Manning the rail is a method of

saluting A salute is usually a formal hand gesture or other action used to display respect in military situations. Salutes are primarily associated with the military and law enforcement, but many civilian organizations, such as Girl Guides, Boy Sco ...

(or rendering honors) used by naval vessels. The custom evolved from that of "

manning the yards A yard is a spar on a mast from which sails are set. It may be constructed of timber or steel or from more modern materials such as aluminium or carbon fibre. Although some types of fore and aft rigs have yards, the term is usually used to des ...

", which dates from the days of sail. On sailing ships, crew stood evenly spaced on all the

yards The yard (symbol: yd) is an English unit of length in both the British imperial and US customary systems of measurement equalling 3 feet or 36 inches. Since 1959 it has been by international agreement standardized as exactly ...

(the spars holding the sails) and gave three cheers to honor distinguished persons. Today, the crew are stationed along the rails and superstructure of a ship when honors are rendered. The

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

prescribes manning the rail as a possible honor to render to the

President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

and for the heads of state of foreign nations. A similar but less formal ceremony is to have the crew "at quarters" when the ship is entering or leaving port. Manning the rail is also the traditional way to honor the USS ''Arizona'' Memorial when it is passed by all U.S. Navy,

U.S. Coast Guard The United States Coast Guard (USCG) is the maritime security, search and rescue, and law enforcement service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the country's eight uniformed services. The service is a maritime, military, mul ...

and U.S. Merchant Marine vessels. More recently, as foreign military vessels are entering Pearl Harbor for joint military exercises, foreign sailors have participated in the traditional manning the rails. Notable instances occurred on July 24, 1997, when the guided-missile destroyer and the frigate rendered honors to the ''

Constitution A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When ...

'' during her 200th birthday celebration, and on September 14, 2001, when the crew of the German destroyer ''Lütjens'' manned the rails as they approached the destroyer and displayed an American flag and a banner reading "We Stand By You".

References

External links

Military terminology Naval ceremonies {{Navy-stub