1 Wing

1955 – Saluting with Caution at Rabat – Michael Bush

In many respects, what is written in the Canadian Soldier's Handbook of General Information mirrors what I experienced in the Royal Canadian Air Force during the 1950s and 1960s.

I was particularly struck with the section under the heading Dress. It mentions that soldiers should refrain from keeping their hands in their pockets. The reason this struck a chord with me is because when my members of the RCAF were serving on detachment in Rabat, French Morocco, they were instructed to keep their wallet in their left hand pant's pocket and keep their hand in their pocket over their wallet to prevent having their pocket picked.

We were instructed to keep that hand in our pocket even when saluting. At first, it felt extremely odd, saluting with one hand firmly in one's pocket, but in a short while it became second nature.

Of course, we had to remember to keep our hand free when we returned to our European base in 1 Air Division.