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Cashiering (ordegradation ceremony), generally withinmilitary forces, is aritual dismissal of an individual from some position of responsibility for a breach ofdiscipline.[1]
From theFlemishkasseren (to dismiss from service; to discard [troops]),[2] the word entered the English language in the late 16th century, during the wars in theLow Countries.
It is especially associated with the public degradation of disgracedmilitaryofficers. Prior to World War I, this aspect of cashiering sometimes involved a parade-ground ceremony in front of assembled troops with the destruction of symbols ofstatus:epaulettes ripped off shoulders,badges and insignia stripped,swords broken,caps knocked away, andmedals torn off and dashed upon the ground.[3][4]
In the era whenBritish Army officers generallybought their commissions, being cashiered meant that the amount they had paid was lost, as they could not "sell-out" afterwards.[5]
Famous victims of cashiering includeFrancis Mitchell (1621),Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald (after theGreat Stock Exchange Fraud of 1814),Justus McKinstry,Alfred Dreyfus (1894, seetrial and conviction of Alfred Dreyfus andDreyfus affair), andPhilippe Pétain (1945, stripped of all ranks and honors exceptMarshal of France).[citation needed]
William Calley, the sole person convicted of theMy Lai Massacre, was cashiered out instead of receiving apunitive discharge.
Following the failure of the1935 Greek coup d'état attempt,Lieutenant ColonelChristodoulos Tsigantes, his brother captainIoannis Tsigantes, colonelStefanos Sarafis and other participants of the coup were cashiered in a public ceremony.[6]
While most closely associated with Captain Dreyfus, the ceremony of formal degradation (French:Dégradation militaire) occurred several times in the French military under theThird Republic. At least one other army officer and a naval officer[7] were subjected to the ritual of having their swords broken and the insignia, braid and buttons publicly torn from their uniforms, after being found guilty of charges of treason. More commonly, a number of NCOs and private soldiers underwent similar punishments for committing various serious offenses, before execution or imprisonment.[8]
The physical acts of ripping away insignia and breaking swords could be made easier by some prior preparation. A contemporary account inThe New York Times of the Dreyfus cashiering in 1894 says:
To prepare for stripping the prisoner of his insignia of rank, the prison tailor yesterday removed all the buttons and stripes from Dreyfus' tunic, the red stripes from his trousers and the regimental number and braid from his collar and cap. These were all replaced with a single stitch so that they could be torn away readily. The condemned man's sword was also filed almost in two, in order that it might be easily broken. TheAdjutant's quick movement and apparent effort in breaking the sword was consequently mere pretense, as only a mere touch was necessary.[9][10]
In the 1964 filmMary Poppins, Mr Banks is cashiered when he is fired from the bank.[11] This involved his flower carnation torn from his lapel, his umbrella being turned inside out and his bowler hat being punched through.[12]
In the 1942Bugs Bunny short,Fresh Hare, Bugs cashiersElmer Fudd as a disgrace to the Mounties by tearing away not just his uniform and insignias, but also his undershorts.