salute women who board a vessel?

[MC]

Hey,

Im sure this has posted on this forum before, but I dont have time to look for it as I am on my IAP course in St-Jean. Anyway, I openned my big mouth in class and asked this question so my captain retorqued that I had to find the answer before wednesday morning. So if someone could just briefly inform me on this Id be eternally in debt.

Sorry again and thanks for any replies

 

[bob the piper]

There was a thread about this a while back if you want to search. I think it was in one about saluting officers in a hallway.  If thats any help at all. ;D

 

[FSTO]

In the days of the all male Navy, it was pretty easy; a woman crosses the brow you salute her. Now, your brow staff has to be aware who are guests, wives, female officers and regular sailors in civies.
The rule is:
Salute - civilian women
- all officers

 

[MC]

Thanks!

cheers

 

[Ex-Dragoon]

Another good rule of thumb is if you don't recognize the lady coming onboard you would not be in the wrong by saluting her. However, its a custom that seems to have fallen by the wayside since I got in back in '94.

 

[Cloud Cover]

Another good rule of thumb is if you don't recognize the lady coming onboard you would not be in the wrong by saluting her. However, its a custom that seems to have fallen by the wayside since I got in back in '94.

Wayside would be a pretty impressive boarding that would require a salute out of respect for pure athletic prowess!! Dockside, however, would be more routine. ;D

 

[hugh19]

Or you could do what I do. Don't salue them unless there officers.

 

[FSTO]

Or you could do what I do. Don't salue them unless there officers.

they're or they are.
Where did you go to school? Saltspring Island?

 

[Cloud Cover]

or, "they are with"

 

[Strike]

or, "they are with"

...in which case you are no longer saluting the woman but you ARE saluting the officer she is with.  Confused yet?

 

[alan_li_13]

Wow, this is interesting...so is it like this? My mom comes onto a ship, sailors have to salute her?  That would confuse the heck out of her. Ok, so how does she have to respond if someone salutes her. Also, since this is a tradition from back when it was an all-male navy, what would the female sailors do?

 

[hugh19]

Thanks for the heckling. Females are supposed to salute females who come on board.

 

[Cloud Cover]

I dunno: in the old days we would have saluted the wife of the CO coming across the brow alone, and the wife of a P.O.- not out of protocol but out of respect for the spouse of a person who has earned RHIP rather than had it granted by way of commission. I guess it was one of our many ways of taking small pot shots at the officers. [cringing as I see FSTO lurking in the background!!]

On the other hand, there were no female ncm person any ships I was on, but if there were I am quite certain they would not be saluted coming aboard in civilian attire- so it wasn't a pure gender issue. I know there were female navy reservists on the gate vessels, but we in the regs completely ignored what they were up to ...  

I would imagine the Navy of today would not permit such un-pc tomfoolery.    

 

[FSTO]

Wow, this is interesting...so is it like this? My mom comes onto a ship, sailors have to salute her?  That would confuse the heck out of her. Ok, so how does she have to respond if someone salutes her. Also, since this is a tradition from back when it was an all-male navy, what would the female sailors do?

Some would smile, some would look perplexed, some would give the awkward Bill Clinton salute, some would giggle, and some would say thank-you.
In todays Navy, ships company member worth their salt would know the people on their own ship. Therefore they would know which women were NCM or NCO's in civilian dress. Female rates from other ships should have the smarts to indicate to the brow staff that they do not warrant a salute.

 

[kj_gully]

Let's see, thinking back to my saluting test in cornwallis, I believe the order is written that CF personell may salute a lady that he is familiar with. I can't believe I am involving myself in this.... by extension, if you don't know her you are not to salute her, so all problems solved.

 

[FSTO]

Let's see, thinking back to my saluting test in cornwallis, I believe the order is written that CF personell may salute a lady that he is familiar with. I can't believe I am involving myself in this.... by extension, if you don't know her you are not to salute her, so all problems solved.

This thread is about when women cross the brow to come on board a warship.

 

[Chummy]

For what it's worth, I think the tradition extends from the days when one would tip one's hat to a lady... the salute in the Navy evolved from putting the hand to the peak of the headdress, which in turn evolved from tipping the hat. So, by extenstion, one salutes ladies crossing the brow, since it was polite to tip your hat to them. Hopefully people, female members included, will continue to salute women (other than CF NCM's) when they cross the brow, as a "tip of the hat" to history and a Naval tradition, rather than sacrificing the tradition on the altar of political correctness.

 

[Michael OLeary]

Regarding the saluting of women when they board ship: While the Navy may have a particular custom, it is not in the Drill Manual that I can find, perhaps one of the sailors on the forum can cite a reference. There is no mention of such a tradition in Customs and Traditions of the Canadian Armed Forces, by E.C. Russell (1980). The only applicable mention in the Manual of Drill and Ceremonial is:

A-PD-201-000/PT-000
THE CANADIAN FORCES MANUAL OF DRILL AND CEREMONIAL

CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION
SECTION 2 - COMPLIMENTS

25. Courtesy Salutes

a. Foreign officers shall be saluted in the same manner as Canadian officers unless the circumstances clearly dictate otherwise.

b. Service members may express their respect for individual civilians by using a salute as a formal means of greeting or farewell.

 

[Chummy]

Without doing a pile of research, I couldn't find a written source for the tradition, but it was taught to me at my unit, and on BOTC. Perhaps it is an unwritten custom. Looking at your drill manual cite, since a member MAY salute a civilian, it seems that it does not contravene anything to observe this tradition. At least as compelling is the direction from the Senior Watchkeeper, with authority of the XO and Captain, that we SHALL do so... ;-)

 

[Neill McKay]

I don't have a copy at hand, but I believe Arbuckle's Customs and Traditions of the Canadian Navy discusses this practice.  (Look for a revised edition of that book in the next few years, by the way!)  Does anyone have a copy of the Manual of Ceremonial for HMC Ships, Submarines, and Naval Reserve Divisions?  That would be a good source for something like this.