why do you have to salute an officer in the army and were did it originate from?

Answer 1

2 possibles :

1. In the "Age of Chivalry" when 2 knights met, they raised their visors to expose their faces. This allowed the Knights to recognize their allies vs. their enemies. The raising of the visor was always performed with the right hand.

2. During the "Middle Ages", men wore heavy capes to conceal their swords. When 2 men would great each other they would raise their right arm to show that it was not on the sword hilt.

There's an interesting site here with lots of details about the origins of saluting :

http://www.dirauxwest.org/saluting.html

Answer 2

The British Army salute is an open handed salute with the palm clearly visible.

The origins of the salute go right back to ancient Greece when it was common for men to greet each other by raising the hand with palm outwards so as to shade the eyes from the bright light coming from the person you are greeting.

Further the British Army salute - the open palm also shows the officer that the soldier is not carrying a weapon and about to strike or kill said officer...etc. Usually the soldier is seval paces away from the officer and this is believed to enhance the officer's superior position while at the same time allowing the soldier to carry out his duties with the minimum of fuss.

UK
Military Protocol-SalutingThe current salute used by naval personnel has its origins from the British Navy who in turn borrowed their hand salute from the British Army. ...
http://www.dirauxwest.org/saluting.html

USA
U.S. Military Salutes The Naval salute differs from the "Open Hand" British Army Salute in that the palm of the hand faces down towards the shoulder. This dates back to the days ...
http://www.usmilitary.about.com/cs/generalinfo/a/salute.htm

The British and the Americans have a related salute history and the above two sites should help explain this.

Answer 3

The practice of exchanging salutes is said to go back to the days of knights in armor, who would raise their visors on passing each other to show each intended the other no harm.

Salutes are rendered not just in the Army but in all American military services and in those of most other countries. The practice includes an exchange of salutes between enlisted and officer personnel as well as between officers of all ranks.

It is customary for the enlisted member or the junior officer to initiate the salute, but not uncommon for the senior person to initiate it on certain occasions. An officer may initiate a salute to an enlisted person, for example, and this is usually done out of respect to senior NCOs.

In the Naval services (the Navy and Marines) a salute is rendered only by a person who is covered (wearing a hat or other military headgear.) In the Army or Air Force salutes may be rendered indoors when reporting for pay or to an officer and cover is not required.

A salute is always rendered with the right hand, although the style of the salute may vary from one service to another.

A salute is considered a formal military greeting.

Answer 4

The story I have heard most prominently is that the salute came from the knights raising their visors as a greeting. This cannot be confirmed though.

Today, salutes are exchanged between officers and enlisted as a form of the mutual respect. The officers respect the enlisted for doing the hard work; the enlisted respect the officers for doing... well, whatever it is they do.

In response to the idiotic teabag of a Brit above, US troops do not salute without headgear on unless reporting to an officer in his office. I wont get into trying to make a retaliatory remark toward the British military though because unlike you, I recognize who my friends and enemies are, and I refuse to put other Brits down just because you are an asshole.

Answer 5

Hello Lubba,

In the British Forces you do not salute the officer, you salute the uniform.

As an officer holds the Queen's commission and is wearing the Queen's uniform you salute that in order to show respect for the Sovereign.

Also, in some other foreign services such as the US, an officer is saluted even if you are not wearing headgear, in the UK Services you only salute if you are wearing headgear.

Poseidon

Answer 6

"The exact origin of this salute has been lost in time. One theory is that it came from Roman soldiers' shading their eyes from the intense light that was supposed to shine from the eyes of their superiors. Another theory is that it came from when men-at-arms wore armor--a friendly approach would include holding the reins of the horse with the left hand while raising the visor of the helmet with the right, so that one could be recognised. A third theory is that the salute, and the handshake, came from a way of showing that the right hand (the fighting hand) was not concealing a weapon."

Answer 7

It is a sign of respect for their authority.

It started back in Roman times when a soldier would show his hand was empty of a weapon when approaching another. This evolved into a salute with the open palm used by the British, and when combined with the tipping of the hat the Americans touch the bill ofthe cap.



g-day!

Answer 8

an officer carries the queens commision so it is done as sign of respect of their commision, its also to do with as the gentleman says above about two knights meeting although today it is performed differentley by all services of the military the british army do it with the hand flat against the side of the beret or cap badge, longest way up shortest way down is the expression used, the navy salute with the palm of the hand cocked and facing down, and the airforce are the same as the army only a little less elegant.

Answer 9

You are not saluting the Officer, you are saluting the Queens Commision. The salute signifies an open hand to show you are Friendly.

Answer 10

It looks like your question has been well answered with the exception of one point. It's a long time since I was in the service but if I remember right, you salute the Queens commission and not the man