Headquarters CIVIL AIR PATROL United States Air Force Auxiliary Bethesda-Chevy Chase Composite Squadron P.O.

Box 2674 Germantown MD 20875-2674

29 Oct 09

MEMORANDUM FOR ALL CADETS FROM: C/CC SUBJECT: Customs & Courtesies 1. The attached handout, adapted from the Air Forces OTSMAN 36-2202 (29 July 2008), details the customs & courtesies expected from all cadets in B-CC. 2. The cadet staff, especially the BTC staff, will take the time to understand and use these customs & courtesies themselves so that they may properly teach them, by both word and example, and enforce their use by those entrusted to their command. 3. Although there is certainly a difference between a training environment (such as BTC and encampment) and an operational one (such as the weekly meeting, an ES mission, etc.), cadets in one of the operational flights are still expected to use these customs & courtesies and should still be corrected by their staff when they fail to do so.

DIANA P. LOPEZ, C/Capt, CAP Cadet Commander

Attachment: 1. B-CC Customs & Courtesies handout

B-CC Customs & Courtesies (adapted from OTSMAN 36-2202, 29 July 2008) 1. Pertinent Terminology. 1.1. Senior Member (abbreviated SM) refers to the CAP membership category for adults, whereas Cadet (abbreviated C/ refers to the CAP membership category for youth. 1.2. A senior individual is any SM, or any cadet staff member, who has a higher grade than you (and remember that even the lowest of the SM grades is higher than the highest of the cadet grades). 1.3. A senior officer is a senior individual who is also an officer, cadet or SM. 1.4. A superior is a senior individual under whom you either directly or indirectly fall. For instance, the Alpha Flight Commander is a senior individual to the Bravo Flight Sergeant (and assuming that the Alpha/CC is an officer, then s/he is also a senior officer to the Bravo/Sgt), but the Alpha/CC is not a superior to the Bravo/Sgt, since the Bravo/Sgt, at no point in the Chain of Command, falls under the Alpha/CC. 1.5. The greeting of the day (GOTD) is the Air Force way of saying both hi and bye, determined by the time of day: Good morning from 0000 until 1159, Good afternoon from 1200 until 1659 and Good evening from 1700 until 2359. It may seem weird at first to end a conversation with one of these three greetings, but it is correct. Good night and Good day are never used. 1.6. The appropriate title is usually determined by grade: male officers (cadet or SM) are addressed as sir, female officers (cadet or SM) are addressed as maam, and all non-commissioned officers (NCOs) (male or female, cadet or SM) are addressed as sergeant. Two exceptions: (1) if the NCO is a chief master sergeant, then s/he is addressed as chief, and (2) if the NCO holds the position of first sergeant (regardless of grade), then s/he is addressed as first sergeant. The respective plurals of these titles are: gentlemen (not sirs), ladies (not maams), sergeants, chiefs, and first sergeants. 2. Senior Interactions. 2.1. When addressing, being addressed by, or being passed by a senior individual, you will immediately snap to the position of attention and give the proper GOTD. If outdoors, you will also render a salute (as explained in 3.3 below). 2.2. Whenever addressing a senior individual(s), the first word out of your mouth will be the senior individuals appropriate title. The only 4 exceptions to this rule are (1) when a yes/no question is being answered, (2) when the GOTD is being rendered, (3) when saying thank you, or (4) when asking will that be all? In those cases, replies will simply be Yes/No, (title), Good morning/afternoon/evening, (title), Thank you, (title), or Will that be all, (title)? 2.3. You will end all conversations with a senior individual by asking, Will that be all, (title)? Once the senior individual has replied in the affirmative, you will give the proper GOTD. If outdoors, and if the senior individual is an officer, you will also render a salute when giving the GOTD. 2.4. When giving the GOTD to a group of senior individuals , the GOTD will be rendered to the highest ranking person first (e.g. a male Maj and a female Capt will be greeted with Good morning sir, good morning maam). If there is more than one person of the same gender, greet first the gender with the highest ranking person, but keep in mind that each of the two genders is acknowledged only once, regardless of their number. If the highest ranking person in the group is a female, greet the female(s) first; if the highest ranking individual is a male, greet the male(s) first (e.g., a female Lt Col, a male Maj, and a female Capt are greeted with Good afternoon ladies, good afternoon sir, while a male Lt Col, a female Maj, and a male Capt are greeted with Good afternoon gentlemen, good afternoon maam). If the individuals are of the same grade, greet the female(s) first (e.g., a female Capt with a two male Capts will be greeted with Good evening maam, good evening gentlemen). If grade is indeterminable or unknown (e.g., theyre in PT gear, and so you dont know their grade, but you do know theyre SMs or cadet staff), greet the female(s) first (e.g. Good morning maam/ladies, good morning sir/gentlemen). 3. Salutes. 3.1. The salute is one of the oldest military traditions. It is a courtesy exchanged between members of the armed forces as both a greeting and a symbol of mutual respect. The uniform hat is worn and salutes are rendered in all outdoor areas, unless specifically indicated otherwise. Do not salute indoors unless you are in formation or are formally reporting to a senior officer, such as at a review board or an awards ceremony. Do not salute when reporting to enlisted staff memb ers, except when doing so in formation. 3.2. You are required to render a salute to a s enior officer whenever you are in uniform outdoors , regardless of whether or not the senior officer is in uniform. A senior officer not in uniform is not required to return the salute, although it is certainly not inappropriate for him/ her to do so, even in civies. 3.3. The junior individual initiates and holds the salute until the senior officer gives and drops a return salute. When saluting, always give the appropriate verbal GOTD (as explained above in 2.4), unless it will interrupt the senior officer. The junior individual will initiate the salute in time to allow the senior officer to return it, but not from such a distance as to hinder communication. To prescribe an exact distance for all circumstances is not practical, but good judgment indicates when salutes will be exchanged (NOTE: A standard rule of thumb is to use the same distance prescribed for rendering a salute to the Colors, approximately six paces). 3.4. When not in a formation, all present will extend military courtesies as appropriate. In normal formations, the individual commanding the flight renders the military courtesies for the formation. 3.5. When you are moving, do not stop to render the proper customs & courtesies to a senior individual. Rather, keep moving, give the GOTD and, if outdoors and if the senior individual is an officer, salute. A junior individual passing a senior officer engaged in conversation will render a salute but not interrupt with the GOTD. If the senior officer does not return the salute, continue moving and then drop the salute once abreast of the officer. 3.6. When stationary, use appropriate facing movements in order to face the senior individual (do not just turn your upper body), give the GOTD and, if outdoors and if the senior individual is an officer, salute. 3.7. Although you do not salute when both hands are encumbered, make every effort to be unencumbered while marching. If this is unavoidable, give only t he GOTD. If the senior officer is encumbered, do still render a salute.