Way back in the mid eighties, I was Command Sergeant Major, Natal Medical Command. I had only just resumed the appointment when the officer commanding, (for reasons not related to this story,) “left.”
An elderly doctor, who had been with the Citizen Force for many years before accepting an appointment in the Permanent Force, was appointed Acting Commanding Officer, Natal Medical Command, until the proposed candidate had completed his SD course. As the Surgeon General of the time said to my wife and myself, “You will have to guide this doctor while he is in the chair.” Things worked well and both parties had a lot of respect for each other and he accepted my guidance, as did his wife when it came to the Ladies Association matters. I naturally accepted him as my CO.