Anyone saluted the wrong rank working on a Joint Base?

Guilty as charged Marine Cpl 1984 Pearl Harbor. Dang Master Chief with all that shinning stuff on his collar.

I saluted the correct rank, but they chose to not return it. I think they were not used to getting salutes from US Army soldiers

There are worse things than saluting a Chief. When I was an E-6 Corpsman on an Army Post, people sometimes thought I was an officer as I had a caduceus on my left collar.

When I was an E-4, my Sham-Shield caught a lot of salutes from LT's and Catains, who thought it was a black oakleaf.'

Damned Petty Officers, always caught me. I would see that bird, way before I saw the stripes.

The worst time was after returning from Japan, where all the soldiers salute everybody.

i know foreign officers get a little annoyed when they don't get saluted.

Was at a special ops effort in Hawaii, the Australians uniforms are so ornate--easy to misunderstand the saluting correctly. For U.S. junior enlisted---taught at boot camp to salute everything that walks--not taught before they go to next assignment appropriate saluting.

Not a salute, but as a young fresh-faced 21-year-old Cadet at the Coast Guard Academy, I had a port call in San Juan, Puerto Rico. The collar devices for First Class Cadets are a blue shield (which somewhat matches the blue of the Operational Dress Uniform), upon which there is a fouled anchor with a star at the top of it. Walking out of the Exchange, two petty officers walk out, look at me oddly, then say "Have a good morning, Senior Chief". I laughed it off; but given that most Senior Chiefs have been in the service longer than I had been alive at that point, I hoped it would be pretty obvious from my baby face that I wasn't an E-8; even if their insignia is also a (much larger) fouled anchor with a star.

As a private just out of basic training, I once saluted an NCO in class Bs thinking his unit crest was officer rank. To his credit, he laughed it off.

Joint bases are easy. Try NATO when the French bring a ship in. Looks like a ballet troupe.

That CPO looked like he was a General to this young Private - When in Doubt, Whip it Out! - Of course he certainly informed me in no uncertain terms that he wasn't a $%$*^! Officer.