History Main / JustFollowingOrders

** More or less the theme of the ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' episode "[[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS01E19Duet Duet[[". A [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Cardassian]] officer who was responsible for the torture and deaths of hundreds of innocent Bajorans is taken prisoner and gleefully refuses to claim it, and then at the end [[spoiler:it turns out that he's actually just a common soldier (not even an infantryman or ship crewman, but a ''file clerk'') who is still tortured by his silence in the face of the atrocities ordered by his superiors, and has been impersonating a dead commander in hopes of shaming his fellow Cardassians into admitting their guilt]].

* A rare heroic variant of this trope: during the UsefulNotes/{{Chernobyl}} disaster, it was [[OhCrap discovered]] that there were tanks full of water directly under reactor 4, which was melting down slowly but surely towards the water, where the corium (nuclear lava) would flash boil it into steam, causing ''another'' explosion scattering radioisotopes everywhere [[note]] Creator/{{HBO}}'s ''Series/{{Chernobyl}}'' series portray this as potentially causing an explosion of 2 to 4 megatons, for comparison the ''[[UsefulNotes/AtomicBombingsOfHiroshimaAndNagasaki Little Boy]]'' bomb dropped on [[HiroshimaAsAUnitOfMeasure Hiroshima]] was 16 kilotons, which is 125 to 250 times less powerful. The 2 to 4 megaton figure is not taken seriously by scientists, as it would require all the corium to be dumped at once, causing apocalyptic destruction, millions of deaths and making large parts of Ukraine and Belarus [[GaiasLament poisoned for centuries]]. ''At most'' the steam explosion would ''just'' have destroyed or at least seriously damaged the power plant and the other 3 reactors present. Definitely a disaster, but not a cataclysmic one.[[/note]]. Three plant employees, Alexei Ananenko, Valeri Bespalov and Boris Baranov went into the power plant, in pitch black darkness [[note]]They knew the plant very well and were able to find their way by holding on to pipes[[/note]] wading through radioactive water to manually open the valves and drain the tanks. Although commonly portrayed as a SuicideMission, the three men survived (though they required hospitalization). Boris Baranov died in 2005 of a heart attack (very likely caused by his radiation exposure) while the other two men are still alive as of 2023 (and received well-deserved medals by the USSR and Ukraine). [[https://www.exutopia.com/chernobyl-interview-alexei-ananenko/ When interviewed]] however, Alexei Ananenko say he just did his job and what was asked of him (because nobody else knew the plant as well as him) and he remains [[HumbleHero humble]] about his service.

** ''Literature/TalesOfTheBountyHunters'': This is how Kardue'sai'Malloc tries to excuse his having seven hundred unarmed prisoners shot without trial. He wasn't ''explicitly'' ordered to kill them, he was only told to join up with another force and to not leave any of his troops behind to guard the prisoners.

* Employees that have a BadBoss or an [[PointyHairedBoss incompetent one]] may do exactly what their boss orders them to do [[ExactWords on the letter]], even if it won't produce good results or have good efficiency. This is known as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malicious_compliance malicious compliance]] where employees will do exactly what their boss tells them to as a form of a passive-aggressive protest. After all, you can't be fired if you're just doing what your superiors were telling you to do. There's also a similar action called "work to rule" where workers will not work more than the minimum time and/or effort needed to complete the tasks assigned to them. In fact, this is in and of itself a separate trope: BotheringByTheBook.

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* In ''Manga/MyHeroAcademia'', while Mirio and Midoriya are out on patrol, they find a scared young girl named Eri, and shortly thereafter see [[ArcVillain Overhaul]], the {{Yakuza}} boss their organization is investigating. Since their orders are to patrol without interfering in Overhaul's operation until the investigation complete, Mirio lets Overhaul leave with Eri, much to Midoriya's dismay. It later turns out that Overhaul is a nightmarishly AbusiveParent to Eri who harvests her body for bullets, so letting her go back to him was a ''very'' bad idea. Mirio and Midoriya feel terrible about what happened, not accepting their orders as a justification. In a twist on the trope, Sir Nighteye, their boss, takes responsibility for what happened, since Midoriya and Mirio were following his orders.
* In ''Literature/SwordArtOnline'', after Asuna and the Sleeping Knights lose to the Floor 27 boss the first time, they return to just outside the boss room, only to see a large guild waiting there. The guild isn't ready to go in yet, since they're waiting for some more people, but refuse to let the Sleeping Knights try again. The head of the group claims that he's following orders from the higher-ups in his guild, but Yuuki doesn't accept that, forcing her and the others to fight their way to the boss room.
* ''Manga/RevengeOfTheTeapotHero'' has this happen the instant the protagonist turns the tables on the knight order who was happily hunting her down on the orders of the king, '''after murdering every man, woman, and child in her home village then burning the place to the ground.''' As they're buried up to their necks in an avalanche, begging for their lives when she's bringing the very sword used to kill her parents down on them, they plead that they were following orders and had no choice. She proclaims that she doesn't care and slays them as brutally as they slew her friends and family, which is pretty graphic.
* ''Anime/AceAttorney'': The culprit of the anime adaptation's exclusive "Northward, Turnabout Express" case uses this excuse. [[spoiler:He prosecuted Avery Richman, a foreign multimillionaire, on orders from his superior as part of a conspiracy to discredit Richmond and get him out of the country, specifically by ensuring that a key witness(who happened to be the real culprit) never took the stand. When the witness tried to blackmail Turnbull, Turnbull killed him.]] [[spoiler:The chief prosecutor of the U.S.]] tells him that's no excuse; in fact, [[spoiler:any prosecutor who would follow an illegal order to please his superior doesn't deserve his job.]]

* ''ComicBook/XMen'': Mentioning this justification in front of Holocaust survivor Magneto is a bad idea. You'd be lucky enough just to have only your metal fillings removed.
* The page pic is taken from the first issue of the UsefulNotes/WorldWarII comic ''ComicBook/{{Blitzkrieg}}'', which was unusual in that it focused on the German forces instead of the Allies.
* In ''ComicBook/{{Starman}}'', [[ComicBook/{{Shazam}} Captain Marvel]] says this word for word to explain his hunt for Bulletman when the latter is being accused of treason by the press.

