How to Address a First Lieutenant
————–For a first lieutenant and spouse, see Couple, Military
How to Address a First Lieutenant
First Lieutenant: USA, USMC or USAF
—-Envelope or address block on letter or email:
——–First Lieutenant (Full Name), USA/USAF/USMC
—-—-(Address)
——–1LT (Full Name), USA
——–(Address)
——–1st Lt (Full Name), USAF
——–(Address)
——–1stLt (Full Name), USMC
——–(Address)
—-—-Which looks like:
————-First Lieutenant James Smith, USA
————-(Address)
—-Letter salutation:
—-—-Dear Lieutenant (surname):
—-#1) In the past, forms of address for Army lieutenants varied slightly from Air Force and Marine Corps lieutenants, but current directives show the forms of address to be identical for all services.
—-#2) Above I’ve shown the rank fully spelled out & with the service-specific abbreviations for the ranks. Both spelling out and using service-specific abbreviations are correct. If you are looking for more detailed information, including the service-specific abbreviations, look in my book: I get into it all there.
— Robert Hickey How to Address a First Lieutenant
See These Related Posts:
—––—How to Address Active Duty Personnel
———How to Address Retired Personnel
—––—How to Address Reservists
—––—Use of Rank by Retired Personnel
—––—Use of Rank by a Reservist
—––—Use of Rank by a Veteran
—––—How to Address a Military Doctor
—––—How to Address a Military Chaplain
—––—How to Address a Military Couple
—––—How to Abbreviate Ranks
Robert Hickey author of “Honor & Respect”
When Should You Use the Forms on this Page?
You can use these forms of address for any mode of communication: addressing a letter, invitation, card or Email. (If there are differences between the official and social forms of address, I will have mentioned the different forms.) The form noted in the salutation is the same form you say when you say their name in conversation or when you greet them.
___What I don’t cover on this site are many things I do cover in my book: all the rules of forms of address, about names, international titles, precedence, complimentary closes, details on invitations, place cards, all sorts of introductions, etc. I hope you’ll get a copy of the book if you’d like the further detail.
Not Finding Your Answer?
—-#1) At right on desktops, at the bottom of every page on tablets and phones, is a list of all the offices, officials & topics covered on the site.
—-#2) If you don’t see the official you seek included or your question answered send me an e-mail. I am pretty fast at sending a reply: usually the next day or so (unless I am traveling.) Note: I don’t have mailing or Email addresses for any of the officials and I don’t keep track of offices that exist only in history books.
—-#3) If I think your question is of interest to others, Sometimes I post the question – but always change all the specifics.
— Robert Hickey
Robert Hickey author of “Honor & Respect”
Recommended Resources: The Protocol School of Washington (PSOW) and Protocol and Diplomacy International – Protocol Officers Association (PDI-POA) For more information see the Protocol Resources page.