Crossword Genius

Officer is stern over alarm I'd set off (4,7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

rear admiral

'officer' is the definition.
(I know that rear admiral is a type of flag officer)

'stern over alarm i'd set off' is the wordplay.
'stern' becomes 'rear' (synonyms).
'over' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'set off' indicates anagramming the letters.
'alarm'+'id'='alarmid'
'alarmid' is an anagram of 'admiral'.
'rear'+'admiral'='REAR-ADMIRAL'

'is' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for rear admiral that I've seen before include "navy bigwig" , "Top brass" , "Naval officer" , "Naval rank above commodore" .)

I've seen this clue in The Telegraph.
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