Military Writing Handout

Table of Contents

Sample Letter 2

Sample Memo 4

Message Drafter Guide 6

Sample Texts 11

Capitalization 12

Numbering 17

1/21 Military Writing Handout Updated: 9 Jan 03

 PROTECTED A

One Canadian Forces School of

inch Administration and Logistics Date in Full
margin PO Box 1000 Stn Main
Borden ON L0M 1C0
For single addressees, the full address and position
1000-1 (Position of Drafter) (never name) is identified. For multiple addressees,
use a Distribution List.
25 December 2001

Commanding Officer The subject line shall not extend

Canadian Forces Base Halifax past the centre of the page and
PO Box 99000 Stn Forces only the bottom line is underlined.
Halifax NS B3K 5X5

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT SUPPORT CLERK

QUALIFICATION LEVEL THREE
A11 222 333 CORPORAL JOHNSON JL

References: A. NDHQ OTTAWA D MIL C 234 241901Z FEB 01

B. CFB Halifax 5600-1 (Adm O) 5 June 2001(enclosed)
C. CFB Halifax 5600-1 (CC) 6 Jul 01

1. A letter is a common form of correspondence within the Department of National

Defence (DND). The tone is formal and can cover topics ranging from business and
operations to congratulatory and welcome greetings. Abbreviations will not be used and
the numbers one to nine will be written out. Two spaces proceed each period (.) and
colon (:). All other punctuation shall be separated by one space.

2. The following formatting rules apply to a letter:

a. the document is left justified;

b. a one inch margin is set for letters without letterhead, and a one and a half
inch margin for those with letterhead; and

c. if a letter contains a service number the designation PROTECTED A will

appear one inch from the top and bottom of the page. It is not necessary to
number a single page, however if you have more than one page they must
be numbered.

3. All DND correspondence shall follow a logical sequence including an

introduction, development of the subject matter and a conclusion. The text should be
accurate, brief in description and clear in direction. All information included in a piece

1/2 Use a header/footer to ensure page

numbering and security markings are located
PROTECTED A on each page.

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PROTECTED A

of correspondence should be relevant to the subject matter identifying who, what, where
and when and why. Annexes and appendices are an excellent way to include large
amounts of organized information that is pertinent to the subject of the document. Lastly,
the document shall be free of spelling and typographical errors.
A minimum of two
Five clear spaces. Type lines must be
on sixth line. carried over to the
Signed second page. A
signature block
D.A. Boss shall not appear
Lieutenant-Colonel alone on a page.
Commandant
(705)555-2378

Enclosures: 1

Full signature block

2/2

PROTECTED A

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 PROTECTED A

Memorandum Only used if there is more than

No "0" prior to single digit
one addressee.
1000-1 (Posn of Drafter) date Month and year
abbreviated.
If only one addressee you must
address the memo to a position
6 Nov 01 i.e. CO
Distr List Last line of the subject shall be
underlined
SAMPLE MEMO FOR RMS QL3 The subject should not extend past the
middle of the page.
A11 222 333 CPL JOHNSON JL
Refers to a
Refs: A. NDHQ OTTAWA D MIL C 234 241901Z FEB 01 Message
B. CFB Halifax 5600-1 (Adm O) 6 June 2001
C. CFB Halifax 5600-1 (CC) 6 Jul 01 Refers to a letter
Refers to a memo
1. A memorandum is a common form of correspondence within an originators
establishment/unit. The tone is business like and to the point. Numbers used in the text
from one to nine will be written out. Two spaces fol the colon (:) and a period (.), all
other punctuation shall be separated by one space.

2. The fol formatting rules apply to a memo:

a. the document is left justified;

b. all margins are set at one inch from the top, bottom, and one inch on the
sides; and

c. if the memo contains a SN the designation PROTECTED A will appear

one inch from the top and bottom of the page. It is not necessary to
number a single page, however if you have more than one page they must
be numbered.