* ''ComicBook/ImmortalHulk'':
** Dr. Clive, General Fortean's head scientist, tries doing this when the Hulk breaks free and starts absorbing him. Even if it's true ([[GeneralRipper Reggie Fortean]] is not the type of boss who takes "no" or "I have ethical concerns" for an answer), he was showing a malicious glee in experimenting on Hulk not a moment ago. And he hurt Banner. That's something the Hulk takes personally.
** Fortean's clean-up crew say it when caught with a pissed-off Betty Ross, [[spoiler:as Red Harpy]]. Which, given they were shooting innocent bystanders in the head, falls a little flat. Betty tears them to pieces.
** Dr. [=McGowan=] does this when confronted with Betty and an undead (also, utterly ''pissed'') Rick Jones, but for the sake of her underlings, not herself, since they are also working for Fortean, who's gone for a midnight swim off the deep end. This time, it works, and nobody gets horribly killed.

* The ''Series/{{Battlestar Galactica|2003}}''/''TabletopGame/BattleTech'' crossover ''Fanfic/HuntedTribes'' gives one of the most epic treatments of this trope ever. Clan Wolverine soldiers refuse to associate with crewmembers from the Pegasus, considering the ship and all who served under Admiral Cain disgraced for abandoning civilians to the Cylons. When someone tries to claim they were just following orders, the Wolverines state that people's conscience should have stopped them, and that they should have killed Admiral Cain for issuing the order in the first place. Roslin tries the IDidWhatIHadToDo-Defense, only to be told that the Wolverines have been in similar situations without ever compromising their morals and that that excuse would have been good enough for any number of people, but NOT for them.
* In ''Fanfic/{{Origins}}'', a ''Franchise/MassEffect''[=/=]''Franchise/StarWars''[[spoiler:[=/=]''[=Borderlands=]''[=/=]''[=Halo=]'']] MassiveMultiplayerCrossover, this is Sarah's initial take on things when questioned by the heroes, specifically [[WellIntentionedExtremist killing lots of people]] [[spoiler:because the Flood would turn them otherwise]]. {{Justified|Trope}} InUniverse since she literally knows nothing else being an artificial lifeform grown in a tank. She does, however, [[CharacterDevelopment grow out]] [[HeelFaceTurn of it]].
* ''Fanfic/RosarioVampireBrightestDarkness Act II'': Subverted; while Dark does tell Tsurara that he was following his then-master's orders when he attacked the Snow Woman Village years before, he openly acknowledges it doesn't excuse his actions in the slightest.

* In ''Fanfic/TheWarOfTheMasters'', the division between legal and illegal orders is a common and frequently repeated theme among the heroic Starfleet characters, given widespread corruption in the Federation government and Starfleet.
** ''Fanfic/DontSayGoodbyeFarewell'': ZigZagged. Kanril Eleya justifies letting Colonel Janice Qua, who defected from Starfleet to the breakaway Moab Confederacy [[SelfFulfillingProphecy after being falsely accused and imprisoned for planning to defect]][[note]]To explain: Janice Qua had returned from a five-year exploration mission in command of USS ''Nixon'' in the middle of a war with the Klingon Empire, during which five planets including her birthplace had declared independence from the Federation and formed an alliance with the Klingons. Janice was relieved of command, arrested in her shower, and dragged dripping and naked to the brig, where she was demanded to submit to telepathic examination and refused. At that time the Klingons attacked the starbase and pulled her out, and she submitted her resignation from Starfleet.[[/note]], go, via the subversion of this trope. She essentially argues that there are so many irregularities and unconstitutional actions surrounding Qua's arrest that there's good odds the treason case would have been dismissed with prejudice even if she ''had'' taken Qua prisoner. The tricky bit is that, in the moment, Eleya herself considered Qua a hypocrite and ''knows'' she's guilty of crimes against sentience (namely use of ChildSoldiers), but she hadn't been ''charged'' with them (and it turns out later in the StoryArc they're a systemic problem for which Qua is not directly responsible), and Moab III itself was under attack by the Fek'Ihri at the time and needed all the ships and soldiers it could get.
** Used two different ways in ''Fanfic/CreateYourOwnFate'':
*** When Commander Lastagee tries to seize and classify evidence from a wrecked Moab bird-of-prey, Eleya shuts him down by pointing out his refusal to provide her with the text of his orders means [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome she has no proof they actually exist, and since she outranks him that means she can tell him to pound sand]]. Later he returns claiming to have orders from Starfleet to take custody of materials, but she takes one look and points out that what he ''actually'' has is a request that should be delivered to Bajor's ministry of state, and in the same remark tells the Starfleet crewmen Lastagee brought with him to contact their line [=COs=] and request clarification of their orders. [[spoiler:It turns out Lastagee is actually a shapeshifted Undine, and after Eleya and the Moab kids capture him, she remarks that the ''real'' Lastagee had written a paper at Starfleet Academy on this very topic.]]
*** Eleya discusses the possibility with the surviving ChildSoldiers of said [=BoP=] that their (grievously injured, ex-prostitute, ex-drug addict with six-year-old twins) coxswain might be tried for war crimes for bringing them into combat. Eleya basically says, "I'm sorry, but if Pam Bentine knew and didn't do anything, there's nothing I can do." [[spoiler:Fortunately, it quickly turns out that Bentine herself was recruited as a teenager, making her a {{Child Soldier|s}} as well.]]
** In ''Fanfic/AcademyDaze'', a group of Starfleet Academy cadets try this defense in their court-martial for harassing and beating a Moabite cadet (they had been directed by a [[FantasticRacism racist]] Academy instructor, in a WholePlotReference to ''Film/AFewGoodMen''). One of the [=JAGs=] involved [[DiscussedTrope calls BS]] in a massive TheReasonYouSuckSpeech after they're convicted, informing them that a Starfleet officer is expected to have the intelligence to be able to tell whether an order is legal, and to act accordingly: an unlawful order is required to be disobeyed.

* ''Fanfic/XMenTheEarlyYears'' provides a comedic example. Hank and Warren blame Scott for bringing Bobby to the Mansion. Scott protests he was just following orders.
-->'''Scott:''' Keep it up Bobby. I know where Professor Xavier hid Hank's special rope, and I just might talk in my sleep and let the location slip.\\
'''Hank and Warren:''' You’re the one who brought him home.\\
'''Scott:''' I did not! Professor Xavier brought him home. I was just following orders.\\
'''Hank and Warren:''' We still blame you.\\
'''Bobby:''' Hey!
* ''Fanfic/ABrighterDark'': When Xander and Camilla get their hands on the Nohrian raiders who have been [[RapePillageandBurn raping, pillaging, and burning]] their way across the Hoshidan countryside, they try this as an excuse. It doesn't fly.
-->'''Camilla:''' Oh, well in that case! [[PreMortemOneLiner I order you to die.]]
* In ''Fanfic/MythosEffect'', the Turians attack Shanxi under the pretext of stopping the human colony from activating the nearby Mass Relay, though their focus quickly shifts to capturing the NEF's non-Element Zero-based FTL tech. However, the human reinforcements make it very clear that, despite the Turian adherence to the chain of command, the attack orders were illegal and the admiral should have been relieved of command immediately after refusing to revoke them instead of after receiving an antimatter missile salvo.

