Posted on Jul 9, 2014
SFC Steven Borders
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Out of curiosity how many members have saluted the wrong rank working on a Joint Base or Assignment. With me working on JBAB (Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling) it has happened a couple times. I find it hard to recognize the Navy ranks sometimes at a distance. And found myself saluting a Chief. I have always followed the rule "when in doubt whip it out". Most just laugh and we carry on about our day. Would love to hear some stories.
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CPO Hospital Corpsman
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when I was onboard Joint Base Lewis McChord (JBLM) I got saluted all the time. I was stationed there for 5 years and I felt like a General!
I am a huge believer in customs and courtesies, and if I am on a base belonging to another service I know the ranks!!! I can say, I know the rank insignia of every service top to bottom.
I know that it's tough knowing the difference between a Navy CPO and an officer, but, if you know your other service ranks there should never be a problem.
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PO1 Hospital Corpsman
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I can not say I have saluted the wrong rank, but I have been saluted. I can kind of understand why, because the E4 thru E6 rank insignia for the US Navy kind of look like the O6 for all the services.
Sometime I will stop and help the other service members look at my rank insignia, so that they can see the difference. Other time I am in a hurry and just keep moving with my day.
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SFC Steven Borders
SFC Steven Borders
11 y
When I first showed up and met CE1 Liner I called him Chief not knowing anything about the Navy Ranks. I got a laugh out of him that day.
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PO2 Hospital Corpsman
PO2 (Join to see)
11 y
E4-E6 in the Navy is totally different you must mean E2-E3 Im in the Navy and have seen many People salute an E3 because its shining and looks like to bars but its 3 and E2 have two slanted bars.
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SGT Curtis Earl
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The Army School of Music is on Little Creek Naval Base in Norfolk Virginia. We walked around saluting Naval Chiefs all day. Shiny rank on a collar always gets saluted.

And we always referred to sailors as Petty Officer Such-n-such - which irritated them. Meanwhile the Marines would get furious if we forgot to all someone Lance Corporal versus Corporal.

One Master Gunnery Sergeant told me to call him 'Master Guns with a stress on the MASTER.' Hilarity ensued... but I don't think he was trying to be funny.
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SCPO Emergency Management Director
SCPO (Join to see)
11 y
TFB if the Petty Officers don't like being called Petty Officer. I acknowledge everyone that I pass.
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LCDR Aerospace Engineering Duty, Maintenance (AMDO and AMO)
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>1 y
SCPO (Join to see) - Even more so after the brass pulled their "All Your Ratings Are Belong to Us" trick.
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PO3 Ryan Nelson
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In 29palms CA there is a Marine com school. Marines since day one of boot camp know what a Navy Corpsman is. I can not count how many times as a third class petty officer I was saluted. How many full bird colonels are in their early 20's.
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SSG Aircraft Mechanic
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Edited 11 y ago
For my last deployment I was at BAF. Hard to tell the Navy POs from the Full Birds when it's getting near dusk on Disney...

In ACUs LTC and SPC rank look remarkably alike until you're at about 6 paces and MAJ and 2LT rank are almost invisible until about the same distance.
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CW4 Cyber Protection Team
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Try walking around an AF base as a warrant officer. They are the only service without them and unless you happen to be on a joint AF base (I was one of only about 30 Army guys on the base) they sure as hell have no idea what a few dots on your head is supposed to mean. I would constantly get stares trying to figure out if they were supposed to salute or not but drive to the joint base 20 miles down the road and the SPs knew exactly what you were.
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SCPO Emergency Management Director
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11 y
The CWO ranks are just hard to make out on the ACU's
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SPC Human Resources Specialist
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4 y
That's true. I got smoked once by an Army CW2 or CW3. I thought he was an E-7 or E-8. Make sure you take out your Raybands. Lol.
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SFC Dennis Yancy
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According to Military customs you can salute anyone, of any rank, at anytime. My funniest situation was when assigned to NATO on a custodial team working with a German unit. Had to go to a German Panzer kaserne to pick up comsec material. I was a E7 just coming off a 24hr shift. As I approached the door to Hqs a German private came out of nowhere, slammed to attention, and opened door. First was where in heck did you come from, second was had to be a officer behind me, and then WTF. Turns out German Army treats senior NCOs like we do officers.
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PO1 RIchard Petty
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Not to long ago I was in at Tyndall AFB for supporting the Air Wing and Ships Company personnel for a missile shot and aerial gunnery as a civilian and went to have lunch with Ships Company Chief as he was walking in from his car he got saluted by lower enlisted Air Force personnel and I got a chuckle out of it and so did he. He says he it happens and the other thing I get confused is Air Force rank who is senior enlisted hard to tell and everybody calls them Sergeant once they make E5 up till E8 then they get called Chief once they make E9. The way I see it I will call you by what your rank is.
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SFC Tracy Donahoo
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One of my units had a crest that looked like a silver oak leaf and when in classB uniform I was frequently saluted.

I always enjoyed that sheepish look on the junior officers face when they got closer and saw my stripes!
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MSgt Bob Becker
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Army and Marine captains don't like being addressed an Lt.
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