A new general was assigned to an army

A new general was assigned to an army base and spent his first few weeks getting familiar with how everything worked.

One morning, while walking around the grounds, he noticed something strange.

Two soldiers were standing beside a completely ordinary wooden bench.

One soldier guarded it while the other took a break. After a while, they switched places.

The general watched for several days.

Finally, his curiosity got the better of him.

He asked one of his senior officers, “Why are two soldiers guarding that bench?”

The officer shrugged.

“Honestly, sir, I have no idea.”

“You don’t know?”

“No, sir. It’s simply tradition. As long as I’ve been stationed here, someone has always guarded that bench.”

“How long is that?”

“About thirty-five years.”

The general was fascinated.

He started asking around, checking old records, and talking to retired officers. Eventually, he discovered the name of the commander who had been in charge when the tradition began.

The commander had retired many years earlier and was now living quietly in the countryside.

The general contacted him and asked if he could explain the mysterious tradition.

A few days later, they met.

The general got straight to the point.

“Sir, I’ve been trying to understand something. Why has that bench been guarded continuously for thirty-five years?”

The retired commander looked completely shocked.

“Wait a minute!”

He leaned forward.

“You mean to tell me…”

He paused dramatically.

“THE PAINT STILL HASN’T DRIED?”

The general stared at him.

The retired commander suddenly realized what had happened.

“Oh no… I told them to guard it until the paint dried. I never said it would take thirty-five years!”

The general shook his head.

“I think we just discovered the most loyal soldiers in the entire army and the longest paint-drying job in history!”