[moscowexile]

U.S. and Royal Navy protocol is (was?) as follows:

Aye aye sir!

Naval response indicating that an order has been received, is understood, and will be carried out immediately. In operational situations, this is usually shortened to simply "aye." In constrast to "Aye Aye sir," a response of "Yes Sir" usually indicates that the person understands but is contemplating performing the ordered task at a later time or date.


Ships Captain: "Lieutenant, I need those reports by 1400hrs."
Executive Officer: "Aye aye sir."

Officer of the Deck: "Helm, make your course 149."
Helmsman "Making course 149, aye."

(From US web site)

The two "ayes", acording to the Oxford dictionary, mean: always/by all means/with certainty/yes. That is exactly what jawohl means in German. The first "aye" means an emphatic "yes" and is still used with this meaning in parts of the UK.

The second "aye" means "indeed", "for sure", as in:

"Aye, she's a bonny wench!"

(Shades of Long John Silver!)