Thankyou,
I should have said 'ex SNCO', I are a mere skuleteecher these days.
SNCOs vary tremendously, as do the guys in every rank from AC to ACM. I was extremely good and helpful at times, extremely annoying and useless at others - to an extent this depended on who I was dealing with....
Like many SNCOs I was always absolutely sure that I was the equal of anyone I met, but I have to confess my social skills were (and perhaps still are) a bit inclined towards the Del Boy end of the scale - on one memorable evening at the Naval Attache's house in Athens, whilst attempting to be suave and sophisticated, I chatted to the lady of the house for quite some time before glancing down to see my tie well immersed in my horse's neck..... Some of us are born, frankly, to play out in real life the cornier scenes of a 1950's Carry On film....
Dave