Present arms is a two-part drill command used by many militaries and public safety professionals in the world as a sign of respect. It comes from the old British command "Arms to the present!" This was used especially between 1700 and about the late nineteenth century in Great Britain and later the United Kingdom.
By country
Australia
Within the Australian Defence Force, the command "Present Arms" is executed using the following procedures.
If unarmed, a salute is rendered (although this is usually given by the command "To the front salute") If armed with a F88 Austeyr; the command is "PRESENT - ARMS". For instructional purposes the movement is divided into two parts. 'PRESENT ARMS BY NUMBERS - ONE'. Move the right forearm smartly upward, bringing the rifle to a vertical position, the front handgrip in line with the right shoulder. 'BY NUMBERS - TWO'. Raise the right foot through the position of mark time and place it on the ground with the instep against the left heel, the foot at the same angle as for the position of attention. At the same time bring the left arm smartly across the body, forearm parallel to the ground, elbow against the body, hand against the base of the pistol grip with the fingers extended and together, and the thumb on top of the forefinger.
If armed with a 7.62mm SLR the command is "Present - Arms". This movement is divided up into 2 parts. The timing is "1, 2-3, 1". On the first "1", the rifle is flung from the shoulder to a position directly centered and perpendicular to the parade ground. At the same time, the left hand is brought up sharply and is to grasp the rifle just above the magazine. On the second "1", the right hand moves sharply from a grasp around the pistol grip to a "goose neck" grip directly above the rear sight or directly below the rear sight on the small of the butt. At the same time, the right foot moves to the "break step" position (i.e. the right foot is behind the left foot on a 45° angle - the left heel inside the right instep), this is executed through the proper "Mark Time" position.
If armed with a sword, the command is "Present - Arms". This movement is divided into 2 parts. As with the SLR, the timing is "1, 2-3, 1". On the first "1", the sword is brought to the "recover" position (i.e. in a vertical position, handle in front of the face, 10 cm from the mouth, guard to left). On the second "1", the sword is lowered in a sweeping motion towards the front, the tip of the sword is 30 cm from the ground, guard to the left and inline with the seam of the trousers.
Finland
The command in Finnish military is "ETEEN - VIE!".
France
The current standard weapon of the French Military is the FAMAS, a short, bullpup assault rifle worn slung in diagonal over the chest; consequently, at the command "Présentez... armes !", French military personnel will put the right hand flat over the handle of the weapon, and take hold of the received handguard with the left. The rifle itself does not move.
Officers and non-commissioned officers holding a sword or sabre present it vertically, with the guard in front of the face. Absent a weapon, the standard military salute is rendered, hand above the right eye, palm facing forward.
Indonesia
In Indonesia, present arms is given the command in Indonesian: "Hormat Senjata, Gerak!" (weapon salute) for personnel carrying arms. The command "Hormat, Gerak!" is the command for personnel not carrying arms and is to execute a hand salute. For commands only to officers carrying swords (sabres), the command would be: "Hormat Pedang, Gerak!", but when officers who parade with men carrying rifles in a ceremony, the "Hormat Senjata, Gerak!" command is used.
In some occasions usually during parades, personnel who are carrying rifles with the position of "slinged-port arms" (slinged rifle is brought to the front of the body in "port arms" position), the present arms would be different, the execution is to place the right hand flat over the folded stock of the rifle and the left hand is to hold the handguard. (See Present Arms-2 image below)
Officers execute present arms with a Sabre in two steps, first is to bring the grip of the sabre to the front of the mouth facing the guard to the left, and then bringing the sabre down to the right lower side of the body next to the right leg facing the blade to the ground in a 30 degree angle to the right.
Iran
In Iran, they use command "پیش فنگ","pish fang", which means to hold the gun in front of the body.