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

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

Naval Etiquette

The rules of politeness to be observed by admiral, officers and seamen alike. The honors are paid to the uniform and not to the personality of the wearer. 

NAVAL ETIQUETTE

The fact that the Germans, while in Manila Bay last summer, were said to have no "sea manners," shows how rigidly the etiquette of the sea is observed by those afloat.

Admiral Horatio Nelson

The English and Americans are the greatest sticklers in these matters. And their regulations are laid down with great minuteness. The rules of politeness to be observed by admiral, officers and seamen alike. The honors are paid to the uniform and not to the personality of the wearer. The seaman salutes the officer, who is compelled to return the salute in like way; the junior is always the first to enter a boat and the last to get out: each person must salute the quarterdeck coming up from below, and so on.

A "Nelson Fork"~ It was developed and used from 1797 on, by Horatio Nelson, after he was attacked fighting in the Napoleonic Wars, resulting in the loss of his right arm.  Nelson was given command of the British naval ship, Agamemnon.  He served in the Mediterranean, helped capture Corsica and saw battle at Calvi. He lost his right arm at the Battle of Santa Cruz de Tenerife in 1797. He subsequently used, what came to be known as, a 'Nelson Fork' in order to assist him in cutting and eating food with the same hand.

Between the ships themselves, like rules are laid down. The junior commanding officer must first call upon the senior. The ilag officer in port must send his aide to offer the usual courtesies to the new arrival before more formal calls are exchanged. Consular officers must receive the honors and salutes due their rank, and a failure in the exact number of guns in a salute demand an apology and a new salute. The seamans being comparatively new to the sea have not yet attained such a degree of familiarity as those nations where the customs on board ship are the outgrowth of a century's experience and many of vile faults they committed were rather through ignorance than design.-From The Los Angeles Herald, 1899

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

Etiquette's Importance in WWII

Amy Vanderbilt

"During World War II the Government understood the importance of teaching our military men and women some of the subtleties of proper social behavior in foreign lands. Proper American social behavior was not enough. Our soldiers and sailors learned to remove their shoes before entering a Japanese home, or a Mohammedan mosque, or a Buddhist temple. They squatted or sat cross-legged at table and ate out of communal dishes in Mohammedan lands and in various Oriental countries.

They tried to remember certain shibboleths and taboos and what English words could not be politely used in English drawing rooms "bloody" and "fanny," for example. They noted that in England "napkin" or "nappie" often meant diaper; "flannel" meant a washcloth, and "serviette" meant a napkin as it does on the Continent. 

Our truck became a "lorry" or a "van," and our trolley was a "tram," a closet was a "cupboard," and molasses "treacle." "Tea" could be just that or the equivalent of our Sunday night supper. A shower was a "douche" and a tiny toy, a "dinkie," a boutonniere, a "button-hole." To charge something was "to put it down," and to do an errand was "to run a message." Shortly, under military instruction and because it was more convenient, our men and women learned to do in Rome as the Romans.  

If this works under the stress of war, it will work in peacetime. As much as possible, while still identifying ourselves as Americans, we should behave as those we visit behave, not try to take the freest manners and language of our Main Streets abroad." Amy Vanderbilt

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