The hand salute is the military custom we all learned in Boot Camp. It is centuries old, and probably originated when men in armor raised their helmet visors so they could be identified. Salutes are customarily given with the right hand, but there are exceptions. A Sailor, whose right arm or hand is encumbered may salute left-handed.
Any other times that left handed salute is allowed?
We used to have to salute officers cars(blue windshield sticker?) in boot and A school. I did that at my first duty station and gave several salts a good laugh
When at School in Key West Fl in 54, very little saluting was done. That is unless some officer had his left hand busy and an ice cream cone in the rite, we would wait till we got to him and shoot a sharp and fast one. Was fun watching the cone hit his forehead. One if the sites some BM said he never saw the left had salute. Also asked for the page where it said the pipe was blown with the right hand. Typical Anchor clanker.
Wheelcahir - yes. Did a couple of weeks in a chair while on active duty and salute was required as if walking. Also, I'm pretty sure fighter pilots don't stand in the cockpit when they salute the line officer and the national ensign before catapulting from the flight deck (yeah - I'm grinnin at ya). I have had salutes returned by a few officers when saluting them through the gate when they were driving (Separates "officers" from "officers and gentlemen" I felt.)
Originally posted by Biscuits808: Didn't the Romans start the salute?
Well, when I was in Rome a couple of weeks ago, the 'Roman' drivers 'saluted' all right - but it sure was a funny kind of salute. It involved the fingers of the right hand and the chin of the 'saluter'. Old Italian custom, I'm told...
Bos'n pipin: Seen it done (Flag Ship side boy) was informed by Bos'n when blowing pipe with right hand get the left up to salute. Pipe left salute right. Also seen it done in some movies and we all know they are never wrong.
A School, Great Lakes, 1968. Was making a guard mail run, carrying the briefcase in my right hand, and lollygagging. By the time I realized the admiral's (COMNINE) car was there, it was too late to shift the briefcase to my left hand, so I SALUTED with my left hand. The admiral started to return the salute, paused, took the wheel in his right hand and returned my salute left-handed (while seated). Decided that admirals could be pretty cool people then.
Years ago a Photographer's Mate told me he had to do photos that involved constantly going on and off the brow. The camera was semi-entangled around his right arm/hand, so he kept saluting the OOD and National Ensign with his left hand with each time across the brow.
Fighter Jocks, and all others, don't stand up and salute when launching from a flight deck but they do salute the Cat Officer (or Flight Deck Officer for a non-cat launch) as the last step to signify "Shoot me into the sky!" At night they turn exterior lights to bright. "Once upon a time" I was a rifle competitor and carrying my M1 (yes, I'm THAT old) across a parking lot. As I approached 3 officers, I slung the rifle, right shoulder, and rendered the proper salute. Left arm bent across the body, hand flat, thumb just under my shirt pocket. 2 Very confused officers; musta forgot plebe year at Canoe U. C. ROBERTS AWC(AC, SW) RET.
When RAdm Joseph C. Clifton--"Jumpin' Joe--reported aboard as CNATECHTRA, a buddy was assigned to be his driver. A few days later, the admiral came out, exchanged hats with Pat, and told him to get in the back seat and do the saluting. Meanwhile, he put on Pat's cover and did the driving. He explained that he just didn't like all of that saluting! After that, he did it quite often, and even my buddy got tired of saluting. (Jumpin' Joe had been a white hat before going to the academy, and he was always the enlisted man's admiral.)
As I understood things, if your right hand was encumbered, you shifted the load to the left hand to allow you to salute. If both hands were encumbered (such as carrying a box) you were allowed to dispense with the salute but still had to acknowledge the officer.
Crossing the brow - if you were on a detail such as the one the photographer was on, after the first salute the OOD could grant permission for the Sailor to dispense with saluting the colors and the OOD until the detail was completed.
Piping the side - never seen/heard of a BM piping with the left/saluting with the right, and have known some left-handed Bosun's that piped with the right/saluted with the left. But then, that doesn't necessarily mean anything.
