What’s the proper way to correct someone when not saluting an officer?

Depends.It the person flat out did not notice the officer then a polite way to correct is warranted. If the person just acted he or she did not care or like a no big thing then a good old Marine dressing down is needed.It also depends on that persons attitude when stopped.. One can tell which is which.One should always be aware of who is approaching.Saluting goes with the uniform.Not saluting is about the same as ducking into a bldg when raising or lowering the colors..Saluting is a sign of respect

There is not a way to be aggressive. You grab that Private and skull drag him across the gravel parking lot.

BLUF: You were correct and the Major was wrong.

SPC (Join to see) - Without having been present, I can only guess at the 'aggressiveness' of your behavior. Perhaps more like a drill instructor? Don't stop insisting on proper behavior, but be sure to temper your assertiveness. If you are not in the direct chain of command over the personnel in question, you should treat them more like an equal that you are having a conversation with. There is very little difference between a PFC and a SPC.

I've been on both sides of that experience. As a young Army PFC I was walking down a road close to a tactical training area. Across the street from me was a lieutenant colonel wearing battle dress and talking to some other similarly dressed individuals. I was straight up garrison-attired. Like millions of privates in eras before I walked past and pretended I didn't see him. He called out, "Soldier, do you fail to salute all officers, or are you just making an exception for me?" I responded "Sir, I was taught we don't salute in the field." He immediately replied "You don't look like you're in the field to me!" at which point I came to attention, executed a half right face, and presented my best parade ground salute, which he returned. When he said "Carry on!" I executed a half left and went back to going where I was going.

Fast forward 10 years. I was a Coast Guard officer at Fort Bliss Texas walking down the street. An Army SSG practically brush shoulders with me as he walked right past. We were the only two people on the street. I called out "Excuse me Sergeant, it's still customary to render military courtesies to other services." His response was classic. "Oh I'm sorry, I didn't realize you're an officer." I'm guessing the gold braid and eagle on my cap and the stripes on my shoulder boards weren't obvious enough. "yes Sergeant, I'm an officer. I know they teach rank recognition in Basic Training. I know I learned it when I went through Fort Dix." At this point he looked at my 3 rows of ribbons and saw my AAM. He apologized and saluted, I returned it and we both went on about our business.
The point of me telling both stories is that the correction needs to be made appropriately depending upon the individual. If he'd said something along the lines of "Good Afternoon Sir, my mistake!" I probably would have said good afternoon, returned the salute and been on about my business. I don't expect a SSG to make the same excuse as a Private, and he needs to be held to a higher standard. I think you handled the PFC appropriately, and I would hope if a petty officer or NCO had done that, you would have held them to a higher standard as well.

I understand why the Major reacted that way, but the issue is not about his worthiness. It is about the order of the military world, wherein this contract among service members is bigger than their own worthiness. In that salute (AND ITS RETURN) there live centuries of mutual respect and commitment to get the mission done, to recognize the value of both the person and the rank, and to both give and receive orders that are lawful, important, and worthy of the honor of the uniform.

I'm afraid, if in garrison, I'd be a little aggressive in my correcting the PFC. As a Marine NCO, It's our job to correct and instruct junior Marines, and other juniors. That PFC could be charged with "Disrespect to an Officer", 2 counts, under the UCMJ. Not correcting is doing that PFC a disservice.

One of my all time favorites was while attached to an engineering battalion in Germany in the early 80's. The CSM, my boss, and I were planning an upcoming trip in our first floor office with the windows open. Suddenly you hear someone bellowing about proper military courtesy and failing to salute. The three of us moved to the window and watched as this 1LT was chewing the PVT. Then the 1LT decided to have the PVT salute him 100 times and count each one out loud. At 5, the CSM excused himself walked outside and approached. As the CSM left the office, the LTC entered to check on the planning and joined us at the window.

The CSM saluted the 1LT and had the PVT stop and stay at attention. Then the CSM chewed the PVT for improper salutes. "You NEVER drop the salute until the officer returns it. Now, start over again and do it right!" Whereupon the CSM excused himself and returned to the meeting.

