Why do some soldiers salute like they do?

September 13, 2012 1:09 PM

Other than the few people I know who have gone through military training; and haven't been able to give an explanation regarding this to me, I'm curious as to why some army-men/navy-men/airmen salute as they do? By that I mean what goes into the use of the two types of salutes I've seen: the vertical back-of-the-hand forwards (seems more common with British soldiers) raised to the eyebrow salute vs. the horizontal flat hand with the index touching the brow, pinky forward (seems more common with American and other soldiers)?

Does it have to do with whatever branch you're in? Is it a cultural thing? Is it a respect-depending-on-the-situation thing? I'd just love to understand this!

posted by pyrex to law & government (10 answers total)

The short answer: tradition.

Perhaps the Wikipedia article on salutes will clear things up.
posted by zamboni at 1:12 PM on September 13, 2012

It's a matter of the style of salute chosen by that particular service and country: US military members salute differently than British because US military customs differ. Salutes vary for exactly the same reasons that marching styles (for instance, the WWII German Army and 'goosestepping'), uniforms and more vary from country to country.

The Boy Scouts have a prescribed and proper way to salute; it's different from the Girl Scouts, but that doesn't make it better or more correct: just different.
posted by easily confused at 1:18 PM on September 13, 2012 [2 favorites]

The two styles you're talking about aren't just preferred by Brits vs. Americans, they're the proper way to do it in those respective militaries. As for why there are different ways, there are many stories, but no one really knows.

Very occasionally, you'll see a Brit rendering an American-style salute or vice versa -- this is usually either a goof (when one person juuust barely outranks another, you can see some really over-the-top ornate ritual saluting) or a mental misfire (I once poked myself in the eye hard while saluting, for no reason other than sometimes people just screw things up). Also, when an American salutes a Brit, he or she should do so in the American style, but some people will adopt the local custom just for the hell of it.
posted by Etrigan at 1:29 PM on September 13, 2012 [2 favorites]

Does it have to do with whatever branch you're in?

In the UK it certainly does. The British Army and RAF salute in the palm-out way you've noticed; the Royal Navy salutes the way American forces do.
posted by asterix at 1:31 PM on September 13, 2012 [2 favorites]

Oh, Etrigan, I never meant to assign these to _just_ Brits vs. Americans; I guess those are just the ones I've seen. If there are other ways performed by soldiers of other cultures I'd love to hear about those too.
posted by pyrex at 1:42 PM on September 13, 2012

I understand, pyrex -- "Brit vs. American style" is just an easy shorthand, and the vast majority of militaries do one or the other (with some doing Brit-style, but palm-in).
posted by Etrigan at 1:47 PM on September 13, 2012

Short answer: Saluting in the US military standardized around the way the Continental Army-- George Washington's army-- did it. During the American Revolution, the few people with any "real" military knowledge on the rebel side were a handful of French and Polish professional officers who acted as "military advisers" to the untrained Americans. Men like Lafayette, Casimir Pulaski, and Thaddeus Kosciuszko are probably the most famous of this bunch, although there were others. They taught saluting, marksmanship, volley fire and close-order drill they way they had been taught in their home countries. Thus the American saluting tradition is based mostly on the continental (European) traditions of France to a lesser extent other land armies. The British saluted a different way. Other posters have said neither one is right or wrong-- just different traditions. Urban myth: They say that the British open-handed salute evolved because knights in armor were lifting the visors on their plate-mail helmets to show their faces and demonstrate their friendly intentions. To me, this seems like a historical justification-after-the-fact. Plate mail was always just too rare.

tldr: Americans salute the "French" way. Brits salute the "British" way.
posted by seasparrow at 2:14 PM on September 13, 2012 [3 favorites]

I was taught never to show any part of the palm of my hand when saluting (Norwegian military).

Practically, it's useless and meaningless; it does, however, become important in the microcosm that the military feels it has to be to ensure the loyalty of its soldiers.

Like a reality show where everything is engineered to be mundane, boring or just shit.
posted by flippant at 4:31 PM on September 13, 2012

My brother is in the Australian Navy. He told me Naval personnel salute the way they do (not showing the palm) is because:
Back in the day, ropes (and many other things on a ship) were waterproofed using tar. Sailor's hands used to get filthy as a result. When saluting the Queen or whoever relevant bigwig was, you wouldn't show them your dirty palms.
posted by Trivia Newton John at 6:07 PM on September 13, 2012

If there are other ways performed by soldiers of other cultures I'd love to hear about those too.

The Polish army salute is quite distinctive, with only two fingers extended.

Here's a straight dope thread on the question.
posted by pompomtom at 7:23 PM on September 13, 2012