Address Retired Military (See below)
___Retired or Ret.? – Spelled Out or Abbreviated?
___Retired – In Parentheses of Not?
How to Address Retired Officers or Enlisted Personnel
United States Armed Services
—-Envelope or address block on letter or email:
—-—-(Full rank) (full name), USA/USAF/USMC, Retired
—-—-(Address)
—-—-—-or
——–
—-(Full rank) (full name), USA/USAF/USMC, Ret.
——–—-(Address)
—-—-—-
—-—-(Full rank) (full name), USN/USCG, Retired
—-—-(Address)
—-—-—-or
—-——–(Full rank) (full name), USN/USCG, Ret.
——–—-(Address)
——–—-Which looks like ….
—-——–—-Captain Robert W. Thompson, USN, Retired
——–—-—-(Address)
——–—-———or
——–—-—-Captain Robert W. Thompson, USN, Ret.
—-—-—-—-(Address)
—-Envelope, Social:
—-—-(Full rank) (full name)
—-—-(Address)
—-—-Which looks like …. How To Address Retired US Military
—-—-—-Captain Robert W. Thompson
—-
—-—-(Address)
—-Letter salutation both official and social: How To Address Retired US Military
–——-Dear (basic rank) (surname):
Robert Hickey author of “Honor & Respect”
—-#1) The branch of service designation – USA, USMC, USN, USAF or USCG – and “Retired” or “Ret.
” are used on official correspondence and in official situations when it is important to specify the person is retired and is not on active duty.
—-#2) The service designation and retired are not used on social correspondence or in social situations. Fully retired personnel are orally addressed by rank at their preference in (1) social situations and (2) official situations when their participation is related to their service in the military.
—-#3) In every case the service-specific abbreviation for the (full rank) can be used. These service-specific abbreviations are standard usage within the armed services.
—-#4) Follow this link for how to socially address a military couple.
Robert Hickey author of “Honor & Respect”
We have been struggling with setting up consistent prefixes and suffixes in our database for our military grads.
—-#1) For retired service folks should we spell our “Retired” or use the “Ret.” abbreviation?
—-#2) Is there a comma after the branch of service or is it “USN Ret.”
–––––––––––––––— Development Office, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia
Dear Fund Raiser: How To Address Retired US Military
For official correspondence DOD guides use the comma … and either
Ret. or Retired is acceptable. The show two formulas:
——–(Rank) (Full Name), (Branch of Service), (Retired)
——–(Rank) (Full Name), (Branch of Service), (Ret.)
——–Brigadier General Arthur Portnow, USA, Retired
——–Brigadier General Arthur Portnow, USA, Ret.
You may want to consider for your database using the service-specific abbreviations for the ranks:
—-—-BG Arthur Portnow, USA, Retired
—-—-BG Arthur Portnow, USA, Ret.
DOD people like the service-specific abbreviations because they will know a BG is in the Army, and a BGen is a Marine.
All those service-specific abbreviations … for the USA, USN, USMC, USAF and USCG …. are in my book and elsewhere. If you want to use them – do so. If you don’t, just spell out the rank fully.
Note that the branch of service and retired status may not be necessary for what you are doing:
–—-#1) On social correspondence (personal letters, invitations or cards) – active duty vs. retired status – and branch of service … are not pertinent … and thus not suggested in DOD guides.
–—-#2) On official correspondence branch of service and Retired are pertinent — and are used whenever in military environments where
active duty personnel are present.
— Robert Hickey How To Address Retired US Military
Regarding your advice to write one’s name when retired.
––––––MSgt Trevor Ross, USAF, (Ret.)
With parentheses as shown above is the correct way to signify for retirees — not as you advise.
––––––––––––––––— T.R.
Dear TR:
Thanks for your note, but the DoD style books disagree with you. Either of these forms is correct if you follow those.
––––––MSgt Trevor Ross, USAF, Retired
––––––MSgt Trevor Ross, USAF, Ret.
Here’s why: DoD stylebooks suggest:
––––––(Rank) (Name), (Branch of Service), (Retired)
––––––(Rank) (Name), (Branch of Service), (Ret.)
Every protocol officer I’ve polled (and that is a large number including the offices of the Secretary of Defense, Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Secretaries of all the services) says the DoD stylebook is not suggesting to include parentheses around Ret. anymore than it is suggesting to put parentheses around the (Rank) or (Name).
So while I agree you do see people using the parentheses around Ret. – I present the style suggested by the protocol officers at the top of the Pentagon …. and they all say “no parentheses.
”
— Robert Hickey
Robert Hickey author of “Honor & Respect”
You can use these forms of address for any mode of communication: addressing a letter, invitation, card or Email. (If there are differences between the official and social forms of address, I will have mentioned the different forms.) The form noted in the salutation is the same form you say when you say their name in conversation or when you greet them.
___What I don’t cover on this site are many things I do cover in my book: all the rules of forms of address, about names, international titles, precedence, complimentary closes, details on invitations, place cards, all sorts of introductions, etc. I hope you’ll get a copy of the book if you’d like the further detail.