* ''Fanfic/TheBoltChronicles'': While traveling through Birmingham, Alabama on a book signing tour with Penny in "The Imaginary Letters," Bolt mentions the race riots of the 1960s, ones where police dogs were turned loose to attack peaceful protestors. He's highly critical of the pooches' actions, lampshading this trope when he says their likely defense that they were just following orders isn't justifiable.
-->'''Bolt''': I shake my head just thinking about that image of vicious German shepherds attacking the poor, defenseless protesters. I guess if you could confront those police dogs about such nastiness, they'd just shrug and say they were following orders. But that didn't fly in Nazi Germany, didn't fly then, and doesn't fly now. You have to take some responsibility for your actions. Sorry, but even pooches don't get off the hook that easy.
* In ''[[https://archiveofourown.org/works/21949021/chapters/52381363 Harry Potter: Master of Malicious Compliance]]'', Harry decides to make this, combined with ExactWords, his go-to strategy following an incident involving [[ItMakesSenseInContext a clogged toilet, the banning of hand-washing, and food poisoning]] at the Dursleys. Whenever someone gives an order that's unfair, stupid, or both, Harry will execute it [[ExactWords to the letter]], often to the detriment of the person who gave it, and successfully defend himself later on the grounds of just doing what he was told. He uses this approach to get mean teachers fired, drop Malfoy off a three-meter cliff, let Gilderoy Lockhart be eaten by the Basilisk, turn in essays in flawless Middle English, make Fudge and the Ministry of Magic look [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin stupid and incompetent]], and more.

* ''Literature/Aeon14'': In ''Perilous Alliance #2: Strike Vector'', Grayson gets in a fight with his AI partner Jerrod because Grayson views the orders they were given by the Silstrand Alliance Space Force to be unlawful. Jerrod finally goes full KnightTemplar and takes over Grayson's body, and has to have his core surgically removed from it by Kylie and the others.

-->[[ThoseWackyNazis The Germans]] wanted lists of all the socialists and Jews working for his company; what was he supposed to do, refuse?

** In the ''Literature/RevengeOfTheSith'' novelization, this mindset is explained to be the reason why the Clone Troopers were able to get the drop on (most of) the Jedi and kill them: They have no hostile intentions, or even ill will, towards the Jedi that they can sense. They're just following the Supreme Chancellor's order to kill them. This fits with the explanation in ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'' that the clone troopers were [[GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke genetically predisposed to obey orders that appear to come from a valid source]]. However, this became something of a ContinuitySnarl: later Legends stories offered other explanations and showed some troopers actually defying the order, while the ''Literature/RepublicCommandoSeries'' showed that a lot of clones actually ''did'' hate the Jedi and saw it as a chance to get even for the Jedis' role in [[SlaveMooks their enslavement]]. All of which, including the novelization, were ultimately overruled by season 5 of ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'', which showed that the clones obeyed the order primarily because {{Restraining Bolt}}s made disobedience physically impossible.

* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'': Argel Tal in the Literature/HorusHeresy acknowledges that he is following this trope, but does not consider it a worthy excuse and believes that he is a coward, along with every other human in history who has ever used this excuse.

* ''Literature/OfBloodAndHonor'' discusses this trope. When human paladin Tirion Fordring asks Eitrigg, an orc, why the supposedly honorable orcs would obey Blackhand and the Shadow Council as they were ordered to commit atrocities, Eitrigg says that it's extremely difficult to oppose an entire society. Tirion is forced to realize that as a nobleman, he hasn't made many hard choices, and eventually saves Eitrigg from execution, being exiled in the process. The narrative doesn't accept blindly following orders as an excuse for one's actions but shows how difficult it can be to defy authority in order to do what is right.
-->'''Eitrigg:''' [[ArmorPiercingQuestion Have you ever stood against the will of an entire nation, human? Have you ever questioned an order, knowing that to disobey meant immediate death]]?

* An episode of ''Series/LawAndOrderSpecialVictimsUnit'' has a man (played by Creator/RobinWilliams) demonstrate this trope by calling a fast food joint's manager, introducing himself as an NYPD detective named Milgram (reference to the Milgram Experiment), and having him tie up and strip-search one of his female employees, claiming he's doing his civic duty. After the truth is discovered and "Milgram" is arrested, he manages to get away. It's eventually revealed that the reason he's doing all this is because, when his wife was in labor, he saw that something was wrong and asked the doctor to do something, only for the doctor to brush him off and say that everything was fine. His wife and their unborn child died from complications, resulting in the man blaming both the doctor (naturally) and himself (for obeying someone just because he was in a position of authority). He has become determined to get people to start thinking for themselves.
** More disturbingly, the episode was one of those based on real life. The incident was known as [[https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strip_search_phone_call_scam The Strip Search Phone Call Scam]].

** Used by General Hammond in the pilot episode. When he informs Jack O'Neill that he intends to nuke Abydos (from which they suspect TheTeaser's attack through the stargate came), Jack is enraged and points out he disobeyed the letter of his orders to nuke any potential threat to Earth on [[Film/{{Stargate}} the previous mission through the gate]] because the people of Abydos were as much innocent victims of the Goa'uld as he and his team were. Hammond retorts, "I have orders, too. I obey mine," and orders Jack thrown in a cell. However, [[SubvertedTrope he shortly after has second thoughts and relents rather than kill thousands of people unnecessarily]].
** Invoked by Jack O'Neill in the episode "Cor'Ai", where Teal'c stood trial on another world for crimes he committed there while under the service of the Goa'uld:
--->'''O'Neill:''' Teal'c, there are a lot things we do that we wish we could change and we sure as hell can't forget, but the whole concept of chain of command undermines the idea of free will. So as soldiers, we have to do some pretty awful stuff. But we're following orders like we were trained to. It doesn't make it easier; it certainly doesn't make it right, but it does put some of the responsibility on the guy giving those orders.
** Perhaps even more interestingly, Jack uses this justification as part of his own DarkAndTroubledPast.
--->'''Hammond:''' These people's laws in this regard are no different from our own. We don't stop pursuing war criminals because they have a change of heart.\\

** Interestingly, Teal'c doesn't use this justification himself. He did a lot of awful things while in the service of the Goa'uld and he always takes full responsibility, even going so far as to willingly submit to execution in "Cor'ai". In ''Film/StargateTheArkOfTruth'', he has this conversation with a former soldier for the Ori (Vala's ex-husband Tomin, who in one episode ordered the summary execution of villagers who refused to submit to Origin).

