[knarf]

"The only thing you are likely to see in a chief’s hand is a coffee mug. It is the young E-1s through E-5s who perform all the maintenance tasks that keep the ships moving and the aircraft flying."

I don't know what you do for a living .. or did, if you're retired, but I'm retired blue collar and I've been around long enough to know a lot of people get paid for what they know rather than what they do.

I was one of 'em for a year or two ... and personally ... you can HAVE it ... but the fact remains .... some white hats drink coffee and watch the work .... it just is.

You obviously never made it.

[Blood of Tyrants]

The chiefs I knew had been out of the nuts and bolts of maintenance for a while. While not much changes for a boiler tech over the years, the chiefs in the high tech fields were way out of date in training. In fact, the questionnaires for chief asked practically nothing about their rating as a chief is no longer expected to turn a wrench but become a low level supervisor.