Hollywood and "SIR!"

[Seán Fitzpatrick]

My son completed Marine basic recruit training at Parris Island this summer.
During training, recruits are not Marines.  They refer to themselves and the
DIs in the third person, and they address not just DIs but all Marines as
“Sir”.  Recruits complete their training a week before graduation.  In the
interim “Marine Week”, the ungraduated Marines have the ineffable
satisfaction of being addressed as “Sir” by recruits.  Recruits do not
salute sergeants.  They did not use the “SIR YES SIR” mode, although my son
and others were familiar enough with it to call it the “SIR sandwich”.

 

That “SIR YES SIR” crap definitely postdates my return from Vietnam in 1969.
By that time, also, Wilson’s pettifogging harassment of laden officers was
no longer possible.  If one of the parties did not have his right hand free,
the hand salute was not included in the salute and response.  I was once
admonished by the Group Deputy CO, a Lt. Colonel, for not rendering a hand
salute.  I gestured with my hands, which both held something.  He gestured
that I could shift everything to my left hand.  It was a fair cop, so I did
so, we exchanged salutes (“Airborne, sir”/”All the way, specialist”), and we
went our merry military ways.

Seán Fitzpatrick
When I hear "One measure of society is..." I reach for my Smith & Wesson.
 <http://www.logomachon.blogspot.com/> http://www.logomachon.blogspot.com/ 

-----Original Message-----
From: Bill Palmer [mailto:w_a_palmer at BELLSOUTH.NET] 
Sent: Wednesday, October 21, 2009 6:21 AM
Subject: Re: Hollywood and "SIR!"

 

Saluting rules vary from service to service.  In the Navy and USMC, one must

not salute, or return one, when "uncovered"...sans headgear. Saluting

uncovered is OK in USA and USAF.  In the Navy, if one's right hand is

encumbered in some way, the salute must be rendered (or returned, as the

case may be) w/ the left. No left handed salutes in the USMC...don't know

about USAF or USA.

 

NCO's are not saluted in the USMC. The second (or maybe it's the third)

general order for a sentry is "to salute all officers and all colors not

cased"

 

In the USN, "yes (or "no"), sir" is only a response to a question.  The only

proper response to a command is "Aye, aye, sir" which means that the order

is understood and will be carried out.

 

As a general rule (with some exceptions) in situations where USA/USAF would

call"attention", USN/USMC would use "attention on deck"

 

Bill Palmer

 

------------------------------------------------------------
The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org