Does the Army respond with "Aye, sir" to a command, or is that only for Marines and Navy? If not, what would their response be to a command?

Will Boyd — Mon, 15 Jan 2018 08:09:31 -0500

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 15 at 2018 8:14 AM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 15 Jan 2018 08:14:59 -0500

"Aye, sir" isn't used much in the Army. I catch myself saying it every now and then since I was an enlisted Marine at one time and old habits die hard. Instead, my typical response to a command is "Yes sir" or "Roger sir".

Response by PFC Jonathan Albano made Jan 15 at 2018 8:53 AM

PFC Jonathan Albano — Mon, 15 Jan 2018 08:53:21 -0500

It depends.

If you're talking to an officer, "Aye sir" can be acceptable but "Yes sir" is the more common response in the Army. If you are asking about how to respond to a Drill Sergent the proper thing to say would be "Yes Drill Sergent" If refering to a SGT, SSG, SFC, or Master Sergent who isn't a Drill, you would say "Yes Sergent" (some Master Sergents will ask that you refer to them as "Master Sergent" which, while not written in regulations, is common practice in the Army to do so.) If refering to a 1SG "Yes First Sergent" Sergent Majors, Command Sergent Majors, and the Sergent Major of the Army would be responded to by saying "Yes Sergent Major"

Response by CSM William Payne made Jan 15 at 2018 8:53 AM

CSM William Payne — Mon, 15 Jan 2018 08:53:37 -0500

Being a Navy brat, on my first day in basic training in 1973, I asked my drill sergeant if I could use the “head”. BIG MISTAKE. He told me in so many words that my head was on my shoulders but that the latrine was over there. Then he asked me my affiliation with the Navy? He then warned me to lose all nautical references such as deck, hatch and serveral other terms we usually affiliate with Navy or Marines, which I promptly flushed from my memory bank for the rest of basic training. Interestingly enough though, my previous exposure to the military was a determining factor for me being chosen as a squad leader, which I managed to hold for the duration of the cycle.

Along with the acceptable responses to orders in the Army already noted such as Yes sir, Roger sir are Hooah sir and Affirmative sir, Good Copy sir, Message recieved sir.

Response by SGT Matthew S. made Jan 15 at 2018 9:40 AM

SGT Matthew S. — Mon, 15 Jan 2018 09:40:54 -0500

As others have said, "Yes, Sir/Ma'am" is far more common - in fact, I don't know that I ever heard "Aye" while I was in. Sergeant through Sergeant First Class is "Sergeant"; Master Sergeant and above by rank. Warrant Officer 1 (WO1) is supposed to be "Mr./Ms./Mrs."... but that just seems a horribly awkward way to address someone in the military so they are usually addressed as "Chief" as with the higher Warrant Officers.

Hearing people say things like, "Roger, sir!" will sound just off-the-wall and bonkers... until you spend a while talking on radios and pick it up yourself.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 15 at 2018 9:58 AM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 15 Jan 2018 09:58:27 -0500

We in the Army have many ways to respond to an order. They are (in no particular order): Yes Sir/Ma'am; Roger; Tracking; Check; Hooah (or Huah); Got it; Understood; Moving....

Response by SP5 Lori Pong made Jan 15 at 2018 10:27 AM

SP5 Lori Pong — Mon, 15 Jan 2018 10:27:17 -0500

It would be a simple YES SIR

Response by GySgt Charles O'Connell made Jan 15 at 2018 10:30 AM

GySgt Charles O'Connell — Mon, 15 Jan 2018 10:30:59 -0500

The appropriate response receiving an order from a Marine officer would be, "Aye Aye Sir", outdoors, in uniform, you would also salute, acknowledging the order.

Response by Maj John Bell made Jan 15 at 2018 1:12 PM

Maj John Bell — Mon, 15 Jan 2018 13:12:16 -0500

"Aye" is NOT the correct response to a command. A single "Aye" means "That is correct."

"Aye, aye sir/mam" is the correct response to a command and means "I understand and I will comply."

Response by PVT Patty Mike Figueras made Jan 15 at 2018 2:06 PM

PVT Patty Mike Figueras — Mon, 15 Jan 2018 14:06:16 -0500

Hello Kitty! Lol

Response by LCpl Private RallyPoint Member made Jan 20 at 2018 5:05 AM

LCpl Private RallyPoint Member — Sat, 20 Jan 2018 05:05:59 -0500

In the marine corps it’s aye aye sir, although many get lazy and don’t say the second aye.

Response by Sgt John Crahen made Jan 21 at 2018 2:45 PM

Sgt John Crahen — Sun, 21 Jan 2018 14:45:54 -0500

Just Marines and Navy. Army would probably say yes sir or no sir. Aye aye sir or Ma'am means I will comply.

Response by Sgt William Tobin made Jan 22 at 2018 2:23 AM

Sgt William Tobin — Mon, 22 Jan 2018 02:23:06 -0500

Thats just navy

Response by Cpl Chad Weekley made Jan 22 at 2018 8:59 PM

Cpl Chad Weekley — Mon, 22 Jan 2018 20:59:47 -0500

Navy and Marines

Response by MGySgt Gaylord Mays made Jan 22 at 2018 10:43 PM

MGySgt Gaylord Mays — Mon, 22 Jan 2018 22:43:50 -0500

Marines respond, "Aye, Aye, Sir". I imagine, "Yes, Sir" or "Roger, WILCO" would be equivalents.

Response by CPO Peter Tuttle made Jan 26 at 2018 8:45 PM

CPO Peter Tuttle — Fri, 26 Jan 2018 20:45:11 -0500

Understood sir

Response by SFC Michael Hasbun made Jan 29 at 2018 11:13 PM

SFC Michael Hasbun — Mon, 29 Jan 2018 23:13:37 -0500

I catch myself using "aye aye sir/ma'am" during formal ceremonies at times, but "yes/no sir/ma'am" is generally used to acknowledge orders in the Army ...