3. The full use of official abbreviations and acronyms is required. Keep ranks and
names/dates together on the same line of text.
Five clear
spaces
Signed Type on sixth
line
D.A. Boss
LCol Abbreviated rank and
Cmdt title
2378
If more than one
page it must be
Distr List (page 2) numbered numbered
if more than one
1/2 page

PROTECTED A

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PROTECTED A

Distr List

Action Addressed to a position not

personally addressed.
Abbreviated posn titles and
ITMIS Supr and Ops Sgt headings (Distr & Info).
Sp Tm NCO
MPSS Rcds

Info

G3 MASM

2/2

PROTECTED A

5/21 Military Writing Handout Updated: 9 Jan 03

 Day/Zulu Time (Ontario)
EDT + 4 hours
DND MESSAGE DRAFTER EXAMPLE EST + 5 hours

Shilo +5/+6
Victoria +7/+8

Time Objectives

(Next Day)
(Six Hours)
(Sixty Minutes)
(Ten Minutes)

ADDRESSES

From the
address manual

Appointments or office designators

shall be separated from the message
address by two oblique strokes// and
followed by two oblique strokes//

XO is the office designator

6/21 Military Writing Handout Updated: 9 Jan 03

INTERNAL DISTRIBUTION

Internal distribution to
sections within the
originators unit would be
identified in this section. An
alternate method is to
include them in the “To” tab
and mark them as ZEN.

-Use Abbreviations
-Punctuation should not be used unless
essential
TEXT -No period at the end of a sentence
-A space is left instead of an apostrophe
-One space is left after all punctuation
-When possible numbers should be written
as digits.

7/21 Military Writing Handout Updated: 9 Jan 03

 UNCLAS 5000-1 (CFFM)

01 02 080948Z OCT 02 RR RR UUUU UUUU CFFM 034

NDHQ OTTAWA//CFFM// This is a message printed from the

message drafter prior to release
HMCS ATHABASKAN//XO//
from the message centre. It must
AIG 1704 be signed by the releasing officer.

UNCLAS CFFM 034

SIC WAH

BILINGUAL MESSAGE/MESSAGE BILINGUE

SUBJ: RETIREMENT CPO1 JOE KMYTA SMM CD FIRE FTR 651

1. AFTER OVER 34 YEARS OF DEDICATED SERVICE WITH THE RCN AND THE CF

CPO1 JOE KMYTA CFFM 3-2 MOC 651 TRADE ADVISOR WILL BEGIN HIS

RETIREMENT LEAVE ON 15 NOV 02

2. A LUNCHEON IN JOE'S HONOUR WILL BE HELD 13 NOV 02 AT PATTY

BOLAND'S IRISH CARVERY AND PUB (ABBEY ROOM) IN OTTAWA 101 CLARENCE ST.

THOSE WISHING TO SEND MESSAGES OF WELL WISHES AND ANECDOTES ARE

INVITED TO SEND THEM TO CFFM 3 MAJ YVON FLEURANT BY E-MAIL

FLEURANT.JY AT FORCES.CA OR FAX 613-996-1753 NLT 8 NOV 02

END OF ENGLISH TEXT/TEXTE FRANCAIS SUIT

OBJET: RETRAITE DU PREMIER MAITRE DE 1ERE CLASSE JOE KMYTA MSS DC

POMPIER 651

1. APRES PLUS DE 34 ANNEES DE LOYAUX SERVICES AU SEIN DE LA MRC ET LES FC

LE PREMIER MANTRE DE 1RE CLASSE JOE KMYTA DSIFC 3-2 AVISEUR DU

8/21 Military Writing Handout Updated: 9 Jan 03

 UNCLAS 5000-1 (CFFM)

02 UUUU CFFM 034

METIER 651 DIBUTERA SON CONGE DE RETRAITE LE 15 NOV 02

2. IL Y AURA UN DINER EN L HONNEUR DE JOE LE 13 NOV 02 AU

PATTY BOLAND S IRISH CARVERY AND PUB (PIHCE ABBEY) 101 RUE CLARENCE A

OTTAWA. CEUX ET CELLES QUI DESIRE FAIRE PARVENIR UN MESSAGE DE

FELICITATION OU CERTAINES ANECDOTES SONT PRIES DE LES ENVOYER AU

BUREAU DU DSIFC 3 LE MAJOR YVON FLEURANT PAR COURRIEL

FLEURANT.JY A COMMERCIAL FORCES.CA OU PAR TELECOPIEUR AU 613 996-1753

AVANT LE 8 NOV 02

VCDS
ADM(MAT)
CFSU(O)

