Style Guide

[funkychinaman]

Originally Posted by SPEMack618

I think we should use service specific abbreviations for each rank as we can.

I've been doing that with my pages, but I don't know if people would agree to make it the site standard.

[SPEMack618]

I think it would a nice touch, but perhaps we could standardize with one of the style guides the media uses. let me go dig out an old journalism text book.

It wouldn't be branch specific, but it would be standardized for all the American services atleast.

Maybe Nyles could shed some light on the CF abbreviation systems, as well.

[funkychinaman]

Originally Posted by SPEMack618

I think it would a nice touch, but perhaps we could standardize with one of the style guides the media uses. let me go dig out an old journalism text book.

It wouldn't be branch specific, but it would be standardized for all the American services atleast.

Maybe Nyles could shed some light on the CF abbreviation systems, as well.

The problem I've run into is that sometimes a soldier or marine is simply referred to as "Lieutenant <name>," and you can't see his bar, or if it's black and white and you can't tell what color it is.

[SPEMack618]

And that is when, in my opinion, a generic "Lt." works well in the caption.

Heck, with the exception of a really, really good friend of mine, addressed any Lieutenant as anything other than Lieutenant, or in the case of my old platoon leader "ell-tee" or occassionally, especially if it was just us in the Humvee, "Mike"

As in "HOLY CRAP MIKE, I think we just got hit by an IED!"

[funkychinaman]

Originally Posted by SPEMack618

And that is when, in my opinion, a generic "Lt." works well in the caption.

Heck, with the exception of a really, really good friend of mine, addressed any Lieutenant as anything other than Lieutenant, or in the case of my old platoon leader "ell-tee" or occassionally, especially if it was just us in the Humvee, "Mike"

As in "HOLY CRAP MIKE, I think we just got hit by an IED!"

"Commander" falls into that as well, but you don't see it as much as the Lieutenant thing.

[SPEMack618]

And Colonel.

Also, General. But General shouldn't be hard to distinguish because we can all count to four. (hopefully)

Sergeant works for buck sergeants and (some) staff sergeants in the Army. For instance, I was never referred to as "Staff Sergeant" always sergeant or Mack.

The Marines, as I understand it, get persnickety about terms of address for enlisted folks and prefer to use the whole title

[funkychinaman]

Originally Posted by SPEMack618

And Colonel.

Also, General. But General shouldn't be hard to distinguish because we can all count to four. (hopefully)

Sergeant works for buck sergeants and (some) staff sergeants in the Army. For instance, I was never referred to as "Staff Sergeant" always sergeant or Mack.

The Marines, as I understand it, get persnickety about terms of address for enlisted folks and prefer to use the whole title

Yes, anyone who's ever called a Gunnery Sergeant "Sergeant" won't make that mistake again.