During Navy basic training there are three separate uniform inspections. Everyone is lined up in front of their racks. The inspector, usually a Chief, will tell you what uniform to put on. You then have two minutes to get that uniform on correct to every miniscule detail.
The Chief then goes to each recruit and goes over your uniform. You can only have three mistakes. After he checks your uniform he asks you a question pertaining to the information you learn in boot. A wrong answer counts against your three mistakes.
It was 4th of July weekend during our second inspection. The Chief was trying to blow through as fast as possible. Finally he turned to the recruit leader and said "who knows the answers to all the questions? I'll ask them one and if they get it right no one else will get a question." My high test scores were no secret and the recruit leader pointed me out. The Chief got right in my face and asked me to describe the rank insignia of a Chief Warrant Officer. I sounded off what I THOUGHT was the right answer. The Chief nodded and continued. I thought I was the man.
The door barely shut as he left and I heard the Division Commander yell my name. He stormed in yelling about how I could screw such a simple question up. I was confused. He was also holding what appeared to be a demerit chit, not good. The DC then told me how lucky I was that the Chief had been so impressed with my military bearing that he ignored the wrong answer, let us slide on the questions and wrote a Bravo Zulu chit which is basically an "atta boy" for the unit.
Might be funnier to someone who has been through Navy boot but there ya go.