S.T. UDENT, CPL, CFFM CLK, 1111

H.O.T. FIRE, CAPT, CO CFFM, 2222

Signed
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RAAUZYUW RCCLHAV6020 2811632-UUUU--RCEOCEA RCEOOQA RCEQCFA RCEQPSA.
ZNR UUUUU ZOC
RUETITF T CFIOGHQ DET FORT GEORGE G MEADE MD
R 080948Z OCT 02 This is an example of a message
FM NDHQ OTTAWA//CFFM//
TO HMCS ATHABASKAN//XO// that has been released and received
AIG 1704 by a unit.
BT
UNCLAS CFFM 034
SIC WAH
BILINGUAL MESSAGE/MESSAGE BILINGU
SUBJ: RETIREMENT CPO1 JOE KMYTA SMM CD FIRE FTR 651
1. AFTER OVER 34 YEARS OF DEDICATED SERVICE WITH THE RCN AND THE CF
CPO1 JOE KMYTA CFFM 3-2 MOC 651 TRADE ADVISOR WILL BEGIN HIS
RETIREMENT LEAVE ON 15 NOV 2002
2. A LUNCHEON IN JOE'S HONOUR WILL BE HELD 13 NOV 02 AT PATTY
BOLAND'S IRISH CARVERY AND PUB (ABBEY ROOM) IN OTTAWA 101 CLARENCE ST.
THOSE WISHING TO SEND MESSAGES OF WELL WISHES AND ANECDOTES ARE
INVITED TO SEND THEM TO CFFM 3 MAJ YVON FLEURANT BY E-MAIL
FLEURANT.JY AT FORCES.CA OR FAX 613-996-1753 NLT 8 NOV 02
END OF ENGLISH TEXT/TEXTE FRANCAIS SUIT
OBJET: RETRAITE DU PREMIER MAITRE DE 1ERE CLASSE JOE KMYTA MSS DC
POMPIER 651
1. APRES PLUS DE 34 ANNEES DE LOYAUX SERVICES AU SEIN DE LA MRC ET
LES FC
LE PREMIER MANTRE DE 1RE CLASSE JOE KMYTA DSIFC 3-2 AVISEUR DU
METIER 651 DIBUTERA SON CONGE DE RETRAITE LE 15 NOV 02
2. IL Y AURA UN DINER EN L HONNEUR DE JOE LE 13 NOV 02 AU
PATTY BOLAND S IRISH CARVERY AND PUB (PIHCE ABBEY) 101 RUE CLARENCE A
OTTAWA. CEUX ET CELLES QUI DESIRE FAIRE PARVENIR UN MESSAGE DE
FELICITATION OU CERTAINES ANECDOTES SONT PRIES DE LES ENVOYER AU
BUREAU DU DSIFC 3 LE MAJOR YVON FLEURANT PAR COURRIEL
FLEURANT.JY A COMMERCIAL FORCES.CA OU PAR TELECOPIEUR AU 613 996-1753
AVANT LE 8 NOV 02
BT
#6020
BAU554 DELIVERED 2811705 804511
ALTERNATIVE DELIVERY FOR RI RCEQCFA

10/21 Military Writing Handout Updated: 9 Jan 03

Sample Texts
Introductory Statements:

• “In accordance with reference…”

• “As requested/stated/identified at reference…”
• “It has come to the attention of…”
• “On behalf of all the personnel…”
• “Subject member has requested…”

Referring to Subject:

• “You are invited to attend the subject event.”

• “Request approved for the subject member.”

Invitation/Request Attendance

• “You are cordially invited to attend…”

• “Your presence is requested …”
• “This memo/letter serves to request your attendance…”
• “It would be greatly appreciated of you to deliver a presentation on…”

Commencing sub-paragraphs

• “This request is made for the following reasons:”

• “Equipment required is as follows:”
• “The following topics will be discussed:”

Closing Statements

• “Thank you in advance for your assistance in this matter.”

• “Should you require further assistance/information, please contact…”
• “For your information/approval, Sir/Ma’am.”
• “This unit supports the member’s request.”

11/21 Military Writing Handout Updated: 9 Jan 03

Capitalization
General Information

Capital letters have three basic uses:

to give emphasis, as in official titles and initial words;
to distinguish proper nouns and adjectives from common ones; and
to highlight words in headings and captions.

The term capitalize will be used extensively. When that term is used, it is referring to the initial
capitalization (first letter) of the word, otherwise the term, fully capitalize will be used to indicate that the
word is completely capitalized.

Initial Words

Capitalize the first word of a sentence or sentence equivalent

There are no other commitments.
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

Capitalize the first word of a direct quotation that is itself a complete sentence
The candidates said, "We are in favour of a free vote on the death penalty."

