> yes, you worked there. Nothing else. That's the norm in most places, isn't it? He didn't steal anything, he wasn't sacked, he didn't punch-out the boss, and

> yes, you worked there. Nothing else. That's the norm in most places, isn't it? He didn't steal anything, he wasn't sacked, he didn't punch-out the boss, and he didn't shit on the carpet. Nobody wants to be sued for giving a decent reference. My dad was a soldier; his retirement reference (age 45) said something like "He is an oustanding officer who will succeed at any enterprise he turns his hand to". That impressed me, until I learned that any officer retiring from the army will get a reference pretty-much the same. Note that retiring from the army at age 45 is very common. If you get to 45 without getting promoted past colonel, you need a new career, because serious promotion happens when your CO gets killed in combat; and beyond about 45, they won't be sending you into combat.