How to Address a Major General

—___—–For a Major General and Spouse see Couple, Military

Major General, USA, USAF, USMC

—-Envelope or address block on an official letter or email:

—-—-Major General (Full Name), USA/USAF/USMC
—-—-(Title/position)
—-—-(Address)

——–—-MG (Full Name), USA
——–—-(Title/position)
——–—-(Address)

—-—-—-Maj Gen (Full Name), USAF
——–—-(Title/position)
——–—-(Address)

——–—-MajGen (Full Name), USMC
——–—-(Title/position)
——–—-(Address)

—-Envelope, social:
—-—-Major General (Full Name)
—-—-(Address)
—-—-—-—-—-See also social forms for military couples

—-Letter salutation:
—-—-Dear General (Surname):

—-Cnversation:
—-—-General (Surname)

—-Each service has service-specific abbreviations for its ranks. Both spelling out and using service-specific abbreviations are correct. If you are looking for more detailed information, look in my book: I get into it all there.   How to address a major general

—-See also General, Lieutenant General and Brigadier General.

— Robert Hickey

______
How to Address a Retired Major General?

I would like to write a note of condolence to a retired Maj. General. What salutation do I use to start the letter with? How do I address the envelope? T
________________– Joan Gillman

Dear Ms. Gillman:

You need the social form for a note of condolence. For a social letter Department of Defense (DoD) guides suggest ‘full rank’ without the ‘branch of service’ or ‘Retired.’

—–Social envelope is the ‘full rank’:
—–—–Major General (Full Name)
—–—–(Address)


—–Salutation is the just the ‘basic rank’:
—–—–Dear General (Surname):

– Robert Hickey

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.