DG's Journal: Let's hear it for depth in the chain of command

There is a Canadian - although it's probably British in origin - tradition of the "New Years Day Levee", in which dignitaries, politicians, public servants, and soldiers open their doors and provide refreshments on New Year's Day. The idea is to travel from levee to levee, partaking in holiday greetings and toasts to the New Year.

Our Regiment opens the three messes, and each mess has a time window in which to hold its toasts. The Officer's Mess goes last, and it lays on roast beef sandwiches as well as a huge urn of eggnog (more nog than egg, as it happens)

As a subaltern, my role is usually to fall in as part of the entourage.

But as it happens, this year the CO was called away on a sudden medical emergency, as was the DCO. The Adjutant was away in Kingston, and OC HQ Sqn was nowhere to be found.

That made me acting CO. I wound up doing the Regimental toasts, serving our roast beef (the unit COs carve and serve) and generally acting as if I ran the place - because at the time, I *DID*.

Happily, I made it through the day without overly embarrassing myself or the Regiment, and a good time was had by all.

Not quite as dramatic as the story of the teenaged midshipman who wound up captain of the ship (during a battle in the War of 1812) when the bridge officers were all killed/wounded... but the principle is the same.

Eat your heart out, Ethelred. :) Who puts the "Lt" in "LCol"?

DG

Harrumph!

[Ethelred Unraed]

You may have been acting CO of your puny little unit, but I'm Lord Supreme Commander of Pretty Much Everything.*

Cheers,

Ethelred

* - Er, with some exceptions. Well, all right, a lot of exceptions. But I'm working on it.

Iwo Jima WWII

[Tsunayoshi]

During the battle on Iwo Jima in WWII, there was an instance where a brand new boot LT in charge of a platoon in the morning wound up being the Battalion Commander by nightfall due to officer attrition.

USMC org:
platoon->company->battalion->regiment

I don't envy anyone in that position.

Egg nog?

[aridhol]

Bah! Egg nog is for wusses. Moose milk is where it's at.

As for levees, Wikipedia has some historical info [wikipedia.org].