Customs and Courtesies

Customs and courtesies are the shared professional language of the Air Force, used daily by everyone from a brand-new Airman Basic to a four-star General. They aren't arbitrary formalities. Learn them before you step off the bus at Basic Military Training (BMT) and you'll spend less time getting corrected and more on the physical and mental work ahead. The standards are the same whether you serve Active Duty, Air Force Reserve, or Air National Guard.

Where the standards come from

Four documents set the rules you'll see referenced throughout this section.

DAFI 90-1201 (Department of the Air Force Instruction) is the primary protocol regulation. It replaced the older AFI 34-1201 on October 8, 2024, and now covers both the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force under a single instruction (1). Older resources citing "AFI 34-1201" are likely still accurate for basic customs, but the governing document has changed.

AFI 1-1, Air Force Standards provides the broader framework for conduct, performance, and discipline, and applies to all uniformed members of the Regular Air Force, Air Force Reserve, and Air National Guard. It received Change 1 on August 24, 2025, though the core customs and courtesies guidance stayed largely the same (2).

DAFPAM 34-1203, Drill and Ceremonies prescribes the physical mechanics: exactly how to execute a salute, stand at attention, or perform drill movements. This is the pamphlet your Military Training Instructors (MTIs) will hold you to at BMT.

4 U.S.C. Chapter 1, the U.S. Flag Code, governs flag display and handling at the federal level. Installations follow both the Flag Code and the more specific guidance in DAFI 90-1201.

The salute is a greeting, not subservience

The salute is a courteous exchange between military professionals, a tradition that dates back centuries. Both the person who initiates it and the person who returns it are taking part. Rendering it correctly is one of the first things that marks you as someone who belongs in uniform.

Who you salute

Per AFI 1-1, you render a salute to:

• The President and Vice President (as Commander-in-Chief and next in the chain of command)
• The Secretary of Defense and the service secretaries, including the Secretary of the Air Force
• All commissioned officers of any U.S. military branch, and all warrant officers (a rank the Air Force reintroduced in 2024; more below)
• Medal of Honor recipients, regardless of rank, in recognition of the nation's highest military decoration
• Officers of friendly foreign nations

The junior member always initiates; the senior returns it. Pair the salute with a greeting fit to the time of day: "Good morning, Sir," "Good afternoon, Ma'am," or "Good evening, Sir."

When you can't tell whether someone is an officer, salute anyway. Being waved off for saluting an enlisted member costs nothing; failing to salute an officer is the mistake you'll remember. You'll learn to read insignia at a distance soon enough.

Rendering it correctly

DAFPAM 34-1203 specifies the exact physical form (4):

1. Raise your right hand smartly in the most direct manner, fingers extended and joined.
2. Keep the palm flat, facing the body, tilted slightly toward the face.
3. Place your thumb along the forefinger, forming a straight line from fingertips to elbow.
4. Hold the upper arm horizontal, slightly forward of the body, parallel to the ground.
5. Touch the tip of your middle finger to the right front corner of your headdress (or the outside corner of your right eyebrow if uncovered indoors during a formal report).
6. Hold until the senior returns it, then bring your arm smoothly down.

A sharp, crisp salute shows military bearing. A lazy one, fingers apart or arm at the wrong angle, signals the opposite. Practice in a mirror before BMT. It sounds minor, but MTIs notice, and they correct hardest for a lack of effort, not for the honest mistakes everyone makes the first week.

When to salute, and when not to

Salutes are exchanged upon recognition between officers and enlisted members, and covered areas open to the outside air count as outdoors: porches, bus stops, covered sidewalks. Indoors you generally don't salute, the two exceptions being a formal report to a commissioned officer and formal presentations or award ceremonies where directed. In formation, individuals don't salute (the person in charge salutes for everyone), and saluting isn't mandatory around officers in moving vehicles, though a readily identifiable officer in a marked staff vehicle rates one.

One common BMT mistake: assuming full hands excuse every courtesy. Transfer items to your left hand when you can; if you truly can't free your right hand, render a verbal greeting. The courtesy still happens, only the physical salute is excused.

Reporting: the full ceremony is for officers

Formal reporting shows bearing and respect for the chain of command, and the procedure differs sharply for a commissioned officer versus a Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO).