Do not use a capital if the quotation is merely a sentence fragment or if it is worked into the
structure of the sentence
The candidates said that they were "in favour of a free vote on the death penalty."

The personal pronoun I is always capitalized in English

Personal Names

Capitalize proper names and titles that accompany or replace them.

Cornelius Breckenridge
Mona Couture
Peter the Great
the Sun King

Words Derived From Proper Nouns

Capitalize an adjective derived from a proper noun or composed of a proper name.

Canadian whiskey
Digby chicken

When the association is remote there is no need to capitalize

manila envelope

Verbs that are derived from proper nouns are capitalized unless their association is remote
Anglicize
italicize

Note: It is important to check proper noun derivatives carefully. Usage in this regard is not
standardized.

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Governments and Government Bodies

Capitalize the titles of governments and government departments and agencies

the Government of Canada (the Government)
the House of Commons (the House)
the Parliament of Canada (Parliament)
Note: Both the legal title and the applied title of a federal department are capitalized.
When the short forms are used in a non-specific sense they are normally written in lower case
We have formed a committee to study the matter.
Our section held its monthly meeting yesterday.

Institutions and Official Documents

Capitalize the official names of institutions and official documents following the same rules as in
Governments and Government Bodies.
the University of Manitoba
the Canadian Medical Association
members of the Liberal Party
the liberal arts
the White Paper on Taxation

Titles of Office or Rank

Capitalize civil, military, religious and professional titles and titles of nobility when they precede a
personal name:
Lord Carrington
General Theriault
Cardinal Carter
Capitalize all titles following and placed in apposition to a personal name, except those denoting
professions:
Clare Smith, Director of Public Affairs
Jane Tanaka, professor of physics

Do not capitalize them when they are in the plural:

the lieutenant-governors of Quebec and Ontario

Capitalize a title referring to a specific person and used as a substitute for the person's name and
as a short form of the full title:
They discussed the matter with the Colonel.

Titles are lower-cased when modified by a possessive or other type of adjective:

They discussed it with their colonel.
They discussed it with the Canadian prime minister.

Languages and People

Capitalize nouns and adjectives denoting race, tribe nationality and language:
Cree Indian
Francophone Anglophone French
Note: The terms native people(s) and aboriginal people(s) are lower-cased.

School Subjects, Courses and Degrees

13/21 Military Writing Handout Updated: 9 Jan 03

 The names of languages are always capitalized. Do not capitalize the names of other disciplines
when used in a general sense. When used to refer to school subjects or the names of particular courses,
they should be capitalized:
She is interested in history.
She passed with a "B" in History this term.
Do not capitalize the name of a degree in general references, but do capitalize it when it follows a
person's name and when its title is stated in full:
Janet is earning her master's degree.
Ellen Compton, Doctor of Philosophy
He holds a Master of Arts degree from McGill University.

Military Terms

Capitalize the names of military bases, forces and units of all sizes and medals and exercises:
the Canadian Forces
Canadian Forces Base Borden the Victoria Cross

Note: In Canadian Forces writing the names of exercises are written in full capitals:
EXERCISE RAPIER THRUST

Ships and Aircraft, etc

Capitalize the names and types of aircraft, cars and other modes of transportation:
a Boeing 747
the Bricklin (a car) Mariner IV

Note: In Canadian Forces writing the names of vessels are written in full capitals:
HMCS HALIFAX
HMCS DONNACONA

Time References

Capitalize the names of months, days, holidays and historical periods:

Wednesday October
Thanksgiving Day the Second World War
Passover the Ice Age

Do not capitalize the names of the seasons, centuries or decades unless they are personified or
are part of special names:
spring
winter
the twentieth century
the Roaring Twenties (name of an era)

Religious Denominations

Capitalize the names of religious denominations as well as adjectives and verbs derived from
them that relate to religion:
Anglican
Roman Catholic
Christianize

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Geographical Terms

Capitalize the names of countries, regions, cities and other official area designations:
Canada
the Prairies
the Atlantic provinces

Generic terms such as city, county, province are lower-cased when they precede the proper name
or stand alone unless they are used in the corporate sense:
the city of Montreal
the county of Simcoe
the province of British Columbia
Province of Ontario bonds

Do not capitalize generic terms used in the plural:

lakes Huron and Ontario

Do not capitalize the names of compass points or similar descriptive terms:

northern New Brunswick
west of Saskatchewan

Buildings, Monuments and Public Places

Capitalize the official names of specific buildings, monuments, parks, etc:

the O'Keefe Centre
the Toronto Public Library
the Vancouver International Airport but not the Vancouver airport