Not sure who got corrected there, the 1LT or the PVT. I suppose if you are going to teach, you should do it right. It is also a lesson in discipline as a leader: make sure you can handle the consequences you assign for an infraction.

(Yes, we were laughing all the way to 100... after closing the windows.)

Bottom line is Counseling

I'm assuming you were walking with a doctor who the Army happened to hand major rank to. His opinion on how to handle soldiers is worthless.

My own technique was usually to call them out with these specific words "Hi, Private, how are YOU today?" use a strange voice, be fairly aggressive physically (lean in toward them) while delivering this polite question, and arch your eyebrow. Worked wonders.

Even 20 years ago there were grey areas about when and where to salute. For example, flight lines had different rules/expectations. I found it more confusing than anything and preferred to salute all the time. That rank deserves respect...

I find this funny, even though you are correct. I just remember once coming around the corner of a building and a Lt. Jg (O-2) came running the other way around the corner and we almost knocked each other down. After making sure he was okay, I turned to walk off and he says "Don't enlisted salute officers anymore?" At first I thought he was joking. But the ring thumper (academy grad) was dead serious. So I pulled off a super smart salute. As he left I gave him the salute he deserved. 1 finger. There are times when salutes may not be called for but in general you had it right.

50

I retired as a LCDR. For me I would look at circumstances: Is it 2AM on the pier, raining, and we are 30 feet separated? Or, is it at a training command, just us, and a sailor walks right by me. I always gave the person the benefit of the doubt that he/she forgot, etc because I've done the same thing, and that usually was all it took. If there's a sailor with a chip on his/her shoulder for some reason, getting shit on by an officer for not saluting isn't going to improve that sailor's morale and performance.

My first day, reporting to my joint-service headquarters as an Army 2LT. Saw an older Navy guy approaching, scanned his uniform to figure out his rank, saw something resembling an oak leaf, so I saluted and said Good Morning, Sir. The Chief Petty Officer politely (maybe with a small smirk/grin explained my mistake and said that he should be saluting me) and I continued on my way. That afternoon I saw another Navy fellow with what appeared to be similar brass insignia, so I patiently waited for the salute and greeting. It didn't happen, and then the Commander (my intermediate rater, as it turned out) explained to me that he was equivalent to an Army LTC. Rough first day on the job!

The proper way to correct someone when not saluting an officer? We were all trained to recognize rank and insignia's from any branch of service. However, if an error is made, correct them in private and tell them if in doubt salute first, or apologize (if you mistakenly salute an enlisted person).

I've mentioned this before. In '72-'73 I was a student at Ft. Sill for the Advance Course. I was one of
four lieutenants, three of us US and the other Thai, IIRC. One of the required daily things was to check your mailbox. This was somewhere close to half way through the course, so we knew each other fairly well. Anyway, I was walking along back to Snow Hall and we were talking/joking/wondering about the next class when suddenly I heard a "Lieutenant - where is your salute?" I looked up to see a captain from a class several classes behind us. So I popped him one. What did my section mates do? 'WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH THAT GUY?"

A big part of the is Most military Hosptil have a no saluting policy.
How ever the greeting of the is still mandatory.

Too bad, you correct that enlisted right then and there! Screw feelings! This is the Military, not a Fucking college campus! You want "feelings?" Go there! You want warriors? That's what the military's for!

As has been commented, How you correct someone is most often more effective. I am a civilian now and have had many opportunities to correct people in how they conduct themselves. I have noted that how I correct them makes a huge difference. For something such as saluting an Officer being agressive is not necesary, a simple reminder that in acordance to military customs an enlisted person is required to salute. It is a sign of respect not necessarily of the person but of the rank. As a civilian a handshake and or greeting is just as important. Look the person in the eyes and show them the same respect as you would want to recieve were you in their position.
The PFC should have been paying attention to what was going on around them and rendered a salute as per regulation. As junior enlisted to yourself, however you corrected them should not have been any business of the Officer. Attention to their surroundings as a military member is and should be a high prioirity so when they find themselves in a combat situation they already have that lesson learned. It could keep them alive.