Excellence first

"Excellence first" was the motto of my army company and we were required to repeat it every time we great an officer. One afternoon however, I met a second lieutenant at the entrance of the building where I work and forget to recite the motto. After receiving a scolding for my breach of protocol, I reached out to open the door for him, but he said, "No allow me."

As I walked through the open door, I nodded to him and said without thinking, "Excellence first!"