Posted on Jul 9, 2014
Anyone saluted the wrong rank working on a Joint Base?
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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.
Posted 11 y ago
Responses: 302
If you don't know the difference in officers rank of the various services you flunked boot camp. Lmao
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How about being saluted while wearing a uniform for a scouting organization?
I was Commander for the Assembly of God scouting organization called Royal Rangers. My uniform was khakis, just like many military uniforms, and the rank insignia was "Captain" bars, except that they were blue instead of silver.
As I was riding my bicycle back to base one evening, I had to stop and show ID at the MP office since I didn't have a sticker. The Sgt at the desk saluted me and requested to see my ID.
My ID showed that I was PFC Allen, but my rank insignia, the double blue bars plus my ribbons and medals, was what caught his attention. He asked how I could be a PFC in the Marine Corps and a Captain in a foreign military. Remember, Royal Rangers.
While it wasn't much, it was a moment of humor for me.
I was Commander for the Assembly of God scouting organization called Royal Rangers. My uniform was khakis, just like many military uniforms, and the rank insignia was "Captain" bars, except that they were blue instead of silver.
As I was riding my bicycle back to base one evening, I had to stop and show ID at the MP office since I didn't have a sticker. The Sgt at the desk saluted me and requested to see my ID.
My ID showed that I was PFC Allen, but my rank insignia, the double blue bars plus my ribbons and medals, was what caught his attention. He asked how I could be a PFC in the Marine Corps and a Captain in a foreign military. Remember, Royal Rangers.
While it wasn't much, it was a moment of humor for me.
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I would fine myself like you saluting an fine a sorry on base in Afghanistan it happened all the time you would see NG's arm's just flying. an all you would say it get's better an smile an not rip they a new one.
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The closest I can say I came to that is I stood at parade rest when I returned home from AIT and the airport had National Guardsmen scanning people for fevers (It was the beginning of Covid). I was a E1 fuzzy still and a Air National Guardsman came up to me. I thought his rank on his chest was E5 so I went to parade rest, that was until I was corrected by an Army Guard SFC that told me that the airman was an E4 and not an NCO. I still can barely read Air Force rank to this day.
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I’m not exactly 20/20 but I also don’t wear glasses I work with a lot of officers as a medic and being in a HHC so often times I find myself doing it to SPC or other personnel at a distance as it hard to see until they get close in the sun or in the field a few times I’ve seen officer thinking they were nco and as I correct myself they just laff with me and we chat I’ve also had many times treating people like joes out of uniform until I look at the rank they Wright on the paperwork and quickly correct myself
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Besides having saluted the wrong rank as a freshly minted E-1, I have been saluted inappropriately. They have a nice veterans memorial in town and hold a Veteran's Day service every year. One year, I was wearing a command ball cap in Mcdonald's and a couple of WW2 and Korean vets asked if I would attend, and to bring a piece of my uniform, if I still had it. So, I dragged out my dress blues, went with the ribbons, and showed up. Suffice it to say that I was the only person in attendance wearing a dress uniform -- and one of the very few who actually had a complete uniform versus simply a hat or jacket. Honestly, looking like Popeye as I did, people came up and asked if they could be photographed next to me. At some point, a gentleman wearing a cammie jacket with Major's oak leaves and National Guard emblem saluted me and I returned it, laughing that as an E-6, I was supposed to salute him. (Not that I intended to, he was out of uniform...) His reply was that he automatically saluted any time he saw that much gold on one uniform. I sort of forgot how shiny all those service stripes can be... It also made me wonder how much interservice command you saw on your way to Major in the Guard...
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Heck yes. It was my first day outside of boot camp and I was sent to Great Lakes in North Chicago to attend Class "A" school. Crossing the footbridge on the way to the uniform shop, I came across some personnel in uniforms I could not identify with epaulets on their shoulders. My experience to that point was that you saluted everything with epaulets since enlisted did not have them. It turned out that these guys were enlisted from some Arabic country who were attending one of the schools at the base -- which probably explained the really strange looks they were giving me as they returned my salute.
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I'm a Post Coastie. One evening, when we were still authorized Seafarer bellbottom jeans and chambray LS shirts (Like the Navy) I was doing an emergency service on the rear range light at Rosevelt Rhodes Naval base in Puerto Rico. The Navy are not close-quarter ship handlers and so I was over there from San Juan a lot to shoot angles on the buoys that had been dragged around and other stuff to hold the harbor in place until the USCGC SageBrush could get over there to reposition everything. I needed to cover a lot of territory to get to the tower -- I was carrying a small acid battery "hot-pack" and a tool bag with my right hand and a larger tool bag across my left shoulder. I was working to get the thing installed before sunset so the light would be watching for incoming traffic. I was in the middle of this big meadow when a woman Lt. Commander crossed my path. I passed her a very smart salute with my left hand. I got four paces beyond her before she shouted "Sailor, halt. About Face!" She read me the riot act. I had my CG name tag on the shirt but I looked like I was one of her's. The Coast Guard was authorized to salute with the Left when the right was otherwise engaged -- so we didn't have to drop our gear when we doing meaningful things. She ordered me to report to her office within the hour. She didn't ask me anything about what I was doing -- she was sure I was a moron and I needed some motivation. I packed the light. It was flashing in sequence and I headed back to San Juan. 1978 BM3 SAGE BRUSH ATON TEAM
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Navy for certain, and a time or two seeing West Pointers doing summer break with the regulars.