Metric Units

When writing the names of metric units, the only capitalized word is Celsius. When using
symbols, capitalize all those based on proper nouns and the letter L for litre:
30 m (metres)
475 g (grams)
12 V (volts)
30 L (litres)

Capitalize the symbols for the prefixes from mega to exa:

mg (milligram)
Mg (megagram)

Books and Articles

Titles of books, articles, periodicals, etc have all words capitalized except articles, conjunctions
and prepositions:
Red Storm Rising (book)
Under the Volcano (book)
How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying (play)

The Definite Article

Capitalize the when it is part of a corporate name:

15/21 Military Writing Handout Updated: 9 Jan 03
 The Globe and Mail

The Salutation and Complimentary Close

Use capitals for the first word and all nouns in the salutation of a letter but only for the first word
in a close:
My dear Sir
Dear Madam
Yours truly
Very sincerely yours

Parts of a Book or Document

Capitalize certain common nouns in the singular when they are used in text references with
numbers and letters. A letter following such a term is also capitalized:
Appendix B
Volume 3
Chapter 14

Minor subdivisions such as page, note, line and paragraph are written in lower case:
See page 6, line 48

Single Letters Used as Words

Capitalize a single letter used as a word, whether hyphenated or not:

T-shirt
vitamin A
X-ray
H-bomb

Acronyms and Initialisms

An acronym is a pronounceable word formed from the first letter or letters of a series of other
words:
NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
CFSAL (Canadian Forces School of Administration and Logistics)
An initialism is formed from the initial letters only of a series of words and may not be
pronounceable as a word:
YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association)
TGIF (thank God it's Friday)

Do not use periods or spacing between the letters of an acronym or an initialism.

Use upper-case letters for acronyms or initialism in their entirety, even if some of the component
words are not normally capitalized:
FORTRAN (formula translation)
NORAD (North American Aerospace Defence)

Exceptions happen when organizations concerned prefer lower-case:

Stelco (Steel Company of Canada Ltd)
Alcoa (Aluminum Company of America)

16/21 Military Writing Handout Updated: 9 Jan 03

Computer Languages

The acronyms for computer languages should be fully capitalized:

BASIC COBOL

Numbering
General Information

Numerical information should be conveyed in such a way as to be comprehended

quickly, easily and without ambiguity.

Generally, one-digit numbers are written out:

zero to nine (0 - 9)
Numbers with two or more digits are to be expressed in figures:
10
649
Ordinals should be treated in the same way as cardinal numbers:
seven and seventh
101 and 101st

The terms cardinal and ordinal numbers will be used. Cardinal numbers refer to the fundamental
form of numbers (one, two, three, etc) whereas ordinal numbers define the position or the order (first,
second, third, etc).

Consistency

Numbers modifying the same items should be treated alike within a given passage. If figures are
used for any, they should be used for all of the numbers:
Of the 318 sections established on these five bases over the past eight years, only 6 are without
the use of computers.
the 3rd, 6th and 127th items in the series

Initial Numbers

Spell out a number - or the word number - when it occurs at the beginning of a sentence. This
also includes the related numbers that closely follow it:
Three hundred persons were expected, but only twenty-three showed up.
Number 16 was the last in the series; there was no number 17.
Sixteen RMS Clks were tasked for the exercise and six remained at the unit.

Fractions

Simple fractions are spelled out:

one-half inch or half an inch
a quarter of an inch or one-quarter inch
three quarters of an inch or three-quarters inch (not inches)

Fractions that may be confusing when spelled out, are better expressed in figures:
1/25 not 1/25th
3/100 not 1/100ths
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 A fraction expressed in figures should not be followed by of a or of an:
3/8 inch not 3/8 of an inch

Decimal Fractions

Normally, no number should begin or end with a decimal point:

$0.64 not $.64
11 or 11.0 not 11.

Formerly, groups of three figures were separated from one another by a comma. To prevent the
comma from being mistaken for the decimal marker and to comply with the Metric Commission and
International Standard, it is recommended that this practice be abandoned except in financial documents.
It is currently the policy of the Government of Canada to continue to use the comma to separate triads of
numbers on payment and financial documents.

