When I was in basic training, I had a drill instructor that would call everyone "Dummy".
This was mild compared to what the other instructors called us, and one day I summoned the courage to inquire about it. His response was classic:
"Come here, Dummy, and Push until I tell you to stop!" he responded in his customary Southern drawl.
"Not YOU, Dummy, the Dummy that asked me the question, but YOU can Push, too!"
(Some other Dummy had moved quicker than me, assuming he was in trouble.)
"Who do you think they had us practice yelling at in Drill school, Dummy?"
"Dummies, Drill Sarn't!" I said, pausing, and thinking myself clever...
"No, Dummy," he replied, "and keep pushing!"
"We yelled at EACH OTHER, Dummy! Now do 5 more, both you Dummies, and recover back to formation!"
"I was the last man on the list, and didnt have anyone to yell at, Dummies!" he said to the formation. "So when they gave JUST ME a dummy, Dummy, (in my face now) what did people start calling me?"
"Dummy, Drill Sarn't!" I stated confidently.
"NO, Dummy! They didn't call me 'Dummy Drill Sarn't', I hadn't graduated yet! They just called me Sarn't Dummy, Dummy!", and with that he walked away.
Nobody ever asked him any more questions after that...
... but one grunt did later accidentally called him "Drill Sarn't Dummy" to his face...
Yeah, so I call the RG "Dummy", when I face his teams, and I giggle.
As in "Oh, its you again, Dummy!" or,...
"Come here, Dummy!" when he Taunts...
"NO, Dummy!" when he Stuns...
"Stop that, Dummy!" when he Evades...
and "Stay Down, Dummy!" when he dies.
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Didn't read any of that by the way.
I got through a few sentences,
I giggled
Was he a wild grunt?
No, I went to Sand Hill, too..., and Jump and RIP, etc...
I packaged the story for a quick, funny delivery, trying to de-emphasize the military and my connection to it. I do not care for recognition because I never went anywhere or did anything meaningful. The exclamations are more emphasis than yelling, he was just talking like a Driil. And it was only a few push-ups, he was being cutsie, messing with our heads. He was a Tabbed leg from 10th Mtn, cant remember his name. He was from another platoon.
My Driils were Santiago and LeSure. Santiago called us all "Prribate"(Private), and LeSure was a short-timer so he didnt insult us, he was happy all the time.