So what is your opinion on saluting foreign officers?

[Infanteer]

I believe Warrant Officer 2 and above are Commissioned and are saluted by American Enlisted Troops and NCO's, so I would see saluting one as appropriate.

 

[pbi]

On the issue of not saluting Captains, when I was a subaltern in 3PP and later in 1 PP (at that time subby being up to a Capt with less than three years in rank), we did NOT salute Capts unless they were the Adjt or the OC of a company. We didn't call them "Sir" either. This was a purely internal thing, as I found out to my embarassment on another base when I strolled past a couple of Capts without saluting.

On the US WO thing, I believe that they do not actually have commissions: they have warrants instead. They are usually called "sir" by those below them, or "Mr" by officers. (In the Marines a WO is sometimes referred to as "Marine Gunner"-not to be confused with "Gunnery Sgt" which is the USMC equivalent of what we in the Canadian Army call a WO). The US WO forms a sort of class between NCOs and Officers (they start out as NCOs) and they go to the O Club not the E Club. We really don't have a direct equivalent, as we follow the Commonwealth system in which a WO holds status as a higher form of NCO, not a lower form of officer. Cheers.

 

[Slim]

Would you salute a US Warrant Officer? The junior warrant rank (WO1) in the US Army is an officer but is appointed by Warrant rather than Commission

I ran into that situation while working with U.S. Army helocopter crews. Their pilots are all Warrant Officers, which are commisioned officers (technical) in the U.S. Army. I was politely corrected by a fellow U.S. soldier who had worked with the Canadian Forces and understood the confusion.

 

[devil39]

Just got back from Afghanistan, and I was wondering what the concensus is of the military personnel on the forum....

1. Salute foreign officers out of respect.
2. Why bother, they have funny uniforms and silly insignia.

The reason why I ask, when I was in Bosnia for SFOR2, I would make it a point to salute all higher Ranking Foreign officers especially the Russian officers.   In fact I remember opening the Door for a Russian COL and having my hand shook and back slapped.   I guess I made a friend that day.   However, when I was on Bagram AB I saw a CDN Captain, WMO, and a CPL walk right by a US Army Major General, nothing, no salute, no greeting of the day, I thought it was very disrespectful.

On a lighter note the sky didn't fall and the earth was not struck by an asteroid and maybe it was an honest mistake or they were not paying attention, but you know me....eagle eyes, spot the CADPAT anywhere    

My experience, in not so recent Afghanistan, was that Canadian soldiers would salute officers of all nationalities, as would US Marines.   The US Army were the worst offenders for failing to salute.

Then again this was in the relative early days, just as the Div decided it was necessary to have a saluting policy.

 

[ibilola]

Must be confusing! I Wonder how many CWOs in the Canadian Armed Forces have been saluted by US Servicemen by mistake? Incidentally in the British Armed Forces, Queens Regulations require junior ranks to address all WOs as 'Sir' but they are not saluted. Officers would address a WO by his appointment title e.g. RSM or by the generic 'Mister' although that tends to be used more in the RAF and RN. You'd be putting your life in danger if you referred to someone as 'Warrant'!

 

[1feral1]

In the Australian   8) Army, there are two WO ranks. WO2 and WO1, and WO1 being the higher. Warrants are still given out in a frame, and here both WO2 and WO1 are addressed as Sir by ranks lower. Commissioned officers will address them as Warrant Officer, or by the position they fill such as ASM, CSM WSM, SSM, RSM etc.  

I can remember I   ;D called one crusty old WO1 a 'Warrant' one day after arriving to my first unit (103 Fd Wksp out of Leichhardt NSW), and I got shat   :warstory: on supremely, as calling a WO2 or WO1 a Warrant, well is just not on, and its never done. I have come to the conclusion its a Canadian thing to address a WO as Warrant or Sir.

The using of the rank 'Warrant' was a hard habit to break after over 18yrs in the CF.

Regards,

Wes

 

[Gunner]

However, when I was on Bagram AB I saw a CDN Captain, WMO, and a CPL walk right by a US Army Major General, nothing, no salute, no greeting of the day, I thought it was very disrespectful.

