U.S. Military Titles, Salutations, and Address Lines--Officers

The following table of military titles for commissioned officers will be best looking, and most easily read, if it is displayed just a little wider than the first line of the two-line paragraph below it. (You can use your mouse pointer to pull or push on the sides of the Help window and/or its internal divider.)

Pay	Army	Air Force	Marine Corps	USA, USAF, & USMC	Navy & Coast Guard USN & USCG		Pay
Grade	A b b r e v I a t I o n			Salutation	ABBR	Salutation	Grade
0-10	GEN	Gen	Gen		ADM		0-10
0-9	LTG	Lt Gen	LtGen		VADM		0-9
0-8 0-7	MG BG	Maj Gen Brig Gen	MajGen BGen	General	RADM	Admiral	0-8 0-7
0-6 0-5	COL LTC	Col Lt Col	Col LtCol	Colonel	CAPT CDR	Captain Commander	0-6 0-5
0-4	MAJ	Maj	Maj	Major	LCDR	Lieutenant Commander	0-4
0-3 0-2 0-1	CPT 1LT 2LT	Capt 1st Lt 2d Lt	Capt 1stLt 2ndLt	Captain Lieutenant	LT LTJG ENS	Lieutenant Lieutenant (jg) Ensign	0-3 0-2 0-1
W-5	CW5		CWO-5	Mr.	---	---	W-5
W-4	CW4		CWO-4	Miss	CWO4	Chief	W-4
W-3	CW3	---	CWO-3	Mrs.	CWO3	Warrant	W-3
W-2	CW2		CWO-2	Ms.	CWO2	Officer	W-2
W-1	CW1		WO		WO1	Warrant Officer	W-1

ALL official Salutations include Last Name: Dear Lieutenant Commander Smith:,
Dear General Smith:, Dear Miss Smith:, etc.

It should be relatively easy to match the Title abbreviations above to the ranks spelled out here in the same order, divided by semicolons where the Salutation changes--

Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps
General, Lieutenant General, Major General, Brigadier General;
Colonel, Lieutenant Colonel; Major;
Captain; First Lieutenant, Second Lieutenant;
Chief Warrant Officer, Warrant Officer

Navy and Coast Guard
Admiral, Vice Admiral, Rear Admiral;
Captain; Commander, Lieutenant Commander;
Lieutenant, Lieutenant (Junior Grade);
Ensign; Chief Warrant Officer, Warrant Officer

Address Lines for officers use the rank, full name, and branch abbreviation (as an earned Extension):
RADM Grace Murray Hopper, USN

Retired personnel add Ret., either in parentheses or after a comma--but not both!
CPT Ronald W. Reagan, USA (Ret.) or
CPT Ronald W. Reagan, USA, Ret.

Tip

n Although no periods are shown on this table (except for Warrant Officers), periods are used with title abbreviations on many websites prepared by U.S. military personnel!

U.S. Military Titles, Salutations, and Address Lines--Officers

Tip

See also