Can addressing junior service members by rank alone be considered a derogatory term?

That Soldier is not a mister anymore he is a private, specialist, or lieutenant in the United States Army. From my perspective those titles outweigh mister. Anyone can be mister but you need to raise your right hand to be a private, specialist, or lieutenant. You're doing your Soldiers a disservice by not addressing them by their proper title.

Sir - I understand the intent and I have seen it used by field grade officers at the BDE CDR level towards captains and majors, even some battalion commanders. It's kind of like the "word" Hooah, it has different meanings ranging from yes to go pound sand. A bigger issue that needs to be addressed is calling or referring to an enlisted Soldier or NCO by their pay grade. We are all guilty of it, commisioned officers and enlisted alike. E-5 is just a pay grade a Sergeant is a leader, we need to do a better job of addressing/referring to one another by rank. You should want to be a leader instead of a pay raise. Good post!

I was always under the impression that if the troops called one, "L-T" (pronounced, "Ell Tee"), it was a term of endearment and he/she was well regarded by the masses. If one was just called "Lieutenant", then uh oh. Stink eye runs amuck. O_o

I decided since your name is LT Slaughter, you can call me ANYTHING you want!

MAJ (Join to see), much ado about nothing. Just go by the AR.

"what are you doing, SERGEANT?"

"hey SERGEANT, come here!"

"hurry up SERGEANT"

(CAPS added for emphasis of the word not to indicate that sergeant was actually inflected during speech. I wish I could embolden letters in RP)

nope..no of those bother me. I have had them tossed my way many times, usually for correct reasons.

As far as LT goes...I tend to use the more familiar nickname with officers that I know well and usually during relaxed environments such as team-building PTL "I'm open LT..throw the Frisbee".

I also see the term used as a quick reference. "LT's on the way, get ready to roll." This is similar to "TOP" and something I am seeing more recently: referring to ranking female officer as "the mam" and ranking male officer as "the sir". "Have you seen "the mam? I have her report".

I think these terms, used in proper context indicate a level of endearment towards the intended that speaks of good moral, unit cohesion, and comradarie.

At OCS, I accidentally said "Good morning, Captain." I had forgotten the officer's name, and didn't say "Captain XXX." This being OCS, and he being a less-than-gracious cadre member, I was promptly, amid many F'ings, informed that unless I outranked him that he was either "sir" or "Captain XXX." Since then, I've never made that mistake.

Another thing I always do is refer to everyone except other Captains by their rank and name. don't mind it when senior officers call me 'Mike'; however, I don't call subordinates by their first name because they can't reciprocate. I do, however, call other Captains by their first name because we're peers. I was told once, though, that if a senior officer calls you by your first name, that means that he/she has a trust in you and that you're in good standing. He said that this was especially true if you noticed that he/she didn't call your peers by their first name.

You should really do what is the cultural norm for the Army. You must do what the regulation directs. They are the same in this regard. As you have noted, it is in 600-20. To do otherwise; you are breaking the rules. Why join if you did not want to play the game... in its entirety?

In spite of occasional evidence to the contrary, I believe that rank at any grade has been earned, and therefor should be respected. Beyond this though, I think that no matter what rank a person holds, they are due professional treatment. Just me growing up with the Golden Rule perhaps, but I try to treat others as people with rank, rather than simply rank.

Sir,

I think I get where you are coming from, but correct me if I'm wrong. You are more referring to the tone in which these ranks are used, which can tend to make them sound like a derogatory term. This is not acceptable, but as another stated, taking the rank itself as derogatory is part of a growing trend that I find disturbing. Yes, these individuals are at the bottom of the food chain, but this does not make their overall worth less than any other. I have had to explain this to my subordinates on a couple occasions.

Am I correct also in understanding that when you say you don't call E-1 through E-4 or O-1 through O-2 by their ranks, you mean that you use their last names only? To me, that is a familiarity thing, and completely understandable. But to do so because you see the rank itself as derogatory is feeding into the wrong idea about the beginning ranks.

As for calling Captains and above, or SNCOs, by their rank only, I've seen (and done) this on any number of occasions. As stated, it is the tone of the address that shows respect or disrespect. If someone addresses me as Master Sergeant, I answer. It's my title.