Courtesy is the key to successful human relationships (with courtesy goes
respect). Courtesy is proper consideration for the feelings and
rights of others.
Protocol: Universally accepted customs and regulations that govern the
formality and etiquette practiced in a civilized society. Protocol
is the body of accepted rules of social behavior practiced by thoughtful
and considerate people.
As a Flotilla
Commander, the practice of courtesy and protocol are necessary requirements
for successful duty performance. They lead to a spirit of teamwork.
Courtesy and
protocol are part of the ceremonial procedures that contribute dignity
and color to team coast guard
The questions
are, "When do we, as Auxiliarists, salute and under what conditions
do we render a military salute?" Let's take a look at some
guidelines below: (Note: saluting is a greeting and sign
of respect.)
Outdoors
in uniform and under cover. Note: When outdoors and in uniform the cover should always be
worn.
Indoors
in uniform and under arms. Note: Under arms means you are assigned to duties where you are
required to wear a military small arms web belt. A primary assignment
for Auxiliarists would be the color guard.
Saluting
between Auxiliarists is not usually the custom, but is not out
of protocol to do so.
Render
a salute to a senior military officer. Note: It is customary to exchange a greeting with the salute
and with a smile, i.e., good morning sir or ma'am.
Returning
a salute from a junior military officer or enlisted personnel. Note: It is customary
to exchange a greeting with the salute and a smile at about
six paces away.
How do you
know who or what to salute? Lets take a look at some general guidelines:
The # 1
rule of thumb is: If it out ranks you, salute it, If you
aren't sure, salute it.
You should
always salute a Medal of Honor recipient no matter what the
rank. They wear, regardless of Military Branch, this ribbon:
In the Auxiliary
we do not hold a rank, but, our insignia does identify the office
we hold. Most members of the armed forces are unaware that we have
no rank and therefore, when on a military installation we are seen
as Coast Guard officers with rank. Let's take a look at rank terminology
in the Navy and Coast Guard:
Junior
Officers: Ensign, Lieutenant(jg), Lieutenant, and Lieutenant
Commander
Senior
Officers: Commander and Captain
Flag
Officers: Rear Admiral lower half, Rear Admiral, Vice admiral,
and Admiral
Let's take
a look at Auxiliary position terminology:
Junior
Officers: FSO, SO, VFC, FC, DSO, AND VCDR
Senior
Officers: DCDR, DCAPT, AND, DIR
Flag
Officers: DCO, VNACO, AND NACO
Lets take a
look at military rank verses Auxiliary office positions:
Auxiliary
Coast
Guard
Junior
Officers
FSO
01
Ensign
VFC,
SO
02
Lieutenant (junior grade)
FC
ADSO
03
Lieutenant
VCDR,
DSO
04
Lieutenant Commander
Senior
Officer
DCDR
05
Commander
DCAPT, DIR
06
Captain
DCO, ANACO
07
Rear Admiral (lower half)
Flag
Officer
VNACO, DNACO
08
Rear Admiral (upper half)
NACO
09
Vice Admiral
A salute is
required when:
Addressing
the national ensign.
Playing
of the national anthem. Note: If the flag cannot be seen, face the direction of the music
and render a salute.
Morning
and evening colors ceremonies.
Aboard
ship (not underway).
On a Coast
Guard or military installation.
If outdoor
and not in uniform, a civilian salute is rendered in the same
situations. Note: Male
headdress is removed with the right hand and placed over the
right shoulder.
If indoors,
uniform or civilian clothes, place the right hand over the heart,
unless under arms.
Rifle salutes:
Port arms
to present arms.
Hand salute
at order arms.
Hand salute
at right shoulder arms.
Most frequently
observed saluting errors:
Failing
to hold salute.
Failure
to look at the person being saluted.
Failure
to look at the colors.
Failure
to stand at attention.
Failure
to have fingers, hand, and arm in proper position during saluting.
When boarding
most military vessels all boarding is at the quarter-deck of
the vessel.
All ships
will have an officer of the deck (OOD) on duty.
The OOD
may be an officer or a petty officer.
Quarter-deck
ceremonies:
Senior
officers boarding or leaving a vessel.
On Coast
Guard vessels, the arrival or departure of visiting officers,
commander and above, are normally announced by rank and name.