—-#1) At right on desktops, at the bottom of every page on tablets and phones, is a list of all the offices, officials & topics covered on the site.
—-#2) If you don’t see the official you seek included or your question answered send me an e-mail. I am pretty fast at sending a reply: usually the next day or so (unless I am traveling.) Note: I don’t have mailing or Email addresses for any of the officials and I don’t keep track of offices that exist only in history books.
—-#3) If I think your question is of interest to others, Sometimes I post the question – but always change all the specifics.
— Robert Hickey
Robert Hickey author of “Honor & Respect”
Recommended Resources: The Protocol School of Washington (PSOW) and Protocol and Diplomacy International – Protocol Officers Association (PDI-POA) For more information see the Protocol Resources page.
Robert Hickey2021-08-28T14:10:40-04:00Abbess Abbot
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Engineer
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Executive County
Family
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First Husband
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Gravestone Gravemarker
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II, III, IV etc.
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Late, The, Use of
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Place Cards, Names on
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Podiatrist
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Presbyter Christian Orthodox
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Professor, Email
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Psychologist
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Second Gentleman
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Secretary General
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There are many things that you need to learn for a smooth transition back into civilian life. One of those things is how to write a retired military signature. You will also need to know and remember small rules, like capitalizing military rank in a sentence. Fortunately, this guide on “How do you write retired military rank and name?” curates everything you need to know.
By the end, you should be able to write military rank and name retired and abbreviate retired military rank without having to pause or second-guess yourself. If you are not a veteran reading this, you will be able to respectfully and appropriately address retired military members.
Table of Contents
The proper way to write retired military rank differs depending on where you are addressing the veteran.
Here is how to write for the address block of an email or letter or an envelope:
For example,
However, when and where the address block of an email or letter or an envelope is used also plays a role.
Official correspondence or situation is when the veteran’s participation is related to service in the military, and vice versa for social correspondence or situations.
Similarly, rank is always included in social situations for oral addressing but may or may not be in official situations. Again, it relies on whether the situation is directly related to the veteran’s service in the military.
Note: Rank is not included when the veteran leaves service before his/her designated retirement, even if he/she was discharged under honorable conditions.
In any case, however, abbreviations can be used. They are more commonly referred to as service specific abbreviations. Thanks to them, it is possible to identify a member of the Armed Forces at first glance. Anyone—civilian military personnel—can use them at any time.
The abbreviations are by rank (From highest to lowest) for each military branch, as follows:
STANDARD STYLEThe U.
S Army
The U.S Navy
The U.
S Marine Corps
The U.S Air Force
The U.
S Coast Guard
Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force
Navy & Coast Guard
Enlisted Ranks:
Army
Maj. of the ArmyMarine Corps
Air Force
Note: Service specific abbreviations can be used to address retired reservists, using the formula: (Rank) (Full Name), (Abbreviation for Service Branch), Retired/Ret.
For example, you would write retired army rank like this: GEN Tom Smith, USA, Retired.
That wraps up our article on “How do you write retired military rank and name?” Hopefully, you have picked up a lot of useful information. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us in the comments.
We would love to hear from you!
Everett Bledsoe
I am Everett Bledsoe, taking on the responsibility of content producer for The Soldiers Project. My purpose in this project is to give honest reviews on the gear utilized and tested over time. Of course, you cannot go wrong when checking out our package of information and guide, too, as they come from reliable sources and years of experience.
There is no basis for hostility between Moscow and Washington, but Joe Biden managed to ignite the conflict by consistently ignoring Russia's legitimate interests in Ukraine, says retired US Army Colonel Douglas McGregor in an interview with Fox News. According to him, the West should recognize that it is impossible to ensure the security of Europe without the participation of Russia.
Old Joe Biden rumbled again today about Ukraine, his son's former employer. What does this have to do with you and your life? Yes, none.
The amazing thing is, people in Ukraine don't seem to care about Russia as much as Joe Biden. Joe Biden is very worried. Look!
JOE BIDEN, US President: If Russia attacks Ukraine, it will face deafening international condemnation. The world will not forget that Russia chose unnecessary death and destruction. The invasion of Ukraine would be a self-inflicted wound. The United States, our allies and partners will respond decisively...
I appeal to the citizens of Russia: you are not our enemies. And I don't believe you want a bloody, destructive war against Ukraine...
There should be no doubt that if Russia commits this violation by invading Ukraine, responsible countries around the world will react without hesitation.
Blah blah blah... But here's Biden's benefit: if Russia really invades Ukraine, he will have a convenient excuse why the American economy has fallen into a deplorable state under him. He admitted it himself to some extent today.
Listen!
JOE BIDEN: I won't pretend it won't hurt. This may affect our energy prices. So we are taking active steps to ease the pressure on our own energy markets and offset price increases…
Yes. Your life will get worse, but no doubt it will be worth it, because… He didn't explain why.
So what will happen? Douglas McGregor is a retired colonel in the US Army. He is one of those people we turn to for truthful information. We are glad that he is with us today.
Thank you so much for taking the time, Doug!
DOUGLAS MACGREGOR, retired US Army colonel: Of course .
