What was your rank again?

[Salty]

Found this on Quora
In the military, have you ever seen a superior officer berate a junior officer for giving enlisted unnecessary grief?
Oh yes. And it was glorious.

So I was working in a SCIF in Yokota, Japan. Normally, the site facility CO (at the time a Naval Captain) wasn’t on-site, but he was there for an inspection that day. A lowby noob Seaman screwed up some messaging from another SCIF, and the OIC in that one called ours. The CO answered.

3 VERY pertinent facts here:

1. A Naval Captain is an O-6, equivalent to a Colonel in the Army.
2. The caller was an Army Major, an O-4.
3. In the Army, a Captain is an O-3. Subordinate to a Major.

I’m sitting at my station about 6 feet away from the phone when the CO answers. He says, “Captain xxxx speaking.” The officer from the other facility lays into him verbally. So loudly, I can hear the yelling 6 feet away, and the Captain pulls the phone away from his ear and looks at it…then he looks at me, grins and winks, and interrupts the Major: “This is Naval Captain xxxx”.

Dead silence from the phone. 10 seconds. 20. When it’s obvious that the Major knows he’s screwed the pooch, the Captain absolutely laid into that O-4 ass. My suspicion is that that Major, for the rest of his career, responded to “Captain xxx speaking, how may I help?” by asking “Naval or other?”

As I say, it was glorious to watch, and instilled in me that that CO, at least, cared about his troops.


10.6K views
View 671 upvotes

 

[Marooncat79]

Just think 2 Army officers in the same Battalion w the name William Mercer

One a full bird Colonel, one a Captain

 

[Marooncat79]

There was also an E5. That was a William Mercer

 

[Roy]

I read where Chesty Puller happened upon a situation in which a lieutennant had a private standing at attention, continually saluting. He asked the lieutennant what was going on there and the lieutennant said that the private failed to salute him so he was making the private salute a hundred times so he wouldn't forget. Puller agreed that it was a good plan but told the lieutennant that every salute had to be returned "So let me see you do your part."

 

[just-want-peace]

I read where Chesty Puller happened upon a situation in which a lieutennant had a private standing at attention, continually saluting. He asked the lieutennant what was going on there and the lieutennant said that the private failed to salute him so he was making the private salute a hundred times so he wouldn't forget. Puller agreed that it was a good plan but told the lieutennant that every salute had to be returned "So let me see you do your part."

When I first went into the Army, I toyed with the idea of making it a career. Unfortunately (???) too many of the brass I was associated with were of the caliber of this Lt. A few of “Chesty Puller” type, but way too few!!

 

[Paul from Antioch]

I recall once during the summertime at Ramstein I was following an enlisted GI walking down one of the streets on base. It was pouring down rain & was at least 110+% humidity. The poor fellow was doing all he could to keep that thinly layered raincoat so that his actual uniform would TRY to be covered so as to at the very least it wouldn't turn into a sponge. Of course, since it was storming quite heavily, there was an updraft of wind to "Help" this poor GI in his quandary of doing his best to stay at least SOME what dry. Then, from the opposite direction, out pops this band-new 2nd Lt from one of the office buildings that were on both sides of this street. When this now-thoroughly drenched chap failed to render a salute to this 90-Day Wonder (We'd ALWAYS wondered how brilliant these young whippersnappers DID during those 3 months of officer training school!!) and demanded this soaking wet GI salute him 100 times. Now, across the street from out of that building (Its windows were open.) leans out this full-bird Col and orders the 2nd Looey, "OK, lieut...NOW return all those salutes!! BTW, you're my next Officer's Performance Report I have to initial showing I approve of said officer's report!! "Yah gutta love it!!"

 

[Paul from Antioch]

To answer your rank question: I made E-4 in Jan 1967. Originally in the USAF that was Airman 1st Class, then that rank became Sgt (i.e., your lowest NCO rank in the USAF) which I made when I was still @ D-M AFB but very soon after that I received orders to report to the 4080th Consolidated Aircraft Main Wing there. Finance hadn't as yet come up with my promotion + separate rations pay (If I were married I guess that would also include a separate qrtrs allowance too.) Here's one irony to my orders: When I arrived at RAB, there was no 4080th CAM Wing or Squadron there, only the 26th Tac Recon Wing & the 26th FMS! Then I found out why. In the transition period French President DeGaulle gave all non-French military bases & units in France the boot. (After all, we only twice, in both World Wars, rescued his nation from German occupation.) Anyway, VERY eventually base pay & Sep Rats caught up with me, and plus the fact that most of the time I wound up on a 1600-2400 shift which entitled me to eat at Midnight chow, which was at least 110+% better & it only cost me $0.37! And, if I happened to be on a day shift, that also paid about a third cost to eat at the Airmen's/NCO club. I usually chose the former once since the NCO club featured its entranceway cluttered w/ 1-Armed slot machines w/ the ambience of drunken parties that seemed to be a 24/7/365-66 featured option. Then, in 1988 when I enlisted in the TN ANG (118th Airlift Wing w/ brand new C-130H "Stretched" fuselages) I was allowed to retain my E-4 rank. After I passed the 5-level SKT for Avionics Guidance & Control Systems repair man, I made E-5 (SSgt). Since I was on drill-status after leaving Kessler AFB, I wasn't given my Sep Rats pay though, then after 4 yrs (Remember, the ANG still rigidly conformed to USAF regs for promotion!) I earned (As a "Deserving Airman" [?]) the E-5 Tech Sgt, which usually is as high a rank that one would make in most acft maint AFSCs as a drill status guardsman. We started out w/ 16 C-130H's, then we were cut to 12 of them (Of course you KNOW that politics NEVER is a factor in the military...What a coincidence when an IL Senator became POTUS that the IL ANG just happened to get our "surplus" acfts!! Then, after 4 yrs, the remaining C-130s were mysteriously were departed to some furren' Latin American nation(s)....to ward off the narco cartels we were told. (Yeah, right!) so we were left w/ just 6 then. Soon after I retired in Jan 2005, ALL remaining C-130H's magically disappeared & now the 118th Wing (no longer "Airlift") wing was given UM Drones. I was always careful to drive UNDER the speed limit on Donelson Pike...cause now the TN State Troopers and/or Metro Nashville-Davidson County didn't need any blue light specials to stop my Mercury SUV...I didn't care to test the fire power of a warning shot aimed at my gas tank! (I was told that it was a blast!)

 

[RighteousnessTemperance&]

To answer your rank question: ...

The title is referring to what can happen when one mistakes rank or abuses rank. So, got any similar "chew" stories?

 

[Salty]

The title is referring to what can happen when one mistakes rank or abuses rank. So, got any similar "chew" stories?

YEP

In BMO - I worked for the BMT (assigned to HHC) he was a W-3 - somewhat = to a 0-3 Captain.
My Company Cdr was a 0-2 LT. I was the Automotive parts clerk (PLL) My CO told me not to
give our parts to any other company. Well, one day, my BMT wanted something from my parts truck.
I told him no (I was a Staff Sgt E-6) BMT got mad. He then said This is a direct order - I still refused.
So he storms down to my Company commander. My CO calls me and tells me thank-you for thinking of the company but tell chief that its okay to give him what he needs. Actually, I had no problem with doing so, I just got ticked getting between the bickering of those two. I figured, I would let them duke it out. After that - no problem. Now, if I had been a Private who knows what would have happened.