High-ranking
civilian officials are announced in the same manner.
Accompanying
the announcement of the arrival or departure is the toning of
the bell.
Senior officers
boarding or leaving a vessel.
The number
of bongs of the bell will depend on the senior officer's rank.
Boarding a
military vessel:
As you
board a military vessel you stop at the top of the gangway,
face and salute the national ensign on the stern of the vessel.
If you
are unable to see the national ensign, you still turn in that
direction and salute toward the stern of the vessel.
You then
turn to the OOD, salute and say, "request permission to
come aboard sir or ma'am." The OOD will return your salute
and invite you aboard.
If in civilian
clothing, you do not salute. Face the national ensign, stand
at attention for a moment and then turn to the OOD and request
permission to come aboard.
When permission
is granted, proceed aboard
Leaving a military
vessel:
Present
yourself to the OOD.
Salute
and say, "request permission to leave the ship, sir or
ma'am."
The OOD
will say, "very well" or "permission granted"
and return your salute.
Step to
the gangway, and as you cross the gunwale, turn and salute in
the direction of the national ensign then proceed ashore.
If not
in uniform, the same procedure is to be followed without rendering
a salute
Boarding or
leaving a military vessel with guests:
If you
have guests who are not in uniform, you will render the salute
and request permission to board or leave for both you and your
guests.
On most larger
ships chief petty officers will have their own mess located in "CPO
country." This is a privileged area and you are not to enter
at any time unless invited by a member of the chief's mess.
Guests are
not allowed in the captain's quarters unless invited by the captain.
It is customary
not to enter the crew's quarters unless invited to do so, unless
it is necessary to pass through while moving from one part of the
ship to another.
While on a
Coast Guard vessel you may have areas you may use at your convenience
and others that may be restricted to you. Respect these areas. This
is a sign of a courteous guest.
The captain,
executive officer, or another ship's officer will be the presiding
officer at the meal. The presiding officer will invite those present
for the meal to be seated at the table when the meal is ready to
be served. Do not sit down at the table until you are told to do
so.
If you need
to leave the table before the meal is finished and the presiding
officer has not risen, ask for permission to leave the table. Simply
say, "may I be excused, sir or ma'am?"
Frequently
it may be necessary to have meal seating in the officer's mess in
groups. Should this occur usually a list is posted indicating the
groups and seating times.
Certain subjects
are normally taboo during mealtime:
There are several
basic formats for invitations. Individuals extending the invitation
should select the format most suited to the function and invitee.
Rules for
formal invitations:
Either
printed or in letter format.
For
official visitors.
Carries
an "RSVP."
Formal
dinners.
Dinner
dances.
Change
of command dinner.
Other
ceremonial occasions.
Less formal
invitations may be used for other events such as regular meetings,
etc. Less formal invitations may be by:
General
letter.
Verbal.
Posted
notices.
All invitations
whether formal or less formal should include the following:
Place.
Date.
Time.
Uniform.
Whether
or not the invitee is expected to bring a guest, spouse,
etc.
Cost.
Is
invitee expected to participate in the program.
If
"RSVP" list a contact person and phone number.
List
a contact person with phone number who will handle courtesy
requests.
Invitations
requesting, "AS OUR GUEST" Note: The host with pay for the invitee and guest's dinner
Invitation
requesting the invitee and guest "TO JOIN US." Note: The invitee
will pay for his own dinner.
The
more senior the guest, the earlier they must establish a
schedule. Invitations should be sent at least eight weeks
in advance.
Normally the
senior officer of the unit sponsoring the function is the host.
As the senior officer you personally may not be able to host all
of your guests. Therefore, delegate one of your members as an "aide"
for each guest or group of guests.
The host should
arrive at the event before the guests in order to greet them.
Are there places
for hats and coats?
Do the guests
have reserved dinner seats? If so, it should be pointed out to them
as they arrive. If not, be certain that appropriate places are provided.
Will your guests be given meal tickets?
Have printed
programs for your guests.
If you are
a guest, it is customary to personally greet the host and hostess
when you arrive. Before departing, again express appreciation to
the host and hostess for being invited.
When flag officers
are present, it is considered proper to delay leaving until they
have paid their respects and departed.
