Related Clues:

• "Hot Lips" Houlihan's rank
• Fault-finding
• At a turning point
• Captious, carping or crucial
• At crucial stage, or being disparaging
• Urgent or carping
• Looking for faults, or at important point
• Captious, carping
• Vital or carping
• Commissioned military officer
• Looking for faults, like reviewer?
• Finding fault - at a dangerous stage
• Calling attention to errors and flaws
• Might one be having an unfavourable reaction to the mass that starts things going?
• Sounds as if this made your rank