1. TO LEARN SOME AP STYLE with Pvt. Punctuation!

2. Military Titles (Army) Enlisted Sergeant Major – Sgt. Maj. First Sergeant – 1 st Sgt. Master Sergeant – Master Sgt. Sergeant First Class – Stg. 1 st Class Staff Sergeant – Staff Sgt. Sergeant – Sgt. Corporal – Cpl. Specialist – Spc. Private First Class – Pfc. Private – Pvt.

3. Military Titles (Army) Officers General – Gen. Lieutenant General – Lt. Gen. Major General – Maj. Gen. Brigadier General – Brig. Gen. Colonel – Col. Lieutenant Colonel – Lt. Col. Major – Maj. Captain – Capt. First Lieutenant – 1 st Lt. Second Lieutenant – 2 nd Lt.

4. Military Units Use Arabic figures (1 st, 2 nd, 3 rd ) and capitalize the key words when linked with the figures, such as: 11 th Armored Cavalry Regiment 1 st Infantry Division 75 th Ranger Regiment

5. Any way you use it, they all mean: BUSTED Court-martial Court-martialed Courts-martial

6. Awards and Decorations Capitalize them! (There is no such thing as the Congressional Medal of Honor) Medal of Honor Bronze Star Purple Heart

7. Capitalize when referring to U.S. forces only ArmyNavy/Marines  The U.S. Army  The Army  Army Policy  Don’t use the abbreviation USA  The French army  The U.S. Navy/ The U.S. Marine Corps  The Navy  He is a Marine.  Don’t use the abbreviations USN or USMC  The British navy  Don’t call Marines soldiers. Instead, use the generic “troops.” They’ll get angry.

8. al-Qaida International Taliban Afghanistan Hamas Palestine Hezbollah Lebanon

9. Big Boom WMD Acceptable on second reference for weapons of mass destruction. Don’t use to refer to a single weapon. Don’t use “WMDs” or “WMD’s”.

10. Capitalize only when referring to a specific unit. UnitStrength Led by Front250,000+ Army Group60,000+ Corps 30,000+ Division10,000+ Brigade 4,000+ Regiment 2,000+ Battalion 300-1000 Company 70-250 Platoon 25-60 Squad 8-16 5-star General General Lieutenant General Major General Brigadier General Colonel Lieutenant Colonel Captain Lieutenant Sergeant