Respond to a Salute

martinn123

Gentlemen / ladies,

I wonder if I could obtain your expertise on the correct response to a salute, in Military / Civilian circumstances.

We are all familiar with pictures of say the president of US, boarding a flight and offering a Salute to the Marine in Uniform at the bottom of the steps.

As he is in civilian attire, is this correct protocol.

I have just watched an episode of " house of cards " where the VP in civilian attire salutes an Honour a Guard of Military.

My question stems from the following,

A few years ago, I was on the platform of a train station in U K, waiting for a train.

A train pulled in, and a troop of soldiers got off accompanied by an Officer, I was dressed in a suit and tie, the officer noticed me, and the Officer called his troops to Attention, did what I can call a March past, and proffered me a Salute.

I had no idea how to respond.

He approached me and remarked that the Tie, I was wearing was the Regimental Tie, of his unit, a pure coincidence, as it's my school past pupils Tie, and I was returning from a reunion a day earlier.
He assumed I was a retired soldier.

I remembered programme on BBC a few years ago, where a retired officer in civvies, but wearing a Trilby Hat, responded to a Salute by raising his Hat, which appeared the correct response

So, please, what is the correct response from a civilian, in being offered a Salute from a Member of the Military, in Uniform.

Regards.

pablomakaveli

As a civilian you dont have to do anything. If you were an officer in civvies you'd brace up in response.

It's very odd that what you described happened though.

cruasder777

Raised hat is the correct response or if not wearing one, a nod.

Unusual nowadays, more common in the past.

Manic Moran

An acknowledgement of some sort is warranted and polite. Nod of the head, tip of the hat, something of that nature.

Although there is no requirement to salute when in civvies, even if you would in uniform, it's not unheard of to salute back. I routinely do so out of courtesy.

Axel Lamp

martinn123 wrote: »

We are all familiar with pictures of say the president of US, boarding a flight and offering a Salute to the Marine in Uniform at the bottom of the steps.

As he is in civilian attire, is this correct protocol.

Is it because the US President is the Commander in Chief?

Larbre34

I've always thought it a bit of an insult when civilian officials or those elected to office salute servicemen, if they have never been in military service, even the reserves.

For instance Bush 41 and 43, fine, HW distinguished service, W national guardsman, Obama and Clinton - nada, keep your hands down losers.

RedWolfCQB

Presidents have long been saluted, but they began returning salutes relatively recently. Ronald Reagan was thought to be the first, in 1981. He had sought advice on the matter from Gen. Robert Barrow, commandant of the Marine Corps. According to John Kline, then Mr. Reagan’s military aide and today a member of Congress from Minnesota, General Barrow told the president that as commander in chief he could salute anybody he wished. And so it began.

Mr. Reagan’s successors continued the practice, and I continued to be conflicted — believing that when it comes to salutes (and one or two other matters), presidents deserved to be cut some slack, but also feeling a little uneasy about the whole thing.

My ambivalence came to an end last week, when I saw a videotape of the president’s midnight trip to Dover Air Force Base in Delaware, where he had participated, very early that morning, in the “dignified transfer” of 15 Army soldiers and three Drug Enforcement Administration agents killed that week in Afghanistan. Mr. Obama stood ramrod straight and saluted as six soldiers carried the coffin bearing the body of Sgt. Dale Griffin of Indiana off a C-17 transport aircraft and into a waiting van. His salute, it struck me, was impeccable in every way.

Source: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/01/opinion/01winfrey.html?_r=0

A not so impeccable salute:

Another interesting article on the matter: http://taskandpurpose.com/sorry-presidential-salute-isnt-real-thing/