Penguin Named Colonel In Norwegian Army

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Discussion Overview

The discussion centers around the honorary title of Colonel given to a penguin named Nils Olav in the Norwegian Army, exploring the humorous and whimsical aspects of this event. Participants share anecdotes, reactions, and light-hearted commentary related to military mascots and the nature of such honorary positions.

Discussion Character

  • Exploratory
  • Debate/contested
  • Conceptual clarification
  • Meta-discussion

Main Points Raised

  • Some participants mention that Nils Olav has been promoted multiple times and serves as a morale booster for the troops.
  • Others humorously suggest that other penguins in the forum might seek ranks or titles as well.
  • A participant recounts a story about a set of bolt cutters that was humorously promoted in the US Air Force, drawing a parallel to Nils Olav's honorary rank.
  • There are comments on the nature of honorary titles, with some emphasizing that Nils Olav is not a regular colonel.
  • Several participants share jokes and anecdotes about penguins, including their behavior and interactions with humans.
  • One participant questions whether penguins can get rabies, noting that only mammals typically do.

Areas of Agreement / Disagreement

Participants generally agree on the humorous nature of the topic and the light-heartedness surrounding the penguin's honorary title. However, there is no consensus on the seriousness or implications of such honorary ranks, as some express skepticism about the validity of the title.

Contextual Notes

The discussion includes various humorous anecdotes and speculative comments, but lacks a serious examination of the implications of honorary military titles.

Who May Find This Useful

Readers interested in military mascots, humorous anecdotes related to animals in military contexts, or light-hearted discussions about unconventional topics may find this thread engaging.

Ivan Seeking
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...He started out as a Lance Corporal and was promoted four times, said a newspaper in Scotland.

Nils was seen reviewing the guard during a ceremony in his honor.[continued]

http://images.ibsys.com/2005/0818/4866154_200X150.jpg
http://www.nbc10.com/news/4866202/detail.html

I'm thinking that they really need a draft.
 
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:smile:
It's actually true you know..
 
You shouldn't have posted this. Now Pengwuino is going to want a rank.
 
And what about dduardo's little friend?
 
There's also Penguin-Rader, who doesn't show up that often, but will probably now want to be known as Second Lieutenant, Penguin-Rader.
 
I saw it on the news yesterday I think it was. It was very cute. The penguin stopped to check out some of the troops, and the commentary was that he was inspecting the troops (he was probably looking for treats). The best part of watching the video coverage was that after they did that, you saw the one soldier who was walking behind him smirking as he was trying to suppress laughter. That had to be tough to walk around completely serious about something so funny.

The penguin was adopted as a mascot, so I doubt they expected this to be picked up in international news as anything special. Probably just something fun as a morale booster.
 
I think it is important to emphasize that Nils Olav (the penguin) holds the title of Honorary Colonel of his Majesty's Guard, he's not a regular colonel..
 
arildno said:
I think it is important to emphasize that Nils Olav (the penguin) holds the title of Honorary Colonel of his Majesty's Guard, he's not a regular colonel..
I don't believe this for a second. Just look at his demeanor. That penguin is in command!
 
That's a tough one to evaluate. I'd say that would never happen in the US Air Force - our set of bolt cutters never made it above Captain. But, then again, their penguin is probably better at his job than our Captain Cutters was.

Nils should be weary, though. You can go back down in rank almost as quickly as you go up. We finally realized the folly of promoting a set of bolt cutters to the rank of Captain and demoted him back to Airman.

Our 'building' was actually built inside a larger building (the building where the 'Enola Gay' and 'Bock's Car' were made, as a matter of fact). Our neighbors used the area outside of our emergency exit as a storage area, which meant anyone exiting in an emergency couldn't get more than 10 yds away before they were confronted by a locked gate. We put a set of bolt cutters by the emergency exit where the first person out could take it with him. Every shift, we faithfully checked to make sure it was still there and logged it's presence in our crew logs, right under the entry that listed all the crewmembers.

We had a new DO (the person in charge of ops) and eventually he became kind of curious, "Who's this Cutters, guy? I see him on just about every shift! Doesn't he ever go on vacation?" And Luietenant Cutters got his name.

He made it all the way to Captain through sheer longevity of service. But, eventually, the time came for him to earn his pay. We had a small malfunction in the room that housed the batteries for emergency power and the crew had to exit out the emergency exit because of possible fumes. It turned out Capt Cutters wasn't quite up to the task of cutting the lock or the chain holding the gate shut. He couldn't even cut through the fence! The entire crew wound up having to climb over the fence (quite a feat for the pregnant crew member).

We demoted Capt Cutters to Airman ... then did what we should have done in the first place. If our neighbors were going to lock their gate, they had to give us a key to the lock. After all, if our emergency exit opened up into the storage area, the locked gate wasn't actually keeping us from pillaging their equipment.
 
  • #11
Don't mess with penguins. They bite. However, chicks dig penguin bites (a buddy of mine works for the NJ Aquarium).
 
  • #12
russ_watters said:
Don't mess with penguins. They bite. However, chicks dig penguin bites (a buddy of mine works for the NJ Aquarium).
Well, I suppose penguin bites make for a more interesting story than, "My computer bit me." :biggrin:
 
  • #13
At least one carrier pigeon has been given some what are youmacallit in some other military. :redface: Meh, I'll look it up.

Oh, it was a medal: http://www.si.edu/resource/faq/nmah/cherami.htm
 
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  • #14
I've not seen Pengwuino around here today! :wink:
 
  • #15
Hmmm...interesting...

It's true, penguins do like to byte.
 
  • #16
Penguins for president!
 
  • #17
ahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahaaha
hahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahaha
ahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahaha

:smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile:
 
  • #18
Pengwuino said:
ahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahahaaha
hahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahaha
ahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahahahahahahaha

:smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile: :smile:
There's a vacancy in the Norway's North Batallion, BTW, in case you're interested..
 
  • #19
arildno said:
There's a vacancy in the Norway's North Batallion, BTW, in case you're interested..
:smile: :smile: As I remmember he was going to kill you. so I think there should be an empty place for him in the prison.
 
  • #20
well, I live in the southern part of Norway.
That's practically as far from the north of Norway as Rome is from where I live.
 
  • #21
dduardo said:
Hmmm...interesting...

It's true, penguins do like to byte.
Ahahahaa
Mhmm.

Can penguins get rabies? Only mammals get rabies right?