Do you find it interesting that Biden states in advance that for some reason we have a moral obligation to do this, but when we do this, everything will become more expensive for you ordinary Americans?
DOUGLAS MACGREGOR: President Biden has clearly shown us his endless ignorance about foreign affairs and especially about Russia .
There are no grounds for our enmity with Russia, for a conflict between us and Russia. Despite this, he managed to maliciously stir up conflict.
We must understand what is happening in reality. Half of Russia's population lived or was born when Ukraine was part of the Soviet Union. They look at Ukraine almost the same as we look at Texas. In eastern Ukraine, the population is so Russian that they have many relatives on the other side of the border…
But we consistently did not recognize their legitimate interests in Ukraine - security interests. They will not tolerate Ukraine becoming a platform from which NATO could threaten Russia. Whether we like it or not, believe it or not, they see NATO as an anti-Russian organization and as a threat.
I think his (Biden's. - InoTV ) statements today probably made Russian intervention in Ukraine inevitable.
We are told that this should worry us, because Ukraine is allegedly a democracy.
But Ukraine is not a democracy: opposition leaders are arrested, opposition media are banned. What moral justification do we have for arguing on the side of an autocracy? I do not understand.
DOUGLAS MACGREGOR: There is no moral justification for our interests in Ukraine, unless those interests are to offer Moscow and Kyiv an honest mediation in finding a solution acceptable to both sides.
Yes.
DOUGLAS MACGREGOR: This is very important. But to do this, we must first recognize what the German Chancellor said today after his meeting with Putin. He said that the Americans… not necessarily the Americans, but we all need to understand that it is impossible to build a security structure in Europe without the participation of Russia.
President Biden acts as if Russia's interests are irrelevant, as if Russia has no role to play. Well, Russia is about to demonstrate that we are powerless to stop them in Eastern Europe! And I don't see any sign that the world will warmly support sanctions against Russia on what most people rightly consider a national security issue for Russia.
Yes. He is just a child who talks with a smart look, without knowing what he is talking about. The only pity is that he draws decent people into all this. Douglas McGregor, as always, I am indebted to you for your wisdom and intelligible explanations. Thank you!
Air date February 16, 2022.
Yes, but if you're referring to an occupation versus a formal job title, use lower case letters. ... - do not use informal names or common nouns. When a job title refers to an occupation or class of jobs rather than a specific or official title, don't put it in the top registration.
military ranks or titles such as general, colonel, captain and major are often used in military documents and publications and news. In general, earn such words only when they are used as part of a name or instead of one. Otherwise, lowercase them when used like normal nouns.
abbreviations are always capitalized , so the following job title abbreviations will always be capitalized: CEO.
FINANCIAL DIRECTOR. CMO.
So here are the 10 capitalization rules you need to know for a well-written review:
"Manager" when used as a title is written with a capital "m" . When used as a normal noun, it is written with a small "M". Example: Queen Elizabeth is queen.
Members of the conventional armed services retain their titles in pension in accordance with their individual service rules. …Reserve officers who remain in service and retire on pay after twenty or more years as members of the regular service are entitled to use their military titles.
Dear CMSV, those who retire from the armed services are allowed to continue using their social rank. Those who retire from ranks/commission and with the honor of discharge are not allowed to continue to use their ranks after the end of their service.
military titles
capitalize military rank when used as a formal title before a person's name .
English capitalization rules:
titles must be capitalized but references to work are not.
For example, if you use the title of a work as a direct address, it should be ironed out. … Title references that immediately precede the person's name should also be credited.
do not earn the names of schools or college education, , field of study, majors, minors, curricula, or options unless they contain proper nouns when a specific course is not mentioned. He studies geology. She specializes in engineering. The Department of English offers a specialization in creative writing.
titles, ranks and positions are often lower ranked. we don't use a person's title/rank/position when it follows a person's name; When it was used with the name of a company, agency, office, and the like; or when it is used alone.
When sending official correspondence to a retired officer, use either the designation ret.
or retired . First, refer to the envelope using the rank and title of the officer followed by a comma. Then write the service department, followed by another comma and then resigned. or retired designation.
I have an editor talking about whether the word armament is used when used in "the United States military." military is not a correct name is a common noun. The correct name of the described organization is the armed forces of the United States. Thus, the military must remain in lower case.
Yes, They are usually greeted when you recognize them as officers of when they are in uniform or when they are part of ceremonies. Security personnel (gate guards) at the military entrances to the entrances to retired Salut officers when they see their rank on ID checks, for example.
Titles currently (as of update 1.50) earned at: 20: Veteran .
40 : expert. 60: Master.
A person who is honorably or honorably discharged from the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps, or Space Force may wear his uniform when moving from the place of discharge to his home, , within three months of his discharge .
It is reasonable to assume that the average enlisted member will be able to retire in 20 years, reaching rank e-7 , and the average employee should be able to retire 20 years to O-5 rank.
When an officer retires, their commission usually remains in effect and affects forever . In exchange for the privilege of being legally eligible for their military rank decision and all of their retirement benefits, they basically remain an "Officer of the United States" until death.
Their words are always capitalized .
