In the military this isn’t a big deal, people know the rules and it only takes seconds to sort it out.
I’m sure that is true. I’m not military and the person who asked the question obviously wasn’t military.
I thought it was an interesting question.
I know that unofficial rules also play a role. Are you going to trust to command you a fresh from the academy lieutenant or you going to trust the hard-nosed sergeant with your life and the chips are down?