Do I need to render a salute to an officer when my hands are occupied?

A mug and a binder... hahaha seems like an excuse not to salute.

Tell the CSM to calm down, I find that if it works out my spouse, it works on a CSM...

I was walking between the APO and the PX passing a 2nd LT with both hands full of packages, I greeted him with Sir and he said don't you salute officers ? I said yes sir, then rendered a sharp salute and held it until he sat down his packages and returned the salute.I then did an about face and moved out smartly.

EAOS solved it for me.

As long as you say the salutation of the day to the encountered officer, you should be fine. Most officers i have had contact with over my career have never had a problem as long as they see your hands are tied up and that you at least acknowledged their authority and presence with a salutation. As for the CSM, he is the old man of the army, the finest NCO to ever put on a uniform, I would just drop down and give him 100 off the top, no kidding though! P.S. A salute indoors is rendered only when reporting. When you are dismissed, or when the officer departs, come to attention and salute.

Had a Major (Doctor), stop me one time & asked why I didn't salute, my right arm was in a cast from past my finger tips to just below my neck. No saluting with the left hand. By the way, I didn't salute the Post Commander when I reported to him for an 'atta boy, I just came to attention.

AR 600-25 is correct. However, holding a mug in your other hand??? Seriously....maybe it’s a Navy thing, but we sailors found numerous different ways of holding onto multiple items with just one hand so the other could be available to grip the railing when transversing up and down ladders on board ships, especially when the ship is rocking and rolling. You can’t hold a binder AND mug in one hand? Try this...cup the side of the binder with your middle finger, ring finger, and pinky while using your index finger as a hook for the mug’s handle. While you’re TECHNICALLY CORRECT, being “technically” correct doesn’t necessarily make you morally correct. I would respect the rank first and foremost by rending a proper salute after shifting the mug or binder to your left hand, especially if “being right” is ultimately going to create an issue that’s not worth the fight over. It’s important to understand which fights to fight and which ones to ignore.

Well you could have turn the binder flat and put you coffee cup on it then saluted

reprimanded in korea for not rendering a hand salute to an LT who sudenly appeared right on me while i was single handedly carrying a radio up a steep ass hill from the motorpool minding my footing. a radio btw which is labeled '2 man carry' btw. tsk tsk tsk.

Without reading any other comments and I'm sure some are really good...I will tell you what I have done and recommend. I too didn't render a proper hand salute once...I was on my way to do some laundry and passed by two Army officers on a USN base (NI)..I didn't recognize the rank, so I kept walking. That officer stopped dead in his tracks and made me stop and render a proper salute...I never made that mistake again. A salute is a sign of respect...plain and simple; not just to the person you are approaching, but to the history of the rank as well. The moral to this sea story is...don't play pocket-pool and you will always have a free hand ;)