The Officer and The Corporal

A military officer in a hot air balloon realized he was lost. He
reduced altitude and spotted a Corporal below. He descended a bit more and shouted, "Excuse me Corporal, can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago, but I don't know where I am."


The Corporal below replied, "You are in a hot air balloon hovering
Approximately 30 feet above the ground. You are between 40 and 41 degrees north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west longitude."


"You must be a Corporal... " Said the balloonist. "I am," replied the Corporal, "how did you know?" "Well," answered the officer, "everything you told me is, technically correct, but I have no idea what to make of your information, and the fact is I am still lost. Frankly, you've not been much help so far."


The Corporal below responded, "You must be an Officer" "I am," replied the officer, "but how did you know?" "Well," said the Corporal, "you don't know where you are or where you are going. You have risen to where you are due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise that you have no idea how to keep, and you expect people beneath you to solve your problems. The fact is you are in exactly the same position you were in before we met, but now, somehow, it's my fault."

The Officer smiled and replied "You are exactly the type we officers like to have as Staff Sergeants, those who try to help officers make decisions no matter how lost they become."

Hence, the officer promoted the Corporal to Staff Sergeant on the spot.

"Now that you are a Staff Sergeant," the officer said, "your first task is get a duty roster going for the weekend. Do a good job, and you'll become a Senior SNCO in no time."

The newly minted Staff Sergeant walked away, happily content with his new rank, and grabbed Corporal Swaff...er, I mean grabbed the first Corporal he came accross. "Corporal, I know that this isn't fair, but because I am a Staff Sergeant now, my weekends have become much more valuble than yours, you have to stand duty for this weekend."

The Staff Sergeant looked at his watch and realized that it was 1500. He quickly grabbed his racket ball bag and left for the day.

Everyone lived happily ever after (except the Corporal).