Using Rank on Retirement
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Hot and High, you're now deleted pointless add on reminds me of that troubleshooter programme where Sir John Harvey-Jones went into ailing companies, he visited one with an old works that was devoid of investment that was struggling to produce the goods, then he went next door into the brand new modern office block that had more staff than the works.
Upon asking people what you you do it soon became apparent they produced paperwork that shuttled around the various office departments and then was filed, most of it not actually attaining anything and none of it actually doing anything to support the core business nor generate income, in fact the direct opposite, it was bleeding the place dry.
Upon asking people what you you do it soon became apparent they produced paperwork that shuttled around the various office departments and then was filed, most of it not actually attaining anything and none of it actually doing anything to support the core business nor generate income, in fact the direct opposite, it was bleeding the place dry.
NL, I deleted it as I didn't wish to unnecessarily depress the good readers of PPRuNe!!!!! 
For those confused, my point was that, even when Serving, I soon realised a lot of projects I was asked to do (even with Staff specifically provided to work for me to do them) were, subsequently, never taken forward and that one is soon forgotten. So, all these people (even VSOs) who end up outside, proud of what they have achieved, don't realise (admit?) that the "new broom" who took over from them probably completely changed everything again.
What was that train of thought from so many, many MoD Staff over the decades? "Why is so-and-so changing this again as it finally works well? Ah, yes, they have to be seen to be doing something - even if, ultimately, it's just revolving the wheel 180 deg! Ah well, bo££ox, off we go again!!!!!".
For those confused, my point was that, even when Serving, I soon realised a lot of projects I was asked to do (even with Staff specifically provided to work for me to do them) were, subsequently, never taken forward and that one is soon forgotten. So, all these people (even VSOs) who end up outside, proud of what they have achieved, don't realise (admit?) that the "new broom" who took over from them probably completely changed everything again.
What was that train of thought from so many, many MoD Staff over the decades? "Why is so-and-so changing this again as it finally works well? Ah, yes, they have to be seen to be doing something - even if, ultimately, it's just revolving the wheel 180 deg! Ah well, bo££ox, off we go again!!!!!".
LOL
His son said this on one occasion when OFAH in their heyday, only for the retort "I may be a bit of a plonker but I can still revise my will to leave it to the Peckham dogs home, trigger". Son got evil glares from siblings so ending that.
His son said this on one occasion when OFAH in their heyday, only for the retort "I may be a bit of a plonker but I can still revise my will to leave it to the Peckham dogs home, trigger". Son got evil glares from siblings so ending that.
Have seen it used as "Cambridge / Harvard", 1st time a bit puzzled but it seemed to impress a lady he was chatting up. On crashing and burning he admitted after "yup he had been to Harvard and the day trip from Boston on a layover was worth every dime".
NL, I deleted it as I didn't wish to unnecessarily depress the good readers of PPRuNe!!!!!
For those confused, my point was that, even when Serving, I soon realised a lot of projects I was asked to do (even with Staff specifically provided to work for me to do them) were, subsequently, never taken forward and that one is soon forgotten. So, all these people (even VSOs) who end up outside, proud of what they have achieved, don't realise (admit?) that the "new broom" who took over from them probably completely changed everything again.
What was that train of thought from so many, many MoD Staff over the decades? "Why is so-and-so changing this again as it finally works well? Ah, yes, they have to be seen to be doing something - even if, ultimately, it's just revolving the wheel 180 deg! Ah well, bo££ox, off we go again!!!!!".
For those confused, my point was that, even when Serving, I soon realised a lot of projects I was asked to do (even with Staff specifically provided to work for me to do them) were, subsequently, never taken forward and that one is soon forgotten. So, all these people (even VSOs) who end up outside, proud of what they have achieved, don't realise (admit?) that the "new broom" who took over from them probably completely changed everything again.
What was that train of thought from so many, many MoD Staff over the decades? "Why is so-and-so changing this again as it finally works well? Ah, yes, they have to be seen to be doing something - even if, ultimately, it's just revolving the wheel 180 deg! Ah well, bo££ox, off we go again!!!!!".
When I was at Rheindahlen in the mid 80s we had our war headquarters in the caves at Maastricht. I went down there for the farewell do for the major who had commanded the signal group for 3 years. I asked him if he felt he'd achieved much during his time there. He said "You see that wall there, It's as if it's made of rubber and I've been pressing my shoulder against it for 3 years and I was halfway in and I've just stepped away and it's sprung back out" He was a great bloke and very switched on. Depressing.
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.
anyhoo one evening at the bar he swanned over to pops, who enquired which ship he commmaded hoping for a tail or two. He then replied that he was a captain in the royal logistics core. Pops commented that it really wasn’t the done thing to go on about your rank below major. To which the Captain got a tad upset and after which my father request he call him Sir on every occasion and afford him all the privileges of being a Retired Major or alternatively he could drop all this and be on first name basis...... it soon stopped
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.
anyhoo one evening at the bar he swanned over to pops, who enquired which ship he commmaded hoping for a tail or two. He then replied that he was a captain in the royal logistics core. Pops commented that it really wasn’t the done thing to go on about your rank below major. To which the Captain got a tad upset and after which my father request he call him Sir on every occasion and afford him all the privileges of being a Retired Major or alternatively he could drop all this and be on first name basis...... it soon stopped
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Universities are full of people with post nominals and interesting to note only on official responses do professors etc use full title. Rest of the time its all first name terms. All mine are aware I'm ex-service but its not a point for discussion and I don't raise it. This is work of a different requirement.