Reporting to a commissioned officer

The knock-and-enter sequence follows a precise order:

1. Knock once, firmly, on the door (not a rapid series of knocks).
2. If no response within about 30 seconds, knock again.
3. When told "Enter," close the door behind you if it was closed.
4. March at attention by the most direct route to the officer's desk.
5. Halt about two paces from and centered on the desk.
6. Come to attention and render a salute, holding it.

Then state your report:

• If summoned: "Sir/Ma'am, [Rank] [Last Name] reports as ordered."
• If self-initiated: "Sir/Ma'am, [Rank] [Last Name] reports."

Hold the salute until the officer returns it. Remain at attention unless directed to a rest position. When dismissed, resume attention if you were placed at rest, take one step backward, render a salute, wait for the officer to return it, execute an about face, and exit by the most direct route.

NCOs don't get the salute

This distinction trips up many new Airmen. In the operational Air Force, the formal knock-enter-salute-report sequence, and the salute itself, apply only to commissioned officers. You do not salute NCOs in normal circumstances, no matter how senior they are, though you always address them respectfully by rank. The one exception is BMT itself, where trainees practice formal reporting with their MTIs ("Sir/Ma'am, Trainee [Last Name] reports as ordered") as a training convention that ends at graduation.

Forms of address (and the mistakes people remember)

Using the correct form of address is basic professional competence, and getting it wrong in front of the wrong person is memorable for the wrong reasons. The tables below cover every rank you're likely to encounter.

Enlisted (E-1 to E-9)

First Sergeants wear a diamond on their chevron; address them as "First Sergeant" or, in many units, informally as "Shirt." The Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force (CMSAF) is the highest enlisted position, serving as the primary advisor to the Chief of Staff and the Secretary of the Air Force.

Officers (O-1 to O-10)

Two rules catch people off guard: every general officer, from a one-star Brigadier General to a four-star General, is simply "General"; and a Lieutenant Colonel is always "Colonel," never "Lieutenant." Calling an O-5 "Lieutenant" is the mistake people remember.

Two more by role: Chaplains are addressed as "Chaplain" regardless of their actual rank, and medical doctors may be called "Doctor" or addressed by rank. And never address an enlisted member as "Sir" or "Ma'am" in the operational Air Force. (At BMT, trainees address MTIs as "Sir/Ma'am" regardless of enlisted rank, but that convention ends at graduation.)

Warrant officers (new since 2024)

The Air Force graduated its first new warrant officers in 66 years on December 6, 2024, at Maxwell Air Force Base: an inaugural class of 30, limited to cyber and IT career fields (3).

Because the Air Force went decades without warrant officers, many Airmen and even some senior leaders are still getting used to incorporating them into daily interactions. When unsure, "Sir" or "Ma'am" is always a safe default for any commissioned or warrant officer.

Attention, and why locked knees drop trainees

The position of attention is the foundation for all formations and drill. Every other position and movement starts from or returns to it. DAFPAM 34-1203 specifies exact body positioning (4):

• Feet: heels together, on line, turned out equally forming a 45-degree angle.
• Legs: straight but knees not locked. This is a safety point, not a technicality. Locking your knees restricts blood flow and causes fainting, which happens at BMT more than you'd expect, usually during long formations in the heat. Keep a slight, invisible bend.
• Body: erect, hips level, chest lifted, back arched, shoulders square.
• Arms: hanging straight without stiffness, wrists straight with the forearms.
• Hands: cupped naturally with thumbs along the trouser seams, not clenched into fists.
• Head: erect, chin slightly drawn in, eyes forward with your line of sight parallel to the ground.
• Behavior: silence and immobility. No fidgeting, no looking around, no shifting weight.

Rest positions

Four rest positions can be executed from attention, each with different rules about movement and speaking:

One rule trips up nearly every trainee: you cannot transition directly between rest positions. All rest positions execute only from the position of attention. If you're at Parade Rest and the command is "At Ease," you first come to attention, then execute At Ease. Skipping the return to attention is a guaranteed correction. The other errors MTIs see most: locking knees (which puts trainees on the ground), fidgeting or moving your eyes at attention, getting the 45-degree foot angle wrong, clenching hands into fists instead of cupping them, and talking during At Ease when silence is still required. Practice holding still for two to three minutes at a stretch. It's harder than it sounds, especially under stress.

Reveille and Retreat: the day's bookends

Daily flag ceremonies honor the nation and mark the boundaries of the official duty day. On any installation you'll hear them every morning and evening. Knowing the correct response keeps you from being the one standing confused while everyone else snaps to attention.

Reveille (morning)

Reveille signals the start of the duty day and accompanies raising the flag. Times vary by installation but typically fall between 6:00 and 7:30 AM. The music runs in sequence: the bugle call "Reveille" sounds first, then "To the Color" plays as the flag is raised.

Outdoors in uniform:

1. At the first note of Reveille, face the flag (or the direction of the music if you can't see the flag) and assume parade rest.
2. When "To the Color" begins, come to attention and salute.
3. Hold the salute until the last note.

Driving during Reveille or Retreat: safely stop your vehicle, put it in park, turn off the radio, and sit quietly at attention until the ceremony ends. You don't need to get out, and you'll see everyone else doing the same.

One exception to know: some installations fly the flag 24 hours a day and play Reveille only as a wake-up signal without actually raising it. In that case, no courtesies are required. Your sponsor or supervisor at your first base will tell you which protocol applies.

Retreat (evening)

Retreat signals the end of the duty day and accompanies lowering the flag, typically between 4:30 and 5:30 PM. The sequence: "Retreat" plays first (your cue to stop and face the flag), then the National Anthem or "To the Color" plays during the actual lowering.

Outdoors in uniform:

1. At the first note of "Retreat," face the flag and assume parade rest (not attention yet).
2. When the National Anthem or "To the Color" begins, come to attention and salute.
3. Hold the salute until the last note. The flag should reach the bottom of the pole about when the music ends.

Indoors, no formal protocol is required during Retreat, though standing at attention is a respectful choice if you can hear the music clearly.

Flag folding and half-staff

The American flag is folded into a triangular "cocked hat" shape with 13 folds, ending with only the blue star field visible. The folds carry traditional symbolic meanings, though these are not officially codified by Congress (5).

Half-staff observances follow a specific authority chain: the President orders national observances, the Secretary of Defense orders for Department of Defense installations, and state governors can order half-staff for service members from their state. However it's ordered, the flag is always raised briskly to the peak first, then lowered ceremoniously to half-staff.

POW/MIA flag display: required on six specific days each year: Armed Forces Day, Memorial Day, Flag Day, Independence Day, National POW/MIA Recognition Day, and Veterans Day. On those days it flies in the position second only to the U.S. flag (1).

The National Anthem: dressed how, standing where

You'll render honors during the anthem often: official ceremonies, sporting events, any time it plays in your presence on an installation. The rules turn on what you're wearing and where you are.

• In uniform, outdoors: at the first note, face the flag (or the music if the flag isn't visible), come to attention, and render a salute. Hold it until the last note, roughly 90 seconds. It's a long salute and your arm will feel it. Build the habit now.
• In uniform, indoors: face the flag or music and stand at attention, but do not salute. Two exceptions: if you are "under arms" (carrying or wearing a weapon), or in formation with appropriate headgear for a ceremony where outdoor rules are being applied indoors (such as a change of command moved into a hangar due to weather).
• In civilian clothes: stand at attention facing the flag, remove headgear (if applicable) with your right hand, and place your right hand over your heart. Since 2008, veterans and active duty service members in civilian clothes may render the military salute instead, but this is optional (6). The same goes for Reveille and Retreat out of uniform: you still stop and face the flag.

Special situations: at sporting events the same protocols apply based on your uniform status (face the music if the flag isn't visible). No courtesies are required for TV or radio broadcasts; this applies only to live, in-person events. For foreign national anthems, render the same courtesies you would for the U.S. anthem. Per AFI 1-1, this is both a regulatory requirement and a professional courtesy to allied nations (2).

No-hat, no-salute zones

Most installations designate certain areas "no-hat, no-salute," typically high-traffic spots where constant saluting would disrupt workflow: flight lines, aircraft maintenance areas, hospital entrances, and some building complexes. All Department of the Air Force child and youth program facilities are also designated no-hat/no-salute (7).

When you arrive at your first duty station, your sponsor or supervisor will point out which areas on your base are no-hat/no-salute. The boundaries are usually marked with signs. Outside them, normal saluting rules apply.