MILITARY COURTESY

[Music] rock cliff salvatore sheedy snow sutton underhill here william here the tone pinch all present sir just messing man i had you for 30 minutes before child voila why did you get a lot of that sergeant throwing all those salutes i bet he's a real ample polisher yeah he's gonna wear his arm out one of these days if you ain't careful that's all sergeant underhill will you get inside go to my room i want to talk to you too it's a good thing you've only been in the army a short time all right really chew you out but one thing's for sure i intend to get you two straightened out right now and the hill a minute ago you offered williams a cigarette and led it for him why gee i don't know sarge maybe you were doing a little apple polishing huh no not me well then why gee i don't know i guess i'm just used to it well i'm used to saluting it's part of my duty as a soldier part of what's known as military courtesy like courtesy and civilian life it's based on plain good manners and politeness all right you know when they are maybe some of the forms of military courtesy do seem a little strange at first after a while they'll become as natural as holding a door open with somebody else or lighting another man's cigarette of all the forms of military courtesy the salute is the most important at first you'll salute because you have to later you'll salute because you want it's the soldier's way of saying hello it's a sign of mutual respect between the officer and enlisted man in case you don't know it a man who's been court-martialed and sentenced as a prisoner loses the privilege of saluting the salute is a privilege so salute proudly soldier and forget that baloney about apple polishing i'm sorry sarge i i guess i had the wrong idea yes i did too but sergeant i'm confused i still don't understand when to salute well we still got a few minutes before a child grab a chair and i'll fill you in in general you'll salute an officer anytime you're out of doors as long as you're not in formation not at work or at play that applies to all officers male and female not only of the army but of other services and allied foreign nations as well here are some of the most important details about saluting when approaching an officer salute when you're far enough away so that he'll have time to return it about six paces you don't have to meet an officer head-on to salute him as long as you pass within recognition distance save 30 paces salute even if you're not covered wearing a hat that is you still salute if you're not actually at work but remember if you are double timing slow down to normal cadence at least six paces in front of the officer and then salute always remember military courtesy is based on plain good manners and politeness when speaking with an officer salute when meeting him when the conversation is over salute again when you're in a group and an officer approaches the first to see him calls attention and all salute of course if you're in formation then it's a different story the man in charge calls the group to attention and salutes for the entire group similarly when marching information the man in charge salutes for the group those are the most typical situations outdoors and here are a couple of side lights fairly often when you meet an officer you'll be holding something in your hand say a cigarette simply shift the cigarette or whatever it is to your left hand and salute is normal if you're carrying a package shift it to your left arm and then salute but supposing both arms are loaded sergeant use common sense don't do like this soldier no not a chewing out but an example of mutual respect between the officer and enlisted man now let's try it again the right way all you do is exchange a greeting with the officer sergeant is there any rule about saluting an officer who's in a car well if you pass a parked car with an officer inside you salute however it's not necessary to salute a moving vehicle unless it displays a general's marker on the bumper tell me sergeant are you always supposed to say good afternoon sir or good morning sir every time you meet an officer that's right unless of course you just created them a short time ago just common sense ordinary courtesy and politeness again oh yeah one thing more when you salute do it right there's nothing that labels you as a recruit quicker than sloppy saluting no time like the present to learn now this is the way it's done when you salute bring your arm up smart so that your forefinger is touching you forward above and slightly to the right of your right eye the fingers and thumb are joined the arm is straight from the elbow to the tips of the fingers the elbow is at the same height as the shoulder and is slightly forward of the shoulder line not like this but like this okay suppose you try remember your arm is straight from elbow to fingertips your forefinger is above and slightly to the right of your right eye otherwise you're okay relax williams relax don't droop it's better now to win the salute bring your arm smartly to your side without slapping your pocket remember no fancy flourishes as if you were chopping wood waving goodbye to your girlfriend just bring your arm smartly to your side like this okay try it try it again good you're doing all right let's see now where'd we leave uh oh yeah when to salute well we've already covered some typical situations when you salute outdoors in general when you're indoors you don't salute however there are a few occasions when you do the most important of these is when reporting to an officer for example when you're reporting to the company commander with a request to make you remove your hat when you enter then you check with the first sergeant find out if it's all right to go in and see the company commander before entering your knock command you walked within two faces of the company commander's desk and say sir private hall has the first sergeant's permission to speak to the company commander you hold the salute until the report is over and the salute is returned once your business is completed you salute again do an above face and leave remembering of course to close the door behind you okay that's the procedure when reporting to the company commander at your own request here's another example of reporting to the company commander only this time you've been directed to report here's what you do the procedure is the same as when you report at your own request except for the words you use in the report command when you're directed to report to an officer you say sir private taylor reports the company commander as directed now that's simple enough isn't it so far we've talked about saluting when unarmed but there are also occasions when you'll be carrying arms and there are set ways of saluting on these occasions the first rule of saluting when armed is don't get panicked there are four proper rifle salutes the rifle salute at right shoulder arms second the rifle saluted left shoulder arms the third rifle salute is the one which is given while at trail arms the fourth rifle salute is the salute at order arms it is also used when reporting to an officer indoors if you're on guard a member of a color guard standing retreat or participating in other ceremonies present arms is executed but remember present arms is not given as a salute except on such special occasions if an officer is approaching and you're at sling arms a hand salute is given now that we've covered saluting let's get on to some other aspects of military courtesy for example when you're participating in a game or sports it's not necessary to salute however military courtesy does require that you come to attention when addressed by an officer and of course you always address him as sir similarly when you're at work you don't have to salute but here too you come to attention when addressed by an officer here's another point when you have occasion to walk with an officer always walk on his left the only time you don't come to attention when addressed by an officer is during the transaction of routine business in the mess hall if an officer enters the first to see him calls you stop talking but continue eating when the command carry on is given you may talk again if the officer speaks to you remain seated at attention and of course stop eating military courtesy also applies when an officer enters a barracks this quiets things down and enables the officer to carry out his business this practice is simple common sense and it's also a mark of respect like other military courtesies it is carried out at all levels of command so you see military courtesy is equally binding on offices and enlisted men remember that applies not only on a military post but offered as well when you're off post you are required to salute saluting is encouraged whenever it's practical another mark of a good soldier is displaying proper courtesy to civilians soldiers who don't care how they behave in public won't stack up anywhere many civilians will have sons and daughters in the service they'll expect courtesy from you and you have the right to expect other servicemen to behave properly in front of your relatives and friends and you'd be surprised very often a little courtesy can go a long way well that's the story on military courtesy as you've seen it's pretty much the same as the courtesy of practiced and civilian life as i told you at first some of the forms of military courtesy will seem strange but you'll find out they make sense so learn them practice them be proud of them okay let's get some chop [Music] hey [Music] hey [Music] me [Music] you