Taken from AP818[quote] PART 2 - CHAPTER 1 PAYING COMPLIMENTS REASON FOR SALUTING
Saluting is a recognition of the Sovereign’s Commission, being indirectly a salute to the Crown through the individual holding the Queen’s authority. The Sovereign is paid the highest compliment, the Royal Salute. Because of their link with the Sovereign, the following are also paid some form of compliment:
a. Members of the Royal Family.
b. Governors and Ministers to whom the Sovereign delegates authority.
c. Formed bodies of troops on the Sovereign’s business.
d. All Colours and Standards of the Royal Air Force and their equivalent in the Royal Navy, Royal Marines and Army.
e. All Officers, as holders of the Sovereign’s commission.
……
FUNERALS 43. Personnel are to salute the coffin when passing a funeral cortege.
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1 - out of courtesy i do so
2 - i know two Sqn Padres who are ex RAF Padres and so simpler and easier to salute all of the cloth than asked if they are entitled or telling the Cadets we salute Rev John, but not Rev George…far easier to salute all
And that’s why cadets don’t know the CORRECT information. Why not just tell them - “In general we don’t salute priests, vicars, rabbis, etc, however Rev Green and Fr Blue are retired RAF Officers so we do”.
Otherwise where does it stop - my hotel manager at work was ex Captain RLC - do I tell the cadets to salute all hotel managers just in case.
We don’t salute vicars because they don’t hold a commission – that I happy with.
But we/I salute them out of respect and courtesy.
In reality what is the real difference between an Padre and a vicar? The commission held might as well be “honorary” given the role verses that of a pure Sqn Ldr.
Our padre and local vicar wear the same “uniform”, do the same role (preech) and as far as the Cadets are concerned are the same. Why confuse the matter with a invisible line in the sand on who gets what complement?
As I see it, part of our work as a CFAV is to give Cadets an understanding of what service life is.
In service the Padre is saluted (ie regular serving personnel see a regular serving padre and they get saluted because of the Sqn Ldr rank and Queen’s commission held).
In the ACO we “pretend to be blue” and play the youth version of the RAF and with it follow the same rules, regs and traditions of the parent service.
If we are doing something our parent service does, such as flying, living on camp, shooting, drill, etc we follow the RAF’s approach and that includes the complements paid to our personnel.
I would advise you don’t request Cadets salute a hotel manager as a general rule.
Only personnel who are entitled though - being a vicar does not entitle a salute. If you’re in the RAF and walk past a civilian vicar there is no requirement to salute - they do not hold commissions.
As the RAF and ATC rules are identical on the subject - how about we just follow the rules not some made up fad
Why is everyone getting their knickers in a twist over such a trivial thing? If you salute an individual out of respect, there is nothing wrong with that. Was I wrong for saluting a 94 year old chap (he was a Sgt) wearing the Legion Of Honour presented to him by the French for his service during the war? Who salutes the local war memorial? I do, when only the Cenotaph requires a salute. There are so many things SO wrong within the ACO maybe fix them first and then worry about the trivia.
i rather take the veiw that people who need to be told who they ought, or ought not, to salute, probably ought not to be Officers.
a salute is a complimemt, it is a courtesy - someone who needs to read a book about manners not only doesn’t have any, but almost certainly has the social graces of a dog turd in a swing park…
