Posted on Oct 5, 2015
Who do you call sir [or ma'am] when you are out of uniform?
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In uniform most service members know who to salute and who to call sir or ma'am. Out of uniform some service members salute higher ranking officers while others show their respect for those they personally know and some do their best to avoid eye contact with higher ranking people.
Some of us have been trained to address people older than us as sir or ma'am but this seems to be becoming rarer.
Who do you address as sir or ma'am when you are off duty or a veteran?
Some of us have been trained to address people older than us as sir or ma'am but this seems to be becoming rarer.
Who do you address as sir or ma'am when you are off duty or a veteran?
Respect
Honor
Edited 10 y ago
Posted 10 y ago
Responses: 81
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LTC Stephen F. Being raised in the south, I typically call everyone Sir or Ma'am. Just the way I was raised. This is still a hard one to overcome in the military because my automatic reaction is always Sir or Ma'am, which is widely unpopular with the senior Enlisted side.
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PO1 (Join to see)
LTC Stephen F. Another one I forgot is that I also raise my children to call all adults (regardless of age or marital status) Ms. or Mr. So when introduced it is Ms. Jade or Mr. Tobias (if the adult chooses to allow them to call them by their first name). With authority figures it is their title and name (e.g. Sensi Matt or Master Jesse, etc.).
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And also civilians, funny did it once to a waiter and they looked at me like I was crazy.
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I use the terms sir and ma'am in a non military context as well as a military one. I call senior officers to me sir/ma'am in or out of uniform, but also use it respectfully to civilians or people I don't know are military. As a result I've called enlisted folks sir or ma'am by accident many times. My response if told they aren't an officer is that it's a sign of respect,
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Being that I get to interact with recruiters (high school teacher) on a semi-regular basis I will call them by rank (as if I was still in the Army). I do the same when I am on a post or a Military event. If they are out of uniform I'll call them "sir" or "ma'am"....if they give me the WTF look, then I'll adjust accordingly.
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whoever I think deserves to be called "Sir".. I remember when I was a gate guard at the Boston Navy Yard and a few guys who had been on Iwo Jima were invited for a ship's commissioning and they wore gold name plates with their names above the words IWO JIMA...and I checked their IDs and let them pass and suddenly the Officer of the Day ran up to me and chewed me up one side and down the other because I didn't salute these Iwo Jima veterans or call them "Sir"....
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LTC Stephen Ford, anyone that I come in contact with that appears to be at least 29 years of age or older.
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SGM (Join to see)
I've even called my 18 year old daughter ma'am before. Certainly my wife and most definitely my mom, but that's the way I was taught, growing up. Also, I concur, LTC Ford, with restaraunts and store service people. I always say, excuse me (ma'am or sir), do you know where the heavy cream (or cream of tar tar) is located, for example.
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