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

You should have placed the binder under your left arm, held the mug with your left hand and rendered a salute.

Next time carry a bag of sorts holding the binder, and put the mug in your left hand. Render the salute. Too easy...

Lol you sound a little suspect. You are right however I believe that reg is meant while working? walking carrying coffee and a binder? You actually could have stopped held the binder and coffee mug on se side rendered the salute and finished your coffee lol I know sometimes ya don't want to do it, but give the respect they work for. At the end of the day it sounds a little petty not to salute. Best regards

A binder in one hand and a coffee mug in the other is not "my hands are occupied" you can tuck that binder under your arm, and put that coffee mug in your left hand and then your right hand is free to what needs to be done.

If I had to reprimand you TWICE for this, as a sergeant, you would never make it to E-6. I wouldn't recommend your lazy ass for reenlistment, if you can not figure this basic concept out.

No, You just need to give the greeting of the day.

It depends on what is in your hands.
If you are carrying a huge box and both hands are truly at work, then the answer is no you do not have to salute but you do stop to acknowledge with at least a verbal salute.
A binder in one hand and a cup in the other is not truly occupied as a binder can go under your left arm and the mug can go into your left hand leaving your right hand open to render a salute. What you are doing is just plain disrespectful and you deserve to be reprimanded for it.

Ridiculous. The salute is a greeting, not a punishment. A general rule is that if you are in a work detail you don't have to salute a senior officer. You were obviously 'hand occupied' and your verbal greeting should have been enough. The CSM was out of line if your non-salute/greeting was genuine. But next time you are outdoors with your hat on and not in a work situation - have your right hand free just in case!!

There are numerous situations where a hand salute is ill advised or even dangerous (ie Combat areas). None the less, there are other ways to acknowledge the rank (and that's what the hand salute really does...acknowledge the rank). A cheerful "Good morning sir" says it all.

Remember being in tank school at Fort Knox, KY, in 1978. Out of an office came an Army major with a coffee cup in his right hand. We saluted, as required. As he transferred his coffee cup to his left hand, he spilled coffee on his shirt. He told us, "Don't ever salute me again."

I had an incident in my squadron’s parking lot where I was coming upon an approaching Captain who was between my car and myself. I had stuff in my hands and I stop a couple of yards off from him, and transferred it all over to balance in one hand so I could throw him a salute. It probably came off awkward but I knew him and he appreciated my showing a sign of respect. Just before he had started towards me, there had been two other airmen walking with me, but they split off to circumvent crossing paths with the Captain. He saw what they did and he called them both over to him and chewed their asses out. He even cited me as an example by pointing out I was the only one with my hands full, and I still found a way to salute him. It costs me nothing to show I respected his rank and position, and put those other two on his shit list. From there on in, I figured it was better to give it a try than not. If I was carrying something in both hands, transfer one to the other for the minute it takes to salute. If I was carrying a box that required two hands, it was still safer to come to a halt and nod an acknowledgment with my head and address the officer’s rank. It can save you some heartache and trouble.