| Surgeon GeneralNOTE: The appointment of the Surgeon General by The President of The United States and his or her approval by the Senate entitles the office holder to be addressed as The Honorable. Additionally the office is granted the rank of Vice Admiral, USN as commander of the officers of the U.S. Public Heath Service. Forms of address reflecting either status are equally correct, but never combined.Envelope, official: The Honorable (Full name) Surgeon General United States Public Health Service (Address) or: VADM (Full name) Surgeon General United States Public Health Service _(Address)_Letter salutation: Dear Dr. (surname): or: Dear Admiral (surname):All about The HonorableLink to Q&A just on officials in the U.S. addressed as The Honorable FYI, here is what's come in to the Blog that relates to this office/rank. For recent questions sent in, check out Robert Hickey's Blog. For specific offices/ranks, check out Robert Hickey's On-Line Guide. How to Address The Surgeon General ? I believe that you should revise your advice on the correct title and correspondence for the Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service and other Public Health Service commissioned officers. This is what is listed on your website: Envelope, official: The Honorable (Full name) Surgeon General (Address) The Surgeon General is a commissioned officer in the United States Public Health Service, one of the seven uniformed services. The title "Honorable" is not used in addressing uniformed service personnel. More appropriate for an official envelope and salutation would be: Surgeon General (Full name) United States Public Heatlh Service (Address) Or: VADM (Full Name) United States Public Health Service (Address) **-- William Collins, Captain, United States Public Health Service, (Ret)**Dear Captain Collins: I really appreciate your note. Thank you. I've never seen "Surgeon General," "Attorney General," "Solicitor General," "Postmaster General" etc. used as an honorific in formal direct address as you suggest ... but the second one ... VADM (Full Name) ... makes sense. I totally see your point .... but confirmed today the White House uses the The Honorable (Full Name) on the envelope for what that's worth. So to get some more info .... I've sent out some queries to protocol officers around DC who deal with the issue ... showing them the options you suggest and see what they like, and why. Thanks again for the note ... and I will get back to you. -- Robert HickeyDear Captain Collins: I got some replies this morning and here's the summary: All the protocol officers mention a similar situation: Colin Powell. Leslie in General Powell's office says that with General Powell it is definitely addressed as both of the following: General Colin L. Powell, USA (Ret.) and The Honorable Colin L. Powell Her comment was: "General" is his title 'til the day he dies from his military career and "The Honorable" is his title 'til the day he dies from his being appointed/attested/confirmed as Secretary of State. Two separate titles. Both equally correct. Never combined." Leslie and everyone else likes: The Honorable (Full Name) And they also like: VADM (Full Name) No one likes: Surgeon General (Full Name) I just updated the page on my site to reflect all this. I really appreciate you writing in. For me ... there are many respectful forms of address. I think this is an important clarification for this office. -- Robert Hickey All information on www.formsofaddress.info is copyright © 2011 by Robert Hickey.The Protocol School of Washington® is registered in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.Honor & Respect is dedicated to Dorothea Johnson, Founder of The Protocol School of Washington® |