* ''Series/StarTrekTheNextGeneration'' does this a few times:
** {{Discussed}} and {{Inverted|Trope}} in the episode "[[Recap/StarTrekTheNextGenerationS4E26S5E1Redemption Redemption II]]".
--->'''Data:''' Captain, I wish to submit myself for disciplinary action. I have disobeyed a direct order from a superior officer. Although the result of my actions proved positive, the ends cannot justify the means. \\

** "The Pegasus": Riker defended then-Captain Pressman of USS ''Pegasus'' when the crew mutinied over an illegal order. However, during the episode, he uses this trope to ''castigate'' himself. When Pressman gives another illegal order, Picard and crew refuse it and arrest him.
--->'''Commander Riker:''' I wasn't a hero, and [[BrokenPedestal neither were you]]! What you did was wrong. And I was wrong to support you, but I was too young and too stupid to realize it! You were the captain, I was the ensign. I was just following orders.
** In "Conundrum" refusal to obey orders that couldn't be verified and were suspicious at best was a key plot point when the crew of the ''Enterprise''-D was tricked and their memories wiped.
--->'''Picard:''' I feel as though I've been handed a weapon, sent into a room, and told to shoot a stranger. Well, I need some moral context to justify that action, and I don't have it. I'm not content simply to obey orders. I need to know that what I am doing is right.
* More or less the theme of the ''Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine'' episode "Duet", where it is doubly subverted, first when a [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Cardassian]] officer who was responsible for the torture and deaths of hundreds of innocent Bajorans gleefully refuses to claim it, and then at the end when [[spoiler:it turns out that he's actually just a common soldier (not even an infantryman or ship crewman, but a ''file clerk'') who is still tortured by his silence in the face of the atrocities ordered by his superiors, and has been impersonating a dead commander in hopes of shaming his fellow Cardassians into admitting their guilt]].
-->'''Major Kira:''' ''[after uncovering the truth]'' You didn't commit those crimes, and you couldn't stop them. You were only one man.\\

* In the ''Series/StarTrekVoyager'' episode "Equinox: Part 1":

* A good-guy version occurs in ''Series/StarTrekEnterprise''. Arik Soong wants to steal the genetically augmented embryos stored on Cold Station 12, but Dr. Lucas refuses to give up the access code, so Soong has one of his colleagues exposed to a deadly pathogen. As the man dies horribly before their eyes, Soong begs Lucas to relent while Lucas, reduced to tears, refuses: "I have my ''orders!"''

* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCGDdPYW2kA "Trail of Tears"]] by Heather Dale is from the point of view of a soldier ordered to aid in said forced relocation. He's obviously uncomfortable with it but is too afraid to say anything after another soldier is shot for standing up to the commanding officer.

* Defied by The Adversary {{mentor}} spirit in ''TabletopGame/{{Shadowrun}}''. Having The Adversary as your mentor makes you physically incapable of JustFollowingOrders and turns your character into a CommanderContrarian... [[DisobeyThisMessage Unless you defy The Adversary by making a difficult willpower roll]].

* A variation occurs in ''Dragon'' by Eugeny Shwartz.

* Heinrich von Kleist's play ''The Prince of Homburg'' is about a cavalry general put on trial and condemned to death for disobeying an order not to charge in a battle.
* Franz Liebkind (author of "Springtime for Hitler") in ''Film/TheProducers'':

* Defied in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV''. At the start of the game, Cecil begins to realize that he's nothing but a coward who can't disobey orders from the king of Baron Castle, even though Cecil knows the orders are wrong, choosing to blame himself for his horrible actions instead. After saying "ScrewTheRulesImDoingWhatsRight," Cecil convinces his best friend Kain to defy their orders and rebel against Baron.
* This trope is played with in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake'': After the Turks are ordered to drop the Sector 7 plate on the slums below, both Reno and Rude carry out the order under protest, cusses under their breaths, and mutterings about how "orders are orders" and how it's "too late to grow a conscience." But even after the plate has been dropped, they still question Tseng, their boss, if dropping the plate was ''really'' necessary. Tseng's justifications, that they can find solace in knowing that they spared someone else from having to carry out the order and that, [[TheLifestream after everything humanity has taken from the planet, it was about time that they returned something to it for a change]], are rejected and met with incredulity from both Reno and Rude. In the same scene, an unnamed guard is ordered to keep civilians from escaping the incoming drop but responds [[DefiedTrope "No, sir! I will not obey that order!"]]
* ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'''s Raiden was a victim of this. He is not, in fact, working [[spoiler:for the special ops group FOXHOUND, but is just another Patriot agent]], like Ames and Johnson. This is why most characters react to the player with suspicion.
* ''VideoGame/ThePunisherTHQ'':
** One mook yells out "I was just following orders!" when you torture him to his breaking point.
--->'''Punisher:''' (Kill) Orders are no excuse.\\
'''Punisher:''' (Mercy) Think for yourself next time.
** There's also another variation: "I'm just a soldier!"
--->'''The Punisher:''' (Kill) That's no excuse.\\
'''The Punisher:''' (Mercy) You're in the wrong army.

* ''VideoGame/SyphonFilter 2'':
-->'''Thomas Holman:''' I was just following orders.\\
'''Lian Xing:''' Yeah? Well, we were all just following orders.
* ''VideoGame/NinetyNineNights'': In Tyurru's story, Yesperratt justifies killing civilians by saying that she's just following orders.
* In ''VideoGame/AlphaProtocol'', [[spoiler:Parker and Westridge]] uses this as their defense for their complicity in the whole Halbech fiasco and for [[spoiler:sending Mike to Saudi Arabia with the intention of [[YouHaveOutlivedYourUsefulness having him killed once he'd completed his mission]].]]
* ''VideoGame/SunsetRiders'' does this after one of the boss fights. After the beaten but still alive Chief Scalpem falls to the ground, his sister suddenly runs up and says "please don't shoot my brother. He was just following orders." Ever the chivalrous gentleman cowboy, your character can't turn down a request from a lady and agrees to spare him. Note that this is the only time you spare a boss; every other one gets a bullet between the eyes, even if he was just following orders.
* ''VideoGame/MegaMan8'' features Sword Man, the one robot master who doesn't seem to have any problem with Mega Man; in fact, he seems to respect him quite a bit. He invokes this trope (along with NothingPersonal) right before you fight him.
* ''VideoGame/AssassinBlue'' uses this as an excuse for killing [[spoiler:at least initially.]]