Sherwood, sorry I didn't get up to Bagram to see you.  You should, of course, salute foreign officers and when other national anthems are playing.  The reason they probably didn't salute is Canada has a no saluting policy as a force protection measure.  If the US doesn't have one, why didn't the sr US offr on my camp salute our Col?  ???
Cheers

 

[Sailing Instructor]

I got my first taste of saluting foreign officers during my first walk to the library at CFLRS (right in the middle of the second-language school, which has numberous officers walking around).  At first I didn't know what to think, seeing all these stars and colourful piping but I soon realised that they are probably not NCOs and the saluting got returns, so I obviously did the right thing.

Speaking of accidental salutes, a fellow cadet on IAP this past summer was saluted by none other than a sargent-major!  And he was wearing the full 'I'm obviously and Officer-cadet' insignia of the paper nametag, the extra green stripe on the OD epaulette, and the OD brassard.  He returned the salute of course, since we were always taught that it was very rude not to return a salute (whether or not you deserved it).

And as for 'salute the commission, not the individual:'  very sound advice, but a sargent-major once said to my IAP course (and I paraphrase): 'When you get commissioned and join your unit, you'll be saulted by NCMs because of your commission; as a leader you want them to salute you because they respect you as a leader--not purely because of your commission.

By the way, there are about a million exceptions to any salutation rules so I offer this bit of information: a salute is merely a formalised greeting used within the military.  It is no different from any salutation civilians give to one another in that it acknowledges common respect for the other person.

PS. The CF Manual of Drill and Ceremonial says nothing about checking one's arms at one's sides when in civvies.  A simple 'good-day, sir[/rank]' given with a look in the person's eyes is proper.  I have a feeling the arm-check is similar to the shoulder-height arm swing....

 

[Spc_Cameron]

this is what's re-enforced in my Unit.. you are a member of your nations military, the uniform you wear, your manners, right down to how much effort and time you spend on your boots. everyone judges you  and  your country by your military profesionalism. be proud of who your are the military that you represent, salute foriegn officers, foreign flags ( when the occasion presents itself , national anthem and all that ) trust me you'll make an impression. actually Canadians already have one up on Americans, y'all  already known as being to damn polite .

on a side note I go out of my way to Salute the Canadian Liason officer here, have even been stopped and talked to him on occasion... got a badass coin for my efforts. It's getting so he knows me by name, doesn't hurt that I'm from Canada I guess.

 

[pbi]

Here at Bagram the US forces have a very strict saluting policy. Officers and US WOs are always saluted, regardless, except indoors. The main street of the base is a veritable flurry of salutes. The US types will happily salute foreign officers if they are able to recognize the rank badge, or if they know you personally. Remember that there are nearly 40 nations here and some country's officer badges look like some other countries' NCO badges and vice versa. I make a point of saluting all US officers senior to me, and all non-US types whose rank badges I can figure out. To me it's just courtesy to the people whose base I live on and who I work with every day.

The Canadian Contingent, on the other hand , pursue a "field saluting policy" ie: no saluting. I understand fully why they do this,, but when folks from Julian come up here (to go to the PX, etc) it makes me a bit uncomfortable to see them walk past US officers without saluting. But, it is the right of the Canadian Contingent commander to set policies as he sees fit.  Cheers.

 

[AndrewWGrieve]

Regarding saluting between 2Lts, Lts, Capts, and OCdts, we don't salute at my unit unless someone is Major or above, Coy Comd, or Adj, or at least we aren't supposed to.  So the OCdt here isn't supposed to salute the Capts unless they hold a Coy Comd position.  Then again, in reality most people salute someone Capt or above, regardless of their appointment because it's easier. 

 

[Acorn]

On the US WO thing, I believe that they do not actually have commissions: they have warrants instead. They are usually called "sir" by those below them, or "Mr" by officers. (In the Marines a WO is sometimes referred to as "Marine Gunner"-not to be confused with "Gunnery Sgt" which is the USMC equivalent of what we in the Canadian Army call a WO). The US WO forms a sort of class between NCOs and Officers (they start out as NCOs) and they go to the O Club not the E Club. We really don't have a direct equivalent, as we follow the Commonwealth system in which a WO holds status as a higher form of NCO, not a lower form of officer. Cheers.

The US WO system is a bit strange to us. A Warrant Officer 1 (WO1) has a Warrant, not a commission. The next level is Chief Warrant Officer 2 (CW2), which is commissioned (as a personal anecdote: when I got my crown a US officer of my acquaintance welcomed me to the commissioned world - the CW2 that worked for him provided the necessary correction). A CW4 or 5 is accorded field grade status, of a sort, but they are not "Major/Colonel equivalents." As far as I know they are all accorded a salute, and can be called "sir." CWs are usually called "Chief" though, by NCOs or commissioned officers. "Mister" is also used.

