Some of the anti-Franco forces in the Spanish Civil War saluted by putting their right fist, palm outward, to their right temple. Yes, it did look like something the Three Stooges would do.
BTW, over at Snopes’ message board in the History section, there was recently a link to a falangist (fascist) website determined to “reclaim” the stiff-arm salute’s origins (and falangism/fascism’s in general) away from the Nazis in favor of the Roman Empire (as if cruxificion is better than Xyclon B)
>> Horseflesh & sailor: You are both mistaken regarding the US military salute
Monty, you mention me but I cannot see any connection between tour post and mine so I am assuming you really meant someone else. yes?
Righ here, sailor:
Reporting, even indoors and uncovered, necessitates a salute for US Army Soldiers.
For what it might be worth (very little), I have read that the British Army/Royal Air Force and the Royal Navy use different hand salutes. In the Army and Air Force the salute is as described before with the palm of the hand to the front (accompanied by the phrase “Very good, SIR,” and a heel click). In the Navy, however, the palm is down, like the hand salute in the US forces. The supposed reason for this supposed difference is that in the old days when sailors spent a fair amount of time hauling on and climbing on tarred ropes their hands got terribly dirty and unsightly. Turning the palm down concealed the soiled hands. I’m not sure I believe this since I have also seen references to “tugging the forelock” as a naval salute as a gesture of respect toward the gentry.
As far as the US forces are concerned, there is a hand salute, there is presenting arms and there is a rifle salute used when at “order arms” as a sentry. In formation the officer or NCO in charge of the formation does the saluting. It is no fun being caught in the PX parking lot with an arm load of laundry or groceries when Retreat is sounded and you are obligated to face the flag pole in front of post HQ and render honors. Those groceries get heavy and the ice cream melts.
While staff duty officer one night a young lieutenant checked in. He was in uniform and just by happenstance I glanced up and caught the blue ribbon with stars on top of this decoration cluster. My duty NCO and I both stood and saluted. The young man was just out of hospital and we were his first duty station after he was awarded the Metal of Honor.
Monty, if you read my post you will see I specifically said I was not refering to the US but to Spain. I guess you missed that part.
>> Reporting, even indoors and uncovered, necessitates a salute for US Army Soldiers
I always thought this was weird but I guess armies are better judged by their capacity to kill people and break things. The British salute with palm facing to the front seems pretty comical too. Add the funny accent and the enemy will be unable to hold their laughter.
>> he was awarded the Metal of Honor.
I hope it was some good metal or alloy 
UncleBill, I had forgot the part where one remains covered while under arms, even if indoors. But in the US the salute while under arms is the same (to the right temple) rather than to the left shoulder?
In the UK, the Army and the Royal Air Force salute with the palm forward, but the Royal Navy salutes with the palm down.
I have heard (maybe just an UL) that this is because the palms of the sailors hands were usually in a filthy condition (handling tarred ropes etc.) and to salute presenting a dirty hand could be construed as an insult to the uniform.
IIRC the custom in the UK is to salute the uniform (representing the Crown) rather than salute the man. Further, you do not salute a senior rank who is bare-headed as he would not be able to return the salute.
Perhaps a UK military doper could confirm or correct this.
Damn (oops, sorry) ** Spavined Gelding ** got in first. Saw it in preview (must type faster).
Israeli soldiers don’t salute officers. It only encourages them.
Yep, sailor; I sure missed that bit about Spain. Thanks. BTW, armies are supposedly judged by their ability to accomplish their objective. That doesn’t always equate to killing people.
Under Arms can be with a sidearm (pistol) or even with only the duty belt for the Officer of the Day or other Command Duty. You keep your cover on indoors, and hand salute is the same as outdoors, right fingertip to the brim of the cover, palm turned slightly inward.
FWIW: I think saluting is malarkey. It’s yet another holdover of class pretension. Any salute that’s required to be given (as the US Navy Regulations do) from one person to another invalidates the salute, IMHO.
From what I recall you’re saluting the rank, not the person. And like I said before, you can salute any soldier/sailor/airman you want to show respect to.
When my students lean back in their chairs and place both hands behind their heads, I tell them it is the Iraqi salute. Always gets a chuckle.
Do the Poles still use the two-fingered (cub scout) salute?
I’d actually just been coming to GQ to ask about this. Anyone have a lead?
This seems to imply that all officers are interchangeable.
It also might encourage laziness - if people are forced to show you respect, you won’t work as hard to actually earn it.
In a sense you are correct, all officers are interchangeable in that a lawful order from any superior officer is valid and enforceable.
As far as invalidating the salute due to it being a regulation, that would vary depending on the individual. But the military is not about personal freedom. It is an authoritarian society, where rules that would be rejected out of hand in a free society are commonplace. Basically everything done is formulated to prepare physically and mentally for war. It is against every fiber of self preservation to put oneself in danger for zero personal gain, yet that is the job of the military. Saluting reinforces the command structure, and the seniority. I have told a dozen men to go to a position in Iraq, to provide Air Defense to the breaches in the minefield belts, which were THE major chokepoint for the invasion of the 2nd Marine Division. If we were going to get hit effectively, it was going to be attack helicopters at that position. Not to mention the artillery and gas. The military lifestyle made it possible for those guys not to tell me to stuff it. I honestly expected several of them to not make it. And they knew it. They also knew the importance of their mission for the effective ground assault to occur. They all survived unscathed.
Lots of folks don’t like war (military folk included), don’t like the military lifestyle, or don’t even like the military. But it is what it is for a reason, and that works.
I’m not unfamiliar with the military, UncleBill. The thing would still work without the catering to others’ egos.
It is also an effective defence mechanism on the battlefield. In many armies today it is difficult to distinguish officers from ORs by dress, and saluting someone in a combat zone is going to make it easier for the sniper to select a more valuable target. Given their situation I would expect the Israelis to behave as if they were in theatre at all times.
(“valuable” in this case is a judgement call - sometimes yes, sometimes no - but an officer represents the line-of-command and that makes them a primary target)
Actually, snipers generally just shoot at the guy next to the soldier with the antenna. Broadly speaking, the more radiomen you have, the more important you are.
But you are right about one thing, johncole - the IDF sees itself as a wartime military, and it has so for the past 54 years.
BTW - UncleBill, I also am somewhat familliar with military life, albeit not the same military you call home. I think that if soldiers are disciplined and professional, and officers are talented, well trained and motivated, saluting - along with many more irrellevent bits of spit and polish - are completely unecessary. No soldier is more “important” than another, it’s just tha it’s an officer’s job to lead, and a soldier’s job to follow. Everyone has his own part the the team.
And I also think that men obeyed your orders not because they were trained to salute you, but because they were professionals, and because they believed you knew what you were doing.
During the Second World War in the North African desert, a British officer with an inflated idea of his own importance complained to the New Zealand commander General Freyburg that NZ troops didn’t salute. The reply from Freyburg was, “Wave, they’ll wave back.” Just as an aside, Rommel considered the Kiwis to be about the best troops in North Africa, on either side.
Anyone from a country with Boston and Alabama in it shouldn’t really make cracks about funny accents.
Zombies don’t salute.