* Inverted in ''VideoGame/DragonAgeInquisition''. [[spoiler:Blackwall / Thom Rainier]] reveals his deception and risks his life to stop the hanging of a soldier who helped commit a war crime on his orders.
-->"This man is innocent of the crimes lain before him. Orders were given, and he followed them like any good soldier. He should not die for that mistake."
* This is the excuse for the soldiers in ''VideoGame/TheLastOfUs''. They're not killing civilians for kicks; they're following their superiors' orders and trying to protect what's left of humanity from the ZombieApocalypse.
* Trish from ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry1'' tried to tell Dante this is the reason for her betrayal, but he interrupts it with TheReasonYouSuckSpeech to her about it.
* The [[QuirkyMinibossSquad Machina Vanguard]] from ''VideoGame/BatenKaitosOrigins'' are all three pretty decent people despite working for TheEmpire. Valara even goes out of her way to be nice to Sagi while he's still in the Dark Service, and references this trope verbatim during one of the battles against her.
* ''VideoGame/FalloutNewVegas'' has [[ColdSniper Boone]] saying this to justify why he participated at Bitter Springs. [[spoiler:It turns out to be a [[DeconstructedTrope deconstruction]] in that Boone can no longer live with himself after participating in the massacre and leaves the military, after which the orders seem an incredibly hollow justification, even to him.]]
* Enforced in ''VideoGame/DragonQuestIX'': One of the cardinal rules of the [[OurAngelsAreDifferent Celestrians]] (the guardian angels the protagonist is part of) is that they cannot disobey a direct order from their superior or rebel against him. So when it turns out [[spoiler:the BigBad is a FallenAngel and thus cannot be fought]], the main character [[spoiler:willingly becomes a mortal.]]
* In ''VideoGame/KingdomHeartsI'', after you defeat Lock, Shock and Barrel, Barrel whines as their defeat quote that they were "just following orders." ([[WesternAnimation/TheNightmareBeforeChristmas Oogie Boogie]]'s orders.) He says it again if you talk to him after the battle.
* In ''VideoGame/GameOfThronesTelltale'' three soldiers [[spoiler:murder Gared's family, including his 8-year-old sister]]. After being left disarmed and helpless, one of the soldiers asks for mercy because he was "just following orders".
* ''VideoGame/HiddenDragonLegend'' have the cutscene where the hero, Lu Tianyuan, confronts Hornet on why she killed his saviour, Master Bell. Hornet replies almost in-verbatim with the trope.
--> I just follow orders. And I certainly don't ''question'' them.
* {{Subverted}} in the ''VideoGame/StarTrekOnline'' mission "Cold Comfort". Tran, a captured Breen CombatMedic, was ordered on an attack against a Deferi civilian freighter [[spoiler:to gather intelligence about the Preserver Archive that [[ArcVillain Thot Trel]] is trying to find]]. He followed his orders but tells the PlayerCharacter that he regrets doing so because attacking civilians is dishonorable, and then tries to make it up to the Deferi by telling them how to safely remove the brain implant he installed in a crew member.
* ''VideoGame/{{Disgaea}}'':
** In ''VideoGame/Disgaea5'', the Lost run on the recruitment policy of "Obey or die", and wholly live up to those words, with officials executing any who resist them (and this is the best outcome -- right, [[BadBoss Void Dark]]?). However, in two instances in story mode, Lost mooks will use this excuse to try to worm their way out of whatever punishment Red Magnus has lined up for them; in neither instance does he listen to any of it, explicitly referencing the people they hurt as the reason he's punishing them in the first place.
** Taken to the extreme with Barbara in ''VideoGame/DisgaeaD2'' as she ''only'' acts on orders, and won't do anything on her own will, including [[spoiler:''saving her own life'']]. That said, she does have limits, she dislikes unclear orders, and will punish anyone who issues perverted orders.
* In ''VideoGame/DeadRising3'', Adam Kane is a villain due to this trope. [[spoiler:His last words are the trope name.]]
* In ''VideoGame/{{Tyranny}}'', Barik runs on this trope. Once he's assigned to the Fatebinder he'll stick to you, even if you end up fighting his former unit, because his assignment is to be "your shield". [[spoiler:If you try to fight Graven Ashe without Barik having sufficient Loyalty or Fear to you, Graven Ashe will throw this attitude back in his face when Barik tries to defect back to him, claiming that his moral cowardice has already cost numerous Disfavoured their lives.]]
* Played straight and inverted in ''VideoGame/SpecOpsTheLine'':
** It's implied this is the reason why Lugo and Adams refuse to abandon Walker even if it's becoming increasingly clear [[spoiler: Walker's losing his mind]]. As long as there is someone in charge, they can rationalize any morally questionable acts they do with this trope.
** Inverted because most of the tragedies that occur in Dubai are due to the actions of two characters (both whom are members of the armed forces) ''disobeying'' their orders rather than following them.

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemThreeHouses'':
** A variation happens in if Ferdinand is sent out to fight [[spoiler:his former classmate Hubert on non-Crimson Flower routes]]; Ferdinand will say that "It does not matter what I think. Those are my orders." In this case, it's not to absolve himself of responsibility or even imply that he's unwilling (since he's come to accept that [[spoiler:Edelgard must be defeated]]); it's mainly to say that Ferdinand isn't exactly acting out of loyalty to [[spoiler:Dimitri, Claude or the Church]].
** Another variation occurs at the end of Chapter 4 when [[spoiler: the Western Church soldiers who were caught red handed for attacking and grave robbing the Holy Mausoleum, attempting to assassinate Rhea, and inciting the Lonato rebellion from the previous chapter were sentenced to death by Rhea. The accused soldiers protest that this isn't what their superiors told would happen and that they've been deceived by them]].
** Played straight with Metodey, one of the Flame Emperor's subordinates. If you kill him during the battle in the Holy Tomb, he will protest, "Wait... No! I was just following orders! I just... Graaargh!" as he dies.

