The Navy Chief noticed a new seaman and barked at him, “Get over here!
What’s your name sailor?” “John,” the new seaman replied.
“Look, I don’t know what kind of bleeding-heart pansy crap they’re teaching
sailors in boot camp these days, but I don’t call anyone by his first name,”
the chief scowled. “It breeds familiarity, and that leads to a breakdown in
authority. I refer to my sailors by their last names only; Smith, Jones,
Baker, whatever. And you are to refer to me as ‘Chief’. Do I make myself
clear?”
“Aye, Aye Chief!”
“Now that we’ve got that straight, what’s your last name?”
The seaman sighed. “Darling, My name is John Darling, Chief.”
“Okay, John, here’s what I want you to do …”