I believe military protocol goes "salute the uniform and not the man", so if John isn't in uniform, he doesn't get a salute

This is what I've always thought.

lol and this is totally a case of my fingers not typing what my brain is visualizing because in my head I can see John whipping his dog tags around to hang down his back as he sat down so he doesn't end up with two untanned rectangles on his chest.

I think if I add that bit, and maybe a bit about the young officer catching a glimpse of the ball chain around John's neck, then the scene should work reasonably well.

:)