Using Rank on Retirement
When I was still serving, my wife and I were in a country restaurant celebrating our wedding anniversary and when we were ordering our desert the waitress took the order and retired, only to reappear quite quickly and inform me that there was only one of what I had ordered left and the “Wing Commander” always had that. As she spoke she nodded towards a table in the bay window where an older, white haired, moustachioed, rather noisy gent was sitting with a group. I paused, looked at the menu again and then said, “well, you can tell the Wing Commander that the other Wing Commander is having it tonight.”
And I did.
And I did.
Jack
Just prior to leaving the RAF on redundancy in 1996, I attended a resettlement course at Catterick and stayed in the Mess at RAF Leeming. There was a thoroughly decent, much older, chap on the course who, on asking his name, replied "Win".
We commuted together for the next two weeks in his Rover SD1 and helped each other in our new found hobby of Furniture Restoration. It was only in much later conversation with a Kipper Fleet (18 Gp) mate that I discovered who he was. Air Marshal Sir John Harris, KCB, CBE was still AOC 18 Gp at the time but was evidently readying himself for civilian life in all respects. Maximum respect!
We commuted together for the next two weeks in his Rover SD1 and helped each other in our new found hobby of Furniture Restoration. It was only in much later conversation with a Kipper Fleet (18 Gp) mate that I discovered who he was. Air Marshal Sir John Harris, KCB, CBE was still AOC 18 Gp at the time but was evidently readying himself for civilian life in all respects. Maximum respect!
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A few years ago driving back from Virginia Beach to Washington on official business (well someone had to do it) I was running late and as time was getting on I decided to try and get a room at Langley AFB. On enquiring I was told there were no rooms available so I asked if they had any arrangements with local motels. They had and so the young lady behind the desk asked me who I was. Wing Commander............ She seemed somewhat surprised and rather flustered and said that rooms were available in the VSO block and would I like a suite. So I spent a very comfortable night with breakfast cooked personally for me en suite. It obviously dawned on me that in USAF terms Wing Commander is a job title rather than a rank. So it can work very well!
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Anyone who uses their rank on retirement is a complete and utter throbber.
The same goes for Drs who change their passport and bank details - I mean outside of the hospital no-one gives a toss that you are a Dr.
The same goes for Drs who change their passport and bank details - I mean outside of the hospital no-one gives a toss that you are a Dr.
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When I was posted to Heathrow in the late 1970s we had an elderly Polish chap who worked as a junior administrator amending and keeping up to date our training manuals. He had been a civilian for many years but had been a decorated fighter pilot at Northolt during the Battle of Britain. We all called him "Sir" and meant it!
As for honourary doctorate recipients who uses the title Dr... Can we also add people who include 'BSc (Hons)' on their e-mail signatures into this category?
Meanwhile, back at The White House https://www.wsj.com/articles/is-ther...-d-11607727380
Jack
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My former (civilian) neighbour here found it appropriate to have his personal cheques embellished with “MBE” after his name.
Weird, but obviously not an exclusively military affectation.
Weird, but obviously not an exclusively military affectation.
On the subject of doctors. The degree is five years, the first three or four ( can’t remember now ) gains a BA or BSc medicine and the last year the MD I seem to remember
it seems the army is possibly the biggest culprit my father told me a tale of a cruise they went on a couple of years ago, with a gentlemen who insisted on being called captain all the time and was generally an arse... hat on no talking etc which meant little to those around him.
it seems the army is possibly the biggest culprit my father told me a tale of a cruise they went on a couple of years ago, with a gentlemen who insisted on being called captain all the time and was generally an arse... hat on no talking etc which meant little to those around him.
Can cause confusion !
My young sister got her PHd, in a medical science so Dr ........
Then went to med. school for her medical degree, So she was a med student as a DR. Result, some confusion amongst her tutors and student colleagues.
Been cruising for years, never used the term Captain in my name.
Last year a QF captain on our cruise did, result was upgrading etc. Etc. Might try it when cruising resumes !
Can cause confusion !
My young sister got her PHd, in a medical science so Dr ........
Then went to med. school for her medical degree, So she was a med student as a DR. Result, some confusion amongst her tutors and student colleagues.
Been cruising for years, never used the term Captain in my name.
Last year a QF captain on our cruise did, result was upgrading etc. Etc. Might try it when cruising resumes !
My young sister got her PHd, in a medical science so Dr ........
Then went to med. school for her medical degree, So she was a med student as a DR. Result, some confusion amongst her tutors and student colleagues.
Been cruising for years, never used the term Captain in my name.
Last year a QF captain on our cruise did, result was upgrading etc. Etc. Might try it when cruising resumes !
Quite entertaining to go on line to book a concert ticket at the Vienna opera ; the choice of titles is wonderful, from Admiral down. A fantasists dream , but it’s taken seriously and why not ?
Does it really matter? If it makes some folk happy and does no harm to anyone else, where is the problem? Personally, I see no point in it ! Most of us here have done our time in service to Queen and Country, and, whatever rank you ended up as, are now civilians with great memories (and, just possibly, a slightly different outlook on life!)
Bill
Bill
As for the ridiculous practice of stating a Bachelor degree post-nominal on an email signature... do people even still do that? This level of qualification is hardly rare nowadays.
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[QUOTE=Le Chiffre;10974534]Anyone who uses their rank on retirement is a complete and utter throbber.
The same goes for Drs who change their passport and bank details - I mean outside of the hospital no-one gives a toss that you are a Dr.[/QUOT
That depends on if you’re lying in front of a car wreck, choking in a restaurant, or collapsed in an airliner..... as for Doctors giving up DR when they retire, they probably never do in real life and will go to help if called for.
The same goes for Drs who change their passport and bank details - I mean outside of the hospital no-one gives a toss that you are a Dr.[/QUOT
That depends on if you’re lying in front of a car wreck, choking in a restaurant, or collapsed in an airliner..... as for Doctors giving up DR when they retire, they probably never do in real life and will go to help if called for.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DaveJ75
As for the ridiculous practice of stating a Bachelor degree post-nominal on an email signature... do people even still do that? This level of qualification is hardly rare nowadays.
It's very prevalent in the RAF, compared to the other two forces.
Originally Posted by DaveJ75
As for the ridiculous practice of stating a Bachelor degree post-nominal on an email signature... do people even still do that? This level of qualification is hardly rare nowadays.
It's very prevalent in the RAF, compared to the other two forces.