Which is the correct abbreviation for Captain?

Learned something new today. Didn't know AF used Capt, always thought they used CPT like the Army.

Sounds about Right, Forgot the Old English Version though, Capt'n.

There is a slight difference in the insignia of USMC and Army/Air Force - the crossbars are closer to the center on Army and Air Force. Good thing to look for with stolen valor.

^^what he said!

Hey 1SG (Join to see), We call them the same thing, whether it's CPT or CAPT, it's always Sir..

SGT (Join to see) - Maybe ma'am...

Oh yeah! Forgot about that 1SG (Join to see). Thanks for the heads up. Lol

Form of address in the enlisted ranks gets really interesting. It took me several months in a joint command to figure out what to call the sailors without insulting them. In the Air Force a "Chief" is an E-9. E-8 and below to E-5 are "Sergeant." The Navy plays the game very differently. "Chief" is an E-7, while E-8 and E-9 get additional titles in front of Chief, e.g., "Senior Chief" for E-8. Below E-4 it appears sailors are addressed by their rate, such as "corpsman" or "airman," instead of their rank. In between, Petty Officers are okay if you call them Petty Officer Whoever. The Marines are more formal and use the entire rank, like "Lance Corporal." If you know a GySgt well, then it's okay to call them "Gunny," and it appears there's a certain type of Marine Warrant Officer who's called "Guns" just to keep it interesting. Not to be left out, the Army is pretty straight forward, "private," "corporal," and "sergeant," until you get to E-9. You best never call a Command Sergeant Major, just "Sergeant." As an officer, the enlisted folks cut me some slack, but some would take me aside with polite advice about proper form of address, which I appreciated.

Except for Army, services use AP style book.

MAJ Ronnie Reams by AP I’m assuming you mean Associated Press. A lifetime ago there were charts on the wall in almost every joint operations office space so we could communicate correctly among the services. If that’s gone away in favor of a single set of abbreviations that could be a good thing

Lt Col Jim Coe - Yeppers, Associated Press. Do not know about now, but Stylebook used to be the bible for PIO types in the Army.

I love it and respect that comment. No lawyers in the regularions.

Capt Gregory Prickett - Yes. The question was from an Army Sergeant and I am an Army Sergeant Major. I would assume that the other services would answer with their respective regulation. Very observant.

Capt Gregory Prickett - And you are incorrect. This regulation governs the address of anyone in the Army. If a navy Captain wants to address an Army General he/she had better know what he's doing or he will be corrected.

Capt Gregory Prickett - Certain regulations are binding on other branches in that you have to abide by that services regulations when dealing with an element from that service. It's a lynch pin of joint operations.

In your example of the Army Colonel trying to change the headgear of other services it is clear that he was bound by the regulations of the other services.

I worked in a joint environment, and if I were called Master Sergeant by a Marine or Airman, I corrected them. If one of my Soldiers addressed my Marine Master Sergeant as Sergeant, I corrected them. I also could not rate my Master Sergeant or Staff Sergeant Marines because NCOs don't rate NCOs in the Marines, by regulation.

Regulations are binding to all services when dealing with people from those branches, so yes AR 600-20 is binding upon the Air Force, Marines, Navy, and Coast Guard. That's why a Navy Captain doesn't call an Army O7 Admiral. You need to follow the rules of the sandbox you're in.

It is. We don't use the standardized 3 digit code, instead use a more "traditional" abbreviation scheme.

Marine Corps philosophy -- Never resort to finesse when brute force will do the trick so much more impressively.

0-1 through 0-? are pay grades not officer ranks!

Capt Lance Gallardo - I used the pay rate for brevity's sake. That's why I said the rank AT O-1 and not the rank OF O-1

Ha ha! That's funny.

When I was a young AF Captain, my wife was seen as an in-patient at Navy Portsmouth hospital. She was treated as a VIP until they figured out that she was the wife of an O-3, not an O-6.

This worked for me when I took leave and went to a Navy base for lodging. I called and asked for a room. I identified myself as a Captain (CPT) and the personnel at the desk not knowing that I was in the Army since there was no Army base near by thought I was a Captain (Capt. O-6). They were a bit surprised when I showed up as a 27 year old O-3 and signed for the DV room which was the only room left available. I think if they could they would have thrown me out in the morning.

Thanks Sir.

Haha yes because every piece of Naval correspondence that we had to write had it on there!

that's a good one CPT Jack Durish. LOL

CPT Jack Durish I can't spell it now without spell check.

Capt Walter Miller Sir, All caps for the Army. For some reason someone fell in love with Caps Lock.