Dog Tags Religious Preference Abbreviations

For religious preference, the tags were marked C (Catholic), P (Protestant), H (Hebrew) or left blank for no preference.

What is imprinted on a dog tag?

For a member serving the US Military the following information can be found on their dog tag. Their name (last name, first name middle initial), social security number, blood type, military branch and religion are typically imprinted on the dog tag. Each branch of the US Military may come in a different format but all the same information can be found. The USMC dog tag can also be marked with either a “S“Mor “Lwhich denotes their gas mask choice in size between a small, medium and large.

What is imprinted on a novelty dog tag?

Anything of a persons choosing can be imprinted on a novelty dog tag that fits the space constraints. Popular things found on novelty dog tags include the person’s details, beliefs, tastes, quotes, band name or a logo. When imprinting on a dog tag it is common to space out the characters to make it imprint easier to read.

What should be printed on military dog tags?

In the 1990s, the U.S. Army stopped using the term dog tags, replacing it with the designation ID tags.

A persistent rumor is that debossed (imprinted with stamped in letters) dog tags were issued from World War II till the end of the Vietnam War and that currently the U.S. Armed Forces is issuing embossed (imprinted with raised letters) dog tags. In actuality, the U.S. Armed Forces issues dog tags with both types of imprinting, depending on the machine used at a given facility. The military issued 95% of their identification tags up until recently (within the past 10 years) with debossed text.

The U.S. Armed Forces typically carry two identical oval dog tags containing:

  • Last name, first name, middle initial
  • DoD ID number or Social Security number, followed by “AF” indicating branch of service
  • Blood Group
  • “blank”
  • Religion
  • Last name
  • First name and middle initial
  • DoD ID number or Social Security number, followed by “AF” indicating branch of service
  • Blood Group
  • Religion
  • Last name
  • First and middle initials and suffix; blood group
  • DoD ID number or Social Security number with no dashes and no spaces
  • Branch (“USMC”); Gas mask size (S small, M medium, L large)
  • Religious preference, or medical allergy if red medical tag
  • Last name, first name, middle initial
  • DoD ID number or Social Security number with no dashes or spaces followed immediately by “USN”, space, blood group
  • Religion
  • Last name
  • First name, middle initial
  • DoD ID number or Social Security number
  • Blood type
  • Religion
  • Last name, first name, middle initial
  • DoD ID number or Social Security number, no dashes or spaces, followed immediately by branch (i.e., 123456789USCG)
  • Blood group
  • Religion
  • During World War II, a dog tag could indicate only one of three religions through the inclusion of one letter: “P” for Protestant, “C” for Catholic, or “H” for Jewish (from the word, “Hebrew”), or (according to at least one source) “NO” to indicate no religious preference. Army regulations (606-5) soon included X and Y in addition to P,C, and H: the X indicating any religion not included in the first three, and the Y indicating either no religion or a choice not to list religion. By the time of the Vietnam War, some IDs spelled out the broad religious choices such as PROTESTANT and CATHOLIC, rather than using initials, and also began to show individual denominations such as “METHODIST” or “BAPTIST.” Tags did vary by service, however, such as the use of “CATH,” not “CATHOLIC” on some Navy tags. For those with no religious affiliation and those who chose not to list an affiliation, either the space for religion was left blank or the words “NO PREFERENCE” or “NO RELIGIOUS PREF” were included.

    Although American dog tags include the recipients religion as a way of ensuring that religious needs will be met, some personnel have them reissued without religious affiliation listed—or keep two sets, one with the designation and one without—out of fear that identification as a member of a particular religion could increase the danger to their welfare or their lives if they fell into enemy hands. Some Jewish personnel avoided flying over German lines during WWII with ID tags that indicated their religion, and some Jewish personnel avoid the religious designation today out of concern that they could be captured by extremists who are anti-Semitic. Additionally, when American troops were first sent to Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War there were allegations that some U.S. military authorities were pressuring Jewish military personnel to avoid listing their religions on their ID tags.

    FAQ

    What religion can you put on dog tags?

    Service members can generally put whatever religious preference they want on their tags, including “Atheist” or “Agnostic.” Some even ask for “Jedi” or “Druid.” There is no list of official or approved religions–after all, that would constitute government endorsement of a particular religion.

    What does Tet mean on a dog tag?

    army serial number, tetanus immunization , tetanus toxoid, blood type.

    What does T55 mean on a dog tag?

    3 Tetanus Date (T55) Blood Type.