Question: The organisation of Starfleet is [somewhere between military and civilian](https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/54154/is-starfleet-a-military-or-civilian-organization): Captain Picard and Gene Roddenberry both describe it as being non-military, but in some ways it has a very militarised structure, with military-looking uniforms and ranks, a strictly stratified command structure, and so on.

This is one of the main ways *Star Trek* differs from its fellow cult sci-fi TV show *Doctor Who*. In the latter, the main character is strongly against soldiers and any sort of military organisation. One of the most common ways he expresses his dislike is in not wanting people to salute him.

So when I started watching *Star Trek*, having heard about its much more militarised nature as opposed to *Doctor Who*, I was expecting a lot of saluting between the Starfleet officers. But so far (12 episodes into TNG) I haven't seen a single salute. Is this always going to be the case?

Do Starfleet crewmembers and officers ever salute each other?
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Answer: 
Starfleet personnel don't salute each other, even on formal occasions.
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Although Starfleet can be characterised as maintaining *[certain military traditions](https://scifi.stackexchange.com/questions/54154/is-starfleet-a-military-or-civilian-organization?lq=1)* (ranks, standing to attention, chain of command) they don't hold with all that silly saluting. Gene Roddenberry in his "[writer's bible](http://leethomson.myzen.co.uk/Star_Trek/2_The_Next_Generation/Star_Trek_-_The_Next_Generation_Bible.pdf)' made that abundantly clear to scriptwriters and for the most part, this view has held sway throughout the various shows.

> 
> *In practice this means that our armaments and militarism have been
>  de-emphasized over the previous series and very much de-emphasized
>  over the movies. **We will not see saluting**. We may hear the word "sir",
>  but it is extended as the same kind of courtesy used by junior and
>  senior officers on civilian airliners.*
> 
> 
> 

That being said, there are some (very few) instances where we do see some saluting. When it occurs, it's invariably intended ironically or when captains are showing respect to alien cultures.

[![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/E2ptA.gif)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/E2ptA.gif)  

Star Trek V

[![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/h6evC.png)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/h6evC.png)  

Deleted Scene - TOS: Balance of Terror

[![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/N7HCu.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/N7HCu.jpg)  

Sarek

[![enter image description here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/WJr6E.gif)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/WJr6E.gif)  

TNG: The Naked Now

Interestingly, the various [movie scripts](http://www.st-minutiae.com/resources/scripts/tuc.txt) do refer to personnel [saluting each other](http://www.st-minutiae.com/resources/scripts/twok.txt) (and the Federation flag) but in each case, this has been replaced by the person either standing to attention or simply having the scene cut entirely. I think we can put this down to writing error that was picked up during production.
Somewhere on my large shelf of books is one from approximately the time of The Motion Picture which has a lot of cast and writer interviews about the show. It includes a section where Gene Roddenberry is explaining that the culture of Starfleet sees all individuals as social equals, even if they are of different ranks in the command structure. As such, salutes are never required. Nor is standing when an officer enters the room, or any other such military traditions. Which is not to say that it's forbidden, just that it's a personal choice on the part of the performer, not a requirement.

I honestly can't think of all that many places in any of the series or movies where any kind of salute is offered. The ones that do occur tend to be either ironic, or a sign of deep, personal respect. There are a few places where young, eager-to-please officers jump to their feet, but it's very much a culture where such things are optional and most people opt not to.