As a young soldier at the age of 21 I guess, I witnessed an event which caused me some embarrassment due to the fact that the BSM (Battery Sargent Major) was a fellow Irishman.
Allow me to explain. One morning after battery parade the BSM tasked one of the younger men to go with him as he had a job for him. The young lad followed the BSM to just outside the battery office to where the battery flag pole was located and as I was working nearby on my AFV432 (Armoured Fighting Vehicle) I heard say to the young soldier, “right then son I want you to measure the flag pole for me, I will be back in a short while”. Scratching his head the young lad was thinking how he could complete this task, when suddenly almost like a light bulb switching on, the lad man handled the pole out of the ground, laid it on the floor and preceded to measure it with the tape measure the BSM had given him earlier.
At which point the BSM returned and I could not believe my ears when I heard the BSM asking the lad what he was doing, the boy explained that he was measuring the flag pole as requested, the BSM shouted at him saying.
“I wanted the height not the bloody length you stupid boy.
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