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Disrespecting The Salute?
The President of the United States – who serves as the Commander-in-Chief of the U. S. Armed Forces – touched off a firestorm of commentary and debate in September 2014 when he rendered a “salute” to his Marine guard while holding a coffee cup in his saluting hand. Some have cited the President’s salute as a significant sign of his disdain for all things military. Others have opined that the salute was sloppy, but in the overall scheme of things, it’s an insignificant matter.
As firefighters we likely hold a wide variety of opinions on such matters. I have a strong opinion myself, but my purpose here is not to resolve the debate around “The Salute” but to examine the matter as a brief leadership case-study. Viewed through this focused lens, “The Salute” proves the old adage: ACTIONS speak louder than words.
From a fire service leadership perspective, here are some thoughts to ponder:
#1 – What Are Our Actions Telling Others?
In a team environment, how would a junior person fare if his or her ACTIONS were the same as YOUR actions as a leader?
I can tell you from personal experience that ANY soldier, sailor or airman who rendered a salute with a coffee cup in their saluting hand would be disciplined on the spot. In the fall of 1986 I was a Plebe at the United States Naval Academy. On a beautiful fall day we were playing football against Syracuse.
During the National Anthem before the game I was standing at attention and rendering a salute to the flag, as were the other 4,500 Midshipman. As the Anthem played, the Syracuse mascot – a gi-normous, comedic orange – ran from the top of a grass hill, dove head-first, and started rolling and bouncing down the hill. I snickered.
An upperclassman rightly took offense to my lack of discipline. Soldiers, sailors, and airmen were standing watch on the front lines of freedom, defending our flag, and I was standing there snickering during the National Anthem.
It was not one of my finer moments. For that momentary snicker, I marched eight hours. Anyone who’s served in the armed forces has probably seen discipline – sometimes harsh – associated with a poor salute.
As a leader in the fire service, don’t behave in ways that would result in discipline if someone else – especially a junior person – were to exhibit the same behavior.
#2 – How Does It Appear On Camera?
If a picture is worth a thousand words, a picture (or video) of a leader involved in action is worth a thousand thousand words!
We are under the constant watch of millions of cameras. We may as well accept the fact that any action we take will be published for anyone to see.
Are the ACTIONS you are taking suitable for the front page of your local paper? If they’re not, you need to change your actions.
#3 – Helping Our Leaders
Where were the Commander-in-Chief’s “helpers” in this situation?
The President has exited the Marine 1 helicopter thousands of times. He, and everyone around him, knows that there will be Marines, and cameras, on the other side of that aircraft door. Why didn’t someone say, “Mr. President, give me that coffee cup”?
It can be hard to be direct with persons in positions of power, especially the leader of the free world. But leaders absolutely need the people around them to help avoid costly mistakes. As a leader, have you empowered those around you to help you avoid “bonehead” moves?
The real “work” of leadership is communication. We tend to think of communication as an endeavor in words. We speak. We write. We communicate. Words are important — but words are cheap. Nothing communicates more than example. Nothing communicates more than action.
Feature photo courtesy of DailyHerald.com Staff Photographer Welsh
FFTB Photo courtesy of Robert Cannon.
Captain,
I mean no disrespect and I see your point. Saluting, and doing anything in the fire service is so important. The public watches how we all act. Although, President Obama wasnt the only one to salute with something in his hands. President Bush saluted while carrying his dog.
I think, to be fair,it is a blunder on both of their parts. I think you should state that president Bush did the same thing.
It is not a matter of who did what but both of them should have known not to disrespect the military men and women that serve for this country.
https://images.newscred.com/cD0zYTdiMDUxZGNkYjgzZjlkN2QxYjA0YWViNmIwYjBjZCZnPTVkMzgzMzQ0NjJiYzhhNDY3OWZiZGE1MWM1YmE3OThi?width=400&height=300
I don’t think the President needs to salute at all and he could avoid the minefield by not doing so. That being said, the kerfuffle in September was really just because there are people who hate our President and just wait for something to badger him about.
The real question is this… Do firefighters, in uniform with no hats, salute during the National Anthem while outdoors?
Good points. Since President Obama is a political figure I should’ve mentioned that other Presidents have made similar mistakes. My intent in this article is not to compare President Obama with President Bush or any other President. Had I been a writer for FFTB during another administration and the Commander-in-Chief rendered such a salute I think I’d be writing the same article. In fact seniors are under no obligation to return a salute that has been rendered to them from a junior. With that said, let’s just state the obvious that ALL Presidents make mistakes. The real intent of the article, as I stated, is to look at these “mistakes” from a leadership perspective. What happens to the Marine in this situation if he makes the “mistake” of saluting the Commander-In-Chief with a coffee cup – or a dog – in his hands? Will that Marine be afforded the opportunity to simply apologize for the oversight? The point here is that leaders are under scrutiny to see if they are “Walking the walk”. What happens to the junior if he/she takes the same action as the senior? If there is a different consequence for the same action… why? Are leaders held to a higher, lower or equal standards than those they lead?
Great point in your article, what I’m thinking because of it is not so much about the “salute” but any case where the senior person – whether it’s an officer or a more experienced firefighter, fails to follow the same standard that the junior person is expected to follow – one example that comes to mind is how we wear our PPE. The probie shows up to a call completely dressed in everything but an SCBA, as we’ve been taught in training, and the senior officer on scene may not even have a helmet on! It’s not a case of what “punishment” will be handed down, but more that as a senior officer, or firefighter, they should be setting the example of how to do things right, not demonstrating what they can “get away with” because they’ve done it that way for years and so far nothing’s gone wrong!
The President is not a uniformed member of the service and should never salute anyone. Reagan broke protocol and began the practice, the sheep we elected for president thereafter all followed the breaking of military protocol. Salutes are learned in the military, criticizing someone for an impropr salute when the salute itself is improper says quite a bit about the critic.