When attending
a function which has a receiving line the following are rules to
follow:
Be present
at the receiving line on time.
Do not
carry a drink, cigarette, cigar, etc.
Do not
stop for any extended conversations.
The wife
normally precedes the husband
Say your
name distinctly to the first official member of the line. An
aide will stand at the head of the receiving line or across
from the official host to announce the names of the guests as
they arrive
After the
last person in line, move away.
Order of receiving
line:
Official
host.
Guest of
honor.
Guest of
honor's wife.
Official
host's wife or husband.
Extra man
if needed. Note: The
receiving line should never end with a lady.
Receiving
lines are to be flexible.
They are not
to be too long.
The receiving
line should be in place at the time the function is scheduled to
start.
All guests
to a formal function should be informed prior to seating as to where
they will be sitting.
If meal tickets
are required, arrangements should be made so head table guests will
not have to present tickets.
It is not essential
all invited special guests sit at the head table.
The head table
should be reserved for distinguished guests.
Flag or
senior Auxiliary officers.
Flag or
senior Coast Guard officers.
All
other special guests may be seated at honors tables.
Spouses
of officers at the head table may be seated at a special honors
table.
The host should
appoint aides to assist as follows:
To show
seating locations to official guests.
To handle
meal tickets of official guests.
To stop
monopolizing of official guests.
To handle
official guest requests and all other duties as requested.
It is not mandatory
to have all Coast Guard officers on one side of the table and all
Auxiliary officers on the other.
If the District
Commander, Chief of Staff, or Chief of Boating Safety Division is
not present and no representative has been designated, the Director
of Auxiliary will represent the District.
Seating at
the head table should by in line by position or command. Seating
at the head table should be as follows:
Center
table = Presiding Officer.
Immediate
right = Guest Speaker.
Immediate
left = senior Coast Guard or Auxiliary Officer.
Back to
right, then to the left, etc.
Never end
the head table with a lady.
Wives should
be treated in a status parallel to their husbands and husbands
to their wives.
Should any
Coast Guard flag officers or National Elected officers enter the
room during a formal function:
You do
not stand at attention.
If you
are seated you do not have to get up.
An aide
should be appointed to watch for the ranking official.
The aide,
or if no aide is present, the first person to observe the ranking
official will state, "ladies and gentlemen, the District
Commander, Admiral ... has joined us."
When introducing
guests at the head table or tables of honor:
Be accurate
with names and titles.
Do not
have lengthy introductions.
Only the
guest speaker requires an introduction above their name and
title.
Introductions
of the guest speaker should be brief covering career achievements
to date.
Do not make
the introduction longer than the speech. Note: It isn't uncommon for introductions to be made by a master of
ceremony or aide.
Participation
by the Coast Guard Auxiliary in funeral services for deceased members
is governed entirely by the wishes of the family of the deceased.
The Auxiliary
should make known through normal channels of communication that
services are available.
If the deceased
member of the Auxiliary had previously specified, or if the survivor
of an Auxiliarist desires that the Auxiliary take an active part
in the funeral services, the survivor should make this request known
to the mortuary and the clergyman.
Any member
of the Coast Guard Auxiliary having knowledge of the death of a
fellow member should notify the Flotilla Commander without delay.
The Flotilla
Commander should call in person on the deceased survivors to offer
condolence and assistance. At that time, it can be determined from
the family whether participation by the Auxiliary is desired and
to what extent.
The Director
of Auxiliary and District Commodore should then be notified of the
member's passing and funeral details.
Auxiliary involvement
should not be restricted to members of the deceased's Flotilla.
Participating
Auxiliary Officers should be in uniform; Service Dress Blue, Alpha.
Auxiliary service
should be conducted before the regular church or funeral services.
The committal
should be given by the family's clergyman, not to observe this is
to breach an important pastoral relationship between the family
and the pastor.
The Auxiliary
participation in a member's funeral may:
Depend
on the wishes of the family.
Be a group
of Auxiliarists arriving to pay their respects.
Honor Guard.
Participation
in the funeral itself
What ever the
level of Auxiliary activity, great care must be taken to maintain
the dignity of the occasion.
(Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security, USCG, Auxiliary Division)
