Corrected entry: As Potter realizes who is in the jeep, he quickly salutes and drops his hand. After the angle changes, the General salutes. By regulations, Potter, as the lower rank, should have held his salute until Gen. Prescott returned the salute.
Corrected entry: It would be impossible for Radar's bee Blitzen to sting the general as drones do not have stingers. (00:17:05)
Correction: Since it did sting him, it seems that Radar had misidentified it as a drone.
Correction: By regulation he should have done that. However, a MASH unit is hardly a parade ground and "hash marks" Potter isn't very gung ho on military protocol in the first place. Also what is true for a first lieutenant thirty years junior years younger isn't necessarily true for a full colonel the same age. Regulations aside, customs differ greatly in this area. In some units insisting on a parade ground salute from a near-equal rank would be considered an insult. Also, a convincing case could be made that potter's "abbreviated" salute was a breach of regulations in the other direction, because salutes usually aren't permitted in the field. Long story short, Potter's salute is perfectly in character with him, and makes perfect sense in the context.