Do you capitalize military ranks?

Which is correct?

1. ...whereas the general went about his routine.

2. ...whereas The General went about his routine.

3. ...whereas the General went about his routine.

I've tried to google this, but I couldn't make sense of the meaning in all the different style guides.

Some guides say one thing, others another, and then there are exceptions.

I know that when it is a part of a proper noun, like this: General Wolfram, it should be capitalized.

So which sounds more correct to you?

 

It comes down the rules of proper nouns and if the rank is specifying a certain person. If General Smith is a known character, a direct address would be capitalized, as would any reference to their rank and name (as you noted).

General Smith walked into the room. "Good morning, General."

There's some grey area if referenced indirectly, and that would come down to how well the characters known the person.

...whereas the General went about his routine. would indicate that we're talking about General Smith
...whereas the general went about his routine. would indicate that the identity is either unknown or not as relevant.

And you would use lowercase if you're just talking about the rank, and it's not tied to anyone: ...he is trying to become a general...

 

Thanks, that clears it up a bit. If it matters, I write mainly in British English.

Your solution to it sounds reasonable and right somehow.

 

Capitalise if attached to a name. Otherwise not.

General Dave went to the toilet. The general barely had time to undo his trousers before it all hit the fan.

 

"Capitalise", btw.

 

Thank you, Rig Haben and Naomasa. I also use both army and police ranks from time to time (e.g. constable, sergeant, captain), so it's good to know that I was doing it right.

For instance, one of my characters knocks out a police sergeant to infiltrate a highly guarded prison. When he shows up (with the three stripes on his shoulder), the guard leaps into a salute.

... and so on. (Clearly, he wasn't expecting to be barked at tonight...)

 

Late to the party and it's your world, but police officers in the anglosphere generally don't salute each other, and military don't salute sergeants (NCOs), only commissioned officers (lieutenants, captains, etc). A quick google says that uniformed police officers in the UK should salute military officers in uniform, but nothing about officers in the police department. Jumping to attention would definitely be warranted in a case like that, IMO.

Sorry, just a personal bugbear that takes place mostly in Hollywood where extras randomly (fail to) render salutes all over the place. And of course if your story takes place in, uhhh, Wakanda or the People's Republic of Atlantis, regulations can be whatever you want.

 

Fair enough. The story takes place in ancient Babylon, which had no police (at least, not called 'police') but which did have guards and guard rotas, and all the rest of that jazz. I simply assumed there should be some kind of hierarchy, if only to prevent chaos. I did some research on what kind of armour they'd wear and what weapons they used, but beyond that, the ranks are fairly similar to UK/US policemen.

Having written several stories set in ancient Rome, I know the Romans definitely had a police force, even if it wasn't called "police". The Cohortes Urbanae, led by the Urban Prefect, acted as a kind of "daytime" police force, maintained order, and fought gangs. During the night, the Vigiles (also known as Vigiles Urbani or Chortes Vigilum) took over, patrolled the streets at night and fought fires (and probably the occasional thugs).

Both forces came into effect very early in Augustus's time, intended to curb the enormous power of the Praetorian Guard.

Thank you, Moose. So if (hypothetically speaking), you're a private guarding a prison, and a sergeant shows up, wouldn't it be a smart move to salute? Better for your career etc., if you don't want to find yourself on latrine-cleaning duty ... or peeling potatoes!

(And yes, neither the ancient Romans nor the Babylonians had potatoes ... obviously)

 

Interesting. How do we know this? *googles "Salute History wikipedia* OK, now I've learned something. Thanks, Moose!

I think you mean the Roman salute, Moose? But I'm not sure if this was ever done, since there is no contemporary evidence to say so.

Still, I'd like my guard to do something to show respect towards a superior rank. A salute seems in order, even if the Babylonians didn't salute. If they didn't, then ... what would be in order? *thinks* Perhaps the guardsman should remove his helmet as a show of respect, although that's also quoted as one of the origins of a salute. Or perhaps he should hold up his hand, palm outwards, in the usual "hello" gesture (though that seems disrespectful from a private/constable to a sergeant).

