Our drill sergeant stressed to us the importance of addressing all officers with what he called 'a sir sandwich. Sir, yes, sir. Sir, I don't know, sir,' and the like. A few days later, a colonel approached me in the motor pool to ask what I was working on. Using the sir sandwich, I said: Sir, checking the oil, sir, in these jeeps, sir and, sir, checking the tires, sir. The colonel laughed and said, Private, I appreciate your respect but I don't need a sir club sandwich.
This is supposed to be a joke. But I don't get it. Can anyone shed some light on it?