MILITARY RANKS

Military titles are capitalized and abbreviated before the full name on first mention, thereafter capped and spelled out before the surname:

            Gen. Reg Murphy, General Murphy, Gen. Reg Murphy (Ret.), the general

            Pfc. (or Pvt.) Jennifer Reek, Private Reek, the private

Without a name, a title is spelled out and lowercased: the general, the private.

When a military rank is used with a title of nobility or royalty, spell out the military rank: Admiral Lord Mountbatten.

Although the military puts the entire abbreviation in caps with no periods, it is standard for nonmilitary publications to use forms more familiar to readers, such as those in the Associated Press Stylebook or the Chicago Manual of Style.

After a name, USA, USAF, USMC, USN are set off with commas:

            Lt. William T. Douthitt, USN, presided.

First Lieutenant, First Sergeant: Use full name on first mention:

            1st Lt. Marisa Larson.

Thereafter:

            Lieutenant Larson, the lieutenant

            the ship's first lieutenant.

At beginning of a sentence spell out first:

            First Lt. Marisa Larson

Military ranks are abbreviated or not, according to the following guide: