I enlisted in the U.S. Army on 27 December 1977, and went to Basic Combat Training at Fort Dix, New Jersey with B-4-3. It was a seriously memorable experience including as it did Vietnam veterans in the cadre and support personnel. After in-processing and enduring the reception station for shots, clothing, haircuts, and orientation, we proceeded through our prescribed course of preparation for service with the Army.
After some weeks of training, we were being marched across a snowy field between our barracks and an empty building where we sometimes learned bayonet training, hand-to-hand combat, and other subjects, and a drill sergeant (not one of the two assigned to our platoon) stopped our little cluster, put us at the position of attention, and proceeded to "right face" us and then to tear into ME verbally for some time. I searched my memory banks for the reason for this tirade as I locked up, feet at a 45 degree angle, arms straight, thumbs along the seams of my trousers, head and eyes locked and focused at an object in the middle distance, and by the way, cold as hell since this was in February 1978 in New Jersey, when the governor closed the state due to the bad weather!
About the time I wanted to raise my hand and ask what the heck he was talking about, he addressed me by the name of ANOTHER Soldier in the fourth squad (I was in the second). Using all the tact and equanimity at my disposal, I merely said, "He's in the Fourth Squad, Drill Sergeant," while raising my right hand and pointing to the rear. Said Drill Sergeant turned bright red, sputtered, and screamed at the true culprit for seconds before he marched us back to the barracks.
It took a lot to embarrass a Drill Sergeant, and I had just done it by accident......