'I was the one who actually did a lot of the work': New lieutenant embarrasses incompetent boss during important meeting after doing the bulk of the work

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    "Spent a year being boss's minion, then publicly showed him up in a meeting" 1915
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    This story happened about seven years ago and, ironically, wasn't even intentional. Here's the background:
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    I reported to my first- ever unit in the Army Reserves 8 years ago. I was a newly-minted lieutenant and if I was any greener, I could've engaged in photosynthesis. To my
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    dismay, it turned out he knew nothing about the MOS our very small unit specialized in and he didn't particularly care to either.
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    Being the brand-new LT I was, I had no clue what I was doing and ended up being his little minion while I attempted to carry
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    out/ enforce his directives. This meant I spent most drills exasperatedly trying to convince a bunch of seasoned soldiers why they should do a bunch of inane tasks that ultimately served no helpful purpose. As the
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    cherry on top of the cake, the commander was also a particularly unpleasant character. He was very certain that he was a smart guy, but listening to him for any period of time
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    would make it clear he wasn't. As if that wasn't enough, he was also the sort who liked to swing between trying to be "one of the guys" and "hey, guy, don't forget who you're talking to" when his feelings got hurt. This
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    went on for about a year, during which time I attempted to learn my actual job from the guys in the unit.
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    About a year after I first reported, we had a battalion training meeting about planning our annual rifle qualification range.
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    For those who don't know, ranges like this are one of the most basic training functions that a unit can do and even a brand-new LT like myself
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    should be able to plan one. However, instead of being involved in the planning process and doing some work, a lot of the work he should have been doing got shoved off on me.
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    Fast forward to the meeting. All the other units on the call had given their reports before
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    it came to us. We were in the room with a neighboring unit's command team. My commander took the hot seat and absolutely butchered the briefing.
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    He was completely unprepared, had absolutely no idea where things stood, and completely stammered
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    his way through. It was absolutely embarrassing to watch for everyone in the room and the awkwardness was so thick you could have cut it with a knife. Finally,
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    after what felt like an eternity, the battalion commander asked me to get the group up to speed. I (who hadn't spoken for the entire meeting) was a nervous wreck because I didn't have much experience with public speaking, but
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    my notes saved me because, again, I was the one who actually did a lot of the work.
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    I doubt he got in any real trouble, but it definitely destroyed any credibility he had left in the command. I still smile about that moment to this day when I think about it.

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