Of course, I now see the other side as a uniformed civilian working on base. The number of times I got the salute I didn't render returned...
Of course, I now see the other side as a uniformed civilian working on base. The number of times I got the salute I didn't render returned...
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I didn't because my dad was a senior chief, but at NAS Cubi Point I was with B Co. MARBKS Subic Bay and I would laugh like hell at all the jarheads saluting Chiefs. CPO's and officers wear the same working khakis, but chiefs have an anchor on the collar and left side of the pisscutter, and officers wear rank and branch on collar if not line, and officers insignia on left of pisscutter and rank on right. Miss my dad. Retired EMCS and Korean War vet USS Shelton DD790.
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Suspended Profile
Well, I guess RPB is run by snowflakes and cupcakes by evidence of my deleted (disappeared) reply. My, my, my what thin skin you all have! Figure I'll have to delete my account in kind.

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All these responses has me wondering what exactly are they teaching in the military rank identification classes being held in today's military. Or, is everyone more concerned with NOT misgendering the snowflakes? Hmmm...?

Never the wrong rank, but I recall being at Shepherd AFB in the mid 80’s. A fellow Marine and I were walking across the street towards the PX when a young Lt approached. We snapped up a couple of crisp salutes with the accompanying “Good Morning Sir”. We thought he was gonna faint.
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For us Marines, if somebody had something shiny on his collars, he rated a salute. I saluted more than just a few Navy CPO's before I learned to look more closely.
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Back at Fort Bragg in 1968/9 the saluting was so bad the C General made everyone salute anyone else that outranked them. Yes, enlisted saluting other enlisted.
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....I Never Had A Problem With Saluting The Wrong Rank....
But I DID Have Some Fun, Not Saluting At All.
What Was So Funny Was Seeing The look On Their Face,
When They'd Start The Salute & I'd Just Pass Them By.....
Oddly Enough I Seldom Got Called On It..."Seldom", Not "Always"
But Making Up Excuses Was Fun Too... "Sorry Sir, I Didn't See You Coming".
Then There Was Dave Libby, My Good Ole Friend.....Dave Would Stop The New 2nd Lieutenants When They Confronted Him. (Shiny New Silver Bars Gave Them Away. As Did New Attitude, New Officers Get)......Dave Actually Had The Balls To Say "Lieutenant, Are You Not Familiar With The New Base Regulation (Then Rattle Off Some Arbitrary Numbers)...Which Clearly States: "After 1800 Hours On This Base, Saluting Is Not Required Of The Enlisted Staff"? ....He'd ALWAYS Get An Apology... Not Once Was He Ever Questioned... We Were Of Course, Wearing Our Badges...
I'm Relatively Sure That Helped A Little!....
But I DID Have Some Fun, Not Saluting At All.
What Was So Funny Was Seeing The look On Their Face,
When They'd Start The Salute & I'd Just Pass Them By.....
Oddly Enough I Seldom Got Called On It..."Seldom", Not "Always"
But Making Up Excuses Was Fun Too... "Sorry Sir, I Didn't See You Coming".
Then There Was Dave Libby, My Good Ole Friend.....Dave Would Stop The New 2nd Lieutenants When They Confronted Him. (Shiny New Silver Bars Gave Them Away. As Did New Attitude, New Officers Get)......Dave Actually Had The Balls To Say "Lieutenant, Are You Not Familiar With The New Base Regulation (Then Rattle Off Some Arbitrary Numbers)...Which Clearly States: "After 1800 Hours On This Base, Saluting Is Not Required Of The Enlisted Staff"? ....He'd ALWAYS Get An Apology... Not Once Was He Ever Questioned... We Were Of Course, Wearing Our Badges...
I'm Relatively Sure That Helped A Little!....
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Yes. Numerous times. Always Navy. Now I did have SOME fun at Naval Base Great Mistakes doing training, with the crowds of Junior Enlisted guys walking around that would salute the Capt I was with (USMC) and ignore me. I would growl "Well I guess a CWO doesn't rate around here does he!". They would scatter, Capt would tell me I was being a dick. It was my little private joke, because Camp JeJune 1987 a group of us had just checked in for school (Pvts/PFCs) and were walking around checking things out and saw a weird sight, it was a CWO walking right towards us. We'd never seen one before. Not at Boot Camp for sure. We stopped and stared for a few seconds (what is that? I dunno, a Sasquatch maybe?). He flipped out "I guess I don't get a Salute OR a proper greeting today, do I!". He got his snappy salute and Greeting, walked off and we hi-tailed it. Turns out that particular CWO was half Ghost AND half Sasquatch. Or perhaps a ManBearPig. The world may never know for sure. But as I stared, I said to myself "I wanna be that guy.".
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CWO2 (Join to see)
Oh crap, also walking out of the Class 6 there, I saluted a LT (supposed to as a CWO), the Capt also saluted and said "Damnit, you made me salute a Navy LT!". "No Sir, I didn't make you do anything." It was a fun TAD trip, '06. We also chartered a boat from MCCS with a few SNCOs on training with us. Best TAD/TDY ever.
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