The president needs to learn how to salute

There are few walks of life nobler or more rewarding than a military career. Military personnel work long, arduous hours, often under intense stress and in extreme danger to their own life and limb. They spend months away from their loved ones while on call 24/7 in an intensely unsafe and unfriendly environment. In return, they receive low pay and lose many of the freedoms of choice they take an oath to protect, freedoms the rest of us take for granted.

I’ve been proud of my country, and especially its military, from the time I was a small boy, when such feelings were commonplace and expected. Today, they’re often ridiculed as old-fashioned. It’s for that reason I was saddened to learn of a shameful statistic reported in The New York Times recently: “For every soldier killed on the battlefield this year, about 25 veterans are dying by their own hands.

HJ..No disagreement here, even a respectful one (g). I think we both got a little mixed up over what we meant by the word "salute" in the context it was used.

A salute is always rendered by a lower rank to a higher rank. The higher rank ( assuming of course he sees the salute) MUST return it...it's protocol. It's an insult to the troops not to do so. If the lower ranks, especially enlisted, have respect/affection for the office, they will go out of their way to salute him, and thus in effect demand one in return. Good units embrace this. If the troops, again, especially enlisted, don't respect the officer, they will go out of their way..even changing direction, to avoid having to salute.

HJ is correct: the president, as CiC is not required to salute the troops ( return their salute. He is, first and foremost, a civilian, and one of the cornerstones of our democracy is civilian control of the military.

Reagan was the first president to return the salutes..He's always depicted as "saluting" the troops, but what is hardly ever seen in the pics ( as they are outside the image), is the military FIRST saluting their commander in chief..we see Reagan RETURNING the salute)

Obama can choose NOT to return the salutes. However,since every President since Reagan has done so, he must be aware that it will cause lots of comments. However, as he is already in the habit of bowing down to foreign leaders, I guess he figures it's no big deal.

If he does choose to continue the tradition established by Reagan, and return the salutes, then, as I said earlier, he needs to learn how to do so correctly. I remember having the point made to me, rather forcefully, that a slopply salute (in the Marines, anything less than perfect is sloppy) is WORSE than NOT saluting.

Totally off topic, but one of my best memories is after I'd been at Quantico a few months, there were TWO MOH recipients on base for a dedication and lecture..both were career Marines...WW II and Korea, and on their last tours before retiring..to see two and three star generals literally lining up to first salute them, and then to greet them..just amazing.

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