* During a KirkSummation in Chapter 57 of ''Webcomic/JoeVsElanSchool'', Gino mentions this trope by name to Joe.
-->'''Gino:''' I mean, why do ya' think they make you stay up all night just watching me? Could've just locked me in a fucking windowless room, but they need the higher-ups sleep deprived. Ya' get it? Scrambled-eggs brain. Keeps you soft. ''Just following orders'', am I right Joe?

* ''WesternAnimation/{{Arcane}}''. A variation in the Season One finale when Jasper agrees unanimously to all of Silco's demands regarding independence for Zaun, on the sole condition that his PsychoForHire and surrogate daughter Jinx be handed over for her crimes. Silco protests that Jinx was just following his orders (ironically this isn't strictly true, as the murders the Council want her for were done on her own initiative). Jayce agrees that Silco should be held responsible, but as they need him to enforce the peace deal Jinx has to become TheScapegoat instead.

* In the Season 2 premiere of ''WesternAnimation/TheHollow'' Mira attempts to use her ability to [[SpeaksFluentAnimal Speak Fluent Animal]] to try and negotiate with Mabel, the [[AttackOfTheFiftyFootWhatever giant monster chicken]] and embodiment of Kai's worst fears, and offer it food or "a nice coop" in exchange for not attacking them. Mabel shrugs off her offer not only because "it's just following orders" to attack them, but also because [[ItsPersonal it]] ''[[ItsPersonal really]]'' [[ItsPersonal hates Kai]].

** After being defeated in a water balloon war, one of Nelson's goons says this in the episode "Bart the General." Bart spares them and pelts Nelson with the extra balloons instead.
** In "Puffless," Cletus' dog says this when attacked by an army of animals led by Maggie when trying to save a possum from being eaten by Cletus and his family. They continue attacking him anyway.

* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'': In "[[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS6E1TheUnknown The Unknown]]", when clone trooper Tup's secret [[MindControlDevice control chip]] malfunctions, his "[[ThePurge Order 66]]" programming activates too early, forcing him to kill Jedi General Tiplar and [[MadnessMantra constantly repeat the phrase]] "Good soldiers follow orders."
** This also continues in ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheBadBatch'', where the Clones' Order 66 programming kicks in at a more perfect time...around the same time as ''[[Film/RevengeOfTheSith Revenge of the Sith]]'' after General Grievous is killed by Obi-Wan and the Jedi tried to overthrow Palpatine after he revealed that he was Darth Sidious to Anakin, but he murdered them because he didn't want a new Chancellor to ruin his hard work of stamping out corruption. The titular Batch themselves are immune to the Order due to their mutations[[note]]That includes Echo, a reg, whose cybernetic modifications by Wat Tambor and the Techno Union damaged his inhibitor chip beyond repair combined with the explosion he suffered during the mission to rescue Tarkin from the Citadel.[[/note]], expect for Crosshair whose inhibitor chip works, albeit with limited effect. Regardless, he still follows the orders of the new Empire to chilling efficiency, such as murdering Jedi, civilians, and/or surrendered enemies just to keep the peace Palpatine achieved by the Clone Wars' end.

** In the ''Literature/RevengeOfTheSith'' novelization, this mindset is explained to be the reason why the Clone Troopers were able to get the drop on (most of) the Jedi and kill them: They have no hostile intentions, or even ill will, towards the Jedi that they can sense. They're just following the Supreme Chancellor's order to kill them. This fits with the explanation in ''Film/AttackOfTheClones'' that the clone troopers were [[GeneticEngineeringIsTheNewNuke genetically predisposed to obey orders that appear to come from a valid source]]. However, this became something of a ContinuitySnarl: later Legends stories offered other explanations and showed some troopers actually defying the order, while the ''Literature/RepublicCommandoSeries'' showed that a lot of clones actually ''did'' hate the Jedi and saw it as a chance to get even for their [[SlaveMooks enslavement]]. All of which, including the novelization, were ultimately overruled by season 5 of ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'', which showed that the clones obeyed the order primarily because {{Restraining Bolt}}s made disobedience physically impossible.

* In the novelization of ''Film/RevengeOfTheSith'', this mindset is explained to be the reason why the Clone Troopers were able to get the drop on (most of) the Jedi and kill them: They have no hostile intentions, or even ill will, towards the Jedi that they can sense. They're just following the Supreme Chancellor's order to kill them.

** Since the Empire [[PuttingOnTheReich resembles Nazi Germany]], sympathetic Imperials wrestle with this trope a lot in the Expanded Universe.

* Bothari in ''Literature/VorkosiganSaga'' is a special example. He is so mentally ill that he can barely do anything else and it takes all his courage just to abstain from raping Cordelia at the command of a sadist. Bothari knows this and thus clings to the Vorkosigans because he thinks he can trust them to give good orders and that is the best he can do. He doesn't think following orders takes away responsibility so much as thinking he barely does anything else so he better find a ReasonableAuthorityFigure if he wants to be human.

*** His son Miles faces a borderline illegal order in ''The Vor Game'' - his Commanding Officer at the time is clearly overreacting, but overreacting is not in and of itself illegal, and the situation is ambiguous enough that Miles really isn't sure about the legal consequences - but decides to disobey it because his conscience is screaming that is the right thing to do. He prevents anyone dying, and then discovers that because of his family's rank a charge of High Treason automatically attaches to his disobedience, which results in a whirlwind of activity that ends with him getting shitcanned from the regular Barrayaran service. Plaintively and somewhat fearfully he asks his father if he did the right thing, to which Aral replies, [[spoiler: "Yes. A right thing. Three days from now, you may think of a cleverer tactic, but you were the man on the ground at the time. [[SoProudOfYou I try not to second-guess my field commanders.]]"]]

-->'''Dave:''' Three months after you...[[FakingTheDead disappeared]], government shut us down. I went private right after. Doing the same things you and I did for God and country, killing names on a piece of paper only now...now there's a price next to them.
-->'''Robert:''' We killed the enemy.
-->'''Dave:''' Who said they were the enemy? Not us, not me. We just followed orders.

* ''Film/AFewGoodMen'': Lt. Dan Kaffee (Creator/TomCruise) proposes using this as the basis for his court defense of the two Marines charged with murdering Willie Santiago; they were ordered by superior officers to discipline Santiago, and their "Code Red" just got out of hand. Kaffee's partner Lieutenant Weinberger retorts that that line of defense didn't work at Nuremberg and it didn't work at [[UsefulNotes/TheVietnamWar My Lai]] and it's not going to work now. Kaffee fires back that the difference with the Marines is that they were just carrying out a routine order they didn't think would result in any physical harm. But of course, Code Reds ''are'' illegal, regardless of what harm might ensue, so their clients should properly have refused the order. [[spoiler:Kaffee ultimately gets them acquitted of the most serious charges largely by tricking their CO into admitting on the stand that he had given said illegal orders.]]

