12. Salute properly and smartly. Avoid saluting in a
casual or perfunctory manner. A sharp salute is a mark
of a sharp Sailor.
WHOM TO SALUTE.—Enlisted personnel
salute all officers, and officers salute their seniors.
Salutes are returned by persons saluted except when
they are uncovered—the person saluted should
acknowledge the salute with an appropriate greeting or
a nod of the head.
Salutes are rendered to all of the following officers:
Navy.
Army.
Air Force.
Marine Corps.
Coast Guard.
N a t i o n a l
O c e a n i c
a n d
A t m o s p h e r i c
Administration.
Public Health Service.
Foreign military services.
Officers of the Navy, Army, Air Force, Marine
Corps, and Coast Guard Reserves.
Officers of the National Guard when they are on
active duty. When not on active duty, they rate a
salute only when they are in uniform.
Civilians who are entitled (rate), by reason of their
position, gun salutes, or other honors are also entitled
(by custom) to the hand salute. The President, as
Commander in Chief of the armed forces, is always
saluted. Other civilians may be saluted by persons in
uniform when appropriate, but the uniform hat or cap
must not be raised as a form of salutation.
WHEN TO SALUTE.—On occasion, you might
be uncertain whether the person approaching you in
uniform is an officer, thus rating a salute. The safest
course of action is to salute immediately and not wait for
the person approaching you to disclose his/her rank. In
other words, when in doubt, salute. Figures 9-2 and 9-3
show some examples of when to salute officers.
Aboard Ship
When boarding a ship that is flying the national
ensign, all persons in the naval service must do the
following:
1. Stop on reaching the upper platform on the
accommodation ladder or the shipboard end of
the brow,
2. Face the ensign,
3. Salute, and
4. Then salute the officer of the deck (OOD).
On leaving the ship, personnel render the salutes in
reverse order—first to the OOD and then to the national
ensign. These salutes also are rendered aboard foreign
men-of-war.
You are required to salute all flag officers (officers
above the grade of captain), the commanding officer,
and visiting officers (senior to the commanding officer)
on every occasion of meeting, passing near, or being
addressed. On your first daily meeting, you salute all
senior officers attached to your ship or station. Many
ships consider salutes rendered at quarters sufficient for
this first salute of the day. When the progress of a senior
officer may be blocked, officers and enlisted personnel
clear a path by calling out “Gangway” and stand at
attention facing the senior officer until he/she passes.
In Boats
When a boat is not under way, the person in charge
salutes officers that come alongside or pass nearby. If
there is no one in charge, all those in the boat render the
salute. Boat coxswains salute all officers entering or
leaving their boats. (Although it is customary to stand
when saluting, if the safety of the boat is endangered by
standing, remain seated.) When boat awnings are
spread, enlisted personnel sit at attention while saluting;
they should not rise. Officers seated in boats rise when
rendering salutes to seniors who are entering or leaving.
When boats pass each other with embarked officers
or officials in view, hand salutes are rendered by the
senior officer and coxswain in each boat. Coxswains
rise to salute unless it is dangerous or impracticable to
do so.
9-4
Student Notes:
