Tips for Communicating

Military Etiquette

Customs, traditions, and manners are very important in the military. Each service has a set of values that govern how each Service member approaches their work and personal life. These values are thoroughly indoctrinated during basic training and reinforced throughout their career. Military manners can be foreign, and may at times seem anachronistic (e.g., addressing individuals as sir or ma’am, deference to the chain of command). As a civilian working with the military, you should be aware of and respect these traditions.

Here are some tips to support respectful collaboration with members of the military:

• Salutations: When addressing officers, address them politely, using sir or ma’am. Unless told otherwise, and always in public, military personnel should be addressed by their rank and last name (e.g., Seargent Brown, Colonel Sanchez). If you do not know their rank or last name, revert to using sir or ma’am.
• Reveilles and Retreats: When at an installation, you may hear a bugle call or the national anthem played. The two most important calls are for “reveille” and “retreat,” when the American flag is raised and lowered daily. When a Service member hears either of these calls, they will stop whatever they are doing to stand or salute. As a civilian, you are also expected to pause and stand quietly until the bugle call is done. If you’re driving with a Service member, see if you can safely stop or pull over so they can pay their respects to the flag.
• Salutes: A unique aspect of military courtesy is the salute. It is a gesture of respect and sign of comradeship among military service personnel. As a civilian, you are not expected to salute. However, if you are walking with a Service member, as a courtesy, you can stand or walk on their left side to make it easier for them to salute an officer that walks by.

Communication Style

The military favors succinct and authoritative communication – a necessity in war times. Do not be offended by short emails or brief communications:

• BLUF: Learn how to craft written communications using the military’s “BLUF” methodology (Bottom Line Up Front). The Harvard Business Review published an article about how to adopt this style of communication.
• Acronyms and Terms: Because of the brief communication style, the military has numerous acronyms and terms. The University of Nebraska’s Reserve Officers’ Training Corps (ROTC) provides a list of common military acronyms and terms. This list is by no means comprehensive. Each service has additional terminology. If an acronym is not on this list, perform a web search that includes the acronym and the service (e.g., “AFTB” and “Army”). If you do not know the service, use the acronym and the word military (e.g., “AFTB” and “military”).

Communicating with Military Public Health Groups

The Departments of the Army, Navy, and Airforce have public health corps embedded with their medical groups. These programs focus primarily on communicable diseases, hygiene, environmental health, and periodic health assessments. Although the term “prevention” is often used, in many cases it is in reference to violence prevention (e.g., sexual assault prevention, domestic violence prevention) or communicable disease prevention. Health promotion activities are typically directed at individual behavior change (e.g., improving sleep, physical activity, and nutrition, managing stress and pain, supporting healthy pregnancies).

As you communicate across the services, you may encounter position titles and program names that sound similar to the position titles and program names used in public health departments. Do not assume that they have the same functions. As an example, Hill Air Force Base employs a staff person called the Community Support Coordinator. This individual manages a Community Action Team that engages “helping agencies” to create a “community action plan” to address health trends in the “local community.” In this case, the community refers only to the local air force community and helping agencies are the other military-owned assets such as medical clinics and fitness facilities.

When communicating with military health and public health programs, ask a lot of questions about positions and programs to make sure you have a clear understanding of their activities. This will help you more accurately identify ways to support their efforts.

Crafting the Ask

The military prides itself on self-sufficiency and teamwork. As such they do not often look “outside of the gates” or externally for solutions to problems. As you approach military partners for the first time, ask them what their primary needs are related to Service member health and wellness. Share health data from the community and ask your military partners if they are observing similar health outcomes among the military connected. Share with them the work you are doing to address the needs in the community (i.e., outside of the installation) and ask them about their programs and services for Service members and families.

Ask how you can support their efforts to improve health both off and on the installation, and invite them to participate in health improvement planning efforts or other workgroups to ensure that the military voice is represented.

• For active duty, use the frame of readiness, retention, and resiliency to describe your health promotion work.
• For recruiters, connect the work you do with children and youth to increases in recruitable populations.
• For veteran groups, highlight how you and your partners’ services and programs contribute to veteran health and wellness.