The other day I happened to see a brief news clip of President Bush coming out of the helicopter, Marine One. It was a scene we have see many times. He walked down the steps with his small dog in left hand. With his other hand he returns the salute of the Marine standing next to the steps. This seemingly small gesture caused me to think about how little things can amplify over time – especially when performed by a Chief Executive.
Yet this action is actually no small thing. It is an essential element in the everyday lives of those in the military, a vital part of the military tradition. And it is especially troubling to see our elected federal officials violate that tradition and return salutes. Again s small thing, one might say, but often it is these small things that take on greater import as time goes by.
No one knows where this greeting between two persons in uniform began. Some say it came from the days of chivalry when knights would lift their visors to show their faces, and thereby show that they were friend, rather than foe. And they raised their visors with their right hands, the same as the modern day salute. Others believe it came from the French or the English servicemen. They salute with their palms outward – probably to show that they are unarmed.
The important point here is that saluting is done between two uniformed personnel – usually between an officer and an enlisted person, or between two officers of different rank. Soldiers do salute civilians in certain circumstances, but the civilian should not return that salute because… well because the civilian is not in uniform. Seems simple enough. Worked for a long time in this country… until Ronald Reagan took office, that is. That’s when the lines began to get a bit blurry.
Could it be that President Reagan, following on the heels of Jimmy Carter, a distinguished naval officer, needed to “butch up” his image? Perhaps it was to downplay his own military service in Hollywood during the war. Not sure. But for some reason he began to return salutes from soldiers when he walked by.
And unfortunately, presidents have been doing it ever since. Republican, Democrat, don’t make no never mind. Even Bush I started saluting when he took office. Remember when Clinton, who enjoyed a well-publiczed deferment after college and had no experience with matters military, was ridiculed because he did not have a snappy salute when he first came to office? My sense is he practiced in front of the mirror for a while. It sure got snappy by the end of his second term.
Now we come to Bush II, and we begin to see the salute-creep wend its way into every day presidential behavior. Mr. Bush, as we all know, protected the good people of Texas flying patrols as a reservist. No dishonor there. (Although we also all know that he seemed to have ended his military career in some rather unique ways – the record being sketchy at best. No more on that. He served, and if there is a skunk in the woodpile, no one has managed to pull it out.)
But then as my gestalt friends say, one thing leads to another. After four presidents in succession breaking with tradition in a seemingly small way, the current occupant of the Oval Office has stretched it further and in some troubling ways.
Much was made at the time (and for a short time) of the aircraft carrier “Mission Accomplished” photo op several years back at which Mr. Bush wore a pilot jumpsuit that came very close to looking like a military uniform. Too close for my comfort, anyway. But that did not bother me nearly as much as what I saw stenciled on the plane behind him. There it was “George Bush” on the first line right below the canopy, and “Commander-in-Chief” just below that.
That got me to thinking about the importance of small symbols, of the every day rituals designed to reinforce identity, to acknowledge power, as well as to accept limits to that power.
“Commander-in-Chief” is not a rank in our military. It is a civilian designation for the elected leader of the republic. Why is this important?
Because here is how it had worked before 1980:
There is a civilian in charge of the military, who could demand the resignation of even a five star general. He usually wore a suit. He did not return salutes. Think Lincoln, Roosevelt, Truman…
This is how is has worked since 1980:
There is a civilian in charge of the military. He defers a fair amount to the military, even to the point of having a young Marine officer pretty much run amok in Central America. He returns salutes.
Then we have a civilian in charge of the military who pretty much maintains the same tenor as his predecessor. He also salutes.
Next, we have a civilian in charge of the military who is clearly uncomfortable around such men and women, at least initially. He could order his generals and admirals to end discrimination in the ranks, but chooses not to and accepts half a loaf. He also salutes.
Finally, we have a blended character – at times he seems like a civilian businessman. Then there are other times when he seems to be wearing a uniform. He seems to defer completely to the military, saying that they can have whatever they want. (We have come a long way from Lincoln’s day.) His salute has been snappy since his first day in office.
As the saying goes, the military does two things extremely well – they break things and kill people. They, of course, do more than that, but they are trained to do those two things at the behest of their civilian masters. And there is no miltary in histiry that could do it with greater skill and might than this one. And we have a republic that survives because of three essential characteristics: a (relatively) independent judiciary, a (relatively) representative legislature, and a military completely under civilian authority. If any leg of this tripod that supports our freedom is missing, then there goes the neighborhood.
The president of the United States is not the Commander-in-Chief of the United States; he (or she) is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States – a big difference.
And it all started with a salute.
