Crossword Genius

Officer needing some help with a bit of punctuation (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

colonel

'officer' is the definition.
(colonel is a kind of officer)

'some help with a bit of punctuation' is the wordplay.
'some' says to take the centre.
'with' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'a bit of punctuation' becomes 'colon' (I've seen this in another clue).
The middle letters of 'help' are 'el'.
'el' after 'colon' is 'COLONEL'.

'needing' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for colonel that I've seen before include "Bogey perhaps" , "Army three downn" , "No cello (anag.)" , "High-ranking officer" , "Rank (below brigadier)" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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