During my Government temp job, many moons ago, I got to know some career military officers. One of them told us about a time when he was spending a sunday as the garrison duty officer in a coastal town. The phone rang. The kind that has an actual line attached to it. A member of the public had a complaint: Those d***n supersonic fighters were making an awful noise, just when he wanted his Sunday afternoon nap. My friend, being a quirky but mellow fellow turned it into a discussion.
- Duty Officer: By the way, where did you do your service?
- Joe Public: I went to the Armoured Brigade.
- DO: Oh, you got to play with tanks.
- JP: Exactly, cool stuff.
- DO: So, do you recall an occasion when the officers went driving the tanks, just for fun on a Sunday?
- JP: Er. No?
- DO: Right. I'd hazard a guess that those pilot aren't flying their war machines for fun on a Sunday. I think they are flying for a reason. Most likely, they have something urgent to do.
- JP: Hmmm. You're probably right.
