The four-star general faced the officers and said, “Before anyone goes anywhere, I think there are a few facts everyone in this room deserves to understand.”
For half a second, nobody moved.
Then the general reached the brim of his cap, removed it, and tucked it beneath his arm.
It was not a salute.
That detail mattered to me.
He was not making a performance out of the moment. He was simply following the habit of a man who had spent more than forty years entering rooms properly.
The older officer recovered first.
“Sir, are you involved in this matter?”
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