A space should be used instead of a comma on both sides of the decimal point after each group of
three:
Whole Numbers
5005 or 5 005
50 005
500 005 000
Decimals
5.0005 or 5.000 5
5.000 05
5.000 005 050

Quantities and Measures

When quantities or measures consist of two or more elements or when a decimal marker is
involved, write them in figures. Otherwise, follow the rule of writing the number out if it is less than 10:
three miles
5.6 km
20/20 vision
two metres tall
8 1/2 by 11 inch paper or 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper

Both the figure and the unit must be written in full or both must be abbreviated:
two metres or 2 m not 2 metres or two m

Percent is usually written out, except when used adjectivally:

15 percent
a 15% bond (no space between the numeral and %)

Money

Sums of money are usually expressed in figures, except when they refer to round or indefinite
amounts:
a twenty dollar bill
a few thousand dollars $5.98 a pair

The following forms should be used:

18/21 Military Writing Handout Updated: 9 Jan 03
 654 or $0.65 or 65 cents not $.65 or .654
$100 not $100. or $100.00 (when standing alone)
five dollars or $5 not 5 dollars

Time of Day

The Canadian Forces uses the 24-hour system for representing the time of day. The hour is
represented by a two digit number ranging from 00 up to 23, the minute and second are represented by a
two digit number ranging from 00 up to 59.
0815 hours (full format)
2030 hrs (abbreviated format)

The instant of midnight should be represented as either 2400 hours, the end of one day, or 0000
hours, the beginning of the next day, according to circumstances.

Dates

For calendar dates, the common alphanumeric method remains acceptable, provided that
cardinal numbers are used:
15 March 1997 (full format)
15 Mar 97 (abbreviated format)
not 15th March 1997
the cipher (0) is not used in single digit dates 9 Jan 97
The order remains day, month, and year. Consistency is necessary, therefore when the month is
in the abbreviated format, the year must also be in the abbreviated format. The choice to use either the
abbreviated or full format will be determined by the type and formality of the piece of correspondence.

The all-numeric form of dating may only be used when the form/document being produced only
allows the space for this style of dating. The order of the date will vary depending upon the requirement
of the form/document.
21-05-99
19/11/1995

Ages

Exact age is indicated in figures even if less then 10:

John, aged 9, and brother Tom, 10, led the hike.

It is written out, however, in the case of approximate age and in formal contexts:
He's eighty if he's a day.
She was no more than seventeen at the time.

Government and Military Designations

Write out numbers of governing bodies and sessions of Parliament as ordinals:

Third Reich Thirty-second Parliament

Designations of large military units, may be written out in ordinals; otherwise use cardinal figures:
First Canadian Army
5 Combat Engineer Regiment
422 Tactical Helicopter Squadron

19/21 Military Writing Handout Updated: 9 Jan 03

Names of Organizations

Ordinals modifying the names of churches and religious bodies are usually written out:
First Baptist Church
Seventh-Day Adventists

Use Arabic figures in referring to fraternal lodges and similar organizations:

Royal Canadian Legion, Stittsville Branch 618
Teamsters Union Local 91

Addresses

Street and avenue designations up to and including Tenth are usually spelled out, especially when
this helps to prevent confusion with the building number. If the street number is written in figures,
cardinal rather than ordinal numbers are preferred:
9511 Tenth Avenue 96 Avenue 101 Street

In the abbreviated form, apartment numbers are written before the building number and are
often followed by a dash:
107-6807 92 Avenue North

Ordinal figures are normally used to identify floors of a building:

11th floor, L'Esplanade Laurier

Plurals

Plurals of figures are normally formed by adding an s:

the 1960s
five 55s

In cases where this might cause misreading, an apostrophe and s should be added to the figure:
6's and 7's
Do not pluralize metric unit symbols:
5 kg not 5 kgs

Roman Numerals

Roman numerals are becoming extremely rare, but they still have the following uses:
- names of rulers, and the names of ships and space vehicles:
Bluenose II
Mariner IV
- numbers of volumes, chapters, tables and other divisions of a book:
Volume XII
Appendix III

- years, centuries and recurring events of major importance:

XXI Century
XXIV Olympiad

IMPORTANT NOTE:

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 The importance of consistency and the setting of a common standard can never be over
emphasized. The quality of work and degree of professionalism is reflected in every piece of
correspondence that is produced. It is therefore essential to ensure that you familiarize yourself with
these and all other aspects of correct writing skills to ensure that not only you but your unit is always
represented correctly.

21/21 Military Writing Handout Updated: 9 Jan 03