However, we have a number of people who insist on using their 'military' title on every email and letting everyone know they are 'military'. Their lack of respect towards myself and other ex-service people is directly proportional to their over inflated egos:
Wg Cdr Very Important BA (Hons) MBA MSc PGDE DMS DipIM MIMC, CMC FInstLM FCMI RAFVR(T) retd
Wg Cdr Quite Important BA (Hons) PGCE FInstLM MBILD TechIOSH RAFVR(T) retd
Flt Lt Notso Important MA(PP) MA (Law) BSc HNC CMgr FCMI Chartered FCIPD FInstLM FRSPH FRSA MRAeS RAFVR(T) retd
Are their ego's that fragile they need to do this?
Funny how the common theme being normal ex-mil don't discuss or broadcast it unless in appropriate company yet attention seekers like this are quite the opposite.
Speaks volumes.
However, we have a number of people who insist on using their 'military' title on every email and letting everyone know they are 'military'. Their lack of respect towards myself and other ex-service people is directly proportional to their over inflated egos:
Wg Cdr Very Important BA (Hons) MBA MSc PGDE DMS DipIM MIMC, CMC FInstLM FCMI RAFVR(T) retd
Wg Cdr Quite Important BA (Hons) PGCE FInstLM MBILD TechIOSH RAFVR(T) retd
Flt Lt Notso Important MA(PP) MA (Law) BSc HNC CMgr FCMI Chartered FCIPD FInstLM FRSPH FRSA MRAeS RAFVR(T) retd
Are their ego's that fragile they need to do this?
Funny how the common theme being normal ex-mil don't discuss or broadcast it unless in appropriate company yet attention seekers like this are quite the opposite.
Speaks volumes.
Using rank after retirement.
Whilst I am never going to achieve the kind of rank that would justify bragging about after my service I don’t begrudge it being used by those that have.
At the heart of it there may be a bit of arrogance, insecurity or even narcissism. It is also possible they are just very proud of what they managed to achieve.
We all join the services at the bottom of our respective ladders and climb to whichever rung suits our abilities and ambition. If you reach a higher rung and that was your ambition then good on you.
The last ex VSO I had any dealings with was a retired 4 Star. He was/is an absolutely brilliant bloke. His rank was germane to the situation but he didn’t push it. I still called him Sir anyway even when those around me didn’t.
My concern for a lot of posters here is that, by getting all worked up about it, you are probably showing your own insecurities more than anything.
If someone is a bellend it won’t matter what their rank once was. They will always be a bellend!
I say live and let live. But if they act like a prat then feel free to tell them, whoever they are.
BV
At the heart of it there may be a bit of arrogance, insecurity or even narcissism. It is also possible they are just very proud of what they managed to achieve.
We all join the services at the bottom of our respective ladders and climb to whichever rung suits our abilities and ambition. If you reach a higher rung and that was your ambition then good on you.
The last ex VSO I had any dealings with was a retired 4 Star. He was/is an absolutely brilliant bloke. His rank was germane to the situation but he didn’t push it. I still called him Sir anyway even when those around me didn’t.
My concern for a lot of posters here is that, by getting all worked up about it, you are probably showing your own insecurities more than anything.
If someone is a bellend it won’t matter what their rank once was. They will always be a bellend!
I say live and let live. But if they act like a prat then feel free to tell them, whoever they are.
BV
One of the very few times I flouted my Ph.D. was immediatly after graduation, when my mother would introuce me as "my son, the doctor". Otherwise, you get about 24 hours of your collegues calling you "Dr. x". Then it's back to first names.
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Whilst I am never going to achieve the kind of rank that would justify bragging about after my service I don’t begrudge it being used by those that have.
At the heart of it there may be a bit of arrogance, insecurity or even narcissism. It is also possible they are just very proud of what they managed to achieve.
We all join the services at the bottom of our respective ladders and climb to whichever rung suits our abilities and ambition. If you reach a higher rung and that was your ambition then good on you.
The last ex VSO I had any dealings with was a retired 4 Star. He was/is an absolutely brilliant bloke. His rank was germane to the situation but he didn’t push it. I still called him Sir anyway even when those around me didn’t.
My concern for a lot of posters here is that, by getting all worked up about it, you are probably showing your own insecurities more than anything.
If someone is a bellend it won’t matter what their rank once was. They will always be a bellend!
I say live and let live. But if they act like a prat then feel free to tell them, whoever they are.
BV
At the heart of it there may be a bit of arrogance, insecurity or even narcissism. It is also possible they are just very proud of what they managed to achieve.
We all join the services at the bottom of our respective ladders and climb to whichever rung suits our abilities and ambition. If you reach a higher rung and that was your ambition then good on you.
