HEIGHTSGOODBACK5,
Damn right. What's your name, soldier? We need more of your type!
Samuel, Helmut, Yozzer et al,
Here, here. Compliments should be paid irrespective of what one thinks of the recipient. Going through IOT, we saluted some absolute imbeciles (but a hell of a lot more good guys), but we did it without distinction . As Sam says, the reason should be pride, self-discipline and professionalism. As to respect - well, there are lots of ways of saying "Sir", all with their own meaning, if you get my drift.
Personal respect must indeed be earned through actions, but the respect shown through the paying of compliments must reflect something else. Otherwise, to take an extreme example, we would all have walked past a number of very senior officers involved in a certain helicopter accident enquiry, with our hands firmly in our pockets. Yozzer - I think we'll have to agree to disagree over the 'Queenie issue'!
As to Kaa050's episode at Fenton, it sounds as if both parties should have acted differently. Charging somebody for failing to salute is rather harsh, although as Roland Pulfrew suggested earlier, failure to do anything would send out the wrong signals. I dunno - I'm still a very shiny new ossifer; what would you oldies have done?
Regards,
Blue.