I've always had a strong aversion to uniforms which is why I left Germany. Me being conscripted into the newly-formed German Bundeswehr and wearing a uniform? Not even if my life depended on it! I'd rather wrestle a kangaroo! So I emigrated to Australia!
With all that free time in retirement and a liking for everything that floats but especially boats, I became a volunteer with Marine Rescue. I went out to sea in every weather in one of their three rescue boats and learned about first aid and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Everything went swimmingly until they promoted me to be their radio operator.
Things were going really well. I even managed to piss off a few of my newly-made friends by explaining to them that "Mayday" has nothing to do with the first of May but derived from the French m'aidez - 'help me'.
Then the day that call came in: "Mayday! Mayday! WE ARE SINKING!" Apparently, "What are you thinking about?" was not the right response.
