Military Etiquette Reminder

[Sosarin Demar]

(With the request and help of Optio Rei Kuhr, I've written the following post.)

One aspect of our professional atmosphere is our military role-play. We operate on a certain etiquette protocol to ensure discipline, comradeship, morale, and efficiency. Ultimately, we are out to win, and our military role-play is one of our tools to satiate our desire for victory. It's what seperates us from the newbies, or animals ... or something.

Where etiquette is concerned, there are a few notecards that cover this material. They can be found in the "General Information" notecard by clicking on the 'i' of your Utility HUD.:

-Ordo Imperialis; Handbook - Chapter 6: Protocols and Customs (In the handbook.)

-Ordo Imperialis; Respect, Comradeship, and Military Courtesy

-The Grey way to address individuals. (Accessed from the above notecard.)

Print them out, sit on the toilet, and read them -- even practice saluting your recently recruited brown comrades. It helped me get through Phase 2 of Schola.

No.

Anyway, let's have a review of how one should act with their Ordo brethern. I'm only going to cover some of the material laid out in the notecards and expand on some of that knowledge.

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Why do it?

Military courtesy is an extension and a formalization of courtesies practiced in a culture's everyday life. It is intended to reinforce discipline and the chain of command, defining how soldiers will treat their superiors and vice versa. They are also thought to enhance esprit de corps. (-Spirit of the Force, or far more commonly known as 'morale.') According to Alexander H. Leighton, "morale is the capacity of a group of people to pull together persistently and consistently in pursuit of a common purpose".

Remember: Respect doesn't travel in one direction. We are all of equal importance, and courtesy given will reap a courteous response.

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SALUTING

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First, let's begin with saluting.

- Saluting in response to the approach of an officer is expected, along with the use of proper titles in addressing fellow members.

o) Saluting should not be your concern in the heat of battle.

What "officer" includes:

o WO's (Duplicarius) are treated as officers and should be saluted.

o Anyone between O-1 and O-3; I-1.

o Curia Consul and similar positions.

o One is not obligated to salute NCO's (Sergeants, Veteran Sergeants, Decurions) or Praetorians, but it is not forbidden.

However, let's look at the following paragraph from "Respect, Comradeship, and Military Courtesy":

As a sign of respect in almost any form of military, you have the Salute. Salute is used to show respect to fellow officers of higher ranking ... This doesn't mean to say that ONLY comrades of a higher rank than yourself should be honored and respected through a salute, ALL your comrades should, as should you. WHENEVER within range (around 10m) or addressing a commanding officer, or excusing yourself (or being excused) you are to flash a salute. Plain and simple.

Now, here is where a lot of people get confused where saluting is concerned. The above paragraph states that saluting isn't reserved for higher ranking individuals. While this is true, it isn't entirely appropriate to go around saluting everyone and their dog willy-nilly.

This isn't to say that a legionnaire shouldn't salute another legionnaire, but it shouldn't be commonplace to do so in a proper military. Especially when someone more appropriate is around who should be saluted.

Now let's give some specific examples on how to salute when approaching a group of individuals:

For example, a Sergeant is with a Centurion. A Decurion approaches. The Decurion would salute the Centurion, and the Centurion would salute the Decurion. Meanwhile, the Sergeant who was already there would NOT salute in this situation.

Second example, an Optio, Legates, and Corporal are standing next to eachother. The Corporal is dismissed by the Legates, so he salutes the Legates before leaving. The Legates salutes back, while the Optio does not.

In a final example, a Legionnaire approaches the Imperator. Flying by the Imperator is a hover board toting, High Marshal [Keno] Space Marine stallion swinging a chainsword. The Legionnaire would salute the High Marshal; because let's just face it -- that's commendable. On the side however, the Imperator would probably salute the Legionnaire back with the Sunday Edition.

Scratching that last example, you can see that the objective is to salute the highest ranking officer present, while excluding everyone else. Then, he or she will salute you back.

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ADDRESSING INDIVIDUALS

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On-top of the salute, acknowledging correct ranks handed to the individual in question should be taken into consideration. Although you might be good friends with the individual; may know them well or be in a casual attitude, there is no excuse for dis-regard of roles and suitable addressment of them. Following orders, commands and requests when handed to you are expected, as well as correct behavior when interacting with people who've the power to hand you such orders. (Sir, Ma'am, etc. They all work, and should be used without excuse.)

