Rank Abbreviations
Posted By Russ Emerson on September 16, 2004 at 5:41 am
Allah discusses the rank abbreviations used in the CBS forgeries.
Back in the late ’70s my Army ROTC commander abbreviated his rank “Lt Col,” not “LTC.” I’m sure if I went through my Mom’s attic I could find a document with his signature block on it, but I’m not flying cross-country to do so.
So I googled for Vietnam-era documents to find which abbreviations were commonly used at the time. I looked specifically for Army after-action reports.
It took me only a few minutes to find examples of both types of abbreviation in use in the historical documents. Interestingly (?), most of the signature blocks in the (admittedly few) documents I looked at had the officers’ ranks spelled out in full, followed by their branch of service. Example:
John Smith
Colonel, Infantry
Commanding
I don’t think any conclusion of any kind whatsoever can be drawn about the author of the forged documents merely from the use of “Lt Col” or “1st Lt” vice “LTC” or “1LT.” Both styles appear to have been in common use 30-40 years ago. I am, however, open to suggestions or counter-arguments.
I still have a bunch of my records, but they are in a closet, and I’m too lazy to go look at them. I seem to recall the all capital letter convention (1968-70). Maybe this weekend I’ll have a look.