order of titles (admiral sir tolwyn etc)

W

warlock

Spaceman
question prompted by replaying WC2 - is there a defined military protocol for the order of ranks vs other titles applied to one's name? for instance, would an MD with the rank of captain be called captain doctor so and so or doctor captain so and so?
 
well, i'm pretty sure the british military does it like: admiral sir [insert british name here]. as for the doctor one, i can't answer that.
 
From what I can understand in most military if you were a MD and hold the rank as Captain, you would be refer as Doctor. However in a military situation I suppose you would be referred to your rank I think I am not sure.
For example I will use the Star Trek analogy.
In the The Next Generation Series, Dr Beverly Crusher, she holds the rank of Commander. Her first job is always the MD so she is referred as Doctor I suppose the only time she is referred as Commander would be when she is performing actual ship/command duties or something.
 
I feel qualified to answer this question as I'm currently serving in the military...


Officers of superior grade -
THIRD PERSON - Rank and last name
FIRST PERSON - Sir. There are very few times in the real military where you will address a superior officer by anything other than "sir/ma'am".

Officers of equivalent grade
THIRD PERSON - Rank and last name
FIRST PERSON - Rank

Warrant officers of superior grade
THIRD PERSON - "Mr./Mrs. Last name", "Chief Last Name" (For CW2 and up)
FIRST PERSON - "Sir/Ma'am", "Chief" (for CW2 and higher on a less formal basis) "Mr./Mrs. Last name" <---- NOT THE PREFERRED METHOD!

I'm not going to get into the enlisted scheme of things as these things can be very specific to service and country. And to answer the doctor question - you would refer to them in the third person by rank and name, and in first person (if of superior rank), you would refer to them as "sir/ma'am". "Doctor" is only appropriate under certain circumstances.
 
I think the question has more to do with how they'd be referred to in prose rather than in the chain of command -- no one would actually address the man as "Admiral Sir Geoffrey Tolwyn"... but that's how it'd be written in a formal history.
 
::Buzzer:: Wrong answer. Rank then "sir" is only done for members of the British military which have been awarded with a knighthood. HOWEVER - Given Tolwyn's background, I think we can say that it's possible. Otherwise history would write is as "Admiral Geoffrey Tolwyn".
 
Misunderstood the question - but there is an answer - Military rank always takes precedence over other titles you have earned, at least in the official guidelines. (But you would not write them all together)
 
FlashFire82 said:
Officers of superior grade -
THIRD PERSON - Rank and last name
FIRST PERSON - Sir. There are very few times in the real military where you will address a superior officer by anything other than "sir/ma'am".
Click to expand...

Bandit LOAF said:
I think the question has more to do with how they'd be referred to in prose rather than in the chain of command -- no one would actually address the man as "Admiral Sir Geoffrey Tolwyn"... but that's how it'd be written in a formal history.
Click to expand...

My uncle is a doctor in the US Army, and I've seen his name formally written something like:

Colonel ChrisReid's Uncle, DDS
 
A Signature Block is a very different thing... my commander's signature block, for example.

Name Here, Jr.
CW3, AG
Commanding

Understand? The signature block includes more details than just a referrence. You also put in your positions.
 
FlashFire82 said:
::Buzzer:: Wrong answer. Rank then "sir" is only done for members of the British military which have been awarded with a knighthood. HOWEVER - Given Tolwyn's background, I think we can say that it's possible. Otherwise history would write is as "Admiral Geoffrey Tolwyn".
Click to expand...

Erm, that's exactly what I'm referring to - Tolwyn is a Knight Commander of the Bath.
 
I think that we all at least agree that the use of the military rank is referred first before the use of any other titles then??
 
Dahan said:
Her first job is always the MD so she is referred as Doctor I suppose the only time she is referred as Commander would be when she is performing actual ship/command duties or something.
Click to expand...

She referres to herself as Commander in First Contact when she is activating the Ships Self Destruct with Picard and Worf

here's the quote

"Computer, Commander Beverly Crusher. Confirm auto-destruct sequence. Authorization: Crusher, 2 2 Beta Charlie"
 
Also, Chaplains (oddly, not seen in WC...) are an exception.

They have a rank, but never use it. They are always referred to as Chaplain <name>.

On documents, they are Chaplain (<rankabbrev>) <name>/
 
Written out, Tolwyn (in any deployment record or such) would be:
"Rear Admiral Sir Geoffrey Tolwyn, K.C.B."

Ranks always come before anything else, peerages included.

Examples being:
"Captain Lord Thomas Cochrane, Earl of Dundonald"
"Vice Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson, Viscount Nelson of the Nile"

When written with last name, it would always be: "Rank Lord Name" and form of address when refering to them as first person would be "My lord." "Your lordship" rather than "sir."

Also, with knighthoods, they're always referred to either as "Sir Firstname" or "Sir Fullname" never "Sir Lastname." So Tolwyn would be "Sir Geoffrey" or "Sir Geoffrey Tolwyn" but never "Sir Tolwyn".
 
Although you are right in the addressing of a Chaplain... however... "Sir" is often still the preferred method, although not expressly required when speaking in the first person to them.
 
My uncle is a doctor in the US Army, and I've seen his name formally written something like:

Colonel ChrisReid's Uncle, DDS
Click to expand...

Yeah, every time I've seen a military Doctor write his name below his signature, it's always:

Rank Name, M.D./D.D.S./whatever
 
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