Danish Military Etiquette

“The worst thing about military establishments is their cultivation of false standards and their insistence on caste distinctions essentially undemocratic and unnecessary for discipline and efficiency. The American army and navy fortunately have less of that sort of thing than foreign establishments, yet more than they ought to have.” – Danish military uniforms of 1940 – image source, Pinterest

Manners Changing for the Military Ranks

The labor government of Denmark is smashing many precedents, especially military and social precedents. Laust Rasmussen, Minister of Defense, is one of the leading smashers. Here is something that gave the professional military officers a shock the other day: 

The Minister of Defense, on his way to army maneuvers in an official automobile, wanted a cup of coffee and stopped at an inn for it. Doing what seemed to him a perfectly natural and obvious thing, he invited his chauffeur to sit down at the table with him. When he reached the maneuvering field, he found that the news of his amazing conduct had preceded him, and the general staff was scandalized. A pompous officer in gold braid informed Minister Rasmussen that such things simply were not done. For which the Minister replied: “Why, that chap driving my car is an engineer in private life, and I'm a linotyper, you know, so we’re on about the same footing. Now, General, if it had been you driving my car, it would have been different. Then I couldn’t have got a cup of coffee.” 

The professional man probably failed to get the satire. But the Minister’s example ought to set a new precedent, in Denmark and elsewhere. Men are more than titles, even in the army, and courtesy is more than gold braid. The worst thing about military establishments is their cultivation of false standards and their insistence on caste distinctions essentially undemocratic and unnecessary for discipline and efficiency. The American army and navy fortunately have less of that sort of thing than foreign establishments, yet more than they ought to have. – San Pedro Pilot, 1924

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia

U.S. Army Etiquette Classes

General Clarke says the men take very well to the four-hour course in etiquette. “Our etiquette instruction is not so detailed as it might be,” he says, “but we provide the men with the fundamentals in the hope that it will make their associations easier. None of them regards it as sissified.”

Army Teaches Etiquette to Its Top Kicks

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Only School of Its Kind Operated By General Clarke 

They're teaching etiquette to bulldog-jawed sergeants in this Bavarian city. But don't let it throw you. The U.S. Army isn't going soft. It's just Brigadier Geneneral Bruce C. Clarke's noncommissioned officers’ academy at work. Clarke, a handsome, broad-shouldered, armored warfare veteran who made an enviable record in World war II, is running the only school of its kind in the Army. He is now commanding officer of the second U.S. constabulary brigade in addition to his schoolmaster role. “Etiquette,” a word not usually associated with loud-voiced, top sergeants, is only one of the courses in Clark's six-week’s school term.

Learn Tactics 

The men also learn leadership, drill and command, instructor training, administration, supply and other pertinent information. The school was established last Oct. 17 on orders of Major General I.D. White, commanding general of the U. S. constabulary. There were 150 students in the first class. Since then 1,500 have been graduated. In addition to military courses, the noncom is taught citizenship and morality, health and sanitation, administration of military justice and constabulary problems. General Clarke says the men take very well to the four-hour course in etiquette. “Our etiquette instruction is not so detailed as it might be,” he says, “but we provide the men with the fundamentals in the hope that it will make their associations easier. None of them regards it as sissified.” – By Richard K. O’Malley in Munich, San Bernardino Sun, 1950

Etiquette Enthusiast, Maura J. Graber, is the Site Editor for the Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia 

Military Etiquette and Protocol

The Manners of the Military —"With practice, protocol and etiquette will not be difficult but will be instead a natural, courteous way to properly greet and entertain civilian and military visitors and colleagues."

Practices developed among nations in the course of their contacts with one another define the essence of protocol. Protocol is the combination of good manners and common sense, which allows effective communications between heads of state and their representatives. It is not static. Rather, it is an evolving science that, over the years, has lost much of its traditional pomp and picturesque ceremony.  

Changes in accepted protocol, however, are best left to the highest policy-forming officers in the Department of State. Errors in protocol may be mistaken as a signal of a change in the international climate. Persons are cautioned that unauthorized innovations in protocol, however well intentioned, are improper. 

Etiquette encompasses the body of manners and forms prescribed by custom, usage, or authority. It is accepted as correct behavior when people deal with one another. Etiquette preserves respect for the rights and dignities of others. In short, etiquette represents good manners.  

Today, many of the old established customs are blended with less restricted ways of life--of entertaining with little or no help, in communicating with others, and in coping with everyday problems that once were handled by a staff. The full integration of women and divergent cultures into the Services brought more changes. Service people now have a more knowledgeable way of life. Still, as in bygone years, there are certain rules to be followed in order to reach the goal of easier, gracious living. 

As with any rule of the road, a charted course will get you to a specific place at a given time for a certain occasion. Proper etiquette is not artificial. It is a practical set of rules. When learned, these rules save time that would be wasted in deciding what is proper. Etiquette helps people proceed with the more important phases of social interaction.  

The intent of this is to provide you with the basics of proper protocol and etiquette. Using this information as a foundation, you should feel at ease in such matters as calling cards, introductions, invitations and responses, official dinners, seating and precedence, forms of address, and arranging visits for important visitors. 

With practice, protocol and etiquette will not be difficult but will be instead a natural, courteous way to properly greet and entertain civilian and military visitors and colleagues. — From the U.S Military's, 2001, "A Guide to Protocol and Etiquette for Official Entertainment"

Contributor Maura Graber, has been teaching etiquette to children, teens and adults, and training new etiquette instructors, for nearly a quarter of a century, as founder and director of The RSVP Institute of Etiquette.  She is also a writer, has been featured in countless newspapers, magazines and television shows. Maura was an on-air contributor to PBS in Southern California for 15 years, and has an odd love of strange and unique dining utensils.  

Etiquette Enthusiast Maura J Graber is the Site Moderator and Editor for Etiquipedia© Etiquette Encyclopedia