The last ex VSO I had any dealings with was a retired 4 Star. He was/is an absolutely brilliant bloke. His rank was germane to the situation but he didn’t push it. I still called him Sir anyway even when those around me didn’t.
My concern for a lot of posters here is that, by getting all worked up about it, you are probably showing your own insecurities more than anything.
If someone is a bellend it won’t matter what their rank once was. They will always be a bellend!
I say live and let live. But if they act like a prat then feel free to tell them, whoever they are.
BV
Well said Bob..
Nutloose GSM Retd
Ecce Homo! Loquitur...
Thread Starter
Nutloose GSM Retd
I seem to recall a tale that, in the same era, there was an engineer VSO when was quite proud of the fact he had a bare chest, so to speak - then the bar stewards deliberately gave him a Jubilee medal....
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I seem to recall a tale that, in the same era, there was an engineer VSO when was quite proud of the fact he had a bare chest, so to speak - then the bar stewards deliberately gave him a Jubilee medal....
Reminds me of one of the apochryphal tales of the Abandoned Earl.
Said officer (serving at the time) was having a quiet drink - and six or seven noisy ones - with his pilots in a Mess bar on detachment.
They were approached by a Self-Important Resident who told them to be quiet.
Abandoned Earl: F*** Off
Self Important One: I am Sqn Ldr Sir Algernon Bloggs DFC, and I'm telling you to be quiet!
Abandoned Earl: And I am Wg Cdr The Earl of Bandon DSO. Beat you on all three counts. Now f*** off!
Said officer (serving at the time) was having a quiet drink - and six or seven noisy ones - with his pilots in a Mess bar on detachment.
They were approached by a Self-Important Resident who told them to be quiet.
Abandoned Earl: F*** Off
Self Important One: I am Sqn Ldr Sir Algernon Bloggs DFC, and I'm telling you to be quiet!
Abandoned Earl: And I am Wg Cdr The Earl of Bandon DSO. Beat you on all three counts. Now f*** off!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Percy_...Earl_of_Bandon
No lover of pomposity, for sure!
This is a great thread-I can think of so many anecdotes on this theme. As an ex-Crab, I do have to say that it is the ex-Grunts who are the worst culprits. My ex-wife’s current husband (long since retired from the RLC) insists on using ‘Major’ at every opportunity, even on his bank account, but then he is a bit of a t**t.
Nigerian In Law
This thread is a great read ! I came across so many pompous buffoons (despite being somewhat outdated it's still the best term for them), I think I had a form of PTSD for about 18 months after discharge and instantly pigeon holed any well spoken bod as a d**khead. It wasn't until I left for Nigeria that I realised some of them knew their onions.
Old school tie, rich parents trying to occupy their intellectually disappointing son, offspring of VSOs relying on Daddy's rep etc. Encountered many in my time.
Sgt Never Been Noticed REME Tech/Army Air Corps Pilot GSM Rtd
Old school tie, rich parents trying to occupy their intellectually disappointing son, offspring of VSOs relying on Daddy's rep etc. Encountered many in my time.
Sgt Never Been Noticed REME Tech/Army Air Corps Pilot GSM Rtd
TBH, it is Basil himself who seems to "use" the Major's title just to "big up" his humble emporium - not the Major! And Ballard Blascheck played the part to perfection! Particularly due to some of those classics such as the Major hunting down the rat in the Bar, I always found myself having difficulty in keeping a straight face when first being introduced to Pongos of a certain Rank as that was how I pictured them ending up - totally unjustly of course.
So, enjoy some pure non-PC nostalgia!!!!!!
Avoid imitations
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My wife’s uncle, who died about five years ago, was an interesting character. He retired as a colonel but never used his rank in civvie street as far as I’m aware. He was universally known as “Tinker”.
Tinker married my father in law’s sister. I only met him a couple of times, during my RAF days and although I once had quite a long conversation with him whilst out walking, he was more interested in talking about what I was doing than what he had done. I didn’t press him, although I knew he’d spent time in the SAS during WW2, probably because what questions I did ask were met with fairly short answers. I’d been told by his son that he’d once parachuted into enemy territory in Italy and landed in a tree, suspended over a stream. I was watching a TV documentary not long back and a similar story was mentioned, which prompted me to search again for his history.
I discovered that he’d been interviewed at some length by someone from the Imperial War Museum. Intriguing to listen to.
Here’s a link: https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80018711
Tinker married my father in law’s sister. I only met him a couple of times, during my RAF days and although I once had quite a long conversation with him whilst out walking, he was more interested in talking about what I was doing than what he had done. I didn’t press him, although I knew he’d spent time in the SAS during WW2, probably because what questions I did ask were met with fairly short answers. I’d been told by his son that he’d once parachuted into enemy territory in Italy and landed in a tree, suspended over a stream. I was watching a TV documentary not long back and a similar story was mentioned, which prompted me to search again for his history.
I discovered that he’d been interviewed at some length by someone from the Imperial War Museum. Intriguing to listen to.
Here’s a link: https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/80018711