Everybody calls me "Master Sergeant" but I am technically still supposed to be called a "Sergeant." I think a lot of my senior Soldiers understand this but they opt to call me by my full rank title out of respect which to me is an honor in itself. Then again, I do not walk around showing off my rank and I treat people with dignity and respect.

Roy, I think you did a great job in gaining peoples respect.

I’m surprised over all the different thread on this subject. But I’ll repeat. Up until the 90s the required address for a MSG was ‘Master Sergeant’. For some reason it was removed from AR 600-10 during that time. During my time my bosses were required to address me as Master Sergeant. Some knew it, others didn’t. I never bother either way. I did have a few that complained and said it was too much of a mouth full. They deferred to ‘Top’ which didn’t bother me. Today the proper title is ‘Sergeant’ unless some one changes AR 600-10 again.

Sergeant is the mandated noun during conversation, Master Sergeant is used when specifically identifying an individual; many people do use Master Sergeant to address E-8s not in a First Sergeant position out of respect. That said, I was often addressed as First Sergeant and Top, even when I no longer wore the diamond. When working with partner militaries (Afghans, Canadians, NATO), I was often addressed as Sergeant Major, most likely because of their rank structure and/or simply out of respect; during my deployment last year, I was a Sergeant Major Advisor for Corps Headquarters and associated units, so even some US personnel addressed me as Sergeant Major. Now that I am retired, the gate guards still address me as MSG or 1SG.