First I would like to begin by saying I know that what I’m about to say will offend some people. So I give you this moment and warning. If you hate the President of the United States of America with such vigor and passion and wish only to view media/information that will provide you with a self-satisfying bias view or opinion of him, then now is the time to look away……..seriously go…… it’s going to get uncomfortable. Now that those nut jobs are gone. Let’s start with some literature that I often find fascinating. We turn to Army Regulation 600-25 (Salutes, Honors, and Visits of Courtesy) para 1-5 f. The President of the United States, as the commander in chief, will be saluted by Army personnel in uniform. So this tells us that indeed the President must be saluted, but it doesn’t provide any guidance as far as if the President need to return said salute. I would argue that he doesn’t since earlier in the same publication and para (1-5 (b)) it outlines the instances with which one individual salutes another and if that other person happens to be a member of all the prescribed organization then they must salute back. Hmmm there must be something else. Oh here we go, same paragraph and only one line down, g. Civilian personnel, to include civilian guards, are not required to render the hand salute to military personnel or other civilian personnel…….you know what, forget this one because technically the President isn’t a civilian, he had to take an oath as Commander and Chief. Although I would argue that many of his dissenters would love to agree that he was nothing more than a regular shmuck civilian that doesn’t even deserve a salute, but luckily they left a little while back so we can continue on with our rational thought process. Same paragraph two lines down i. Salutes are not required to be rendered or returned when the senior or subordinate, or both are- (1) In civilian attire. (2) Engaged in routine work if the salute would interfere. (3) Carrying articles with both hands so occupied as to make saluting impracticable. This is it, weve found it. (1) President Obama was in civilian attire (Salute not required). (2) As President of the United States, as with any Soldier, Sailor, Marine, or Airmen, you’re on duty 24/7, however this argument is a bit flimsy because I suppose he could have been able to salute, although I’m not sure how safe it is to walk down stairs and give a proper salute at the same time. (3) President Obama was only carrying 1 thing in his hands, however, he was also trying to affix the front of his jacket/blazer with the other hand which would have made saluting impracticable. Now I bring this up because had he ignored the blazer and moved his coffee to his left hand to provide a proper salute with his right I’m certain Fox News would be running the story about how disrespectful it was of the President to salute a military personnel in such an unkempt manner. So, I feel as though we have identified that at the very least the President is not required to return a salute in that capacity. Now I can build him up as this great man who attempted to go above and beyond and still be respectful to the Marines saluting him, but this isn’t the case. The fact is, he should have not saluted at all, perhaps returned the greeting of the day and continued on. However, again this would have sparked enormous and uneducated criticism from the media on the right. I no longer serve this great nation of ours but in the 7+ years that I did serve as a lowly private to staff sergeant there have been many times when I did not salute an officer because I was unable to and I’m almost 100% certain that everyone I have served with will also share a similar experience where they were not able to provide a salute to a ranking officer/official. Does that mean we are all putrid disrespectful bastards? No but the President certainly would have been if he didn’t return a salute (kind of a double standard there). Lastly, I want to point out that I would find it hard to believe that the President made the cognitive decision to salute with a coffee in his hand. Again, I draw on personal experience where I have gone to salute an officer not realizing that I had something in my right hand to have to then quickly drop the salute move the article to my left hand and render the salute again. It happens, we are human, I’m certain many of you have lost your phone or tv remote only to look down and see it in your hand. And besides, if this is what we have to be angry at the President about then I think we are doing pretty good. Thank you for your time.
Posted on: Thu, 25 Sep 2014 12:54:29 +0000