Why do so many MSGs insist on being addressed as Master Sergeant?

What MSG asks to be called Master Sergeant? I was sometimes referred to as that for some reason , but I never saw or heard of another MSG telling anyone to call them that .

Anyone who has been in long enough to make MSG knows what the correct title and how to address a MSG is.

I still like the Marine way better. There are differences in duties and responsibilities between E-5 and E-8, why not acknowledge that and call them by the proper and full rank?
When they make me Sec Def, look for that change :^).

Back in the way way back our motor sergeant was a MSG who insisted on "Master Sergeant." His was PURE ego. He actually custom made his MSG rank (completely outside of AR 670-1 authorizations) but supergluing 2 MSG pin-on ranks and the cutting/filing the extra set of pins. Then he M-Nu'd the results for a pin-on rank that was double thick just to make sure everypne could see it.

I was a young PFC at the time. I did a lot of push-ups for calling him "Sergeant." I did even more when I showed him in black and white where he was wrong. And still more when I showed him the part of 670-1 that refered to his rank.

He not only KNEW he was wrong, he flaunted it and was proud of it.

Still never refered to him as "Master Sergeant," though, at least not to his face.

In AIT I said “good morning Sergeant” to the 1SG. He wasn’t as jovial most here.

I wouldn't be surprise if it weren't an ego thing especially when they first earn the rank. After the newness passes most probably would be OK with just Sergeant. Unless otherwise directed I would call them "Master Sergeant" mainly as a sign of respect for their rank. In the Marines the usual rank address was "Top" [last name] and the same "Top" address was applied to Master Gunnery Sergeant.

In basic training, our drill sergeants taught us that there are three sergeants: Sergeant, First Sergeant, and Sergeant Major. I HATED being called “Staff Sergeant”; the few people I let get away with it were Marines. The only time I referred to someone by specific rank was when there were two sergeants with the same last name. By the way, there is also only one private; calling someone “PFC” is merely a courtesy.

I always wondered that myself . I was a MSG for 11 years and was as far as I remember just called Sarge /Top ( Except when I was a D.I. ...LOL ) which was just fine with me ! I do remember a few with ramrods up their kister who demanded the full title and they were NOT well liked or respected due to their attitudes . The military is more than just ranks , you have to be a people person as well and never forget that one of your main functions is to TEACH ! It's hard to teach if those you're trying to instruct feel ostracized because of your attitude and fear of you . I'm not saying you're supposed to make everyone your beer buddy or go out of your way and relax the rules and protocols to the point that you lose control of your subordinates but there's no way you need to be a prick all the time either . There's a level of respect that goes with each rank and most of those serving know the boundaries and the proper tone to set with those above and below them in rank . The main thing I miss from being in is the respect we all show each other regardless of rank , we all knew our jobs and we knew those we served with were still learning /teaching the new guys so everyone was on the same page . I say Learning/teaching because we NEVER stop learning how to do our jobs better . I'm not saying there was no back stabbing while in but compared to the civilian job market we were ALL trusted saint's by comparison ! I know that the two are very separate but the amount of insanity and hate that civilian jobs have going on makes me wonder just how the heck we EVER got to be a first world Nation ! It's no wonder that our Government is so screwed up , there's no way to make anyone in this Nation happy unless THEY'RE the boss ( and then they still wouldn't be happy because no one would do everything they wanted them to.....LMAO ) . It's a Mad,Mad,Mad world out there and thank God there's the military to bring some stability into our lives ...... ! AATW

I would refer to certain MSGs as "Master Sgt" as a sign of respect for the individual because I felt they had earned it. For others, I simply referred to them as "Sgt" mainly because I knew it royally pissed them off and there was nothing they could do about it so long as I observed proper C&C.

It is not ego, it is their rank. They earned it. It drove me crazy when I was called Sarge. I earned my rank and was proud of that so call me Master Sergeant or 1st Sergeant. In my case Master Gunnery Sergeant.

Calling someone doesn't by their actual rank doesn't bother me, what I hate is when people refer to each other by pay grade which is a dumb Army thing. I hate hearing "go ask that E-6" or I told the "E-5" or "she got promoted to E-8" etc... We should use Sergeant or actual rank not someone's pay grade. Most of my career that was a pet peeve of mine, oh and Sergeants who can't spell Sergeant.