A ranking Hawai'i National Guard commander in Iraq said his soldiers still can use the shaka among themselves, but they also need to show senior leaders they are a well-disciplined unit by adhering to a new ban on the greeting when they are on duty, and at their duty sites.

News of the shaka restriction at Camp Victory — prompted by a senior officer who took umbrage when he was flashed the thumb-and-pinkie-out salute at a checkpoint — generated some defense of the Hawai'i tradition back home.

"I am extremely upset that they can do something like this," said Royal Kaukani of Mililani. "... We have our Hawai'i soldiers working their butts off, and it's the little things, in the end, that help push them through the day. Like a simple shaka to show the aloha spirit."

Lt. Col. Kenneth Hara, who commands the 2nd Battalion, 299th Infantry at Camp Victory, yesterday said the previous unit had a "no-salute" policy at guarded checkpoints. The Hawai'i soldiers continued the practice.

"As a result, my soldiers were just doing the shaka sign and not saluting," Hara said by e-mail. "This was misconstrued as being undisciplined, disrespectful and too laid back."

The brouhaha started when a Hawai'i soldier gave the shaka to an officer — soldiers say it was a general — at a checkpoint. Camp Victory, near Baghdad International Airport, has about 15,000 U.S. personnel.

Hara took "corrective action" and issued a written order, said Task Force Baghdad spokesman Lt. Col. Robert Whetstone.

"The (military) hand salute instills discipline, and I agree that the salute should be rendered to senior officers as they pass through our gates," Hara said.

In addition to prohibiting shakas while soldiers are on duty and at their duty sites, the new rule also requires a salute to all senior officers passing through internal checkpoints.

Although salutes are rendered on the base, gate guards have refrained from doing so in past conflicts because it could possibly identify officers to the enemy. Hawai'i soldiers still are allowed to use the shaka when they are not at guard posts, Hara said.

In jest, some units have created unofficial "Rules of Engagement" for shaka use. Among them: "You are authorized to return shaka if shaka'd upon first," and, "Shaka must only be directed at the person who initiated the shaka."

"The battalion continues to spread the aloha spirit while complying with the intent of maintaining military discipline," Hara said.