Sea story.
One of our sponsor mids was a little on the immature side. Reported in on I-Day with a small stuffed animal clipped to backpack. Got a nickname from that during PS that stuck. As a 1/c, still had the stuffed animal clipped to duffels or carryons when traveling in service dress uniforms. Got orders as a SWO to first ship. A junior officer USNA grad on the ship who knew the new ensign from USNA time, when asked about the incoming officer, only thing he could remember was the person was known for having a stuffed animal with them all the time. Before the new ensign got to the ship, everyone knew this tidbit. Sure enough, reported aboard, in SDB uniform, stuffed animal clipped to a backpack. I had a call from the XO of the ship across the pier, a sponsor alumni, who had heard about it and recognized the name, as I had let this XO know a sponsor family sibling was reporting into a sister ship.
Not the same as having one in the room, but still. People will happily leap to conclusions and slap a label on someone.
