salute and oath of office

A salute (also called obeisance) is a gesture (often hand gesture) or other action used to display respect. Salutes are primarily associated with armed forces, but other organizations also use salutes.

Military salutes

In military traditions of various times and places, there have been numerous methods of performing salutes, using hand gestures, cannon or rifle shots, hoisting of flags, removal of headgear, or other means of showing respect or deference. In the British Commonwealth of Nations, only officers are saluted, and the salute is to the commission they carry from their respective commanders-in-chief, not the officer themselves.

A common military hand salute consists of raising the right hand, held flat, with the palm facing outwards and the four fingers touching to the right eyebrow. In the United States, the hand is slightly canted forward, as if shading the eyes so that the palm is not visible to the one being saluted. This salute is based on the British naval salute of the Royal Navy, which is still in use. The British military salute, used by the British Army, Royal Marines, Royal Air Force and the armed services of many of the current and former British colonies in the Commonwealth, is similar, except that the hand is turned so the palm is visible to the person receiving it, and is only used if the person saluting is in full uniform, including headdress. When performing a British salute the general method is the right arm is lifted for the brow via a long, full extended circular motion, however to end the salute there is a simple 'snap' down and the hand is placed back into the attention position, this is commonly known as 'longest way up, shortest way down'. The Royal Navy, however, prefer 'shortest way up and shortest way down.' The French Army salute is almost identical to the British Army's. The customary salute in the Polish Armed Forces is the two-fingers salute, a variation of the British military salute with only two fingers extended. In the Russian military, the right hand, palm down, is brought to the right temple, almost, but not quite, touching; the head has to be covered. In the Swedish armed forces, the salute is identical to that of the U.S. armed forces and the British Royal Navy.

In the U.S. Navy, Marine Corps, U.S. Coast Guard, British Army, Royal Marines, Royal Air Force, Polish Armed Forces, Canadian Armed Forces, Swedish Army, Swedish Navy and the Swedish Air Force hand salutes are only given when a cover (protection for the head, usually a hat) is worn. The U.S. Army and the U.S. Air Force give salutes both covered and uncovered, but saluting indoors is forbidden except when formally reporting to a superior officer or during an indoor ceremony.

The three-finger salute is used by members of Scout and Guide organizations around the world when greeting other Scouts and in respect of a national flag at ceremonies. In most situations, the salute is made with the palm face out, the thumb holding down the little finger, and with the fingertips on the brow of the head. There are some variations of the salute between national Scouting organisations and also within some programme sections.

A "half-salute", known as the Scout Sign, is also used in certain situations. The hand is still held palm facing out, and the thumb holding the little finger, but the hand is held at the shoulder instead.

Oath of office

An oath of office is an oath or affirmation a person takes before undertaking the duties of an office, usually a position in government or within a religious body, although such oaths are sometimes required of officers of other organizations. Such oaths are often required by the laws of the state, religious body, or other organization before the person may actually exercise the powers of the office or any religious body. It may be administered at an inauguration, coronation, enthronement, or other ceremony connected with the taking up of office itself, or it may be administered privately. In some cases it may be administered privately and then repeated during a public ceremony.

Some oaths of office are a statement of loyalty to a constitution or other legal text or to a person or other office-holder (e.g., an oath to support the constitution of the state, or of loyalty to the king). Under the laws of a state it may be considered treason or a high crime to betray a sworn oath of office.