Class building "sighting"

[PepperElf]

This thread reminded me of a story from a couple of years ago, as told to me by one of my friends in the military.

At the time he was teaching in a building where there was a strict rule banning things like cell phones, cameras, thumb drives, laptops. (you couldn't even *bring* them into the building, let alone use them there). They had giant signs at the entrances (including pictures with giant "NO" symbols), and I think you had to sign a statement that you understand and acknowledge the rule.

So one day he's walking up the stairwell and sees an officer yapping away on his cell phone. He politely tells the man that he'll have to terminate the call and turn the phone in at the main desk.

The response? The man said nothing, just reached up to his own collar and wiggled his rank pins, basically saying, "I outrank you, shut up and go away." Extremely rude.

So... the instructor reported him to the chain of command. And before that phone call was even finished, one of the Master Chiefs (E8) was giving the officer an extremely loud dressing down. Basically along the lines of "How dare you disrespect one of my instructors! How dare you violate our rules!"

This time the officer did not try pulling rank. Sure he outranked the master chief, but... it's not a good idea to piss on someone who can have you kicked out of the school and call the MPs. Looks very bad on the records, ya know.

Oh and yeah, obviously by then the call was over. Kinda hard to yap on the phone when you're being (rightly) screamed at.

[Jack Doe]

That's freakin' awesome. I always love it when someone (especially an officer) gets too big for their britches and gets called on it. Yes, you may outrank the instructor, but the instructor out-authorities you.

(On our firing range, during qualification day in OTS)
SrA Crackshot: Lt Moron, who told you to load your weapon?
Lt Moron: Airman Crackshot, I'm ready to qualify.
SrA Crackshot: You know what you are, SIR!? You're a f***ing safety hazard, SIR! I'm going to have you recycled, you f***ing safety hazard, SIR!
Lt Moron: Airman...
SrA Crackshot: How about you shut the f*** up before I throw you off my range, SIR!?

(edit: And yea, you shouldn't try to pull rank over a senior NCO unless you're a senior captain (lieutenant for you Navy pukes) unless you're damn sure you're right.)

[PepperElf]

yep gotta love Positional Authority.

and omg yes... NO ONE outranks the range supervisor! Anyone who thinks that he or she does, has no place being anywhere near the range or a weapon.


and speaking of positional authority... i heard this story about Admiral Borda back when he was the CNO. and from what i've heard about him... it's entirely possible.

He attempted to board a ship without showing his ID card. (on navy ships, *only* the Commanding Officer has that right) The man standing watch challenged him. He was polite, but firm... No ID card, no coming on board, and yes he knew that he was talking to the Chief of Naval Operations.

So what happened? Admiral Borda said, "Very well" and produced his ID card. Then he went to talk to the ship's CO and told the skipper that the man standing watch "is to be promoted to the next highest pay-grade today".

Yeah. the sailor challenged the CNO himself and got promoted by the CNO for it.
(yay for passing the "test")

[Geek King]

Smart officers know that rules don't chafe as much if folks see that they apply to everyone. Shame there aren't enough smart officers to go around.

[dalesys]

News Flash!
Just in!
Results from one of the few experiments completed before the Super-Collider went bang have been analyzed.
The experiment was testing a prediction of the Anthropic Principle in Quantum Chromo-Dynamics.
It has been confirmed that for the UNIVERSE to exist, the concepts of brass-hat and ass-hat must be adjacent!


Told to BabyBro #3 when he descended to LtCol (USAF)