Alright, so as the "Respect, Comradeship, and Military Courtesy" notecard states, "Sir, Ma'am, etc." works alright -- but it's not going 100%! When you initially address someone go all the way. One does this by using the following very-difficult-to-memorize formula.

Comrade <Rank> <Last Name>

(Ex. Comrade Duplicarius Tyron)

The above is basically the caveman summary of "The Grey Way To Address Individuals", but I am going to paste the whole thing below. I feel it is very enlightening on the concept and meaning behind the three part address.

Grey addresses (usually) individuals with either a generic one-word title; or formally; with a three-part title to identify an individual.

'Comrade' Followed by ranking, and then the last name of an individual.

**Example: "Comrade Sergeant Noname"

[1.] The first section of addressing an individual formally: Comrade.

Comradeship is a term meaning "friend," "colleague," or "ally." The term "comrade" (and its equivalent in other languages) usually means "a fellow socialist" or "a fellow Communist".

This usage was inspired by the French Revolution. Upon abolishing the titles of nobility, and the terms monsieur and madame (literally, "milord" and "milady"), the revolutionaries employed the term citoyen(ne) (meaning "citizen") to refer to each other. The deposed King Louis XVI, for instance, was referred to as Citoyen Louis Capet to emphasize his loss of privilege.

[2.] The Second section of addressing an individual formally: Rank.

Military rank, or simply rank, is a system of grading seniority and command within armed forces or otherwise military-style organizations.

Within armed forces, the use of ranks is almost universal. The Chinese People's Liberation Army (1965

[Timmahy Widget]

.. god damn.

[Cygna]

Thanks for this lesson in etiquette, Sosarin. Everyone should take the time to read this.

[Sosarin Demar]

Timmahy Widget wrote:

.. god damn.

I feel dirty for some reason.

[Aryte]

. . I like Sosarin.

[Xang Xiao]

Just skimming over it.... also he forgot one military rule about saluting. I will give you another scenerio:

Say a Legates is standing in a room with 10 or so enlisted memebers. A optio rolls up in the room. The enlisted members do not need to salute the optio because there is already a higher ranking memeber in the room. Only the Optio and Legates extend a salute. Now in the case that the Imperator walks into the room it would be appropriate for the Legates to call everyone to attention and render the salute to the Imperator for the whole formation.

Thats how we do it in the AF. Also saluting in doors is generally forbidden onless reporting or during a ceremony.

[Lestat Umarov]

After reading Sosarin's post I feel obliged to add a little of my own. I'll be using certain parts of my essay as I feel that they apply here.

As odd as it may seem etiquette is very important in a military environment for a number of reasons. First off is the general behavior and appearance of a soldier. If a soldier with poor etiquette, walking through an airport in his dress uniform, jamming out to music doesn't care about the impression he gives than most likely the impression he'll give off is a bad one. There were many times in history where peace was fragile and avoiding a world war was achieved solely on proper etiquette. Such as during the cold war with the Kennedy administration during the Cuban missile crisis, or during the early years of the pacific theater dealing with china as a potential ally. In short, etiquette can be all that stand between a full scale nuclear war or the loss of an important ally.

You shouldn't automatically expect someone to respect you if you don't respect them in return. For example, a higher ranking officer or NCO could give you an order that you don't necessarily agree with but you'll follow it anyways, not because you like them necessarily but because you respect them. Respecting and liking someone are two completely different things. For instance, you could hate someone's guts, not stand to be around them at all. But I can guarantee you if he takes a bullet on the battlefield any real soldier would be rushing out at the risk of his own life to save him. Not because he likes them, but but because he respects them. Many good things can come of showing respect. It could be anywhere from a compliment to a promotion for being an outstanding soldier. A good example of this would be giving an officer carrying a handful of paperwork the greeting of the day. While you didn't salute him, given the circumstances a greeting was the least you could do. For all you know he could've been having a bad day and walking by him without acknowledging him could've sent him over the edge and made him about face so fast you wouldn't know what hit you. But then again, for acknowledging him, or even holding a door for him as small as the action may have seemed he might remember your face and recommend you for something in the future.

[Timmahy Widget]

Since this has been moved to an article, I'm closing and unsticking the thread.

Those wishing to may continue the discussion in the article.