You can take your duties and responsibilities as a soldier seriously, but if you take yourself too seriously, and become too humourlessly earnest, over-zealous, self-important or pompous about your soldiering, you will be branded a ‘Green’ (or ‘Bleeds Green’) – other terms have included ‘Army Barmy’ or ‘Cabbage Head’ – the military equivalents of a school ‘swot’ or teacher’s pet.
