Mr. Rense:

It is the intention of this writing to provide follow-on insight towards Fred G.’s recent comments-opinion piece, offer a rebuttal to the CNN’s “What was Donald Trump thinking when he saluted a North Korean general?” article, and clarify the other controlled media clamor regarding the President Trump-General No Kwang-chol salute situation, which, simply put, is a whole bunch to-do about nothing.

I am currently serving in the United States Air Force (USAF) and have been since early-2005. Thus far, my service includes four overseas deployments (all in the Middle East) as well as spending a significant amount of time training at the United States Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear (CBRN) School at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri. While serving at these various locations, I have saluted many U.S. and foreign military officers, including those from South Korea. It is important to note that all nations have their unique military customs and courtesies which differ in varying degrees from those of the U.S. military’s. We all do our best to respect each country’s customs and courtesies while upholding our own. Moreover, the four separate branches of the U.S. military have their own traditions, but the customs and courtesies, such as the appropriate rendering of a salute, are generally universal.  

In the case of the President Trump-General No Kwang-chol salute situation, many factors that were not referenced in the abovementioned pieces but contribute greatly towards making sense of this rather meaningless “news” cycle story need application. Although Fred G. is mostly correct regarding the U.S. military’s customs and courtesies, those of North Korea’s need to be considered as well. The images provided in this writing show North Korean generals with their service dress caps being worn indoors, as opposed to the U.S. military custom of removing their caps prior to coming indoors.

Moreover, as noted by assorted guests during previous Rense Radio conversations, the North Korean military exercises a high degree of discipline and order, i.e., their synchronized goose step military parades. This imposed discipline was likely second nature for Gen. No Kwang-chol while standing before President Trump – the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States of America.  He may have even received orders from Kim Jong-un to salute President Trump prior to this formal meet and greet. Regardless of Gen. No Kwang-chol’s intentions, he saluted while in uniform during a formal introduction process for heads-of-state, which goes well beyond a simple non-military structured conversational greeting during routine business hours at home station.

Additionally, there are formal occasions when United States military personnel render salute while indoors as well. These occasions include retirements, promotions, (re)enlistments, and indoor change of command ceremonies with the lower-ranking personnel presenting the initial salute and then reciprocation by the higher-ranking officer.

Regarding the President Trump and Gen. No Kwang-chol salute situation, it was indeed a formal occasion; North Korean military customs do in fact include wearing service dress caps while indoors; Gen. No Kwang-chol saluted first and the courtesy was then returned by the rather surprised President; and the U.S. military does indeed perform indoor saluting during specific occasions. So, with knowledge of these facts and the longstanding hostility between the two governments notwithstanding, what is the issue?

Accordingly, President Trump’s business negotiating acumen and pedigree should be factored in as well. It is not unusual for the negotiating sides of different cultures to educate themselves regarding the opposing side’s customs, courtesies, gestures, and traditions in order to avoid being negatively misunderstood upon initial introduction which could be ruinous towards a potential settlement during actual negotiations. This was likely the case during each side’s preparation for the much-anticipated Trump-Kim Summit. It seemed that President Trump had to make an instinctive decision, likely triggered by his previous business negotiating experience and not his military education, or lack thereof.

In closing, I would like to acknowledge that I did in fact support candidate Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign, and although I since have my disappointments, e.g., his moving the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem and his lack of initiative to reinvestigate the events of 9-11-2001, the salute situation with the North Korean general is well beneath any legitimate concern any intelligent person should have. The media spin (CNN in particular) is truly repugnant and should be ignored by all.   

See Images 1 and 2

Image 1:

2018 South-North Korean meeting with North Korean military official wearing his service dress cap indoors.

Image 2:

An indoor formal North Korean military formation with leadership wearing their service dress caps indoors.