KARL, I very much regret the air of sadness that you have suffered as a consequence of my post. That was not the intention. Clearly, you deserve an explanation.
I'll begin by saying that poster concerned was under the impression I was an organic chemist and had nil knowledge of immunology. I was surprised as he has some demonstrable knowledge of medicine but nevertheless clearly had no knowledge of the immunology content of a modern biochemistry degree course. Given that he is aware that I am biochemistry professor from his reading of my previous posts it was a very odd statement and I corrected him. In no sense was it a tussle.
With regard to your views on my military title, no it was not necessary for me to mention it. However I needed to clarify that these days, I am no longer solely confined to banging test tubes around in a lab and I am putting considerable parts of my time leading a team researching the covid virus. My team cannot do the job in commercial or university laboratories due to the dangers involved. Military facilities are the only option. The rank came with the job. I was not conscripted, which last occurred in the 1950's but more importantly, I did not volunteer. I have been an advisor at the facility on and off for years and I was asked to do the job. One does not volunteer to do a job of this nature. The rank came with the job. I had no option but to accept it but the reality is that I couldn't care less if I had the rank of "Private" in front of my name. It merely serves to emphasise my rank amongst military scientists should I encounter difficulties with the regular staff. One would have thought you could have gleaned that from my view on saluting and being addressed as "sir" elsewhere on this thread.
I work at the sharp end our fight against this virus in the UK. I don't make a big deal out of it but on occasions I do feel the need to underline the faith that other people are putting in my ability here on AB and my ultimate superiors.
I accept your views on the military but as you imply, they are not the views of everyone.