A Paperwork Error
IllustrationStory★★★“I was busily keeping track of about fifteen aircraft at an Air Force rescue school in New Mexico when I noticed a paperwork error in the previous day’s report. Sure that the day’s duty officer was at fault, I reported the error to my superior, a crusty lieutenant colonel. Although I tried to convince him otherwise, he kept insisting I must be at fault. ‘Sergeant, you just don’t get it, do you?’ he finally explained. ‘I’m not saying you’re to blame—I’m saying we are blaming you!’ ”
Roger A. Hogue.
The point
A military superior won't accept an error in the paperwork, insisting that blame must be assigned to the sergeant regardless of actual fault—illustrating how systems sometimes prioritize blame assignment over truth.
Audience
Adults
Tone
Humorous
To tell aloud
under a minute · 87 words