How Do You Write Retired Military Rank and Name?

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.

Writing Military Rank & Name After Retiring

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.

Abbreviations

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 STYLE

The U.S Army

The U.S Navy

The U.S Marine Corps

The U.S Air Force

The U.S Coast Guard

CIVILIAN STYLE

Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force

Navy & Coast Guard

Enlisted Ranks:

Army

Marine 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.

Conclusion

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.