BEYOND THE DROPZONE

RANK MATTERS

Posted by editor on 1 November 2009 at 2:21 pm UTC

[Originally published at Family Security Matters]

By W. Thomas Smith Jr.

In the HBO film series, Band of Brothers, there is a 20-second scene wherein U.S. Army Airborne Maj. Dick Winters directs Capt. Herbert Sobel to salute him after Sobel attempts to avoid rendering the ancient military courtesy.

Of course, Sobel – a failed former company commander who had lost the confidence of his men (for a host of reasons) and as a consequence loses his company prior to the company’s shipping overseas – has nothing but disdain for Winters. After all, Winters once served as a lieutenant under Sobel in the company Sobel lost, which Winters ultimately gains.

Maj. Winters, now a combat-experienced field-grade officer, outranks the non-combat Capt. Sobel.

So when Sobel strolls past Winters in a chance coming-together that neither expects, Sobel avoids eye contact in order to avoid saluting Winters, who quickly though calmly calls the captain on his failure to salute a superior officer.

“Capt. Sobel, we salute the rank, not the man,” Winters says.

Sobel salutes. Winters returns the salute.

It brings to mind an incident years ago, which forever taught me the importance of respect for rank as a means of protecting the physical and even spiritual integrity of any military organization.

I was a young Marine lance corporal, who for several months had been thrown together with a combat-seasoned gunnery sergeant on a project overseen by the “gunny.”

Over time, gunny and I got to know one another pretty well. He shared stories about his time in Southeast Asia, as well as a few of his “exploits” with women from around the world. He talked a lot about his love of baseball. He told hilarious jokes. He also (in my presence) chuckled at the demonstrated-inexperience of certain Marine privates and PFCs – we called them “boots” — which made me feel like part of “the men’s club,” the unofficial albeit exclusive association of experienced “salty” Marines within our unit.

So when a new – somewhat uncouth and inarticulate – sergeant joined our ranks, I felt comfortable enough in my relationship with gunny to make a private comment about the new sergeant’s inability to properly conjugate a verb in spoken English.

Gunny exploded.

Leaping from his chair he went straight for me, his anger-reddening face inches from mine.

“Smith, you’re talking about a sergeant of Marines!” Gunny shouted. “Don’t you ever talk that way about a superior, boy! Do I make myself clear, lance corporal?!”

Gunny’s language was in fact a bit more colorful than that, but you get the point.

I did, and I never forgot it.

Fact is, we in the military respect rank like we respect flags, emblems, and other symbols of tradition and position. We exhibit that respect, and we always strive to quash displays or utterances of disrespect for rank.

That respect has less to do with the man (or woman) holding the rank than it does the rank itself (a difficult concept, I have discovered, for civilians with little or no military experience). Though it is far easier to exhibit respect – to include the rendering of military courtesy – and obedience to a superior officer if we have respect for that officer as being fair, capable, and competent.

Still we cannot escape the importance of rank in-and-of-itself, nor can we dismiss the fact that military rank is infinitely more important – perhaps it is even sacred – than civilian positions-of-authority in terms of protecting the structural integrity of an organization.

This doesn’t mean we blindly follow failed-men or unlawful orders (though we do sometimes have to follow men we don’t like and orders we don’t agree with).

It does however mean that – for those of us who serve or have served in the military – rank is as a flag. It may not be as personally dear to us as a flag – depending on the flag – but it must be respected and protected as a means of further protecting the soundness of a military organization if that organization is to remain structurally sound.

Winters was right, “We salute the rank, not the man.”

— Visit W. Thomas Smith Jr. online at uswriter.com.

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