By: Alen Ope

Having spent over 20 years on active duty I can attest to the fact that some of the senior officers can be toxic and abusive to their subordinates. We usually joked when it occurred that it was all part of a ritual culminating in a medical procedure which transferred the leader’s #### to his brain. There was one derelict general who was particularly offensive. When he summoned his staff he could be heard calling out, “OK, all you #### over here!” I stood up to him on several occasions and later received an adverse efficiency report. But the joke is on the “Fox”, because I just cooled it for seven years and the report was out of my file, when the promotion board met. I was promoted to Colonel. He was passed over for two stars because of his abusive attitude which led to a major altercation with another senior official on another staff. Much later, to sweeten the revenge I turned down a request for an interview with him when he showed up at my headquarters as a civilian feather merchant trying to hock his wares. I sent over a young captain.