What do you think?

 

How about the arm angled across the chest that Hollywood sometimes assigns to Romans?

 

The pre-modern Japanese bowed, as did many other cultures. Maybe the Babylonians stood on one leg or went "dib-dib-dib", offered them the sexual services of their second cousin or something.

 

Hmm. Bowing seems fine, but I doubt the Babylonians would have kowtowed (i.e. kneel and touch the ground with the forehead in worship or submission). That's specifically a Chinese custom, as far as I'm aware.

 

I didn't mention kowtowing, which in any case, would be hugely impractical for a soldier on duty.

 

OTOH, it used to be the practice in the US that civilians never salute the military, and military never saluted civilians. That changed when President Reagan would salute the military personnel that he encountered. even though he was not in the military. His justification was that he was "Commander in Chief" and thus was entitled to give and receive salutes. Subsequent presidents (see how I didn't capitalize "president" the second time) followed suit, since they didn't want to be perceived as disrespecting the military.

Similar to a common saying in the US Navy: "If it moves, salute it. If it doesn't move, move it. If you can't move it, paint it."

 

You're right, of course. It's obviously possible to bow without going to such extremes as the kowtow.

Just idle curiosity: how far does the bow go? I've read (or perhaps saw a cartoon) that in civilian life, a Duke might receive a slight bow from an earl, a deeper one from a baron, an even deeper one from an upper-middle-class professional (e.g. a lawyer), and a truly impossible, 90-degree bow from a lower-middle-class person (such as the Duke's butler).

I don't think such a thing would happen in real life, but perhaps it used to happen. So ... maybe the Babylonian army/police could do something similar? A private would execute a slight (10-degree) bow to a corporal, a deeper (25-degree) bow to a sergeant, an even deeper (say, 45-degree bow) to a captain, and a 90-degree bow to a general? *grins*

After all, strange things do happen in the armed forces. (Maybe not as strange as that, I admit) ...

 

Well, since there are no more Dukes, Earls and Barons in Japan any more, and they only existed between 1868 and 1945, I can't really say.

The deepest bows are reserved for apologies and probably when one meets the Emperor. Then you bow 90 degrees. A casual thanks to a convenience store assistance might just be a slight inclination of the head. A 45 degree one is probably for a formal occasion like thanking your boss at a company meeting. A 30 degree one for meeting a business associate.

It depends on the degree of relationship with them and the occasion.



In this video, the first singer, Miyake Yukari, gives a very slight bow when the announcer leaves the stage and a 45 degree one to the audience. They're all members of the JMSDF, and they're performing the theme tune to Space Battleship Yamato.

 

Interesting. I've no idea what anyone is saying (I don't know Japanese other than a very few words relating to the Edo period and before), but oh well. The bows seems about right what I thought. Thanks, Naomasa298.

 

And then there's bowing to apologize

 

A girl in Tokyo was telling me about how, not only did she have to do all that, but she had to buy her boss a box of yokan to apologise as well.

 

Yeah, probably. I love the comedy group that made the video. Dunno if they're still active, but check youtube for "the Japanese Tradition" for some of their other work. The sushi one is brilliant.

 

I know nothing about bowing in Japanese culture, I have a feeling this video isn't 100% truthful. (Gee, Rath, whatever gave you that idea?)

I do use that first bow in everyday life, e.g. when I'm in a packed train and someone is trying to get out and I'm in their way. But the other bows seem more and more extreme ... especially that second one, where the man is covering his crotch with his hands in the universal "please do not kick me in the crotch" gesture.

Unless I'm missing something, that doesn't seem right.

 

Apologies if this has been said and I missed it, but in the field, you don't salute at all because it risks identifying officers to potential snipers.

And just a humorous aside, but saluting an NCO in the military is usually met with, "I work for a living!"

 

Or you do salute with the greeting "Sniper check, sir!"