* ''Film/TheProducers'': Franz Liebkind greets people this way.

* ''WesternAnimation/StarWarsTheCloneWars'': In "[[Recap/StarWarsTheCloneWarsS6E1TheUnknown The Unknown]]", when clone trooper Tup's secret [[MindControlDevice control chip]] malfunctions, his "[[ThePurge Order 66]]" programming activates, forcing him to kill a Jedi General and [[MadnessMantra constantly repeat the phrase]] "Good soldiers follow orders."

* The notion of superior orders being an invalid legal defense is, in fact, OlderThanSteam. In 1474, German governor Peter von Hagenbach was tried for crimes in office, and tried to pin it on his superior the Duke of Burgundy with the defense, [[[[https://scholarship.richmond.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1223&context=lawreview "Is it not known that soldiers owe absolute obedience to their superiors?"]] The court ruled this was not, in fact, known, and von Hagenbach was convicted and executed.

** Some historians who have interviewed ex-Nazis, or supporters or collaborators of the regime, have reported that the subjects are very often ''proud'' of what was done and either don't use this defence or only used it as an excuse if they don't want to attract bad attention. Notably, some of those same historians have also interviewed former Soviet and Japanese soldiers who ''also'' took part in atrocities and generally conclude that this trope suits them better since in the former case you could be sent to the Gulag or shot if you were suspected of being "un-revolutionary", and in the latter case [[BadBoss one's superiors savagely beating their subordinates and treating them like dirt]] was the rule rather than the exception. In contrast, while in some cases not following orders could get you sent to the very dangerous Eastern Front, the majority of [=SS=] and Wehrmacht soldiers were often not severely punished and very usually had no problem with what they were doing; indeed, in many, many cases, they ''exceeded'' their orders and many atrocities were initiated at ground-level by officers. Since conquered Jews, Poles and other victims were forbidden to work (slave labour aside) yet were now part of the Greater German Reich, they became an economic burden, and since deportation was increasingly impractical, mass murder was often seen as cheaper and easier. The majority of Holocaust victims were shot, in thousands of separate instances; roughly half of its millions of victims were dead before Auschwitz opened its gas chambers.

* OlderThanTheyThink: Henry Wirz, commandant of the notorious [[HellholePrison Andersonville POW camp]] during UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar, claimed that he was only following orders when the victorious Union finally put him on trial. It didn't work any better for him than it did for the Nazi officers at Nuremberg eighty years later; he was hanged after a trial whose [[KangarooCourt probable unfairness]] was made a moot point by the fact that he probably ''wasn't'' under orders to be that nasty anyway. Critics have also pointed out a [[{{Hypocrite}} hypocrisy]] in this, as many Union prison camps were also hell holes, but naturally the commanders there were never punished for mistreating [=POWs=].

* Creator/JohnOliver never comes out and says the exact words, but this is the heart of his defense of the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nn_Zln_4pA8 IRS]] on ''Series/LastWeekTonightWithJohnOliver'': everyone hates the IntimidatingRevenueService for being {{Obstructive Bureaucrat}}s who [[TaxmanTakesTheWinnings take everyone's money]], but he sees them as an underfunded, understaffed, overworked group of ''[[BeleagueredBureaucrat Beleaguered]]'' [[BeleagueredBureaucrat Bureaucrats]] who are Just Following Orders -- and not orders from their superiors in the IRS, but [[ShootTheMessenger orders given to them]] by ''Congress''; orders that they are constantly '''[[MovingTheGoalposts changing]]''', with the [=IRS=] mostly just trying to do an unfortunately necessary job under [[PointyHairedBoss stupid orders]] and belligerent citizens who do things like sending them checks soaked in mustard. It still makes for an interesting examination of the trope; though Oliver decries calling the IRS "Gestapo", one can see the similarity; most of the people who made the Nazi regime work were overworked bureaucrats. [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IBM_during_World_War_II IBM even sold them the computers they used.]]

* ''Franchise/StarTrek'':
** In ''Film/StarTrek2009'', Kirk actually uses this trope to justify his blatant disobedience of said orders. Specifically, when Captain Pike leaves the ''Enterprise'' to board the ''Narada'' he leaves orders for the crew to "come get him". Most likely, he did NOT mean for Kirk to disobey Acting-Captain Spock, attempt a mutiny, provoke Spock into resigning command, and disregard Starfleet regulations by taking on the absurdly powerful Romulan ship alone. This being James T. Kirk, of course it works, and as Kirk is freeing Pike, Pike asks "What are you doing here?" "Just following orders," says Kirk with a grin.
** ''Film/StarTrekIntoDarkness'':
*** {{Discussed}}. Kirk is ordered to assassinate John Harrison with long-range photon torpedoes. However, his senior staff objects vociferously: Scotty quits the crew rather than go on the mission, and Spock argues to Kirk that the order is both immoral and unlawful. Kirk initially plans to go ahead on grounds that he'd only just been reinstated after the ''last'' time he broke the rules (to save Spock's life) but eventually decides to defy his orders and try to take Harrison alive.
---->'''Spock:''' As I am again your First Officer, it is now my duty to strongly object to our mission parameters.\\

*** Kirk tries to give this excuse on behalf of his crew to prevent [[spoiler:Marcus]] from killing them. Unfortunately, he didn't intend to let them live anyway.

** If you take TheParagon option, Commander Shepard in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'' can get two prison guards to avert this trope when beating up a prisoner.
--->'''Shepard:''' This degrades you as much as him.\\

** The Turians are implied to have tried to use this defence as justification for performing a pre-emptive strike on Pre-Contact Humanity, stating that were merely acting in accordance with Galactic Law to prevent tampering and activation of a dormant Mass Relay. Given how they are ''still'' paying reparations for the brief War that ensued, its clear that the Council didn't let them off the hook for this.
** This is Thane's philosophy about killing: as an assassin, he is basically a weapon with hands and feet, and only feels moral responsibility for those he kills on his own initiative (such as his wife's murderers). He's also one of your most moral teammates, striving to avoid civilian casualties wherever possible.

