Vice-Admiral Mark Mellett is exactly how you think the Chief of Staff of the Defence Forces and a former naval officer would look. In full uniform, cap under his arm, clean-shaven and not a hair out of place despite the barbers being shuttered for months. I asked him if there was a resident barber in the barracks, but he tells me “I have an 18-year-old who does my sides and a 31-year-old, who is expecting our first grandchild in four or six weeks’ time, who does the top. And they learned that skill during the lockdown and you know what?…

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