A British Army Colonel called the sergeant major into his office and said “I have just been informed that Private Smith’s father has died and I want you to break the news to him.”
The sergeant major gathered all of his men on the parade ground and shouted “SMITH ONE STEP FORWARD, SMITH YOUR FATHER’S DEAD, SMITH ONE STEP BACK.”
One week later the Colonel called the sergeant major in to his office again.
“Sergeant major” he said, “rather bad news, Private Smith’s mother has died and you have to tell him.”
“I was not happy at how you told Smith about his father”, the Colonel continued, “I would like you to be a little more thoughtful as to how you break this bad news.”
The sergeant major gathered all of his men on the training field and shouted “ALL THE MEN WITH MOTHERS RUN TO THE END OF THE FIELD. SMITH, WHERE ARE YOU GOING”.