** {{Discussed}} in "[[Recap/BabylonFiveS04E15NoSurrenderNoRetreat No Surrender, No Retreat]]". During the operation to break President Clark's blockade of the rebellious colony Proxima III, Sheridan orders the six opposing destroyers to stand down on grounds that their orders from Clark violate Earth Alliance law, and that any action they take in service to an illegal order makes them accomplices. After some discussion, one captain who instructed Sheridan at MilitaryAcademy agrees another ship follows suit. [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere A third ship flees the battle.]] However, the leader of the squadron attacks, saying "I'm dead either way"[[note]]i.e. Sheridan will kill him if he doesn't surrender, and Clark will kill him if he does[[/note]] and is ultimately [[AntiMutiny relieved of command by his XO]], who surrenders along with another destroyer. [[MutualKill The last ship collides with a damaged White Star and is destroyed.]]

** {{Discussed}} in "[[Recap/BabylonFiveS04E15NoSurrenderNoRetreat No Surrender, No Retreat]]". During the operation to break President Clark's blockade of the rebellious colony Proxima III, Sheridan orders the four opposing destroyers to stand down on grounds that their orders from Clark violate Earth Alliance law, and that any action they take in service to an illegal order makes them accomplices. After some discussion, one captain who instructed Sheridan at MilitaryAcademy agrees and convinces another ship to follow suit. However, the leader of the squadron attacks, saying "I'm dead either way"[[note]]i.e. Sheridan will kill him if he doesn't surrender, and Clark will kill him if he does[[/note]] and is ultimately [[AntiMutiny relieved of command by his XO]], while the fourth ship collides with a damaged White Star and is destroyed.

** In episode 52, after a [[SuperpoweredEvilSide fully-demonized Inuyasha]] kills Gatenmaru and starts slaughtering his way through his [[HumansAreBastards human henchmen]], some of said bandits attempt to save themselves by insisting they were just following Gatenmaru's orders. Unfortunately ([[KickTheSonOfABitch for them]]), Inuyasha is too far gone to give a crap.

* This trope is played with in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVIIRemake'': After the Turks are ordered to drop the Sector 7 plate on the slums below, both Reno and Rude carry out the order under protest, cusses under their breaths, and mutterings about how "orders are orders" and how it's "too late to grow a conscience." But even after the plate has been dropped, they still question Tseng, their boss, if dropping the plate was ''really'' necessary. Tseng's justifications, that they can find solace in knowing that they spared someone else from having to carry out the order and that, [[TheLifestream after everything humanity has taken from the planet, it was about time that they returned something to it for a change]], are rejected and met with incredulity from both Reno and Rude.

* In ''VideoGame/{{The Punisher|THQ}}'' video game:

* ''VideoGame/SyphonFilter2''

* ''VideoGame/NinetyNineNights''. In Tyurru's story, Yesperratt justifies killing civilians by saying that she's just following orders.

** {{Averted}} in the backstory (depicted in ''[[Recap/BabylonFiveFilm01InTheBeginning In the Beginning]]''). Dr. Franklin was ordered to turn over his notes on Minbari DNA so that the military can create a biological weapon. He refused and destroyed the data, stating that under military law he has no duty to obey an order if it would violate his conscience.

Often the de facto justification of those who believe in MyMasterRightOrWrong or MyCountryRightOrWrong, or "IDidWhatIHadToDo". If taken to extremes, it can result in BlindObedience. A LawfulNeutral may well end up saying this at some point depending on who he serves.

* An extraordinarily rare, non-villainous example in ''Series/ParksAndRecreation'' when [[spoiler: Chris prosecutes Leslie and Ben for their secret love affair. Chris, being Ben's best friend, obviously doesn't WANT to do it, but he must since Ben is Leslie's superior and it presents a violation of ethics.]]

* In ''Film/XMenFirstClass'', the Nazis that Erik confronts trot out this line as an excuse for their actions. Notably, these nazis don't use the excuse until ''after'' they have already tried and failed to kill Erik. Charles later makes the mistake of echoing it while trying to calm Magneto down after the combined Soviet and American fleets fire on the X-Men after seeing their power. Definitely an OhCrap moment for the audience when he says it, and he seems to [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone immediately regret his choice of words]] since this trope is a major BerserkButton for the mutant Holocaust survivor.

* Employees that have a BadBoss may do exactly what their boss orders them to do on the letter, even if it won't produce good results or have good efficiency. This is known as [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Malicious_compliance malicious compliance]] where employees will do exactly what their boss tells them to as a form of a passive-aggressive protest. After all, you can't be fired if you're just doing what your superiors were telling you to do. There's also a similar action called "work to rule" where workers will not work more than the minimum time and/or effort needed to complete the tasks assigned to them. In fact, this is in and of itself a separate trope: BotheringByTheBook.

** As it happens, UsefulNotes/AdolfHitler ''hated'' giving orders and liked to keep them as vague as possible, leading to what historian Ian Kershaw called "working towards the Fuhrer", i.e. "doing what you ''think'' Hitler wants", which as it happens was usually just "anything that made the problem go away". A common problem, even in the early days of the regime, was that the SA, the SS, and the more ideological members of the Party and the army would assault or kill more people than the leaders intended and had to be reined in (this was one of the reasons the SA was purged on Night of the Long Knives, as they were considered too unruly compared to the "disciplined" SS). The initial plan for the occupation of Poland -- then Eastern Europe -- was to kill a certain percentage of various Polish social groups (e.g. Jews, academics, officers, lawyers, etc.) and have the rest either deported or kept as slave labour (and/or held as hostages) while their land would be given to "ethnic" Germans, but the SS and sections of the German army ended up killing so much that even ''Himmler'' protested to Hitler (albeit on the grounds that it showed a lack of discipline). Eventually, for many, committing genocide simply became ''normal''.

* A fatal example in ''WebAnimation/{{RWBY}}'', as a result of Atlas's extremely mililtaristic culture. In "With Friends Like These", Ace Ops carry out the orders by Ironwood to arrest Team RWBY, JNR, Oscar and Qrow despite the fact that Ironwood is in the middle of a SanitySlippage and the leader of Ace Ops, Clover, is helping Qrow and Robyn carry the defeated Tyrian to prison. ''No one'' in Ace Ops questions this and even those like Winter thinks that Team RWBY did something wrong. [[spoiler:The episode ends with RWBY wiping the floor with Ace Ops, Robyn badly injured, Tyrian freed, Clover dead and Qrow framed for his death thanks to Tyrian.]] This continues into Volume 8 as Ace Ops focuses on arresting Ren, Yang, and Jaune instead of dealing with the incoming Grimm and accepting what amounts to a SuicideMission despite the hesitation.