The US Army Warrant Officers form their own Branch withing the US Army - whatever their specialities they are part of the WO Branch (not Armour, Infantry, Intelligence, Ordnance, whatever). They are "neither fish nor fowl" (not NCO nor commissioned) but are accorded the privledges of commissioned officers - they are sauted by subordinates, entitled to officer quarters and messing and wear officer-cut uniforms. They cannot hold command, but in some specialities they are often section heads.

By the way, any WOs on ops/ex with Brits had to deal with being saluted? With the CADPAT rank worn on a slip-on on the front of the uniform the WO rank is very close to the Brit major. Brit WO's wear the rank on a wrist-band (WO2 a crown, WO1 a coat-of-arms if I'm not mistaken.)

Acorn

 

[pbi]

Here in Bagram the Brits I see are wearing their ranks on a chest slip-on, the same way we do. I don't see them wearing the wrist rank. Maybe this is unique to their desert tan uniform. Cheers.

 

[Spc_Cameron]

The Canadian Contingent, on the other hand , pursue a "field saluting policy" ie: no saluting. I understand fully why they do this,, but when folks from Julian come up here (to go to the PX, etc) it makes me a bit uncomfortable to see them walk past US officers without saluting. But, it is the right of the Canadian Contingent commander to set policies as he sees fit.  Cheers.

I can remeber getting hemmed up at FOB Raider when a "young " Capt. walked by and we failed to salute.. well coming from FOB Gator , not more than 1800 m away we had a strict no salute policy.
my buddy always the smart asss requested if it would be alright if after we saluted that we hit the deck,
the young Capt ask what the hell that was suppose to mean ,
to which my buddy said. hell sir if you want a sniper salute thats on you... but im not getting my ass shot off for military customs no matter what your regs say.
when you're right you're right.

 

[Bzzliteyr]

Looks like all the bases have been covered. To sum up

a) regulations state the foreign officers will be saluted.
b) Canadians don't salute while in a vehicle, or when not wearing headdress.

According the Drill manual, you might be wrong on that second point Michael:


33. Vehicles .
Compliments shall be paid to passengers in
staff cars bearing distinguishing flags or
general officer car plates.
b. When wearing headdress, the senior
passenger in a staff car and the passenger in
the front seat of other vehicles shall salute.
When not wearing headdress they shall
A-PD-201-000/PT-000
return compliments by sitting at attention
(see also A-AD-265-000/AG-001, CF Dress
Instructions, Chapter 2, Section 3,
paragraph 12).

This one is only known to me because I was briefing my students about it the other day.. interesting, no?

 

[Sailing Instructor]

While doing my clearing in to 17 Wing, I was accidentally saluted--twice.  I returned them because I figured I had no business telling MCpls that I was a NCdt.  (The worst part is that I was surprised on both salutes and therefore gave a half-assed return, which makes me look like an idiot who forgot all his drill.) 

Afterwards, I was asked my rank by a receptionist who said he had a hard time telling the 1/4" lace from the 1/2" lace. So I now wonder if this is a common occurrence within the CF?  How does one get around being incorrectly saluted?  Perhaps if I was wearing my cornflake like I should, rather than the fouled anchor.... :

 

[IWannaBePPCLI]

Sailing Istructor.. If you are wrongly saluted. (i am not CF but this is my idea anyways)  would you not just salute back and then either address he person to kindly corect them.. or just wear your Cornflake..? lol

hope you find all of your answers!!

 

[Acorn]

Here in Bagram the Brits I see are wearing their ranks on a chest slip-on, the same way we do. I don't see them wearing the wrist rank. Maybe this is unique to their desert tan uniform. Cheers.

What's the difference between the WO and Maj rank slip-on?

Acorn

 

[PuckChaser]

There's a brit major at CFSCE, he's the B SQN commander I believe. His slip-on rank is smaller than our warrant rank, thats the only way we could tell.

Also, I was told on my basic that you are permitted, but not required to pay compliments to an Ocdt. Anyone else hear of the same, or were my instructors out to lunch?

 

[ghazise]

My Boot Camp Company Commander described Saluting is saying "I am a warrior and I choose not to kill you" 

So it really doesn't matter which country they are from