Anyone saluted the wrong rank working on a Joint Base?

"Don't Let It Linger,
Give'm The Finger".

As a Seabee, I wore the old OD Green uniform. I was also a Petty Officer 3rd Class. I stopped at Fort Meade to go to the commissary after work. No soft cover, but a hard hat with my crow and 1 chevron. Keep in mind this is a joi t base at the time, due to NSA on post. I was saluted 3 times in less than 50 yards in the parking lot, one was a Major, who hoped I was "ready for the long lines sir". Still brings a smile to my face.

My biggest gaffe was calling a Sr Chief “sir”. Politeness is always the best policy (and I reminded: “don’t call me sir I work for a living”)

I did know all the US service ranks anyway but sometimes someone in a foreign service uniform maybe I wasn't sure, better to salute when it's not required than miss one that should have been saluted. As We were taught, if in doubt salute, besides its still a show of respect between fighting men and woman both giving and returning a salute.

Another place a salute is ok it as a greeting to a woman not in the military as opposed to a civilian tipping their hat which should never be done with military headgear. That practice I guess as fallen by the wayside like many polite greetings but it's still ok.

I was stationed at misawa air base Japan, army air force navy marines, if they had collar brass I saluted. I'm sure I crossed it a time or two. But you see the metal or braids, I always threw up the salute, better save than sorry.

It happens, dont sweat it. Move on

I am a retired Navy Master Chief, so my garrison cap and collar devices are the Navy CPO device with two silver stars at the top of the device. While serving as the Command Master Chief, Commander Naval Forces Korea (COMNAVFORKOREA), Yongsan Army Garrison, Seoul, ROK, my wife and I were walking to the PX. As two young Army enlisted approached me, they rendered the hand salute, so I returned it. As they went past me, I heard one ask the other one, "What was he?" To which his fellow soldier responded, "I don't know, but he had two stars."

When the Army first started going over to “berets for all” back in circa 2001, it was way too damn easy to mistake Army soldiers’ metallic unit crests for officers’ rank insignia until I got within spitting distance.

Guess I was one of the lucky ones. I served in the AF, Navy, and Army in my military career. I did have fun with a Navy Lt one day standing at an intersection waiting for the light to change. We looked at each other and I saw his Lt bars and said good afternoon Cpt. He responded with I’m a Lt. I said well you’re wearing the wrong rank. He said it excuse me. I said in the Army rail tracks are Cpt. bars. He got all flustered and looked at my uniform and tags and said oh you’re in the Army. I said yes sir. He said that explains everything. Laugh Out Loud. Light changed and we crossed the street and I said have a good day sure. He said you too petty officer. Laugh Out Loud.

LoL... The rule of thumb...."if it shines it gets a sniper check"

Maelstrom Air Force Base we were tasked with picking up garbage I was walking through our overflow parking lot picking up nails I had a fist full of nails in my right hand happened to look up and one of our lieutenants was walking towards me I saluted her with my left hand she looked at me saluted back and just smiled and kept walking

Nope, my dad was navy so I was well aware of naval ranks. Unless you see bars, leaves, or birds without anchors... keep it holstered. While the titles differ, warrant and commissioned ranks are visually the same across the board. The big problem that occurs in the army is playing the "is this person a LTC or SPC when it is subdued rank. I've seen many NCOs mistake a LTC as a SPC and vice versa

I believe you should be okay. Most other Armed Forces understand when you mistake a rank. Just look it up and do better next time. When in doubt whip it out still applies...

I saluted a Coast Gaurd senior NCO at Fort Sam near the radiology school house as a private. I remember him chuckling and saying “not me, but thanks”

I’m sure I have, don’t temper it, At Fort Bragg during Desert Shield I could be walking down the street and troops kept saluting me, a sergeant major. I always returned the salute. Finally a permanent party for an explanation. He told me to look at the photo of the post commander at the entrance to the PX. We could have been twins

I saluted a lot of CPOs while in flight school at Pensacola. They have giant eagles in the rank, they wear it on the collar like Navy officers, and hell, they're even wearing a different uniform than the junior enlisted.

When I branch transfered from Marines to Army, my first duty station was Ft. Riley Ks. they did me a favor and had the replacement station me with HHC 2 BDE so I could learn about the Army! When I arrived on post, I had no idea what a unit crest was, and in those days 1980 they wore the crest on the hat above the rank, so naurally I thought they were some kind of officer, and ended up saluting privates with no rank, all over the place, some Cpl. who decided to mess with me, started dogging me out, he was from the replacement company. When I told him that I had just arrived on post and this was the first day in the Arlmy, he started in on lme! Then he went to the records, found about the Marines, and started testing me on all weapons, breaking them down reasssembly in the test time, just looking for a was to get me!! When I passed all his tests he decided to question command about me even just being there, wanted to send me home, but the brakes slalmmed on him, when command questioned me about the harrasment, I stated that I needed a teacher for this transition to work, and this CPL. I felt would lmake a fine teacher, then it was my turn!!! We met in Ft. Polk La. years later, and laughed about the whole thing, turned out to be a pretty nice guy in the end.

I grew up in a military family, dad was a Navy Lifer, one brother a Marine, second in the Navy, me in the Army, niece in the Air Force, so I could at least tell enclosed from officers, if not rank or rate.

It’s the foreign nation ranks that always got me. Being at Benning and seeing international Solders at the old School of Americas, now the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, you would have lower enlisted with stars or epaulettes on their uniforms . . . WTH!

One year while training at Benning, the first sergeant of the BCT company we were working with walked out of the orderly room to check on the morning training. This individual was Puerto Rican and it seemed has favorite English phraseology was profanity. After being gone for a short time he returned to the orderly room cussing his head off. He began lecturing his drill sergeants for not enforcing the standards of Customs and Courtesies, because everywhere he went, trainees were saluting him. Then one of the drill sergeants pointed at his head gear. On his way out the door he had inadvertently grabbed the trainings officer’s hat. When he saw it, he just stated laughing and said f%^K them.

I have not, but when I attended my son's Basic Training Graduation at Lackland Air Force Base, I wore my Class A's. Yes, it was a while ago. As we walked back to his dorm after the Graduation, I kept getting saluted. Granted, I was a Master Sergeant/E-8, 20 years in service, Infantry, so I had on lots of things they had never seen.
I asked my Brigade Command Sergeant Major, prior to leaving for the graduation, if he would give me a CSM and unit coin to give to my son's TI. He thought that was a great idea and gave them to me to present to the TI. Good times.

Catching a hop out of NAS Dallas (long before it was closed) to NAS NOLA, I was an Army Captain. I was put on a small Navy executive aircraft with three Navy Captains who were headed to a Reserve function. I sat down and greeted them, Captain, Captain, Captain.