1. doggiedude

    doggiedude Contributor Contributor

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    Rules of military salutes

    Discussion in 'Research' started by doggiedude, Nov 23, 2016.

    I wondered what the rules were in regards to salute requirements between soldiers of different branches of the service.
    Would an Army private in uniform need to salute an Airforce captain in uniform?

    It probably makes little difference in my current WIP since it's a fictional world on another planet with different rules but I'd like to know.
    In the scene I'm working on, a Prince is going into see his estranged Emperor father. He's being trailed by a few soldiers in the Emperor's Galactic Navy. They get stopped by a couple of Imperial Guards (the equivalent of Secret Service but they wear military uniforms.)
    So ... would they salute each other?
     
  2. Iain Aschendale

    Iain Aschendale Lying, dog-faced pony Marine Supporter Contributor

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    Speaking as a former Marine who spent quite a lot of time on bases of other branches: Yes, you need to salute all officers, no matter what branch or even nationality. Salutes should only be rendered when the saluter is in uniform and "covered", i.e. wearing their uniform hat, and uniform hats are only worn when outdoors or on duty. "On duty" doesn't mean just during your normal workday, but when you are on special guard duty, or are the Duty NCO (the guy who's in charge of the barracks for the night/weekend). While you're on duty, you generally wear some other indicator, such as a brassard (armband) or special belt to indicate your status.

    You also salute officers from other countries. I was stationed at one base that had a number of foreign servicemembers training there, and we never knew who to salute. "Dude, I saw this guy with three ducks on his collar. Seriously, ducks!. Anyway, he looked about forty, so I saluted him just to be safe."

    Another base I worked on had a similar problem, so they asked all the foreign officers to wear their US rank equivalent on the flap of their breast pocket, a system that worked pretty well.

    If you receive a salute that shouldn't have been rendered, the appropriate thing to do is simply return it, and, if you feel it appropriate (like if the saluter is a foreigner) to let them know that your rank doesn't require a salute.
     
  3. Denegroth

    Denegroth Banned

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    What Iain said. The first officer I saluted at Lackland AFB, TX whilst in basic traning was a Pakistani colonel coming out of the on-base convenience store near our dorm. I was taken aback momentarily looking at his uniform, its accoutrements and badge/ribbon designs, then my eyes drifted up to his collar insignia - clearly an important guy. I saluted. He looked surprised, then appreciative and saluted back. Then I said, "Beautiful uniform, sir." He replied, "Why. Thank-you," and went off smiling. Never forget it. My first salute.
     
  4. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

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    I can confirm all of the above to be correct, down to a salute-just-in-case not being seen as a major offense and simply a venue to educate. When I was the DLIFLC, the casual blue uniform we wore in the USAF at the time (mid 80's) made use of bright insignia at the collar. Shiny. This often garnered salutes from US Navy students as we walked to class. You smiled and saluted back. No need to make a fuss. By the time the seaman got close enough to see that the insignia were stripes, not bars, it was just a moment for everyone to smile at the small error. And yes, you certainly do salute officers of all branches and from other countries. When I was stationed at Tempelhof in Berlin, the remote site at Teufelsberg were I worked was a joint USAF - US Army - RAF mission and there were plenty of RAF officers with whom we worked.

    Most common movie-TV mistake is saluting without a cover, and covers worn indoors, & combination of the two errors together.
     
  5. doggiedude

    doggiedude Contributor Contributor

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    Thanx all
     
  6. Denegroth

    Denegroth Banned

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    Ah yes. I was in when they introduced the USAF collar insignia. Liked it very much. They introduced the pull-over sweater with epaulets at about the same time. Combine the two, and you've got enlisted insignia on the shoulder. At the Defense Information School (DINFOS), the army guys were livid. They tried to force us to "wear your rank on your sleeve". I suppose they needed us to sew stripes on the sleeves of that lovely pull-over so they felt vindicated!

    Another interesting aside is, from the rear in our fatigues, army guys and air force guys tended to look the same. Only, army guys were supposed to blouse their pant legs inside their boots. SO...many an army NCO would yell, "Soldier! Soldier!" Of course, we were "Airmen! Airmen!" and delightfully ignored the NCO who'd then chase us down, get in front of us all in a huff ready to dress us down for a uniform violation, only to read "U.S. AIR FORCE" on that nifty stripe above our shirt pocket. They were not pleased. We tried not to chuckle, at least while he/she was there.

    Nothing like a little inter-service rivalry to bring smiles all around!

    No. Wait. The topic....I seem to recall in many a World War II flick, the officers on one side saluting the officers on the other - usually one or the other was a POW. I'm straining my memory to recall having seen enlisted POWs saluting their officer captors...or captives for that matter.
     
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  7. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

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    And even though the world of your story is fictional, the scenario you mention between an enlisted person of one branch and an officer of another, for reasons that have to do with tradition and uniformity and respect of rank, I would have a hard time imagining it being ok not to salute that officer. Even if you were unsure, you would do it out of a sense of making sure that other service person understood that you understood the rules and importance of respect.
     
  8. Wreybies

    Wreybies Thrice Retired Supporter Contributor

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    I totally forgot about the sweater. Yes! Haha. :-D I would get saluted all day long by other service members at DLI. I was an E-3. :whistle: Good times. Good times.
     
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  9. Iain Aschendale

    Iain Aschendale Lying, dog-faced pony Marine Supporter Contributor

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    @Wreybies is my other DLI buddy! I remembered that there was someone, but couldn't remember who. I remember saluting enlisted Air Force, Army specialists (youngest damn majors I'd ever seen, but that big gold insignia doesn't lie), Army JROTC cadets (damnit!), the mailbox outside the chow hall at MCRD San Diego (it's a Marine recruit prank), and, of course, Navy chief petty officers.

    [​IMG]

    I was in Korea, on an Army base, wearing woodland camouflage and jungle boots, but in the PX with my cover off when I heard someone behind my saying "Soldier. Hey, soldier! I'm talking to you, soldier!" in increasingly irate terms. Eventually I got a hand on my shoulder spinning me around and, "Hey...oh, you're a Marine. Nevermind. Army's not allowed to wear jungle boots after October. Sorry."

    "That's ok, Sergeant First Class. Have a nice day." From a Lance Corporal (E-3) :)
     
    Last edited: Nov 23, 2016
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  10. Dnaiel

    Dnaiel Senior Member

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    Seriously? I don't like this one bit. I can understand saluting and respecting other branches, but foreign members? Is there an historical basis or rationalization for this?
     
  11. Iain Aschendale

    Iain Aschendale Lying, dog-faced pony Marine Supporter Contributor

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    I would guess it's a class thing. "Damned if some plebeian thinks he's going to get off of saluting just because he's a foreigner!"
     

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